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International Cricket Captain: Forumer's Challenge
- Thread starter Howe_zat
- Start date
Howe_zat
Audio File
2nd ODI vs New Zealand
CW kept an unchanged XI, and were put in to bat on what looked to be a docile track.
The openers started slowly, as the first boundary of the day only came in the 7th over, as Heads hit an on drive off Tuffey for four. From there the scoring becan to steadily accelerate, and CW had reached 42/0 after the first 10.
Heads was looking good, and passed 50 from 55 balls. REMOVED however was never comfortable, and after playing out 2 maidens off McSkimming, he fell for a scratchy 29 off 69 to Gillespie.
Heads and Ballich pulled CW well ahead of the game as boundaries began to flow. Ballich brought up the 100 in the 24th over, and when Heads smashed three fours in a row off Gillespie in the 31st, that brought up the 150. The following over saw Heads reach his hundred, a sparkling knock off just 93 balls.
CW looked set for a superb score, but were pegged back as Heads hit McSkimming straight to long on for 103. Dharan's frustrated 11 off 23 was ended when he played Franklin onto his stumps. They were 191/3 after 41 overs.
Ballich raised his half century, but was unable to acclerate quite as he'd like, and fell for 54 off 71 in the 46th over. Riley's 26 off 23 helped to boost the score, but single figure dismissals from Clark (3 off 8) and Ikram (7 off 9) held the total back. Riley was dismissed in the final over, caught at square leg, and Corrin hit his first ball through the covers for four to end the innings. Their 50 overs had brought them 244/7.
The score was healthy, but given the wicket and the position before Heads got out, it looked 30 runs short. It looked even smaller when New Zealand began their chase so effectively - Noble conceded 21 off his first three overs, while Fleming hit three successive boundaries of Phlegm's third. The score was 41/0 after six overs.
Winne started with a maiden to help stem the flow, but both batsmen continued at a run a ball before the allrounder got the breakthrough, bowling Papps for 41 off 42. Fleming had progressed to 40 off as many balls, but Winne got him too, going around the wicket to trap the left-hander lbw. The Black Caps had a healthy 85 on the board from their first 15 overs, but the two aggressors were now back in the hutch.
The runs eased up as the field went back, and soon Corrin got McMillan (11 off 20) to nick one behind, the catch well taken by Dharan. New Zealand struggled against the legspinners, and when Sinclair was lbw to Ikram they still needed 122 off 25 overs, now with four down.
That became five down when Reeves tamely chipped Ikram back to him for a simple caught and bowled, and the asking rate continued to climb asonly 31 runs were scored from the middle 10 overs. 109 were needed off the final 20.
Oram had become the key man, and he had fought his way to 37 (58) over the last 15 overs of spin, but became Ikram's third wicket when a leading edge looped back to the bowler. McCullum's pained 11 off 23 was ended when he hit Ikram straight to square leg, and when Noble returned, his sixth ball yorked Gillespie to have him lbw. At 165/8 after 37, the game was all but over.
That was at least the feeling when McSkimming came out to bat, but the tailender hammered 10 off a Noble over for the 39th, and repeated the trick in Ikram's final over to dent the spinner's impressive figures. McSkimming had suddenly moved to 20 off 11 balls, and 54 were needed form the final 10.
Winne was the man to end the fun. Brought back on for Noble, Winne's first ball got past one of McSkimming's slogs and bowled him for 20. Tuffey got off strike first ball, and two deliveries later Franklin (14 off 25) lost his off peg. CWers breathed a sigh of relief, this time the game was over.
CW won by 52 runs
MotM - John Heads
CW kept an unchanged XI, and were put in to bat on what looked to be a docile track.
The openers started slowly, as the first boundary of the day only came in the 7th over, as Heads hit an on drive off Tuffey for four. From there the scoring becan to steadily accelerate, and CW had reached 42/0 after the first 10.
Heads was looking good, and passed 50 from 55 balls. REMOVED however was never comfortable, and after playing out 2 maidens off McSkimming, he fell for a scratchy 29 off 69 to Gillespie.
