Australian captain Ricky Ponting has confirmed that off-spinner Nathan Hauritz will be a part of the first Test squad taking on the West Indies at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday.
Pacer Doug Bollinger will be the 12th man, while the other quicks featuring in the team would be Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Marcus North’
Spinner Hauritz to be part of Oz squad against Windies
November 25th, 2009 |
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Australia defy England to earn draw
August 3rd, 2009 |
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Third Ashes Test, Edgbaston (day five):
England 376 drew with Australia 263 & 375-5
Match scorecard
By Oliver Brett
BBC Sport at Edgbaston
England were forced to settle for a draw at the rain-hit Edgbaston Test and will move on to Headingley on Friday with a 1-0 lead.
Michael Clarke (103 not out) and Marcus North (96) came together before lunch with Australia in a precarious position, four wickets down in their second innings and only 48 runs ahead.
But after Shane Watson (53) and Michael Hussey (64) had been dismissed in the morning session, Clarke and North put on 185 for the fifth wicket in 50 overs to shut the door firmly on England’s victory bid.
The match ended with Australia, who resisted the temptation to have a crack at England’s batsmen, leading by 262 on 375-5 when the captains agreed on an early draw at 1750 BST, with 13.4 overs remaining in the day.
Clarke, with his second century of the series, again proved the biggest obstacle for England to shift – and whereas at Lord’s he was finally dismissed, here he was undefeated for 192 balls and 283 minutes, in which he hit 14 fours.
He had two massive bits of luck in the 90s as he tortuously moved towards his century, Stuart Broad shaving his stumps with a ball that failed to dislodge the bails and Ravi Bopara having him caught at gully on 96, but off a no-ball.
With Australia 88-2 overnight, still trailing by 25 runs, the fans came expectantly in their thousands – and made it the first ever sell-out for the final day of a Test match in Birmingham.
After most of Thursday and the whole of Saturday had been lost to rain, there were no interruptions on Monday – but England’s bowlers were not at their very best.
Australia batted well, there was little swing on offer, and the wicket played pretty flat.
Watson was 34 and Hussey 18 when play started, and Andrew Flintoff bowled brilliantly early on at the left-handed Hussey, without any luck.
The deficit had been wiped out when Flintoff beat Hussey’s outside edge for the fifth time in the day, and when the left-hander cut the disappointing Graeme Swann for four Australia nudged into the lead.
Flintoff had mostly been bowling at Hussey all morning, but now had Watson in his sights, and struck the right-hander flush on an unprotected forearm. Bravely, Watson played out the rest of a testing over impeccably.
On the hour mark, the all-rounder moved to his second half-century of the match by flogging a full-toss off Swann through the covers for four.
Finally James Anderson, England’s outstanding bowler of the series, was permitted to have a bowl and struck in his first over – a hint of outswing, a thin edge from Watson, and an easy catch for Matt Prior.
Hussey continued to play well, hitting a short ball from Swann through the on-side for his 10th four, taking him to his fifty.
With England seeking further inspiration, Broad was given a ball that was 50 overs old for his first bowl of the innings. He began with a half-volley driven to the extra-cover fence for four by Hussey.
But he was much better in his second over, and the first ball from round the wicket was sent down in the perfect channel outside Hussey’s off-stump and just caught the edge.
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At lunch Australia were 172-4, ahead by 59, and Clarke and North – batting with the sun on their backs soon after the interval – made smooth progress after the interval to give their team further daylight.
Things quickly became fairly desperate for England, and Andrew Strauss asked Bopara to come into the attack with the score 219-4.
His second ball, an indifferent short-pitched delivery, was smashed by Clarke – on 38 at that point – to Strauss at short midwicket. But the skipper floored a tough chance, and one sensed the game was slipping away.
Though Swann was starting to find some rhythm, Clarke swept him cleverly in front of square for four to move into the 40s and North was also finding his range well.
England took the second new ball, but the atmosphere became very subdued as both batsmen reached their fifties and when tea came on 293-4, with Clarke 73 and North 64, it had been clear for some time that there could be no positive result.
Furthermore, Australia led by 180, so if another day had been available England might have been under pressure.
Swann came under attack from North after the interval, with Broad bowling well at the other end. The partnership stretched past 150, with Australia now cruising beyond 300.
The fun for the batsmen really started with Bopara’s second spell, in which North struck three successive boundaries to reach 95. But he finally fell to a stunning catch in the gully by Anderson as Broad picked up a deserved second wicket.
The game would have ended earlier had not Clarke made such painful progress through the 90s, but he finally got to his century with a pull shot off Bopara and the players could concentrate on the fourth Test at Headingley.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Anderson haul puts England on top
July 31st, 2009 |
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Third Ashes Test, Edgbaston (day two):
England 116-2 v Australia 263
Match scorecard
By Oliver Brett
BBC Sport at Edgbaston
Brilliant swing bowling from James Anderson and Graham Onions put England in a fine position after two days of the third Ashes Test.
Australia capitulated shockingly from an overnight 126-1, losing two wickets off the first two balls of the morning, to collapse to 203-8 at lunch and eventually 263 all out.
When bad light brought a premature end to proceedings at 1745 BST, with 19 overs left in the day, Andrew Strauss (64 not out) had guided England to 116-2, trailing by 147.
