England are down four wickets in the second innings at the end of the second day, trailing Australia by 51 runs.
On a cricket standout both on and off the field, England faced an uphill battle to save the third Test against Australia and with it the Ashes.
The game also started before Monday. Cricket Australia calls for calm after one COVID-19 scare involving two members of England’s support staff The start of the second day of play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was delayed.
Australia were bowled out for 267 as the home team took a first innings advantage of 82 runs before England reached 31-4 in their second innings at stumps on Monday.
England seamer James Anderson delivered an outstanding performance in 23 overs, claiming the key wickets of Marcus Harris (76) and Steve Smith (16) in his tally of 4-33.
But the England batsmen were soon under attack again. Mitchell Starc (2-11) dismissed Zac Crawley for 5, and David Malan was dismissed leg before leg for the fifth consecutive over without scoring.
Debutant Scott Boland (2-1) delighted his home crowd of 42,626 fans with opener Haseeb Hameed for 7 and Jack Leach without scoring in the final over of the day.
With Ben Stokes and Joe Root at the crease, England had lost four wickets after just 12 overs and Australia still needed 51 runs to bat again.
Earlier, Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said there was no need to change the existing plans, which include hosting the fourth and fifth Tests in Sydney and Hobart respectively.
“We just need to keep calm and get the facts,” Hockley said. “Everyone needs to follow medical advice. Based on that we keep going. “Our protocols are designed solely for this set of events.”
On day one of the opening play, Cricket Australia issued a statement confirming the outbreak of COVID-19 within England’s camp delayed the team’s arrival at the MCG and delayed the start of play by 30 minutes.
“Cricket Australia has been informed that two members of the England cricket team’s support staff and two members of their family have returned a positive COVID-19 rapid antigen test,” the statement said.
“The affected persons are currently in isolation. The entire sports group and all other support staff have done a rapid antigen test this morning and all have tested negative.
“The England cricket team will also have a PCR test today, and both teams will take extra precautions throughout the game.”
The Australian Seven Network’s television coverage of the match was also affected. A member of the broadcast staff tested positive for the virus, forcing commentators to isolate the network as they called in a new team.
Australia captain Pat Cummins missed the second Test after coming in close contact with a COVID-19 case.
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, England’s tours of South Africa and Sri Lanka were abandoned mid-tour due to COVID concerns.
Australia lead the five-match series 2–0, meaning England need to win the remaining three matches to regain the Ashes.
,