Heads and Ballich pulled CW well ahead of the game as boundaries began to flow. Ballich brought up the 100 in the 24th over, and when Heads smashed three fours in a row off Gillespie in the 31st, that brought up the 150. The following over saw Heads reach his hundred, a sparkling knock off just 93 balls.
CW looked set for a superb score, but were pegged back as Heads hit McSkimming straight to long on for 103. Dharan's frustrated 11 off 23 was ended when he played Franklin onto his stumps. They were 191/3 after 41 overs.
Ballich raised his half century, but was unable to acclerate quite as he'd like, and fell for 54 off 71 in the 46th over. Riley's 26 off 23 helped to boost the score, but single figure dismissals from Clark (3 off 8) and Ikram (7 off 9) held the total back. Riley was dismissed in the final over, caught at square leg, and Corrin hit his first ball through the covers for four to end the innings. Their 50 overs had brought them 244/7.
The score was healthy, but given the wicket and the position before Heads got out, it looked 30 runs short. It looked even smaller when New Zealand began their chase so effectively - Noble conceded 21 off his first three overs, while Fleming hit three successive boundaries of Phlegm's third. The score was 41/0 after six overs.
Winne started with a maiden to help stem the flow, but both batsmen continued at a run a ball before the allrounder got the breakthrough, bowling Papps for 41 off 42. Fleming had progressed to 40 off as many balls, but Winne got him too, going around the wicket to trap the left-hander lbw. The Black Caps had a healthy 85 on the board from their first 15 overs, but the two aggressors were now back in the hutch.
The runs eased up as the field went back, and soon Corrin got McMillan (11 off 20) to nick one behind, the catch well taken by Dharan. New Zealand struggled against the legspinners, and when Sinclair was lbw to Ikram they still needed 122 off 25 overs, now with four down.
That became five down when Reeves tamely chipped Ikram back to him for a simple caught and bowled, and the asking rate continued to climb asonly 31 runs were scored from the middle 10 overs. 109 were needed off the final 20.
Oram had become the key man, and he had fought his way to 37 (58) over the last 15 overs of spin, but became Ikram's third wicket when a leading edge looped back to the bowler. McCullum's pained 11 off 23 was ended when he hit Ikram straight to square leg, and when Noble returned, his sixth ball yorked Gillespie to have him lbw. At 165/8 after 37, the game was all but over.
That was at least the feeling when McSkimming came out to bat, but the tailender hammered 10 off a Noble over for the 39th, and repeated the trick in Ikram's final over to dent the spinner's impressive figures. McSkimming had suddenly moved to 20 off 11 balls, and 54 were needed form the final 10.
Winne was the man to end the fun. Brought back on for Noble, Winne's first ball got past one of McSkimming's slogs and bowled him for 20. Tuffey got off strike first ball, and two deliveries later Franklin (14 off 25) lost his off peg. CWers breathed a sigh of relief, this time the game was over.
CW won by 52 runs
MotM - John Heads
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honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
damn..my woeful run is back in ODIs, it seems 
Nice win, though it would be good to make more of a contribution.
Nice win, though it would be good to make more of a contribution.
Cevno
Hall of Fame Member
I'd thump her leather with my willow.
Howe_zat
Audio File
3rd ODI vs New Zealand
Alasdair Riley was replaced by Michael Spark, and Sticky PEWS Phlegm was replaced by Jake Howe for the series decider. The CWers were asked to bowl first.
Noble took the first over and got them off to the finest possible start when his first ball rattled Fleming's stumps, the duck completing a poor series for the New Zealand captain. Noble was not finished, as the third ball of his second over got Papps to nick behind.
The visitors were in early trouble at 9/2, but Oram countered well to push the score up to 48/2 by the 10-over mark. Winne, in spite of his form, was the man to go for runs as he conceded 31 from his opening 5-over spell.
Progress suddenly came thick and fast for the batsmen as Oram smashed his way to 50 at better than a run a ball. As the score passed 100 for two down in the 20th over, Corrin struck to help stem the flow - McMillan was lbw for 34 off 50, but Oram's was the wicket they needed.
