"Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell have been the two protagonists in the grainy, Zapruder-style footage from England's six-day, mid-series jig-about by the sea. True to apparent recent form, both were here for a good time not a long time as England were bowled out for 110 in 29.5 overs. Both batted like men groping for the light switch in the dark against a new ball that seamed the width of the bat at times."
"One was the emergence of apparent evidence that a slurry Duckett didn't know how to get back to his hotel late one night in the resort town England insisted he visit at 3-0 down in the series. The other was Rob Key's pre-match state-of-the-nation address in the bowels of the MCG, a rambling performance that seemed to fall apart even as the words emerged,"
The Boxing Day Test at the MCG produced brittle, over-caffeinated cricket on a pitch streaked with faint green ridges. Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell returned but offered brief, ineffective innings as England were bowled out for 110 in 29.5 overs. Both batters struggled against a new ball that seamed widely. The match was framed by two events: apparent evidence of Duckett's late-night inability to find his hotel and a rambling pre-match address from Rob Key that suggested poor management and planning. Both on-field failure and off-field issues were linked to England's batting collapse.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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