Story The Ashes 2009 - 3rd Test Result

[Ollie_H]

I have actually done the next update and it's ready just sorting a few things out of it, also have the fantasy readings and it actually makes very interesting reading! I was very surprised!

 

[Gary123]

Well really anxious for the next update and fantasy points.
Hope i have got something

 

[Ollie_H]

England in Trouble as Australia takes full control!

Hussey drives on his way to an attacking 71​

On a bright sunny day in Wales (not very often you get to say that) Australia looked the dominant force they have been for years! After Australia won the toss and elected to bat they would have been looking to put on a big score. With the first ball setting the tone for the series it was fitting that James Anderson went one better than Steve Harmison and Anderson sent it down leg side for 5 wides. This got huge cheers from the thousand of Aussie fans who had travelled all the way from Australia to watch the first test. In fact not only could you hear the cheers from the Aussies inside the ground you could hear the cheers from the Aussies all the way back from Australia. Cheers of ‘Who are ya!?’ and ‘Are you Stevie in disguise’ soon followed as Anderson looked to shrug and laugh it off.

Australia’s make shift partnership then set about taking the English bowlers to all parts and getting the biggest score they could. Australia raced to 80-0 without loss but then Katich tried to steer Flintoff down to third man to rotate the strike and he only managed to get an inside edge that just carried to a diving forward Matthew Prior to take a good catch. Katich was gone for 37 off 53 balls containing 6 fours. Katich was clearly disappointed with himself as he shook his head as he trudged off after getting a start and not converting this to a big score.

This brought Ricky Ponting to the crease and it was then Shane Watson who managed to hit the first 50 of the 2009 Ashes coming off just 73 balls. The Australians showing their attacking intent, looking to pile on the runs and pile them on quickly. Shane Watson acknowledged the crowd as he got to 50 only to be out next ball as he cut James Anderson to point where Paul Collingwood took one of the simpler catches of his career. Watson gone for 51 as a make shift opener will have done keeping his place in the test side a world of good. Clarke went after just 2 runs later with just a single to his name he was caught at slip poking forward and taking the edge of the bowling of Graeme Swann. It was an unfortunate dismissal for Clarke who is supposed to be the best player of spin in the Australian line up. Ponting went straight after driving on the up to Graeme Swann standing at Mid on.

England was back in it straight after lunch. Taking 3 quick wickets for just 15 runs and had the Aussies on the back foot after lunch. England had the Australians 148-4 and you would say evenly poised. But then it was the turn of Mr Cricket to arrive on the scene. He and Marcus North then together put on 50 for the 5th wicket. Marcus North was then the 3rd Australian to be out in the 30’s.He was caught by James Anderson off the bowling of Graeme Swann who picked up his 2nd wicket. Brad Haddin fell soon after has he attempted a big shot of Graeme Swann looking to play his attacking shots. It was a nice cameo from Brad Haddin who scored 30 off 39 balls which included 7 fours and to the crowds disappointment no 6’s.

With the score on 258-6, it was then Mr Cricket who has said himself he was in some of the worst form of his life then went on to record his 50 off only 63 balls. With the tail coming in Hussey decided to move on a gear, he was kicking on and then like Haddin was out attempting the big shot over cover. He was bowled by an off break and the rear guard of the Aussies innings was out for 71 off 85 balls, 14 fours showing how he was only dealing in boundaries.

In the end Australia finished 314 all out, they would have been hoping for 400 + and will be disappointed that the 4 batsmen that got to 30 didn’t kick on and get bigger scores but they will be happy with the attacking intent they showed and how quickly they piled the runs on , the momentum is firmly with Australia.

The momentum was even further with Australia after England’s dire batting effort at the end of day 1. They batted their way to 118 for 6 off 24 Overs and they proved that the longest word in the English dictionary continues to be englishmiddleorderbattingcollapse. The momentum looked as if it was shifted when Mitchell Johnson decided he wanted to be James Anderson. He to sent the first ball of the innings for 5 wides down the leg side.

With Strauss and Cook both gone to single figure scores it was down to Bopara and KP to try and stabilize the England innings. They managed to do it for a while until Bopara started a batting collapse falling 27. Pietersen, Collingwood and Bell then all bottled it when England needed them most and the work is left to Prior, Flintoff and the tail for day 2 to try and put England back in a respectable position.

For the scorecard of todays play please find the link here

Jack Teague shows Mitchell Johnson what he thinks of him after he sends down 5 wides.

Now it's time for the main event of the day and that is announcing the leader board after the first day of the Ashes. It gives me great pleasure to announce that 3 people are joint at the top of the leaderboard. The leaderboard is as follows;

Gary123 - 526
treva - 526
shantanu_rooney - 526
Off Cutters - 522
just_cricket - 478
Akash00 - 452
CG123 - 435 
send2yaari - 374
hedger_14 - 312
Pakistani Army - 220

Now for the players of the day, these are how the high scoring fantasy players look;

1. Graeme Swann - 100
2. James Anderson - 42
3. Andrew Strauss - 39
4. Kevin Pietersen - 32
5. Ravi Bopara - 27

1. Mike Hussey - 111
2. Shane Watson - 106
3. Mitch Johnson - 38
4. Simon Katich - 37
5. Nathan Hauritz - 37

And the leaderboard for the top players are as follows

1. Mike Hussey - 111
2. Shane Watson - 106
3. Graeme Swann - 100
4. James Anderson - 42
5. Andrew Strauss - 39

Join us tomorrow for the Second days play from the 1st Ashes Test here in Cardiff.