The spinner was to do the trick again for CW. Corrin trapped Sinclair plumb in front for 8 off 7, and in the 23rd over the danger man was gone as Oram (63 off 64) top-edged a slog through to Dharan. Three balls later Reeves was completely flummoxed by a wrong 'un that hit the pads. Corrin was only in his 5th over when he completed his five-for, as Franklin was clean bowled, and suddenly, New Zealand were 129/7.
McCullum attempted a consolidation with McSkimming in order to see off Corrin's remaining overs, but the tailender struggled to get the spinners off the square. Ikram fetched out McSkimming by bowling him for a pained 5 off 26, and two overs later Tuffey was gone, lbw for a nine-ball duck.
That was the first ball of the 38th over, and after an over in which O' Brien missed the ball twice and was dropped by Spark at short leg, Ikram got the final ball of his double-wicket maiden to bowl him. The total was a miserable 151 all out.
Heads began the chase in much the same fashion as his last innings, heaving Tuffey's first ball for four, but it was not to be one of the left-hander's "on" days as the sixth ball of the over went straight through him to hit the top of off stump.
Ballich and REMOVED eased their way to the target solidly, albeit unspectacularly. Their partnership of 81 was mostly courtesy of Ballich, who raised his fifty from 78 balls.
As soon as he did so, the partnership was broken when REMOVED (28 off 76) was clean bowled by Franklin. Ballich was out lbw in the same over as the stumble began to raise nerves for the CWers.
There was no need to worry. With seven wickets remaining they needed only 67 more from the final 24 overs, and Dharan (31 off 44) and Spark (36 off 53) calmly knocked off the runs. A comfortable victory.
CW won by 7 wickets and won the series 2-1
MotM - Martyn Corrin
Alasdair Riley was replaced by Michael Spark, and Sticky PEWS Phlegm was replaced by Jake Howe for the series decider. The CWers were asked to bowl first.
Noble took the first over and got them off to the finest possible start when his first ball rattled Fleming's stumps, the duck completing a poor series for the New Zealand captain. Noble was not finished, as the third ball of his second over got Papps to nick behind.
The visitors were in early trouble at 9/2, but Oram countered well to push the score up to 48/2 by the 10-over mark. Winne, in spite of his form, was the man to go for runs as he conceded 31 from his opening 5-over spell.
Progress suddenly came thick and fast for the batsmen as Oram smashed his way to 50 at better than a run a ball. As the score passed 100 for two down in the 20th over, Corrin struck to help stem the flow - McMillan was lbw for 34 off 50, but Oram's was the wicket they needed.
The spinner was to do the trick again for CW. Corrin trapped Sinclair plumb in front for 8 off 7, and in the 23rd over the danger man was gone as Oram (63 off 64) top-edged a slog through to Dharan. Three balls later Reeves was completely flummoxed by a wrong 'un that hit the pads. Corrin was only in his 5th over when he completed his five-for, as Franklin was clean bowled, and suddenly, New Zealand were 129/7.
McCullum attempted a consolidation with McSkimming in order to see off Corrin's remaining overs, but the tailender struggled to get the spinners off the square. Ikram fetched out McSkimming by bowling him for a pained 5 off 26, and two overs later Tuffey was gone, lbw for a nine-ball duck.
That was the first ball of the 38th over, and after an over in which O' Brien missed the ball twice and was dropped by Spark at short leg, Ikram got the final ball of his double-wicket maiden to bowl him. The total was a miserable 151 all out.
Heads began the chase in much the same fashion as his last innings, heaving Tuffey's first ball for four, but it was not to be one of the left-hander's "on" days as the sixth ball of the over went straight through him to hit the top of off stump.
Ballich and REMOVED eased their way to the target solidly, albeit unspectacularly. Their partnership of 81 was mostly courtesy of Ballich, who raised his fifty from 78 balls.
As soon as he did so, the partnership was broken when REMOVED (28 off 76) was clean bowled by Franklin. Ballich was out lbw in the same over as the stumble began to raise nerves for the CWers.
