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Ashes 4th Take a look at, Day 4 Stumps: Khawaja’s twin SCG centuries keep Australia in driver’s seat

Usman Khawaja scored his second century of the match to encourage Australia to 265 for six declared on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Take a look at in Sydney on Saturday, handing England an unlikely victory target of 388. England, whose hopes of warding off going 4-0 down in the sequence would seem to relaxation on obdurate batting and the climate, will resume on the final day on 30 without loss after Haseeb Hameed and Zak Crawley survived 11 overs sooner than stumps.

The day but again belonged to Khawaja, who returned to envision cricket after 2-1/2 years as a makeshift alternative for Travis Head when the center-declare batsman examined definite for COVID-19. The 35-year-mature once but again oozed class as he re-energised the Australian innings in a 179-high-tail partnership with all-rounder Cameron Inexperienced after England had stalled their march in direction of a second declaration of the match.

Unflappable and sublime, Khawaja added a 101 not out to the 137 he scored in the first innings, punching two runs down the bottom to reach the milestone for the 10th time.

All hail the King of the SCG: Usman Khawaja! 

England would require a additional 358 runs to find on day 5 #Ashes

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 8, 2022

“Surreal moment,” said Khawaja, who now has three centuries against England at the Sydney Cricket Floor (SCG).

“I’ve never obtained attend-to-attend hundreds in top quality cricket, let on my own check cricket. “Or not it is miles a pleasant one to tick off and to keep the crew in a problem the build we can expectantly discover a check match the next day,” he added. “Elegant particular.”

He became once most effective the third batsman to salvage centuries in both innings in a check match at the bottom, joining compatriots Doug Walters against West Indies in 1969 and Ricky Ponting against South Africa in 2006. After being brushed off for 294 in the first 40 minutes of the day, England had made a tight fist of bowling at Australia and removed the cease four at the rate of most effective 86 runs.

That practically all efficient brought Khawaja and Inexperienced collectively, alternatively, and so that they had been closing on giving Australia a 400-high-tail lead when the latter holed out to Jack Leach for 74 to in the extinguish break the partnership. Leach (4-84) then had Alex Carey caught in the attend of off the next ball but Australia Pat Cummins denied the spinner a hat-trick opportunity, declining to pad up and calling Khawaja attend to the dressing room with the declaration.

Unstoppable! #Ashes https://t.co/WD3X0rNCny

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 8, 2022

Four of the Australian wickets had been taken in the attend of by Ollie Pope, who became once conserving wickets in reputation of the injured Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow, who scored England’s most effective century of the sequence in the first innings, Buttler and all-rounder Ben Stokes had scans on accidents sooner than play but all will bat on Sunday.

“I’m obvious the boys will get whatever they prefer to get the next day,” said performing England coach Graham Thorpe.

“They are going to all bat and I’m obvious they’d all attain successfully.”

The climate could per chance but indulge in one thing to insist about that with storms sweeping down the Pacific fly but when they omit Sydney’s Japanese Suburbs, England’s job seems imposing. The very best worthwhile fourth-innings high-tail traipse in 140 years of check cricket at the SCG got right here when Australia’s overhauled a target of 287 against South Africa in 2006.

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