Onions triggered the Aussies’ demise, taking the first three wickets in the day to fall, and then the last, to finish with 4-58.
Anderson recovered from a poor showing on Thursday, and some wayward stuff early in his spell on day two, to take 5-13 in 38 balls either side of lunch for overall figures of 5-80.
But another key figure in proceedings was umpire Rudi Koertzen, who awarded Anderson two very debatable lbws and then denied Mitchell Johnson one against Ian Bell when the ball would have probably hit middle stump.
Bell, who hit the first six of the Ashes series by an England batsman, lived to fight another day, and will resume with Strauss on 26.
With the memories of a disjointed bowling display on Thursday evening still in the back of the mind, Onions gave his team – and the home fans – a massive boost with the first two balls of.
Shane Watson, who had cruised to 62, just 16 runs shy of his best score in Tests in his first experience as an opener at this level, completely misjudged his shot at a ball homing in on his stumps.
Failing to get his bat down in time, he gave Aleem Dar an easy lbw decision to make.
Michael Hussey, who was bowled playing no shot to Andrew Flintoff at Lord’s, again left a delivery that only came back a fraction to brush his off-stump.
Though some of the 21,000 fans had not yet taken their seats, they rushed into position to see the hat-trick ball – and after the obligatory roar Onions sent a short ball just whistling past Michael Clarke’s gloves.
The game settled down for a while as Clarke and Ricky Ponting used their collective nous to withstand Onions’ variations on a theme of swing.
The captain picked up the runs needed to pass Allan Border and become the leading Australian run-scorer in Tests – leaving only pack leader Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara in front of him.
And when he on-drove Flintoff for four, taking the score to 159-3, Australia appeared to be entering calmer waters. But only four runs were added before Ponting, on 38, tried to pull a well-directed bouncer from Onions and edged to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
All the action was happening in Onions’ tremendous nine-over spell from the City End – and he could have had Clarke out twice.
The right-hander was reprieved by umpire Dar, turning down a very good lbw shout on 18, and by Flintoff on 20. England’s usually flawless second slip somehow spilt an outside edge.
But it was Anderson who picked up the wicket-taking baton in devastating fashion from the Pavilion End as Australia lurched from 193-4 to 229-9 – with Koertzen providing two prominent assists.
The South African official ended Clarke’s innings on 29 (ball probably missing leg-stump) and then Johnson back for a golden duck (slightly too high, according to Hawkeye).
In between those two wickets, Marcus North chased a wide one and was well caught by a diving Prior. Anderson’s fourth wicket, and the eighth of the innings, came when Graham Manou was bowled by a pearler.
Australia took lunch in dreadful shape, but their tail-enders did pretty well after the interval – although the ball was still swinging – to add 60 runs for the final two wickets. Onions finally wrapped it up, taking a richly-deserved fourth wicket when Ben Hilfenhaus speared the Durham man to gully.
By then, Peter Siddle had edged Anderson behind, giving him his first five-wicket Ashes haul, and it should all have ended on 241 when Nathan Hauritz top-edged a pull over Ravi Bopara’s head.
England’s backward-point had to turn to take the catch over his shoulder, but it was not a difficult chance and thus a disappointing drop.
Hauritz and Hilfenhaus each made 20, a suggestion to England’s openers that batting was not necessarily as nightmarish as many of the Australians had made it look.
And when Hilfenhaus and Siddle then opened the bowling for the Aussies there was only the merest hint of swing – nothing like the lavish movement enjoyed by Onions and Anderson.
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All the same, the Aussies had an ideal start when Alastair Cook lazily drove at a ball outside off-stump he could have easily left in the second over, Manou making an instant impression with a solid wicketkeeper’s catch.
But with Strauss looking in good touch from the off, and Ravi Bopara overcoming a slightly nervy start to hit some scorching drives through the off-side, England recovered to reach tea on 56-1.
Intriguingly, Johnson was relegated behind Hauritz to fourth bowler on the Australian roster, and after tea was replaced by Hilfenhaus at the Pavilion End.
Ponting judged that particular bowling change well, Hilfenhaus putting Bopara in two minds with a teaser outside off-stumps, and the Essex man’s tentative poke deflected the ball into his stumps.
With the scoreboard reading 60-2, there was a bit of a pressure on the recalled Bell to make an impression – and he did not disappoint on his home ground.
Siddle helped him out with a couple of full tosses that were easily put away, and Bell’s confidence looked in good order as he drove Hauritz over mid-on for the landmark maximum.
Strauss reached his fifty with a back-foot punch off the tiring Hilfenhaus for four and followed up with a lovely straight drive off the same bowler.
Bell was given a major lifeline on 18 when umpire Koertzen, who had already infuriated Australian fans at Lord’s with some of his decision-making, denied Johnson’s concerted lbw appeal.
