Ashes in a nutshell: Will England produce a miracle or are Australia destined for 2-0 lead? | Cricket News

It was pain all round for Joe Root as he took two blows to the groin before being dismissed late on to leave England’s hopes of a draw in Adelaide hanging by a thread; Ben Stokes may need to be a hero with the bat on day five, having taken a stunning catch in the deep on day four

Ben Stokes appears England’s greatest hope of an Adelaide rescue act

England need a remarkable last-day rearguard in Adelaide to salvage a draw in the second Test. Here is what went down on day four…

SCORECARD | AS IT HAPPENED

REPORT

A pained Joe Root was out to the last ball of day four as England’s hopes of battling to a draw in the day-night Ashes Test in Adelaide took a hammer blow, writes David Ruse.

Root (24) snicked Mitchell Starc behind to leave England 82-4 in their second innings having been set a highly-improbable 468 for victory, with Australia now just six wickets away from a 2-0 series lead.

Joe Root was floored and then dismissed by Mitchell Starc

The England captain did not field for the opening 80 minutes after being hit in the groin in the nets and his distress was exacerbated late in the day when he was pinned in a similar area by a delivery from Starc.

Root ploughed on but could not get through to stumps, meaning England’s chances of pulling off an unlikely rescue act seem to rest with Ben Stokes, who is three not out from 40 deliveries.

WILL ENGLAND BATTLE TO A DRAW?

Even the most optimistic England fan would see this as a tall order.

Root is gone and England have an out-of-sorts middle order. Australia need just six wickets, have a world-class spinner in Nathan Lyon and, if we end up getting that far, another chance to pepper England under the lights. Rain is not going to save the tourists either.

Will Ollie Pope step up for England on day five in Adelaide?

The odds are very much stacked against England – but they were very much stacked against them at Headingley in 2019 and we all know what happed there… Stokes shone and Australia faltered from a commanding position.

Could history repeat itself? Probably not but you have got to believe, right? Believe in Stokes, believe in England and believe that Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler can finally make their mark on this series with the bat.

OTHER TALKING POINTS

Buttler’s up-and-down wicketkeeping was also in the spotlight again as he continued his rollercoaster Test by taking two outstanding catches moving to his left, but also dropping a pretty regulation catch moving to his right.

That error gifted Steve Smith a life first ball but that did not matter too much with Buttler then pouching superbly down the leg-side to dismiss the Australia captain for six.

Jos Buttler’s wicketkeeping was up and down again on day four

Every screamer delights his England team-mates but every blemish raises the question as to whether he is the long-term answer as gloveman with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes rivals for that spot going forward.

Another talking point was DRS, which came to the fore when Stuart Broad pinned Smith on the pad while the batter was still scoreless.

Umpire Rod Tucker turned down the appeal and England’s review came in vain with not enough of Smith’s off stump set to be hit – causing Shane Warne to argue that perhaps umpire’s call should be removed if the ball is poised to hit the stumps. There would certainly be a lot more wickets if that rule were implemented!

MOMENT OF THE DAY

Root’s late dismissal has left England facing defeat in the day-night Test

The Root dismissal. It has to be that, as England’s hopes went from slim to miniscule in the Adelaide evening.

Other than that, watching Ollie Robinson bowl three overs of off-spin was pretty eye-catching but so was the cracking catch Stokes pulled off to dismiss Travis Head once Robinson reverted to bowling seam after dinner.

Head pulled to deep square, where a running Stokes dove to his left and pouched the ball inches above the turf to add to his catalogue of great grabs in an England shirt.

Sure, it may not quite be up there with the claw catch that removed Adam Voges at Trent Bridge during the 2015 Ashes, nor the one-handed reverse-cup catch at The Kia Oval during the 2019 World Cup which made Nasser Hussain say: “No way! No, no way! You cannot do that, Ben Stokes. That is remarkable. That is one of the greatest catches of all time”.

It was still superb nonetheless – and England will be hoping Stokes can produce something similarly special with the bat on day five as they look to leave Adelaide only 1-0 down.

TWEETS OF THE DAY

STATS OF THE DAY

– England’s target of 468 would be the highest successful run chase in Test history

– England’s openers have been dismissed for 13 ducks in 2021, by far the most by any team in a calendar year

– When he reached 10 in his second innings, Joe Root overtook Sir Alastair Cook’s record of 4,844 runs while captaining the England Test team

WHAT THEY SAID

Sir Alastair Cook, talking to BT Sport: “England could be 2-0 down. How that dressing room stays together is going to be so important for them. It’s going to be a hell of a task for Root, (Chris) Silverwood and the management. “

Matt Prior, speaking to BT Sport: “You’ve got four brave Englishmen that have to do most of the work. Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes. You feel that it’s those four that have to bat for the majority of the day for England to stand a chance.”