You may have to zoom in for the scorecard :P

 

[treva]

Mitchell Johnson is a bit of a twat!

Not the best of scores for Australia, but considering what England are on they will be very happy. England need a massive amount of runs from the lower order if they want to get anywhere near winning this one.

Nice to see me joint top of the fantasy table. Hopefully I can go on and win it! Great work Ollie

 

[Left_Hander]

Australia are on top so far. The quicker they get rid of those last few wickets the better.

 

[Gary123]

England at 118 for 6 need to bat well to atleast get close to Australia's Total.
Mr. Cricket striking some form.
That is good to see.
Nice To see that i have picked a good team for fantasy cricket.
Nice update ollie

 

[Pakistani Army]

A heck of a strike rate by the Australians there going at 5.32 runs per over in Test Matches is a fine effort. I feel Twenty20 cricket may have influenced the high strike rates a fair bit. That said, the Australians had plenty of batsmen who got starts but failed to capitalise on them. I feel Mike Hussey should have got to his century which leads me onto England's bowling effort.

I am baffled as to why Andrew Strauss persisted with Kevin Pietersen as he went for 7.50 runs per over. Graeme Swann was the pick of the bowlers as his 5 wickets were definatly crucial to slow the Australian charge.

Coming onto England's batting, the top order combination of Strauss and Cook has failed and I feel Ravi Bopara did well in his first Ashes Test to get to 27. However, Pietersen's wicket started a familiar england collapse in which 4 wickets fell for 29 runs. Freddie will definatly be tested here as him and Prior have to get England near to 250 which I feel is doable with Swann, Broad & Anderson left to bat.

Fantastic write-up Ollie. I love the presentation of the Scorecards. Keep up the fantastic works. :banana2

 

[Ollie_H]

I would like to say thank you to the people who have replied and reading these replies actually brings a smile to my face knowing my works are appreciated by others.

 

[Ollie_H]

Australia Win First Ashes Test by 137 Runs

Strauss century couldn't help England get the required 453.​

In what turned out to be an epic start to the 2009 Ashes Series, Australia have won the first test by 173 runs. A much larger total then at some stages people predicted. With Day Two lost out to some torrential thunderstorms in the South of Wales. It left the Aussies 3 days with which to seal the victory and win their 6th Ashes Test match in a row.

On Day Two the ground resembled something more of a swimming pool than a cricket pitch with Graeme Swann tweeting ‘whether cricket whites or swimming trunks for tomorrow?’ the night before has the heavy rain and thunderstorms hit through out the night. The latter was the outcome as only a few hundred fans turned up to the ground to see if there would be any play. The rain came and went and just when play looked ominous the rain would come again. So at 3:30 and after 4 pitch Inspections the play was abandoned for the day with the fanatical spectators greeted to a meet and greet from some of the players. A fitting way to end a day of no cricket.

When the sun re-appeared early on Saturday morning the umpires inspected and announced play would start 40 minutes later than scheduled whilst the grounds men mopped up the last bits of standing water left on the outfield. Thanks a to a new drainage system put in at Cardiff it was only 40 minutes, had this have not been in a place it could have been a lot longer, thankfully play resumed quickly.

When England resumed on 118 for 6 with Prior and Flintoff at the crease fireworks were expected as these two attacking batsmen were keen to show their flair. But the crowd were treated to a slightly more subdued performance from the two as they took England to 162 for 6. Flintoff was the man to as we edged one into the slips were Michael Clarke took the opportunity as well as he could of. Hilfenhaus taking his second wicket of the innings. England were all out 36 runs later as Swann, Broad and Anderson all went back to the Pavilion in fairly quick succession, all out for 198 off 46 Overs. Hilfenhaus looked to be the pick of the Australian fast bowlers with 3 for 40 off just his 9 Overs.

So with Australia leading by 116 it was up to set them to set up a mammoth total for England to chase. It didn’t bode well when Watson was run out on his first ball, he was looking to get off the mark quickly, a tip and run type of shot saw him run out without troubling the scorers. Katich and Ponting went about starting the innings up with the aussies 2/1 but effectively 118/1. Whilst they struggled to hit boundaries the runs were flowing and Ponting and Katich were rotating the strike effectively. Together they put on 77 for the 2nd wicket, before Ponting was bowled by Freddie Flintoff. Freddie was bowling with venom and passion as if he was really fighting the cause, but sometime he paid for this aggression by being punished and having a high economy rate. All of the Australian went on to record starts apart from Watson. Australia eventually went on to record 337/6 declared. Leaving them the best part of two days to bowl England out, whilst England were to chase 453. One of the highest totals ever to be chased to win a Test Match.