A few balls later, Bell hit a rasping cover-drive to the boundary to exasperate a much-improved Johnson further. Australia might be glad that Koertzen is not officiating at Headingley or The Oval. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Flintoff vows to finish the job
July 20th, 2009 |
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• Relive all the final-day drama with our Lord’s video highlights
• Andrew Strauss hails ‘magnificent’ Flintoff after 115-run win
These are the days where the sporting gods are cruel. They dare to spin dreams and then crush them. First Tom Watson at Turnberry, and Lance Armstrong in the Alps, and now Australia at the English citadel they have made impregnable for the past three-quarters of a century. Australia, who even with innermost turmoils, never ever display anything but the utter conviction of their right to dominate, arrived here today believing they could overturn a century and more of Test history and with an unfeasible run chase to win a match that was unwinnable.
One hundred and five minutes later they were all out for 406, England triumphant by 115 runs, and the dream lay in tatters, blown away by a raging bull called Flintoff, in his Lord’s Test match swansong, and an upstart Swann having the time of his life. Andrew Flintoff rampaged in from the Pavilion end unchanged and unbowed since he took the new ball six overs before the close of play on Sunday. The three wickets he took today, beginning with that of Brad Haddin with his fourth ball and without addition to the score, and ending when he uprooted the stumps of Peter Siddle, gave him morning figures of 10-1-43-3 and five for 92 in all, the third five-wicket haul of his Test career and his first since The Oval against this same opposition four years ago. If he milked each wicket for all it was worth, hamming it up for the crowd, posturing and posing, then this was glorious teeth-jarring fast bowling, not a thing of beauty but driven by brute force and personality.
At one time, Andrew Strauss, sensing his steam running out, and wishing to protect him from himself, tried to suggest he might hand over to another. The captain was forced to hold his hands up in reluctant acceptance of the inevitable: he might as well have tried to stop the tide. Those who know Flintoff understand that the announcement of his retirement from Tests at the end of this series would impel him to greater things and, through him, perhaps the team. It has proved thus. He has earned a place on both bowling and batting honours boards, a double given to very few.
It was Graeme Swann, though, who cleared the passage to the win and then administered the coup de grâce. For more than five hours Michael Clarke had batted sublimely, and now he had the chance to complete one of the finest match-winning innings in history. Jimmy Anderson’s urgent opening burst had been repelled, and now Strauss turned not to another seamer but to Swann, whose Ashes debut jitters in Cardiff had held him back. Clarke had played him beautifully, twinkling feet and deft angles. This time he danced down to the second ball which drifted away from him at the last moment, eluded the outside edge before spinning back to hit off-stump.
The off-spinner kept his nerve at the end, too, when Mitchell Johnson, a bowler in tatters but dangerous batsman with a Test hundred in South Africa and now 63 good runs to his name, had licence to throw the bat in one last effort. Swann fired one in flatter, through the arc of the swing and took out middle. Four for 87 was his reward and proof that off-spin should not just be bowled dogmatically from the Pavilion end: if it spins it will turn up the slope sufficient enough while the same slope will help an armball.
If England leave here with some concerns, and will certainly consider a change for the third Test at Edgbaston in days time – probably in the form of Steve Harmison for Graham Onions – then it is Australia who are in disarray. Their batting is sound, although the manner in which Phillip Hughes has been hounded and harried makes the lack of a third opener in the touring party a concern, sound enough indeed to make 674 for five in Cardiff and 406 in the fourth innings here.
The bowling, though, is a disaster, with Johnson’s timing, an essential ingredient in an unorthodox method, totally out of kilter and his confidence in the basement, while Siddle has huffed and puffed but blown down only Swann’s Cardiff house. They have few places to which to turn with Brett Lee unlikely to play in the game against Northamptonshire that starts on Friday and therefore too high a risk for Edgbaston, and the need to retain Johnson if the lower order is not to be weakened, but to have the option of a fourth seamer should his woes continue. The performance of the all-rounder Shane Watson will be intriguing for he might be pencilled in to replace Marcus North at six and bring a further bowling option.
Hindsight for England says that Harmison would have been a decent pick for this match, his pace and bounce a better option than Onions, who could not quite find the consistency of line and length that can create pressure and bring wickets. He cannot be expected to blast out batsmen. Edgbaston may not offer steepling bounce but no Australian batsman will relish the prospect of Harmison at the top of his game.
Meanwhile, there is the chance now to rest and recuperate: Flintoff his knee, the toss up being whether it is his knee or his gin and tonic which receives the most ice; Kevin Pietersen his achilles tendons that so restricted him in this match; Onions his sore elbow that kept him from the field on the fourth evening. And for Ravi Bopara to reflect that style is no substitute for substance. He has much to learn if No3 is to be his position.
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Swann confident of Lord’s victory
July 19th, 2009 |
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Graeme Swann insists England are still favourites to win the second Test against Australia, despite a fine stand between Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin.
The duo guided the tourists to 313-5, 209 runs adrift of the 522 victory target after a superb unbeaten 185-run fifth-wicket partnership at Lord’s.
But Swann said: "They will have to break a world record to beat us.
"We still have a new ball with Andrew Flintoff roaring in at 90mph and James Anderson swinging it at the other end."
After declaring without adding to their overnight total of 311-6, England – who have not beaten Australia in a Test at Lord’s since 1934 – reduced the tourists to 128-5, with Marcus North the final wicket to fall as he misjudged a Swann arm ball.
But vice-captain Clarke found excellent support from Haddin to record his 11th Test century, ending the day 125 not out, with the wicketkeeper unbeaten on 80.
