AUSTRALIA vs ENGLAND At Adelaide
The Ashes
2nd Test, Day 1
England would be wanting to reverse the result from the first Ashes test with a win here. Australia would likely go into this match unchanged but England might make a few changes for this match. We'll have to wait and see though. The pitch is looking pretty good, might be some spin later on as there was in Brisbane but it looks like a good batting pitch so I would be batting first if I won the toss. Speaking of the toss, let's go down to the middle where the 2 skippers are waiting. Katich tosses the coin, Strauss calls head and it is a tails. Katich has won the toss and elected to bat first. Now we'll have a look at the team sheets. Australia have gone in unchanged while Alastair Cook has been dropped down to 6, Collingwood has been dropped and Eoin Morgan will open the batting with Andrew Strauss.
Australia
Simon Katich (c)
Shane Watson
Usman Khawaja
Michael Hussey
Michael Clarke
Callum Ferguson
Brad Haddin (wk)
Nathan Hauritz
Ben Hilfenhaus
Josh Hazlewood
Doug Bollinger
England
Andrew Strauss (c)
Eoin Morgan
Jonathan Trott
Kevin Pietersen
Ian Bell
Alastair Cook
Matt Prior (wk)
Graeme Swann
James Anderson
Chris Tremlett
Steven Finn
Katich and Watson were at the crease and wanting to make a big score. Anderson opened the bowling and was a bit loose with his second ball, as Katich cut it away for 4. It was a good start for the Aussies as they scored 26 runs without loss from the first 5 overs. They started to slow down after that though as the English bowlers bowled a few maidens to decrease the RR but they hadn't taken a wicket in the first 20 overs. Australia got away at the end of the session adding 22 runs in the last 4 overs of the session to go into lunch at 78/0, Watson 48* and Katich 27*. Swann had been the pick of the bowlers, bowling 5 overs for 9 runs, including a boundary off the last ball of the session.
It only took 3 balls after lunch for Watson to bring up his fifty, and kept going along nicely while Katich moved along slowly. Watson couldn't go on and make a big century though, as Finn got the edge and Prior did the rest, Watson caught behind for 64 coming off 132 balls and Australia were 108/1. Katich started to get going, not wanting to put pressure on the young batsman, Khawaja and got to fifty, coming off 154 balls. 3 boundaries off his next 13 balls might have put the pressure off Khawaja but he felt the need to get going as well, and mistimed a drive, in the air straight to Eoin Morgan at short cover and he was out for 20, Finn taking his second wicket. They had no other casualties before tea though and were 172/2, going into the final session of the day.
Katich had battled well throughout the whole day and probably deserved to score a century, but the extra bounce generated from Tremlett got him, as the ball hit the shoulder of the bat and went straight to Strauss at slip who juggled it but held on to remove Katich for 89, 11 runs short of a great century. Clarke started off nicely, running away to 22 off 28 balls as Australia moved to 248/3, Hussey also going well on 33* but they didn't want to lose any more wickets. They frustrated the English bowlers though late in the day, and Hussey brought up his fifty off Jonathan Trott with a boundary and now they only had to survive 4 overs. England brought on Pietersen late in the day hoping for a wicket but Clarke took to him, hitting him for 4 boundaries in a row to bring up his fifty but nearly got himself out next ball, when he missed a sweep shot which hit him on the pads. The decision was turned down by the umpire but England decided to review it, more out of frustration than anything and the ball hit Clarke well outside the line so it was a wasted referral for the English. They got through to the end of the day though, finishing 306/3 with Clarke on 50* off 69 while Hussey was heading towards his second Ashes century of the series on 63*. Finn had been the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets but none of them really bowled that well. Here were the English bowling figures before we leave. We hope you'll join us for tomorrow's action.
James Anderson - 0/44 (10)
Steven Finn - 2/67 (18)
Jonathan Trott - 0/81 (16)
Chris Tremlett - 1/41 (18)
Kevin Pietersen - 0/27 (7)
Graeme Swann - 0/39 (21)
The English are already panicking! Opening with Morgan is simply crazy when you've got the world class Alastair Cook at no. 6 - Cook either opens or if he's so badly out of touch he shouldn't play.
