Australia vs England, 3rd Ashes Test Stats Preview: Players records and approaching milestones

Joe Root and his men face an uphill task going into the Boxing Day Test at the MCG as England already looks down-and-out in the series with a 2-0 score-line justifying that fact. The hosts have beaten the British comprehensively in both the first Tests as England continues to struggle down under with their last victory coming way back in the 2010/11 Ashes series.

The Kangaroos have looked solid in the series with runs coming from the consistent Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Travis Head, and Steve Smith. The Aussies look like a well-oiled machine against Joe Root’s England side who are finding it difficult to score runs. Apart from skipper Root and Dawid Malan, no other batter has looked in touch.

Captain Root would like to turn around things as quickly as possible as they can’t afford to lose this Test after suffering two defeats already. With the Urn on the line, England will hope to bounce back in the third Test before surrendering it to the hosts. On the other hand, with regular skipper Pat Cummins likely to make his return for the Boxing Day clash, the Aussies will like to seal the deal in the third Test itself with a win.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers ahead of the 3rd Ashes Test between Australia and England:

Head-to-head: Australia and England have faced 337 times in The Ashes with Kangaroos winning 138 matches and losing 108. 91 clashes were drawn. 169 times the rivals have met down under with the hosts tasting success on 88 occasions. 56 matches were won by England and 25 Tests were drawn. At the MCG, both have contested in 49 Tests with Australia winning 24 and losing 19. Six tests ended up in a draw.

108 – Steve Smith (12892) is 108 runs away from reaching 13000 runs across formats.

27 – Joe Root (1630) is 27 runs away from becoming the captain with most Test runs in a calendar year.

4 – Jos Buttler (846) needs four fours to reach 850 fours across formats.

34 – Travis Head (2966) needs 34 runs to reach 3000 runs across formats.

4 – Ben Stokes (146) is fours grabs away from completing 150 catches across formats.

2 – Jos Buttler (248) requires two big hits to complete 250 sixes across formats.

2 – Steve Smith (1298) needs two fours to complete 1300 fours across formats.

27 – Joe Root (1630) requires 27 runs to go past Graeme Smith (1656) and become third batter with most runs in a calendar year.

7 – Usman Khawaja (493) is seven fours away from completing 500 fours across formats.

6 – Chris Woakes (1494) needs six runs to complete 1500 runs in Tests.

113– Usman Khawaja (2887) needs 113 runs to complete 3000 runs in Tests.

47 – Joe Root (9453) requires 47 runs to complete 9500 runs in Tests.

1 – James Anderson (99) is one grab away from completing 100 catches in Tests.

2 – Jos Buttler (148) needs two catches to reach 150 catches in Tests.

13 – David Warner (7513) is 13 runs away from overtaking Mark Taylor (7525) and become ninth highest run-getter for Australia in Tests.

5 – Jonny Bairstow (195) needs five catches to reach 200 catches in Tests.

34 – Marcus Harris (466) requires 34 runs to reach 500 runs in Tests.

1 – Stuart Broad (99) requires one catch to complete 100 catches across formats.

46 – Steve Smith (7651) needs 46 runs to surpass Justin Langer (7696) and become seventh highest run-scorer for Australia in Tests.

89 – Steve Smith (2911) is 89 runs away from reaching 3000 runs mark in The Ashes.

100 – Jos Buttler (8900) requires 100 runs to complete 9000 runs across formats.

3 – Zak Crawley (97) needs three fours to complete 100 fours in Tests.

6 – Nathan Lyon (94) requires six wickets to complete 100 wickets in The Ashes.

83 – Haseeb Hameed (417) requires 83 runs to reach 500 runs in Tests.

2 – Haseeb Hameed (48) needs two fours to complete 50 fours in Tests.