Story England's International Season [C07] - The 5th 3Mobile Ashes Test

[sami007]

cmon england! its a small chase but never say never!

 

[m_vaughan]

I have updated the first post with links back to all my stories in Cricket 2004, Cricket 2005 and Cricket 07.

 

[m_vaughan]

Day 3 Tea Update...

Australia rocked by early blows
England have picked up three early wickets in the second innings to put them in a really strong position after setting the Australians a target of 152 to win. For Australia the horrors of the third test match seem to be repeating.

Hayden was the first to be dismissed when he edged a outswinging delivery from Hoggard into the gloves of Geraint Jones. Ponting too was out in exactly the same fashion.

And Steve Harmison then uprooted Mike Hussey offstump and left the Aussies in deep deep trouble at 8-3.

Langer and Clarke steady the innings
Australia had been stunned by those three early blows and people had started to fear a repeat of the collapse in the previous test match. But the World Champions have got themselves out of the mess thanks to a patient and vital partnership between Justin Langer and Michael Clarke.

Langer falls to Panesar
England needed a breakthrough and it was provided by their own spin wiz Monty Panesar when he had Justin Langer caught in the circle by Collingwood. Quite a unnecessary sweep shot played by Langer and the partnership is broken. England are right back in it.

At tea on this third day the Aussies are 75-4, still needing 77 more runs to win this game and regain the Ashes.

Join us after the tea interval for what is sure to be a cracking end to a cracking game of cricket.

So at Tea on Day 3
Australia 75-4 after 31 Overs
England 223 all out after 66 Overs
Australia 257 all out after 80.5 Overs
England 185 all out after 51 Overs
(Australia need another 77 runs to win, 6 wickets in hand)

 

[surendar]

Brilliant start from England pacers with quick three wickets especially getting rid of Hussey! Monty has got a vital breakthrough... two more wickets in another 20 Runs wud put a massive pressure on Aussies!

I thought at first, they ( Aus ) wud win at ease but now, England do have a tiny chance to make a suprise

 

[gamerkid22]

wow game on here . 77 runs needed with 6 wickets left . Another 2-3 quick wickets will put pressure on Australia.

 

[plympilgrim]

aussies look favourites, but as gamer said....

 

[m_vaughan]

End of Match update...

Anderson gets Gilchrist's wicket
Australia suffered another blow when Adam Gilchrist was comprehensively bowled by James Anderson. Late outswing did the trick here for Anderson and Gilchrist missed it completely in the end.

Warne falls to Monty
Monty Panesar has struck once again for England by getting rid off Shane Warne. Warne tried to sweep Monty but top edged the ball up in the air and in the end was a rather easy catch for Paul Collingwood.

The Australia's needed just 21 more runs at this stage but the fact that they were losing wickets at regular intervals plus the fact that England had got into their tail made it more and more difficult.

Clarke takes Australia home
Australia have won the fourth test here at the MCG thanks mainly to a brilliant knock from Michael Clarke. With wickets falling at the other end, there was a lot of pressure and responsibility on Clarke, and he handled it really well.

The win sees Australia regain the Ashes they had lost to England in 2005. Its a great day for the Aussie cricketers and fans. England will be disappointed but they did a lot better in the second innings and were in the game till the very end.

Match Summary (5:10pm Day 3)
Australia 152-6 after 45.2 Overs
England 223 all out after 66 Overs
Australia 257 all out after 80.5 Overs
England 185 all out after 51 Overs
(Australia win by four wickets, lead series 3-1)

 

[gamerkid22]

Clarke played well and helped Australia to get the victory .England fought back nicely but in the end Australia lead the series 3-1 which means they won the series with 1 match to go .

 

[surendar]

Aussies regained their Ashes! It was a close match though having lost 6 Wkts! But Once again, the hardwork found in England during 2005 was missing here!


Well done Aussies for having winning the Ashes... but still one test left.. England shd try to win it so that overal figures of 3-2 might look better than 4-1!

 

[m_vaughan]

Presentation ceremony

I would first like to congratulate Ricky Ponting and his Australian side. They are a champion team and have deservedly won this series.

