AUS vs ENG: Weather Forecast and Pitch Report at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne- Ashes 2021-22, 3rd Test 

Australia and England are set to take on each other in the third Test of the Ashes 2021 from 26^th to 30^th December 2021 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia currently leads the series by a 2-0 margin and another win could help them win the Ashes 2021-22 series and thereby retain the urn.

Given how they have performed in the first two Tests, Australia are firm favourites to win the third Test in Melbourne. Playing his first Test as a full-time captain, Pat Cummins picked a five-wicket in the very first Test to bundle England out on just 147 runs in the first innings.

Later, David Warner (94), Labuschagne (74), and Travis Head (152) made significant contributions to help Australia post a mammoth 425 in the second innings.

England, in their second innings, managed 297 runs and set a target of just 20 runs. Australia chased it down with 9 wickets in hand. Pat Cummins missed out the second Test and Steve Smith replaced him as captain.

Australia exhibited another stellar batting performance and notched a gigantic 473 in the first innings. Marnus Labuschagne (103 off 305) continued his fine run in Test Cricket, while Steve Smith (93) and Alex Carey (51) also made valuable contributions. Till Joe Root (62) and David Malan (80) batted in the second innings, it looked like England will post a good total on the board.

However, once the duo got out, wickets fell quickly and England were bowled out for 236 runs. Starc picked 4 crucial wickets, while Lyon claimed three. Australia didn’t enforce the follow-on and batted again instead. They scored 230 for 9 before declaring the innings. Labuschagne scored another half-century, while Head also contributed 51 off 54. Anderson bowled fairly well but was unlucky. His partner, Stuart Broad, however, looked far from his best.

England endured another dismal show with the bat as they got bowled out for 192, thereby losing the game by a massive 275 runs. Jhye Richardson ran through England’s batting unit as he claimed 5 for 42. He, however, won’t be available for the third Test as he has picked up a leg injury. Josh Hazlewood also misses out as he hasn’t yet recovered from his injury.

Pat Cummins, however, will return to the team, while Scott Boland will make his Test debut. England, on the other hand, have made four changes in their playing XI. Jonny Bairstow, Zack Crawley, Jack Leach, and Mark Wood have been included in the eleven, replacing the likes of Ollie Pope, Rory Burns, Stuart Broad, and Chris Woakes.

AUS vs ENG: Weather Forecast and Pitch Report at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne- Ashes 2021-22, 3rd Test

Pitch Report

The pitch will have something for everyone. There are grass on the surface which means that pacers will receive an adequate amount of pace and bounce. Having said that, the batters will enjoy the batting on the surface once they get through the initial period. Spinners too are likely to receive some help as the match progresses.

Weather Forecast:

Very few chances of precipitation is expected on five days of the Test match. The temperature on Boxing Day will hover between 13 and 19 degrees Celsius. One can expect a good game of cricket.