There was no need to worry. With seven wickets remaining they needed only 67 more from the final 24 overs, and Dharan (31 off 44) and Spark (36 off 53) calmly knocked off the runs. A comfortable victory.
CW won by 7 wickets and won the series 2-1
MotM - Martyn Corrin
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Howe_zat
Audio File
He bats there in any game of ICC 2005 I'm running (I'm also playing through an England game atm), and really seems to be more batsman than bowler in this. Was one of the best bats in the WC too.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
nice win and finally SOME contribution from moi 
Howe_zat
Audio File
World Rankings Info
Players
Our batting dominates Test cricket. Ballich has the no.1 rank, Matthew Hayden no.2, and then Dharan, Riley and Narang occupy 3rd to 5th. Heads is in 8th and Spark 13th too. Of our bowlers, though, only Mark Dean (9) is near the top.
In ODIs our batting is our stronger suit, with Dharan and Heads keeping the 4th and 5th spots and Ballich just getting into the top 10 too. Two Indians, Tendulkar and Rowland, have the top two ranks, while they do the same in the bowling thanks to Kumble and Salvi. Our best and only top-10 ODI bowler is Winne, who is ranked 3rd.
CW
CW are currently the joint 2nd ranked Test team in the world, along with India and England. Australia are ranked no.1.
If we win our next two series - at home to England, and away to Australia - we'll take the no.1 spot.
England at home should be straightforward, our bowling has been fantastic at home. Australia away is a different proposition, for obvious reasons they are ridiculously hard to beat in ICC2005. That'll be the decider.
Players
Our batting dominates Test cricket. Ballich has the no.1 rank, Matthew Hayden no.2, and then Dharan, Riley and Narang occupy 3rd to 5th. Heads is in 8th and Spark 13th too. Of our bowlers, though, only Mark Dean (9) is near the top.
In ODIs our batting is our stronger suit, with Dharan and Heads keeping the 4th and 5th spots and Ballich just getting into the top 10 too. Two Indians, Tendulkar and Rowland, have the top two ranks, while they do the same in the bowling thanks to Kumble and Salvi. Our best and only top-10 ODI bowler is Winne, who is ranked 3rd.
CW
CW are currently the joint 2nd ranked Test team in the world, along with India and England. Australia are ranked no.1.
If we win our next two series - at home to England, and away to Australia - we'll take the no.1 spot.
England at home should be straightforward, our bowling has been fantastic at home. Australia away is a different proposition, for obvious reasons they are ridiculously hard to beat in ICC2005. That'll be the decider.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
Awesome.. bring on the Englishmen and Aussies..
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Can you join this at any time or do I have to wait for a new one to start?
morgieb
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Really? Whenever I played with them we turned to **** after a couple of seasons. If anything India/Sri Lanka are ridiculously hard to beat. Even though we're Sri Lanka IIRC.
Howe_zat
Audio File
I'd have thought you'd rather play Tests. As I explained, the ODI team is pretty much a second team now, with a few batsmen overlapping to make up the numbers.
Howe_zat
Audio File
Well I've usually found they're very tough, my current England game is the only real exception.
I dunno how strong they are in this game, but they've been at the top of the Test and ODI rankings for the whole time, and thrashed us the one time we've played them (at the WC).
Howe_zat
Audio File
I think it'd be unfair to give you a player now when I refused a couple of people at the beginning when the squad reached full size. This one's nearly over though.
Howe_zat
Audio File
1st Test vs England
CWland began their Test series against England by winning the toss and choosing to bat first. They had kept an unchanged XI.
CW had started cautiously against the opening quicks, but with 28 on the board Flintoff came on and struck in his first over, Heads the man to go, lbw. From there Narang and Ballich forged a solid partnership through to the break - England captain Vaughan curiously bringing himself on to bowl five overs before lunch - and CW took lunch in a good position, 105/1.