Although no team has ever scored more than 500 chasing a fourth-innings target in Test cricket, Australia coach Tim Nielsen believes his team can create history.
"I think the only reason no team has chased 521 before is because the game usually does not move as fast as this game has," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"As far as we were concerned it was absolutely, no question, a catch"
Graeme Swann on Phillip Hughes’ dismissal
"At some stage in the future a team will chase down 500 – I hope it’s us on Monday."
However, Swann believes England’s seamers can utilise the overhead conditions to their advantage as they seek the all-important early breakthrough.
"Our bowlers are going to come charging in and do what has happened with the new ball on most days," said Swann, who finished with figures of 2-62.
"Wickets tend to fall in groups, so if we get one then two will be close behind. It wouldn’t be an Ashes Test if it wasn’t nail-bitingly close."
Three of England’s wickets were tinged with controversy after television replays questioned the legitimacy of the dismissals.
Simon Katich appeared to have been caught off a no-ball from Flintoff, while Andrew Strauss looked to have taken a catch on the bounce at first slip to remove Phillip Hughes.
But Swann defended his captain’s right to claim the catch.
"Straussy said he caught it and I was stood at third slip about two metres away and I saw it go straight in," he said.
"As far as we were concerned it was absolutely, no question, a catch.
"These days the word of the fielder doesn’t stand for much. It’s acceptable if the batsman stands his ground, but the umpire (Billy Doctrove) had a clear sight at square leg and gave it out."
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Swann was also involved in the third controversial wicket when Mike Hussey was caught at slip by Paul Collingwood, although replays suggested there was no contact with the bat when the ball spun sharply in the footmarks.
"It was the sound, deviation and that fact it went to slip – and the sheer excitement of getting one past the bat after Cardiff," said the 30-year-old.
"If it didn’t hit his edge then unlikely to Huss, who is a good mate of mine, I’m sure he didn’t deserve that. But as far as we were concerned it was a legitimate catch."
Nielsen paid tribute to Clarke, whose innings featured 13 boundaries from 198 deliveries.
"Michael talks regularly about if Punter misses out, then he’s the one that has to stand up and lead the batting side of things," he added.
"That’s his 11th Test match hundred, so he’s up into double figures and he was supported very well by Brad.
"He hasn’t played a huge amount of Test cricket but he’s a good thinker of the game and he showed that by playing a nice, positive support role.
"The big challenge will be tomorrow morning to set us up again and if we get started, we have still got a good chance of winning this game."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Clarke and Haddin hold up England
July 19th, 2009 |
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Second Ashes Test, Lord’s (day four, close):
England 425 & 311-6 dec v Australia 215 & 313-5
Match scorecard
By Oliver Brett
BBC Sport at Lord’s
A superb marathon stand between Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin kept England frustrated as the home side chased victory in the second Ashes Test.
Andrew Strauss’ men seemed poised to go 1-0 up against Australia with a day to spare when Marcus North was bowled by Graeme Swann in the first hour of the afternoon session on Sunday.
At that stage, England needed just five further wickets to win. But Clarke (125 not out) batted for four and a quarter hours and Haddin (80 not out) for more than three.
And when the last 11 overs were lost to bad light, Australia were 313-5, needing another 209 to pull off what would be an extraordinary victory.
Following a short, heavy shower just before the scheduled start, play was delayed by 15 minutes. Strauss declared England’s innings on their overnight 311-6 which left an astronomic target of 522 for Australia to chase down.
Two debatable wickets for Andrew Flintoff in the first 10 overs left Australia in dreadful shape and England confidently scenting further success.
First, Simon Katich felt for a ball he might have ignored outside off stump and edged to Kevin Pietersen, one of two gullys posted. But replays later showed that Flintoff had marginally overstepped the crease – so umpire Rudi Koertzen should have called no-ball.
Phillip Hughes was uncharacteristically dropped by Flintoff at second slip off the immaculate James Anderson, but he failed to make England pay.
Flintoff, in the middle of a furious spell of 2-9 in seven overs, pitched another ball in the perfect area for testing a left-hander’s defences, and the edge travelled low to Strauss at first slip.
Strauss claimed the catch, Hughes lingered at the crease and was told by Ponting to stay where he was. Now, standing umpire Koertzen asked his counterpart at square-leg, Billy Doctrove, whether the edge had carried – and the West Indian said yes it had.
In the circumstances, Koertzen could no longer refer the appeal to the third umpire, though if he had done Jeremy Lloyds would have seen pictures that were inconclusive as to whether the catch was a fair one or not. In such an event, Hughes would have probably been reprieved.
From 34-2, Ponting and Michael Hussey did their best to weather the storm, though neither man ever looked particularly secure. Even when the support seamers, Graham Onions and Stuart Broad, came on, the batsmen were frequently beaten or hit on the pads.
Lunch came with Australia 76-2 from 22 overs, and Ponting departed early in a cold, dank afternoon session. Trying to thump Broad off the back foot through the covers he succeeded only in chopping onto his stumps.
Broad celebrated maniacally, the Lord’s crowd – though slightly depleted by those on late lunches – simultaneously roared its approval and despite the leaden, ominous skies the odds seemed to favour an England win with a day to spare.