As far as our performance is concerned, we lost the game in the first innings itself because 185 was never going to be enough. But I was pleased with the way we came back and tried till the very end.

Ricky Ponting's knock in the first innings was crucial and very similar to Pietersen's one in the Perth test match. It was the difference in the end.

We have one game to go in this series and we would want to finish on a positive note by winning it. We will continue to work harder in order to improve and hopefully do a lot better in Sydney.

Its a massive result for us. England are a good side with a lot of good players so to have beaten them means a lot to us. We really wanted to win the Ashes back after the defeat in 2005 and are so glad that we've done it here in Australia.

It wasnt as easy to bat as we had expected and the highest innings score of 257 proves that. But credit must go to the bowlers of both the teams.

This was a special innings and I am glad it helped Australia win the game. I will always cherish it for the rest of my life. But in the end it was a team effort and a team victory. Everyone contributed well.

We play every game to win and we want to win the series 4-1. England will come back hard but we will be playing to win that game.

 

[PhilD123]

Excellent presentation, as I was scrolling down that stage and we had them at 8/3 I thought we had a real chance. A bit disappointing we couldn't finish them off but credit to Australia for winning back the Ashes.

 

[m_vaughan]

The better team won - Vaughan
England captain Michael Vaughan paid tribute to Australia after they regained the Ashes by beating his team by four wickets in the fourth Ashes test.

Vaughan's return as England captain hasnt stopped the Aussies from regaining the Ashes

"The better team won. Australia came out strong in the crucial moments and although we staged a fightback ourselves it was a little too late.

"But we have shown that we are capable and will do everything possible to end this Ashes series on a winning note and try and regain the Ashes in 2009 in England," he said.

"A lot of people still believe in us and want us to do well, so it would be nice if we could give them something back."

Justin Langer and Shane Warne to quit after Sydney test

Shane Warne and Justin Langer have been an integral part of an invincible Australian team

Two of Australia's biggest cricketing icons, Shane Warne and Justin Langer have announced that they will be retiring from the sport after the fifth and final Ashes test match to be held in Sydney.

Australia have already regained the Ashes after winning the fourth test in Melbourne by four wickets.

"I'd like to go out on top. I want to go out on my terms, I'd like to think I've earned that right.

There was a burning ambition in the team to win the Ashes back. I saw how much we all hurt after that," he said.

"It was a mission of mine no matter how long it took to get that urn back, no matter how long it took.

"I think you can tell by the way we've played this series and the way I've gone out there and bowled that I've been pretty determined."


The other player, Justin Langer, made his debut against the West Indies in 1993 and has scored 7,650 runs in 104 matches at a 45.26 average.

"I retire from this game having played with some of the greatest players of all time. It's been a privilege to play with Shane and Glenn and Adam Gilchrist, the greatest wicket-keeper of all time, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, who is the greatest batsman this country has produced after Bradman," said Langer.

Another player, Glenn McGrath has also decided to quit cricket but after the World Cup. This means that he will be available for the one day series with England and New Zealand and then the World Cup.

Brad Hodge fit for final test
Australian middle order batsman Brad Hodge has been declared fit to play ahead of the fifth and final Ashes test to be held in Sydney.

Brad Hodge scored 39 and 72 in the third test

Hodge missed the fourth test due to injury and Australia decided to go in with an additional bowler in Nathan Bracken as his replacement. And Bracken's performance in that match might deny Hodge a place in the starting eleven although it is also being said that Hodge might replace opener Matthew Hayden who has been out of form for a while.

*Credit Cricinfo/BBC for articles

 

[surendar]

With key players retiring from Aussie team, England do have a great chance of winning the last test provided if they utilise well!

Btw, nice neat presentation Sid!

 

[m_vaughan]

Except that they will retire AFTER the final test.

 

[surendar]

Except that they will retire AFTER the final test.

yeah sorry, my reading mistake here,

announced that they will be retiring from the sport after the fifth and final Ashes test match to be held in Sydney.

I took the other way! Sorry again!