England great Alastair Cook has admitted another two-day Test could be on the cards unless something dramatic changes overnight at the MCG.
After 20 wickets fell on Boxing Day in pure chaos, Australia now find themselves 46 runs ahead with all of their second innings wickets in hand.
It places England in a precarious position unless they can strike early and Cook has doubts as to whether the game will go into a third day due to the conditions.
“I hope it doesn’t quicken up and nip more, because I think it will be a two-day game,” the former Test skipper told TNT Sports.
“I actually can’t see it going much longer if it’s like that.
“If it flattens out a little bit, then we’ve got a game on our hands. The only other thing is Australia would have had two heavy rollers on the pitch, whether that has an impact.
“Australia will be thinking ‘if we bat the majority of the day tomorrow, we will bat England out of the game’ … so England have to strike early.”