That impression only intensified when Hussey and Marcus North both fell to Swann in the space of six overs, though Hussey did not appear to nick the ball that was sharply taken by Paul Collingwood at slip.
North was comprehensively bowled through the gate. Nevertheless, Australia would have been entitled to feel hard done by given that three of their first four dismissals were shrouded in controversy.
The rest of the day belonged entirely to the tourists.
Clarke, who had come in at the fall of Ponting’s wicket, was the only Australian batsman who played with a degree of comfort from the start. Though he was about two inches away from being bowled by Broad’s first ball, he subsequently raced along with some fine drives through the off side.
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Flintoff produced another aggressive spell from the Pavilion End and was unlucky not to remove Haddin in an over in which the Aussie wicketkeeper almost gloved to Matt Prior and then edged through the vacant third slip area.
Clarke’s 58-ball half century finally gave the Australian fans something to cheer about and suddenly England were searching for wickets when before they had fallen into their lap.
By tea, the score was 178-5 and as the final session started both batsmen made patient, serene progress. As England counted down the overs to the second new ball, Swann and Collingwood – neither looking likely to create a breakthrough – were the men entrusted with the bowling.
One ball after Haddin had cut Swann for a single to reach 50, Clarke – whose second 50 had occupied 101 deliveries – flicked the spinner through midwicket for his 11th Test ton.
Finally, as the floodlights flickered into action, the second new ball was taken just before 1800 BST with 18 overs still left in the day.
But there was no immediate reward for Anderson and Flintoff, though a couple of edges off each batsman flew tantalisingly just out of reach.
Monday, which will begin with the new ball only six overs old, will be a tense occasion for both teams. The draw looks out of the equation, but although the odds still favour an England win, nothing will be taken for granted.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Inexperienced Australian team was overawed by playing at Lord’’s: Haddin
July 17th, 2009 |
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Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has admitted that an inexperienced Australian team was overawed by playing at Lord’’s on the opening day of the second Ashes Test.
With just three players in the team having been on an Ashes tour before and none of the bowlers ever playing an Ashes Test, Australia’’s attack had a terrible [...]
Inexperienced Australian team was overawed by playing at Lord’’s: Haddin
July 17th, 2009 |
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Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has admitted that an inexperienced Australian team was overawed by playing at Lord’’s on the opening day of the second Ashes Test.
With just three players in the team having been on an Ashes tour before and none of the bowlers ever playing an Ashes Test, Australia’’s attack had a terrible [...]
Oz batsmen move up Reliance Mobile ICC player rankings
July 13th, 2009 |
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Australia’s batsmen are on the move in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen with three of them achieving career-best rankings after a nail-biting finish in the first Ashes Test against England at Cardiff.
Opener Simon Katich, middle-order batsmen Marcus North and wicket-keeper Brad Haddin all scored centuries to help Australia declare its first innings at [...]
Defiant England cling on for draw
July 12th, 2009 |
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First Ashes Test, Cardiff (day five:
England 435 & 252-9 drew with Australia 674-6 declared
Match scorecard
By Oliver Brett
England’s last-wicket pair James Anderson and Monty Panesar defied Australia for 40 minutes to clinch a draw in the first Ashes Test.
Amid scenes of high tension in Cardiff, and with every dot ball roared by a capacity crowd, England somehow kept Australia’s spinners at bay.
Paul Collingwood hit a valiant 74 after England, 20-2 overnight, had lost three further wickets inside 90 minutes.
Australia seemed certain winners then, but somehow England clung on.
Collingwood’s innings lasted 245 balls, five and three quarter hours in all. It was an innings of grisly determination, which put the efforts of other players in the top order sharply into perspective.
But with 50 minutes to go in the match, and England still a tantalising six runs away from making Australia bat again, the Durham man played probably his first slightly risky shot.
Attempting to steer Siddle wide of point he instead hit it high to backward point, where Michael Hussey parried a catch above his head, before taking it – agonisingly – at the second opportunity.
It seemed now, with Panesar coming out to join Anderson, that England would lose in heart-breaking fashion. But the last man refused to be an easy target, and when Anderson squirted Siddle down to third man for four, England had a precious lead.
Significantly, that meant England did not have to bat until the 1850 BST cut-off. They just had to get past 1840, which meant facing around three overs fewer.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who seemed to underbowl his hugely impressive swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus, gave the final few overs to the two off-spinners Nathan Hauritz and Marcus North.
But Hauritz, though he had bowled brilliantly earlier in the day, taking three significant wickets, was by now tired and North was not a danger to two vastly improved tail-enders.
When the clock ticked past 1840 BST, it was clear that Hauritz was bowling the last over. Anderson survived his 53rd delivery – Panesar had hung around for 35 – and the ground roared as one to salute a famous result.
More to follow.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Australia charge thwarted by rain
July 11th, 2009 |
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First Ashes Test, Cardiff (day four, stumps):
England 435 & 20-2 v Australia 674-6d
Coverage: Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave, Red Button and BBC Sport website, plus live text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles. Live on Sky Sports
Match scorecard
By David Ornstein
England face a fight to save the first Ashes Test after being dominated by Australia on day four in Cardiff.
