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<\/p>\nHere\u2019s Harry Brook, unbeaten on 78, speaking with Test Match Special: \u201cWe knew it was going to rain today and when we came off, we knew it was coming. We just sat and waited for it to be called off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a good wicket to bat on. We managed to rotate strike nicely and it was a nice surface to play on. Playing with Joe, your innings ticks over. He is always looking to rotate and score runs and that is part of batting. It is not just about surviving.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the best pitch in this series, for sure. Australia don\u2019t have a spinner and probably thought it would do more than it did.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be nice to win this and go home 3-2. We need to stick to our processes and working towards modes of dismissal. There is no reason we cannot win this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Brook described the Sydney pitch as \u201cthe best in the series\u201d<\/p>\n
PHILIP BROWN\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
Boos echo around the ground at that news. That is not what we expected though at least Cricket Australia might be happy with the news of more play in the days to come. The match will resume at 10am local time, which is 11pm tonight in the UK.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned for more reaction from the SCG as we have it.<\/p>\n
Will Rogan, Sydney<\/p>\n
Live at the SCG and it\u2019s fair to say fans are getting quite cheesed off with the state of affairs here. It\u2019s been bright and dry for a good while now but there\u2019s not so much as a hint of a pitch inspection. I\u2019d be amazed if there\u2019s any more play today. <\/p>\n
The umpires are being booed for standing around the pavilion and a lot of people have simply called it a day and gone home. <\/p>\n
And they\u2019ve just announced the day is done! <\/p>\n
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A storm cell passes over the SCG as play is suspended<\/p>\n
DEAN LEWINS\/EPA<\/p>\n
Ban on Australians in County Championship before Ashes?<\/p>\n
Simon Wilde, Sydney<\/p>\n
The ECB is ready to explore ways to prevent Australia\u2019s leading Test players preparing for an away Ashes series with stints in the County Championship.<\/p>\n
Steve Smith, the acting Australia captain, conceded on the eve of the final Test of this series at the Sydney Cricket Ground that exposure to English conditions through the county game was the likely reason for Australia being more competitive in England than vice versa.<\/p>\n
Smith played three four-day matches for Sussex in 2023, weeks before the most recent Ashes<\/a> series in England. It is almost unheard of for England<\/a> players to take part in the Sheffield Shield, Australia\u2019s first-class red-ball competition, which has only six state teams compared with 18 county sides.<\/p>\n \u2022 Simon Wilde: Plan to win back Ashes may include banning Aussies from county game<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n How might the teams line up in 2027<\/p>\n Simon Wilde, Sydney<\/p>\n Although we had to wait 28 months between the previous Ashes series in England and this one in Australia, it will be only 18 months before the sides contest the urn again in the English summer of 2027. This may mean that while a lot of players here, mainly among the visiting side, have infuriated with their brainlessness and timidity, it could be rash to write them off.<\/p>\n The question about those who survive on either side is whether they will be better or worse players than they are now. Will England have adapted or evolved, and put their \u201clearnings\u201d to good use? What will their much trumpeted \u201cidentity\u201d (\u201cBazball\u201d to you and me) look like by then? <\/p>\n
![\"Australia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/3dc41178-f1bf-4cda-b8cc-7f988d95accc.jpg\")
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