And even more desperate was the bowling plan - why only give Jimmy 10 overs when the alternatives were to unleash the bowling prowess of Trott and Pietersen on the opposition. Predictably they went wicketless.
To be frank, at 1-0 down and after today's play, England will be pushing the proverbial shitup hill for this game, and the rest of the series.
The Australian batsmen have made a very steady start here. The opening pair between Watson and Katich has worked well for them all summer. England brought in a few surprise bowlers in Trott and Pietersen, but no wicket could fall as Australia take a demanding lead already.
Australians team dominated the 1st day of the 2nd ashes test. England team is clearly under pressure, opening with Morgan, Trott and Pietersen been given the ball. Katich was unlucky to miss out on a century but Hussey to reach to his century!
What was Strauss smoking the night before, opening the batting with Morgan, and giving Trott and Pietersen 25 overs between them on the first day of a test match.
Australia are in complete control ATM, anything over 500 will more than likely be a match winning total, so England probably need seven wickets in the morning session tomorrow, if they're going to stay in the match and the series.
English obviously going to go and try they best but Australia will be thinking they're gonna win it, so it's who turns up on the day, who controls their nerves and who can play their best cricket on the day.
AUSTRALIA vs ENGLAND At Adelaide
The Ashes
2nd Test, Day 2
Both Hussey and Clarke would have wanted to push on for a century here on the second day to really give Australia the best chance of winning. England needed quick wickets though to keep themselves in the match. Strauss made an extreme move though early in the day to bring Kevin Pietersen on to bowl the first over. Hussey didn't have any trouble playing it out for a maiden though and Finn came on from the other end. Swann replaced Pietersen after his one only over and was quick to strike, Hussey going at him in Swann's second over but didn't get much on it as he hit it high in the air, where Steven Finn got under it at mid on and took the catch. Ferguson came to the crease and looked cautious early in his innings, scoring 2 boundaries as he made his way to 12 off 34 balls. He needed to up the pace though. Clarke really needed a big score but it didn't help him when he chipped the ball straight back to Anderson who took it cleanly on his follow through and Clarke was on his way for 63. Haddin wasn't sticking around though as he raced to 12 off only 10 balls. Both batsman slowed down after that as Australia went into the lunch break at 366/5.
Ferguson and Haddin didn't seem to want to do any running though as they came out for the second session as they hit 4 boundaries in the first 4 overs of the session but not one single. Haddin was unfortunate though when he got a peach of a delivery from Tremlett, a full ball getting a bit of seam movement as Haddin couldn't do much to prevent it from hitting the top of the leg stump and he was on his way for 27. Hauritz was looking to attack and hit his third delivery through the covers for 4 but got out the next ball, as he tried to force the runs again but only managed in snicking Tremlett straight to Strauss at second slip. Hilfenhaus didn't do much at the start of his innings only scoring 1 off his first 13 deliveries but then he went on a rampage, hitting Finn for 3 boundaries in an over. Ferguson and Hilfenhaus continued to build on the strong partnership before Hilfenhaus finally miscued his shot only for it to pop up to Finn at mid wicket and Anderson had his second wicket. Ferguson brought up his fifty a few overs later, although coming off 165 balls. Australia went into the tea break at 453/8, Ferguson 56* and Hazlewood 9* but would Australia be looking to declare soon.
Hazlewood had frustrated the English bowlers as he moved to 19 but it was Swann who finally got him, Hazlewood trying to slog a loopy ball but missed it completely and was comprehensively bowled. Bollinger then added to England's woes as he scored 11 runs before Australia finally declared on 493/9, Ferguson finishing on 73*, a solid effort from the young talented batsman. The pick of the bowlers would have had to have been Chris Tremlett who took 3/86 with 10 maidens from his 32 overs. Here was Australias scorecard.