Marcus North (125no) and Brad Haddin (121) both crafted superb centuries as the tourists posted 674-6 declared – a first-innings lead of 239 runs.
England’s situation then worsened when Mitchell Johnson trapped Alastair Cook lbw for six and Ravi Bopara fell in the same manner to Ben Hilfenhaus for one.
The hosts were 20-2 – 219 runs behind – when rain forced an early finish.
Australia should be delighted with their position going into day five and will be confident of taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
While England would have been relieved to see the heavens open just as tea was taken, they still face an uphill battle to avoid defeat as the forecast for the final day is fair.
Captain Andrew Strauss (6no) and his predecessor Kevin Pietersen (3no) will return to the crease on Sunday morning hoping to build a solid partnership and help their side to safety.
The weather was always expected to play a part but, despite forecasts of morning showers, day four got under way as scheduled at 1100 BST.
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Conditions were fairly muggy with a heavy covering of cloud overhead, which should have enabled England to get the ball swinging as they went in search of early wickets.
But there seemed a general lack of urgency about the hosts and Australia, who resumed on 479-5, were able to ease through the opening exchanges.
Haddin, four not out overnight, would have expected an uncomfortable start, but he received nothing of the sort – clipping, hooking and driving Stuart Broad for three effortless boundaries to calm any nerves.
At the other end, North was allowed to get his eye in all too comfortably and, from an overnight score of 54, the left-hander pushed on towards three figures with little trouble.
Andrew Flintoff, England’s principal pace threat, was not introduced until the 11th over of the morning session but by that point the batsmen had settled into a nice rhythm.
The all-spin combination of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann did cause problems – both beat the outside edge and Swann had a decent lbw shout against Haddin correctly rejected by Aleem Dar – yet they could not dissuade Strauss from taking the third new ball three overs before lunch.
Flintoff and Anderson were restored to the attack as England went in desperate search of a pre-interval breakthrough, but the move backfired as North and Haddin punished some wayward new-ball bowling.
North guided Anderson behind point to record a richly-deserved century – the Western Australia captain has now scored tons on both his Test and Ashes debuts – and Haddin took a quick single off Flintoff to pass 50.
Australia reached lunch on 577-5, a lead of 142 runs, and after the re-start they put England to the sword.
Haddin was their destroyer-in-chief and signalled his intent by hitting cutting, edging and flicking three successive Anderson deliveries to the rope.
The 31-year-old New South Wales wicketkeeper was treating England with utter disdain and closed in on his second Test century with towering sixes off Swann and Panesar.
When he flicked Paul Collingwood to fine leg to reach 100 it was the first time Australia had hit four tons in an Ashes innings.
Strauss must have been praying for rain but if anything the skies began to clear and Haddin’s assault continued as Collingwood was dispatched for a couple more leg side fours and another six.
He eventually holed out to Ravi Bopara at deep midwicket – ending a 200-run partnership with fellow Ashes debutant North – but the damage had already been done and Australia captain Ricky Ponting called his men in.
It was Australia’s highest total against England since being dismissed for 701 in 1934 at The Oval and their fourth highest ever in the Ashes.
Just 25 minutes remained before tea and it was critical for England to reach the break unscathed, but they failed miserably.
As the light deteriorated and the floodlights came on for the second time in the match, Cook played across a full-length delivery from Johnson and Bopara was trapped attempting to flick Hilfenhaus to leg.
Luckily for England the rain then arrived, but for a third day running the spoils belonged to Australia.</p
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England’s struggle interrupted by rain
July 11th, 2009 |
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England 435 and 20-2, Australia 674-6dec
The gloom that had descended over Sophia Gardens by tea-time can only have been matched by that in the England dressing room. Faced with a monumental total, the like of which the Australians have never before come close to matching as an entrée into an Ashes series, they required 239 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
The early exit of Alastair Cook, palpably leg before wicket to Mitchell Johnson in the fifth over of the innings as he played around his front pad, was not the start they were looking for. Next to go, eight balls later in the following over, was Ravi Bopara, also lbw, to Ben Hilfenhaus as he tried to work a straight ball crookedly to midwicket. If it was an inept shot – a touch too flashy for comfort: had he not watched Ricky Ponting for hour after hour? – then it was an even more inept decision by Billy Doctrove, the ball destined to pass a distance over the top of the stumps. At 20 for two, it looks as if even rain, which arrived on cue, cannot save England.
The Australian innings was relentless. No wicket had fallen during the morning session, nor seemed likely to, and during the afternoon Marcus North and Brad Haddin were able to continue their dissection of the England bowling, the stately progress of earlier replaced by a late romp as Ponting sensed the impending bad weather and the chance to make a statement before it arrived.
Haddin in particular came out of his self-imposed shell, using just 48 deliveries to go from his half century to his second Test hundred. By the time he was well caught by Bopara, in the furthestmost corner of the ground as he hoiked Paul Collingwood away, he had made 121, with 11 fours and three sixes. Ponting promptly called off the humiliation, leaving North unbeaten on 125. The sixth wicket had produced exactly 200, Australia’s 674 for five the highest total made by them against England in the last 75 years, and their fourth highest ever against them.