England set about chasing this target in a slightly aggressive manor. At one point it looked like England could be able to chase the target down. With Strauss and Cook putting on 181 for the first wicket. All of a sudden England only needed 273 to win and they still had 9 wickets remaining and at this point the match was heavily in the balance. But in typical English style a batting collapse occurred. Bopara went for a duck just two runs later after facing only 4 balls, lbw to Hauritz, not playing a shot with the ball spinning back in. It may have hit him outside the line of the stumps but he hadn’t offered a shot so he was given out. Strauss fell just 4 runs after that, caught by Clarke in the slips off Peter Siddle.

England had lost 3 wickets for just 5 runs, and the match was back in Australia’s favour. The No1 team showing just how they can swing the game back in their favour. It was down to the middle order to fire after failing in the first innings as well. Pietersen and Collingwood looked to get the middle order firing, with Pietersen dominating the strike in the partnership and with Collingwood looking scratchy time eventually took its toll and Collingwood was out caught by Watson off the bowling of Siddle. Pietersen then tried to show the job was clearly on his mind along with his Achilles injury as well, as he played out a subdued 38 off 76 balls.

Then it all went sour for England, the last 6 wickets fell for just 22 runs, and the last 10 wickets for 99 runs. Pietersen, Bell, Prior, Flintoff, Broad and Anderson walked out to the middle and then walked back in all in quick succession. Australia showing a true sign of being World Beaters and their dominance in world cricket, whilst England showed the fragility in the middle order that they need to rid of to stand a chance of winning the Ashes back.

For a scorecard of the test match please click here

 

[Jaztheman]

Awesome presentation, Ollie.

What a dire performance by England with the bat whilst the bowlers weren't that much better. England have a lot to sort out before the next Test.

 

[Ollie_H]

Off Cutters and Hussey take the lead in Fantasy Cricket Standings​

Whilst Australia took a 1-0 lead in the Ashes Series, it was two other Aussies who took the lead in the BBC Fantasy Standings. Off Cutters leads the way in the BBC teams with his score of 1258 points. He is closely followed by just_cricket who trails him by just 58 points. Down at the other end of the table it is Pakistani Army who bring up the rear end with just over half the points of Off Cutters, with 754. This is down to many of his players not participating in the first test. Send2yaari is just above Pakistani Army with 815 points. The middle of the table is very compact with Akash00, Shantanu Rooney, treva, CG123, hedger_14 and Gary123 all separated by just 85 points. A margin that could easily be spread or closed down by the following pack.

Off Cutters will be happy to lead the way after the first 5 days of cricket in the series, but with another 4 more tests to go anything could happen.

In the player standings Mike Hussey leads the way with a total of 205 points to his name, this is thanks to his half century in each of Australia’s Innings, not only does it make him the leading points scorer but he is also the leading run scorer for both teams. He is out there by some distance at the moment, as Hussey was the only consistent batsmen in the match. There were 6 50’s and 1 century hit in the match. The solitary century going to the England skipper Andrew Strauss who looks to be the key in the English Batting line up.

On the bowling front it is Graeme Swann who is the leading wicket taker in the series so far with his 5 wicket haul in the first innings. Unfortunately he couldn’t add to his tally in the second innings but will be looking to extend at Lords in the next Test match.

Off Cutters - 1258
just_cricket - 1200
Akash00 - 1071
shantanu_rooney - 1043
treva - 1017
CG123 - 1009
hedger_14 - 1000
Gary123 - 986
surendar - 841
send2yaari - 815
Pakistani Army - 754

Andrew Strauss - 191
Graeme Swann - 112
Ali Cook - 95
Kevin Pietersen - 67
Jimmy Anderson - 55

Mike Hussey - 205
Shane Watson - 140
Simon Katich 121
Brad Haddin - 116
Michael Clarke - 101

Mike Hussey - 205
Andrew Strauss - 191
Shane Watson - 140
Simon Katich - 121
Brad Haddin - 116

Mike Hussey - 140
Andrew Strauss - 111
Brad Haddin - 91
Simon Katich - 87
Ricky Ponting - 71

Graeme Swann - 5
James Anderson - 4
Peter Siddle - 4
Michael Clarke - 4

 

[Gary123]

Great Win by the Aussies there.
Feel pity for strauss though as his century went in vain.
From 1st to 9th in Fantasy standings,well hope to come back in the second test.
Nice update ollie

 

[OffCutters]

Good spot for me on the Fantasy Leaderboard great stuff by Hussey, did wonders for my team. Thanks holdenator for reminding me about this btw.

 

[CG123]

average start for me, right smack bang in the middle
good presentation and writing holdenator

 

[Pakistani Army]

473 is too much to ask and it showed as England lost by 173 runs. I can say, it was a fine effort however the 6/22 really was the final nail in the coffin.

:doh Dunno how Michael Clarke got 3/7 but it does show that he is not a rabbit with the ball. Fantastic efforts and works Ollie. Keep them up!