Code:
AUSTRALIA 1st innings
Player Status Runs Blls 4s 6s S/R
Simon Katich c. Strauss b. Tremlett 89 219 18 0 40.6%
Shane Watson c. Prior b. Finn 64 132 15 0 48.5%
Usman Khawaja c. Morgan b. Finn 20 40 3 0 50.0%
Michael Hussey c. Finn b. Swann 68 105 13 0 64.8%
Michael Clarke c & b. Anderson 63 115 14 0 54.8%
Callum Ferguson not out 73 232 14 0 31.5%
Brad Haddin b. Tremlett 27 56 5 0 48.2%
Nathan Hauritz c. Strauss b. Tremlett 4 4 1 0 100.0%
Ben Hilfenhaus c. Finn b. Anderson 29 51 6 0 56.9%
Josh Hazlewood b. Swann 19 36 3 0 52.8%
Doug Bollinger not out 11 25 1 0 44.0%
Total: 493/9 Overs: 167.3 Run Rate: 2.94 Extras: 26
Day 2 4:11 PM
INNINGS DECLARED
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AUSTRALIA Partnerships
Batsmen Runs (Balls)
S Katich S Watson ??????????????????????????????????? 108 (246)
S Katich U Khawaja ???????????????? 51 (88)
S Katich M Hussey ????????????????? 55 (96)
M Clarke M Hussey ???????????????????????????????? 99 (137)
M Clarke C Ferguson ???????? 27 (74)
B Haddin C Ferguson ????????????? 42 (117)
N Hauritz C Ferguson ? 4 (4)
Hilfenhaus C Ferguson ??????????????? 48 (103)
Hazlewood C Ferguson ??????????? 34 (70)
Bollinger C Ferguson ???????? 25 (70)
Fall of Wickets 108/1 159/2 214/3 313/4 340/5
382/6 386/7 434/8 468/9
Total: 493/9 Overs: 167.3 Run Rate: 2.94 Extras: 26
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ENGLAND Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts E/R Wds NBs
James Anderson 22.0 6 70 2 3.18 3 1
Steven Finn 32.0 3 119 2 3.72 1 1
Jonathan Trott 28.0 5 110 0 3.93 0 1
Chris Tremlett 32.0 10 86 3 2.69 0 2
Kevin Pietersen 16.0 8 42 0 2.63 1 0
Graeme Swann 37.3 13 56 2 1.49 5 1
Australia had a little over 10 overs to make an impact on day 2 but Strauss and Morgan would have been wanting to make sure that didn't happen. Strauss did look to survive at the start of the innings, and ended up being his downfall as he got a very good short ball from Hilfenhaus and the English skipper was uncomfortable in playing it and only succeeding in giving a tough chance for Katich in at short leg but he wasn't going to let it go, as he pulled off a blinder and Katich was ecstatic to get his opposing skipper out, Strauss out for 1. Morgan and Trott looked solid though as they finished the day at 27/1, Morgan 16*, Trott 7*. Here was the scorecard and bowling figures.
Code:
ENGLAND 1st innings
Player Status Runs Blls 4s 6s S/R
Andrew Strauss c. Katich b. Hilfenhaus 1 13 0 0 7.7%
Eoin Morgan not out 16 36 2 0 44.4%
Jonathan Trott not out 7 29 1 0 24.1%
Total: 27/1 Overs: 13.0 Run Rate: 2.08 Extras: 3
That's an attractive scorecard the Aussies have produced here. Nearly every player was able to make a solid contribution wether it be Katich at the top of the order, or wether it is Hilfenhaus scoring 3 boundaries in quick concession.
AUSTRALIA vs ENGLAND At Adelaide
The Ashes
2nd Test, Day 3
It wasn't going to be easy for England, already 1 down and still over 450 runs behind. Morgan and Trott both looked good at the start of the day but the partnership only lasted about 10 overs before Morgan edged Watson to Khawaja who took a good low catch at second slip. Trott started to hit some boundaries after that as he brought up his fifty off 97 balls, with still about 5 overs to go before lunch, with Pietersen going along nicely at the other end. They went onto the attack further before lunch but played the final over out for a maiden as they went into the break at 146/2, Trott 66* and Pietersen 41* off only 57 balls.
