Usman Khawaja's second-best score of 165 not out, and half-centuries from Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh helped Australia to a slender 19-run lead, with seven wickets still intact, at Tea on Day 3 of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the SCG on Saturday (January 6).
Barring the 10 minutes just ahead of Lunch, when England got the wicket of Smith against the run of play and nearly managed to send back Khawaja in quick succession, the tourists have had to endure three tough sessions on the trot since yesterday. Resuming from their overnight score of 193 for 2, Australia added 84 and 88 runs to their total on either side of the Lunch break on Day 3 to strengthen their grip on the match.
Khawaja, who walked out to bat as early as in the second over of Australia's innings on Friday, forged a mammoth 188-run partnership with skipper Steve Smith (83) and then added 91 runs with Shaun Marsh (54 not out) for the unbroken fourth-wicket stand to knock off the deficit and propel the home team into another first-innings lead.
Smith scored at a quick pace in the morning to notch up his fifty, while Khawaja remained watchful, starting the day nine away from his hundred. He reached the landmark in the 75th over of Australia's innings, with a couple of Moeen Ali and then went on to complete 2000 Test runs by glancing Stuart Broad to the fine leg fence in the second over after the new ball was taken.
Smith too seemed destined for a record fourth hundred in this series but fell 17 short after chipping a low return catch to Moeen - England getting their only wicket since the play began. Australia would have suffered another blow before Lunch when Root and Crane sent a not-out LBW decision against Khawaja upstairs but the replays showed the debutant had no part of his foot behind the crease and it was eventually declared a no-ball. Had Crane not overstepped, Khawaja would have been his maiden Test wicket for the ball-tracking showed the ball to be crashing into the stumps alright.
Khawaja and Marsh joined hands just before Lunch and went about their business without much trouble after it. England tried everything in their might to break the swelling partnership but to no avail. Part-timer Root, bowling his fifth over in succession, seemed to have broken through when Shaun Marsh was adjudged caught behind, but knowing that he hadn't nicked it, the batsman had the decision overturned with a successful review.
Khawaja raised the second 150 of his Test career with back to back boundaries off Moeen in the 110th over, while in the minutes leading up to Tea, Marsh square drove a length delivery from Anderson with precision to pierce the packed off-side field and bring up his 10th Test half-century.
Brief scores: Australia 365/3 (Usman Khawaja 165*, Shaun Marsh 54*) lead England 346, by 19 runs.