Narang raised his fifty first, and when Ballich took 10 runs off an Anderson over he brought up his half century from 90 deliveries. The score passed 150, and with half an hour to go before tea, Trescothick came on to bowl his medium pace. The move worked when the part-timer got Narang to edge behind for a steady 63.
Spark looked to play positively, but only lasted until just after tea, going for 26 before mistiming a cut to gully. Ballich was still there though, and with a single into the off side he got to his hundred off 178 balls. He and Riley put on over a hundred for the fourth wicket, and though Riley fell late in the day for 61, CW had unquestionably claimed the first day of the series on 305/4.
It took half an hour on day 2 before Ballich was dismissed, gone for 136 off 259 balls. England were fighting back as Dharan (22) departed the following over, and Hing (2) barely troubled the scorers. Capone managed 11 before being lbw to Harmison, so it was left to Winne and Dean to push CW up towards the 400 mark. Lunch came with the score on 400/8.
Winne was out shortly after the break having made 35, but thanks to Dean's tailend thrash (33 off 40) while Dong blocked at the other end (7* off 45), CW were able to post a score of 432 before being dismissed. England started their reply well, the first job of making it to tea completed at 23/0.
It wasn't long before the CWers began to rue their morning session, as losing their lower-middle order so easily on a placid pitch was costing them here. None of the bowlers managed to make an impact throughout the evening session as both England openers made half centuries, and the opening partnership stood at 137 at the close of day two.
Winne managed to get the breakthrough early in the morning, Trescothick driving straight into the hands of third slip. Strauss seemed to be in an aggressive mood, but Dean had him when the ofspinner's first ball of the morning had him caught for 84. Dean came so close to a second when Newman edged to Ballich on 0, only to have the fielder put the chance down.
The score passed 200, but the spinners continued to create chances. Dean repeatedly beat the bat, while Pietersen (42) survived two convincing lbw shouts from Hing. In the end Hing was able to take the umpire out of it by getting Pietersen's off stump. The score had reached 240/3 when a rain interruption removed much of the afternoon session.
Dong took the new ball, and the very first delivery with it got through Vaughan's defenses to bowl him for 8. Newman made his way past 50, but Dong struck again, clean bowled. CW were briefly back ahead of the game, but Jones and Flintoff saw themselves to tea without further damage, and at 310/5, the match was too close to call.
Flintoff looked to be pushing England ahead during the third evening, but he fell for 48 when Capone had him lbw, and Jones managed the same score when Hing removed him in the same way. 376/7. England were fortunate to have Joyce come in as low as #8, but the Irishman could only make 17 before Dean found his edge.
The offie picked up his third when Simon Jones missed a straight ball, and his fourth when Anderson hit him straight up in the air. England had been dismissed with the final ball of the third day, and CW had earned a lead of 34.
Heads was once again the first to go as CW started their second innings. The sixth ball of Jones' first over cut straight through him to have him bowled for 2. Narang (11) didn't last much longer, Jones beating the opener for pace and rattling the stumps. The Welshman was on fire. Next, with the score on 35/2, Spark was trapped plumb in front - only for the umpire to raise his arm for the no ball.
Spark and Ballich managed to see off the rest of Jones' spell, and progressed at a healthy rate with one eye looking at the limited time left in the match. Spark was on borrowed time, though, and within the session Harmison had him for 24. Riley fell soon after for 8, and the CWers were in some trouble at 105/4 at lunch.
Dharan, like Spark, looked to be positive - but like Spark, failed to make it count as he was gone for a quick 31. Winne gifted Harmison his third wicket with a skier to Jones on the boundary - 156/6. Ballich was the man holding everything together as he passed fifty for the second time in the match, and was able to finally find a partner willing to stick with him in Hing. The pair took the score past the 200 mark, but more importantly were still there at the break.
The partnership was worth 76 by the time Jones broke through, bowling Hing (45) with a ball that was just too fast for him. Ballich continued, and when he reached his second hundred of the match with a fine swivel-pull for four, the lead was pushing 300 and CW were just about out of the woods.