The 2 continued well after lunch, as Pietersen brought up his fifty shortly after and both continued onwards although a bit slower than normal. Australia were looking like they would go wicketless in the second session but Trott was struck in front of the wicket by Hilfenhaus and he was given out for 90, off 177 balls. He reviewed the decision but it was still hitting the stumps and he had to go. There were no more casualties for England before tea though as Pietersen was working his way towards a century, on 74*, England at 226/3.
Bell only added 4 more runs after lunch before he managed to get an inside edge onto his pad off Hauritz which was snatched up by Katich in at short leg and Bell was on his way for 22, Hauritz taking his first wicket and England 242/4. The bowlers kept it tight in the next 5 overs, and Pietersen fell to the pressure, trying to slog sweep Nathan Hauritz but a top edge went up in the air and it did look like it had enough on it but Khawaja running back from square leg took a screamer of a catch to dismiss Pietersen for 85, Khawaja with his second catch of the innings and Hauritz with his second wicket. It got even worse for England when Cook tried to drive Hazlewood through the offside but hit it uppishly where Ferguson took a nice catch in at short cover and Cook was on his way for only 1, England in deep trouble at 249/6. The Aussies would have wanted a couple more wickets before the end of the day but Prior and Swann showed good resistance to bat out the day, England finishing on 298/6, the deficit now 195 as they had avoided the follow on. Hilfenhaus and Hauritz had 2 wickets a piece and Watson and Hazlewood also had one each as Bollinger had still failed to get his name onto the scoresheet. Here was the scorecard and bowling figures at the end of the day.
Code:
ENGLAND 1st innings
Player Status Runs Blls 4s 6s S/R
Andrew Strauss c. Katich b. Hilfenhaus 1 13 0 0 7.7%
Eoin Morgan c. Khawaja b. Watson 30 74 5 0 40.5%
Jonathan Trott lbw b. Hilfenhaus 90 177 20 0 50.8%
Kevin Pietersen c. Khawaja b. Hauritz 85 184 16 0 46.2%
Ian Bell c. Katich b. Hauritz 22 45 5 0 48.9%
Alastair Cook c. Ferguson b. Hazlewood 1 18 0 0 5.6%
Matt Prior not out 37 55 8 0 67.3%
Graeme Swann not out 17 52 4 1 32.7%
Total: 298/6 Overs: 103.0 Run Rate: 2.89 Extras: 15
I love it how Khawaja has brought some light into the Australian field. He is quick and very energetic, hence the reason he took those 2 catches. England are in trouble here and the Aussies bowlers are on top.
AUSTRALIA vs ENGLAND At Adelaide
The Ashes
2nd Test, Day 4
Well England still had a long way to go in saving the match, but they had managed to avoid the follow on. Hazlewood started proceedings for the day by bowling the first over, and Swann showed a liking first ball hammering the ball over mid wicket for 6, before hitting another boundary a couple of balls later and 10 runs were scored in the over. Hauritz was given the ball from the other end and Swann had no idea, inside edging down to Katich at short leg who took another good catch and Hauritz had his third wicket. Anderson then survived a good 25 balls before he holed out to Hilfenhaus at mid on, off the bowling of Doug Bollinger and England were 323/8. Tremlett and Prior were solid though as they managed to fight it out until lunch and went into the break at 270/8, Prior 72*, Tremlett 20*.
They continued well after the break as well and Prior worked his way towards 3 figures. England passed the 400 mark and now looked set to challenge the Aussies total with Prior on 89*. He hit Hilfenhaus for 2 fours in 3 balls to move to within 3 runs of a century and it took him only 2 more balls to hit Hilfenhaus again with a lovely shot over the top for 4 and Prior had got a well deserved century as 12 runs came off the Hilfenhaus over. Chris Tremlett now didn't want to hang around much longer as he tried to heave Hauritz to the leg side but was cleaned up, and he was on his way for 32, Hauritz now with 4 wickets. Finn put on a handy knock before Hazlewood cleaned up Prior for 101 as England were bowled out for 427, Finn finishing 11*, Hauritz with figures of 4/88. Here was the English scorecard.
