Melbourne: Alastair Cooks unbeaten century helped England score 192/2, trailing by 135 runs at stumps on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on Wednesday.

Cook (104) and skipper Joe Root (49) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day.

The duo forged an unbeaten 112-run partnership to stabilise the England innings after Mark Stoneman (15) and James Vince (17) failed to do the job.

Cook was dropped on 66 by Australia skipper Steve Smith at first slip off Mitchell Marsh but after that he played sensibly and completed his ton.

Cook and Stoneman started the innings on a positive note but Stoneman was dismissed by Nathon Lyon in the 12th over.

Pacer Josh Hazlewood then trapped Vince leg before wicket to make it 80/2.

After that, Cook and Root came together and helped their team to bounce back strongly.

Earlier, Australia resumed at 244/3 and pacer Stuart Broad picked up 4/51 to send the hosts crashing to 327 all out. He was aided by James Anderson, his new-ball partner who ended with figures of 3/61.

Brief scores: Australia 327/10 against England 192/2 (Alastair Cook 104, Joe Root 49; Josh Hazlewood 1/39)

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Bengaluru: Karnataka has reported three cases of teenage pregnancies within the past six months, with the latest incident coming to light at a private school in Channarayapatna town of Hassan district, reported by The New Indian Express on Saturday.

Experts and child rights officials have expressed serious concern over the recurring cases, pointing to gaps in child protection mechanisms within educational institutions. They have cited the absence of child protection committees in schools, lack of awareness about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, inadequate sex education, and parental ignorance as key factors contributing to such incidents.

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The commission’s chairman, Shashidhar Kosambe reportedly said, the main reason is not implementing the Karnataka State Child Protection Policy, 2016, in schools, especially at residential schools like those in Yadgir and Koppal where such incidents have taken place.

According to the policy, the commission must have two teachers or school officials and two outsiders who work in the interest of child rights, so that there is no prejudice whenever complaints are filed.

“It is the responsibility of the commission to monitor children and school staff. Awareness programmes on child protection policies, the POCSO Act, and sexual abuse must be conducted regularly for students and staff. Police must be informed immediately when a violation is detected. The policy and the commission must become part of the ecosystem and shouldn’t be treated as extra work,” TNIE quoted Kosambe as saying.

Psychiatry professor at ESI hospital, Rajajinagar, Dr Chandrashekar said, many adolescent girls become pregnant when they are sexually abused by their male friends. The victims undergo a lot of physical changes and mental trauma because of the way others respond. Therefore, whenever we come across a pregnant teenager, especially the victims of sexual abuse, we provide counselling to the victim as her family members.