England took the new ball, and Anderson produced a beauty to finally dismiss Ballich, who had made 107. Capone and Dean resisted until the close, and at the end of the fourth day the score was up to 291/8, and a lead of 325.
The decision whether or not to declare was made for them by Harmison, who made short work of removing both of them - Dean for 18 and Capone for 28 - and completing his five-for. England were set a chase of 337 in just under three sessions.
Winne, as ever, got the first wicket of Trescothick, getting one to swing back into the left hander and clip the top of off. That brought Pietersen to the wicket, who clearly had the target on his mind rather than stumps, getting off the mark with a huge six over midwicket and progressing at a run a ball.
Dean was the man to get rid of the danger, a lovely off break coming back through the gate to bowl KP, but his 32 off 34 balls had got England into a good position. With Strauss looking solid at the other end, they needed 239 from two sessions, and with eight wickets still in hand.
CW claimed the ascendancy when Dean struck soon after, claiming Newman for 12, but soon the spinners were sent all around the ground by a simply sublime innings from Michael Vaughan. The England captain went at a superb pace, claiming the vast majority of the 130-run partnership with Strauss. Dong came back on to remove the opener as Strauss edged to slip for 85, but Vaughan was the big wicket. Just when he looked to be easing his way to a matchwinning century, Capone struck to have him trapped lbw for 99.
That brought tea, and Vaughan's innings had taken the run rate out of it. England were five down, but only 95 runs from the target.
That became six down when Dean bowled Flintoff for 9, and 78 runs were needed to win as Joyce came to the wicket. It was not a good time to drop a catch, but Dean let one slip through his fingers as Joyce gave him the chance at silly point, off Hing's bowling. 75 to win.
The drop looked worse in the next over as Joyce clattered two successive fours through the off side, but Dean made up for it in his next over, getting Geraint Jones to feather a catch through to Dharan. Jones was replaced by his namesake Simon with 57 runs to get, and with 51 required Hing finally got Joyce - the slow left armer had toiled away between lbw shouts, plays and misses and drops, and thoroughly deserved the crucial wicket.
Nerves began to jangle as Jones and Harmison resisted - 50 became 40, and then 36 required before Narang gleefully pouched a top edge at short fine leg to dismiss Harmison. That gave Dean his fifth wicket of the innings, and CW were one away from victory.
James Anderson lasted just long enough to allow Dean to refuse the new ball, the offspinner bagging six, and ten for the match, as Anderson nicked one behind. CW had won a fabulous match.
CW won by 31 runs
MotM - Michael Ballich
CWland began their Test series against England by winning the toss and choosing to bat first. They had kept an unchanged XI.
CW had started cautiously against the opening quicks, but with 28 on the board Flintoff came on and struck in his first over, Heads the man to go, lbw. From there Narang and Ballich forged a solid partnership through to the break - England captain Vaughan curiously bringing himself on to bowl five overs before lunch - and CW took lunch in a good position, 105/1.
Narang raised his fifty first, and when Ballich took 10 runs off an Anderson over he brought up his half century from 90 deliveries. The score passed 150, and with half an hour to go before tea, Trescothick came on to bowl his medium pace. The move worked when the part-timer got Narang to edge behind for a steady 63.
Spark looked to play positively, but only lasted until just after tea, going for 26 before mistiming a cut to gully. Ballich was still there though, and with a single into the off side he got to his hundred off 178 balls. He and Riley put on over a hundred for the fourth wicket, and though Riley fell late in the day for 61, CW had unquestionably claimed the first day of the series on 305/4.
It took half an hour on day 2 before Ballich was dismissed, gone for 136 off 259 balls. England were fighting back as Dharan (22) departed the following over, and Hing (2) barely troubled the scorers. Capone managed 11 before being lbw to Harmison, so it was left to Winne and Dean to push CW up towards the 400 mark. Lunch came with the score on 400/8.
Winne was out shortly after the break having made 35, but thanks to Dean's tailend thrash (33 off 40) while Dong blocked at the other end (7* off 45), CW were able to post a score of 432 before being dismissed. England started their reply well, the first job of making it to tea completed at 23/0.
