England's hopes of salvaging pride in the final Ashes Test suffered a significant blow on Day 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with a series of costly fielding errors and squandered reviews allowing Australia to seize control.
Head Capitalises on Catastrophic Drop
The day, which began with the match evenly poised, quickly turned sour for the tourists. Travis Head, spearheading Australia's fightback, was given a massive reprieve on 121 runs. Facing a short ball from Brydon Carse, Head pulled it towards the boundary where Will Jacks spilled a straightforward chance, the ball hitting the deck after the allrounder failed to hold on with his hands in front of his face.
Commentators were left stunned by the blunder. "Oh and it's put down ... Will Jacks ... how has that happened," said Alison Mitchell on the Seven Network broadcast. Simon Katich pointed out the "cardinal sin" of Jacks looking at the boundary rope as the ball arrived.
Head made England pay dearly, adding 41 more runs before lunch to reach 162 not out at the interval. The missed opportunity was labelled England's 17th dropped catch of the series, a statistic that former Australian coach Justin Langer said changes the fortune of a Test match.
DRS Disasters Compound English Frustration
England's woes were compounded by a disastrous use of the Decision Review System (DRS). They squandered two of their three reviews for the innings in futile attempts to dismiss nightwatchman Michael Neser.
The first was burned on an optimistic appeal for a catch, where the sound of bat hitting pad was mistaken for an edge. The second, an LBW shout from Brydon Carse that had clearly struck Neser's toe, failed because the ball was shown to be pitching outside off stump. Captain Ben Stokes remonstrated with the big screen, his body language speaking volumes.
This left England without any reviews for the remainder of the Australian innings, a situation that came back to haunt them shortly before lunch when they could not challenge a not-out LBW decision against Steve Smith.
Former Stars Scathing of English Effort
The performance drew sharp criticism from Australian greats. Langer emphasised the fundamental cost of missed chances, while Ricky Ponting contrasted England's efforts with Australia's, noting the home side had taken brilliant half-chances throughout the series.
Ponting also questioned the leadership in the field, suggesting wicketkeeper Jamie Smith needed to be more vocal and invested to get the team "up and about."
Despite the errors, Neser was eventually dismissed for 24, pushing Australia to 3-234 and consolidating their strong position as the session closed, leaving England with a mountain to climb and plenty of regrets after a morning of self-inflicted wounds.