Once, in 1955, five Australian batsmen made hundreds in a single innings against West Indies, but never had there been four by them until Haddin clipped the single that took him to three figures. No one previously had made four in an innings against England. They really do know how to hit so that it hurts.
Click here for a full Test scorecard from the Swalec Stadium, here for Mike Selvey’s morning report and here for his day three audio report. For other news, features, comment, video, audio, Hawk-Eye and more, visit our dedicated Ashes site
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England must dig deep – Anderson
July 10th, 2009 |
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James Anderson says England must polish off Australia’s lower order and then produce a strong second innings batting performance on day four in Cardiff.
Day three of the first Ashes Test finished with Australia 44 runs ahead on 479-5.
"It was tough for us but at least I managed to get a couple of wickets," said Lancashire paceman Anderson.
"We haven’t bowled consistently well enough in this game and we need to be quite aggressive in the morning."
The weather could have quite a say in the match on Saturday, with rain forecast.
On Friday, England took no wickets between lunch and tea as Michael Clarke and Marcus North virtually batted the home side out of contention.
But Clarke was among those to describe the pitch as a good one for batsmen.
"The wicket’s nice and very good to bat on," said the Australian, who fell late in the day for 83, becoming the first dismissal under floodlights in Test cricket in Britain.
TOM FORDYCE BLOG
"Hopefully the rain can stay away on Saturday and we can go on and get a good lead. If we can get a bit of sunshine, with no rain, then come day five the wicket might really turn for us.
"Hopefully we can make England bat last on that wicket."
Anderson said he felt an improvement in his own performance.
"I bowled a lot better this morning. On Thursday I didn’t hit my straps and didn’t have much rhythm. But all credit to them, they played very well in the middle session and made it very difficult for us to bowl at them.
"But we know what to do in the morning. It’s still a good pitch, the guys have all got in in the first innings, the pace is quite slow and hopefully we can put a big score on."
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Michael Clarke piles on the pain
July 10th, 2009 |
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England 445; Australia 479-5
It was a silent crowd that wended its way along the banks of the Taff, through Sophia Gardens, thismorning. Gone, from those not sporting the green and gold favours of Australia, was the chatter and the anticipation of a good day to come, and it had been replaced by a sullen gloom. They might have been going to a wake.
For a brief while in the morning, while the second ball was new and there was something in the air and off the pitch, the spirits were lifted. Simon Katich went for 122 to end a second-wicket partnership of 239 with Ricky Ponting, and so too did Mike Hussey for a bargain-basement price. Both fell to James Anderson. And then Ponting went as well, for 150, chopping Monty Panesar on to his stumps with the only duff shot he played in five and a quarter hours. Three wickets for 32 runs in the space of 10 overs represented a fair return for a more spirited England effort and with Australia’s first-innings deficit still 104, there was a glimmer of hope for Andrew Strauss.
There, though, the feelgood factor ended. Michael Clarke and Marcus North, run-scorers in the warm-up match at Worcester and nicely in tune as a result, landed another right-left combination punch during the afternoon. They batted their way through to tea and beyond, until rain showers interrupted proceedings with the fifth-wicket stand worth 132. After the rain-break Clarke was caught behind by Matt Prior off Stuart Broad for 83 but Australia, 44 runs ahead when the teams finally trudged off , still have this match by the scruff.
If England were to force their way back into the match, it had to be with the advent of the second new ball, available to them after nine overs of the morning. For all the dominance of Ponting and Katich on day two, Australia were still 186 runs adrift when play began. Games can turn on a single, inspirational spell of bowling.
If Anderson’s first efforts with the new ball were off beam as he strained too hard, perhaps, then just as suddenly he began to find his rhythm. With it came movement. Katich, who could have claimed squatter’s rights on his off stump, so immovable did he seem from the vicinity, suddenly found a fast yorker swerving into him to elude his bat and strike him full on the toe. Billy Doctrove thought about it, as if to give a hint that the spirit of Steve Bucknor is dead, but raised his finger nonetheless.
The England celebrations were of relief as much as joy and in an instant there was a spring in the collective step that had not been evident before. At the other end, Andrew Flintoff had begun his day with a wide every bit as preposterous as that propelled so infamously by his best mate, Steve Harmison, in Australia last time out, but now he began to rumble in, five and a half ounces of ball hitting the bat as if five and a half pounds. Yet it was Anderson who took a second wicket, this time of Hussey, who like North came into the match with a confidence-boosting hundred to offset memories of a career that has plummeted since a prolific start. But he had made just three runs when he nibbled outside off stump as Anderson slanted the ball across him and Prior took the low catch.
Four overs later, the prized wicket of Ponting went to Panesar. The second day had not seen a happy England return for the Northamptonshire spinner, who was unable to find the right pace for the pitch, too readily dragging the ball down to be cut to ribbons. Today Ponting recognised the need to unsettle him once more. Panesar’s fifth delivery was short, if only fractionally, but this time Ponting’s forcing shot was mistimed, the inside edge deflecting on to his stumps.
If the Australian captain was furious with himself for an indiscretion, then he had produced a batting master class – scarcely a sweep, no extravagance and just one shot lifted from the turf. That one, a hook as Flintoff dropped a no-ball short, flew over the head of Panesar at fine leg for six. It was the sort of display that should be compulsory viewing for all aspiring batsmen, even those in the England dressing room unable to grasp that the simple things often work best.