Code:
ENGLAND 1st innings
Player Status Runs Blls 4s 6s S/R
Andrew Strauss c. Katich b. Hilfenhaus 1 13 0 0 7.7%
Eoin Morgan c. Khawaja b. Watson 30 74 5 0 40.5%
Jonathan Trott lbw b. Hilfenhaus 90 177 20 0 50.8%
Kevin Pietersen c. Khawaja b. Hauritz 85 184 16 0 46.2%
Ian Bell c. Katich b. Hauritz 22 45 5 0 48.9%
Alastair Cook c. Ferguson b. Hazlewood 1 18 0 0 5.6%
Matt Prior b. Hazlewood 101 208 20 1 48.6%
Graeme Swann c. Katich b. Hauritz 27 59 4 1 45.8%
James Anderson c. Hilfenhaus b. Bollinger 4 25 0 0 16.0%
Chris Tremlett b. Hauritz 32 98 7 0 32.7%
Steven Finn not out 11 22 2 0 50.0%
Total: 427/10 Overs: 153.4 Run Rate: 2.78 Extras: 23
Day 4 1:57 PM
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ENGLAND Partnerships
Batsmen Runs (Balls)
A Strauss E Morgan ? 1 (23)
J Trott E Morgan ?????????????? 56 (113)
J Trott Pietersen ??????????????????????????????????? 138 (240)
I Bell Pietersen ??????????? 45 (100)
A Cook Pietersen ?? 4 (31)
A Cook M Prior ? 5 (13)
G Swann M Prior ??????????????? 62 (109)
J Anderson M Prior ??? 12 (68)
C Tremlett M Prior ??????????????????????? 91 (193)
S Finn M Prior ??? 13 (32)
Fall of Wickets 1/1 57/2 195/3 240/4 244/5
249/6 311/7 323/8 414/9 427/10
Total: 427/10 Overs: 153.4 Run Rate: 2.78 Extras: 23
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AUSTRALIA Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts E/R Wds NBs
Doug Bollinger 27.0 6 87 1 3.22 0 3
Ben Hilfenhaus 31.0 11 80 2 2.58 0 2
Josh Hazlewood 25.4 7 58 2 2.26 0 0
Shane Watson 27.0 8 67 1 2.48 0 3
Nathan Hauritz 35.0 10 88 4 2.51 1 2
Simon Katich 8.0 1 35 0 4.38 0 0
EXTRAS Wides: 1 No Balls: 10 Leg Byes: 11 Byes: 1
Total: 427/10 Overs: 153.4 Run Rate: 2.78 Extras: 23
The Aussies were solid scoring a few boundaries as they got through to the tea break wicketless, 30/0 after 9 overs with Watson on 20* off 25 while Katich was slowly moving along. Watson didn't last too much longer though as he was caught plumb in front of the wicket from Tremlett for 33 with no point in reviewing it and he rightly walked off without doing so, as Australia lost their first wicket on 47 runs. Khawaja started off slowly but scored some quick runs late in the day but looking to score too many runs as he got out in the final over of the day, uppishly driving Anderson to Morgan at short cover and he was out for 36, Australia finishing the day at 111/2, Katich at 40* off 120 balls and Hussey 1* off the 1 ball he faced. The match now definately looked like it was heading for a draw with 19 wickets likely needed on the final day to force a result, a very improbable result. Here was the Australian scorecard.
Code:
AUSTRALIA 2nd innings
Player Status Runs Blls 4s 6s S/R
Simon Katich not out 40 120 8 0 33.3%
Shane Watson lbw b. Tremlett 33 48 7 0 68.8%
Usman Khawaja c. Morgan b. Anderson 36 66 7 0 54.5%
Michael Hussey not out 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Total: 111/2 Overs: 39.0 Run Rate: 2.85 Extras: 1
James Anderson - 1/32 (12)
Steven Finn - 0/18 (7)
Jonathan Trott - 0/5 (5)
Graeme Swann - 0/9 (3)
Chris Tremlett - 1/39 (9)
Kevin Pietersen - 0/8 (3)
Matt Prior played a Beautiful Innings making a Deserved Century
It's gonna be a dissapointing end result with the draw. Matt Prior played beautifully and make the century. I thought that Tremlett played a big helping hand down the order for the English as well, making 32. Good contribution from him.
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and Pietersen on the opposition. Predictably they went wicketless.
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