For England that was as good as it got. The ball got softer, movement ceased, the pitch reverted to a nature as sluggish as the river beyond the boundary and batting became easier once more. Clarke and North, in reaching 74 and 51 respectively by the time the rain came, played with a freedom that Katich and Ponting had denied themselves. Only one bowler, Paul Collingwood, threatened, his medium pace cutters gripping and ripping. Don Shepherd, the pride of Glamorgan, might have been unplayable.
There is some mystery surrounding the condition of Anderson, however. After lunch, he reappeared for five minutes and then left the field, not to return for a further half hour or more. Officially, there was nothing wrong with him, which begs the question of why the umpires allowed him off in the first place. Then it was said that he had been taking on fluids, as if this was Colombo and he a camel. You do not leave the field specifically to take on fluids and especially not after a 40-minute lunch break. If, as seems likely, he is carrying an injury, a bit more honesty would be helpful.
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Clarke & North make England toil
July 10th, 2009 |
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First Ashes Test, Cardiff (day three, stumps):
England 435 v Australia 479-5
Coverage: Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave, Red Button and BBC Sport website, plus live text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles. Live on Sky Sports
Match scorecard
By Oliver Brett
Australia maintained their solid position on day three in Cardiff, leading England by 44 runs with five wickets in hand in the first Test.
Rain knocked 22 overs off the day’s play, leaving the Aussies on 479-5 after an historic late-evening session played under floodlights.
Three wickets did fall in the morning, Australia going to lunch on 348-4 from an overnight position of 249-1.
But Michael Clarke (83) and Marcus North (54) then put on 143 in 42 overs.
The left-handed North batted calmly and patiently on his Ashes debut, and will be there again on Saturday morning after facing 131 balls thus far.
Clarke showed his acumen against spin and was generally unperturbed against the seamers too as he played a more positive role.
TOM FORDYCE BLOGTom reports from Cardiff
But late in the day he was surprised by a Stuart Broad bouncer which he gloved behind as he attempted a pull, leaving him just shy of a first Test century in England in his sixth appearance.
While Friday’s rain was largely unexpected, further heavy showers are forecast from around noon on Saturday – so the odds favour a draw despite Australia’s dominant position.
However England, whose chances of going 1-0 up with four to play appear to have completely evaporated, may yet find themselves battling to avoid defeat on the final day.
Friday dawned brightly in south Wales, with Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich resuming their marathon partnership.
Aussie skipper Ponting soon advanced his score with two boundaries, flogging a Monty Panesar long-hop through the covers and driving a Graeme Swann full toss down the ground.
Katich leant into a cover-drive off Panesar for his first boundary of the morning, and followed up with a square-cut off Swann that sped to the ropes. Australia were quickly re-establishing their dominance.
Nine overs into the day the second new ball became available and the scoring remained rapid, although Ponting had a bit of good fortune when steering an Anderson ball just wide of Kevin Pietersen in the gully at catchable height.
Finally, the stand was ended by James Anderson, Katich falling lbw for 122 to a yorker-length ball from Anderson that actually swung, unlike anything sent down by England on day two. Katich and Ponting had been together for 70 overs, adding 239.
Flintoff was bowling extremely quickly and his bouncers were not played with any ease by either Ponting or the new man Michael Hussey. Ponting top-edged one hook just over Panesar at fine-leg for the first six of the series, though it was a no-ball, and both men received painful blows.
But it was Anderson who picked up the second wicket of the morning, persuading Hussey to drive outside off-stump, the left-hander tickling an easy catch to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
Skipper Ponting continued to make progress, until Panesar picked up his first Test wicket since the Trinidad Test in March, the slow left-armer’s fifth ball of a new spell providing the biggest prize of the day.
Ponting, on 150, could only get a bottom-edge to crash into his stumps as he attempted a cut shot, and at lunch Australia were still 87 runs behind and perhaps no longer targeting the sort of huge score that had been in their sights at the start of play.
But the session between lunch and tea in this Test has proved a graveyard shift for the bowlers – and so it proved once again with not a wicket to be had. In three days just one man has been dismissed in the middle session – Phillip Hughes on day two.
North got off the mark with a crisp on-drive for four off Broad, who was also cover-driven elegantly by Clarke. Frankly, Broad was not much of a threat but Andrew Strauss persisted with him.
At the other end Panesar had his moments, but Clarke hit him for an effortless straight six, and when Swann came on another fine drive, this time for four, brought Clarke his half-century.
North, patient against the seamers, started to play freely against the spinners and when Clarke pulled Flintoff powerly to the midwicket fence Australia moved into the lead.
At tea the Aussies were sitting very prettily indeed on 458-4, with Clarke on 70 and North on 50, but just three overs and five runs later the rain came down.
It took nearly two hours to get the players back out again, whereupon Clarke punched an exquisite back-foot drive off Flintoff to the extra-cover boundary.
Six overs were played under the Cardiff lights – it was the first time a Test match in Britain had been artificially lit – and while North continued to accumulate tidily, England had the consolation of removing a very dangerous-looking Clarke.
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