It wasn't long before the CWers began to rue their morning session, as losing their lower-middle order so easily on a placid pitch was costing them here. None of the bowlers managed to make an impact throughout the evening session as both England openers made half centuries, and the opening partnership stood at 137 at the close of day two.
Winne managed to get the breakthrough early in the morning, Trescothick driving straight into the hands of third slip. Strauss seemed to be in an aggressive mood, but Dean had him when the ofspinner's first ball of the morning had him caught for 84. Dean came so close to a second when Newman edged to Ballich on 0, only to have the fielder put the chance down.
The score passed 200, but the spinners continued to create chances. Dean repeatedly beat the bat, while Pietersen (42) survived two convincing lbw shouts from Hing. In the end Hing was able to take the umpire out of it by getting Pietersen's off stump. The score had reached 240/3 when a rain interruption removed much of the afternoon session.
Dong took the new ball, and the very first delivery with it got through Vaughan's defenses to bowl him for 8. Newman made his way past 50, but Dong struck again, clean bowled. CW were briefly back ahead of the game, but Jones and Flintoff saw themselves to tea without further damage, and at 310/5, the match was too close to call.
Flintoff looked to be pushing England ahead during the third evening, but he fell for 48 when Capone had him lbw, and Jones managed the same score when Hing removed him in the same way. 376/7. England were fortunate to have Joyce come in as low as #8, but the Irishman could only make 17 before Dean found his edge.
The offie picked up his third when Simon Jones missed a straight ball, and his fourth when Anderson hit him straight up in the air. England had been dismissed with the final ball of the third day, and CW had earned a lead of 34.
Heads was once again the first to go as CW started their second innings. The sixth ball of Jones' first over cut straight through him to have him bowled for 2. Narang (11) didn't last much longer, Jones beating the opener for pace and rattling the stumps. The Welshman was on fire. Next, with the score on 35/2, Spark was trapped plumb in front - only for the umpire to raise his arm for the no ball.
Spark and Ballich managed to see off the rest of Jones' spell, and progressed at a healthy rate with one eye looking at the limited time left in the match. Spark was on borrowed time, though, and within the session Harmison had him for 24. Riley fell soon after for 8, and the CWers were in some trouble at 105/4 at lunch.
Dharan, like Spark, looked to be positive - but like Spark, failed to make it count as he was gone for a quick 31. Winne gifted Harmison his third wicket with a skier to Jones on the boundary - 156/6. Ballich was the man holding everything together as he passed fifty for the second time in the match, and was able to finally find a partner willing to stick with him in Hing. The pair took the score past the 200 mark, but more importantly were still there at the break.
The partnership was worth 76 by the time Jones broke through, bowling Hing (45) with a ball that was just too fast for him. Ballich continued, and when he reached his second hundred of the match with a fine swivel-pull for four, the lead was pushing 300 and CW were just about out of the woods.
England took the new ball, and Anderson produced a beauty to finally dismiss Ballich, who had made 107. Capone and Dean resisted until the close, and at the end of the fourth day the score was up to 291/8, and a lead of 325.
The decision whether or not to declare was made for them by Harmison, who made short work of removing both of them - Dean for 18 and Capone for 28 - and completing his five-for. England were set a chase of 337 in just under three sessions.
Winne, as ever, got the first wicket of Trescothick, getting one to swing back into the left hander and clip the top of off. That brought Pietersen to the wicket, who clearly had the target on his mind rather than stumps, getting off the mark with a huge six over midwicket and progressing at a run a ball.
Dean was the man to get rid of the danger, a lovely off break coming back through the gate to bowl KP, but his 32 off 34 balls had got England into a good position. With Strauss looking solid at the other end, they needed 239 from two sessions, and with eight wickets still in hand.
CW claimed the ascendancy when Dean struck soon after, claiming Newman for 12, but soon the spinners were sent all around the ground by a simply sublime innings from Michael Vaughan. The England captain went at a superb pace, claiming the vast majority of the 130-run partnership with Strauss. Dong came back on to remove the opener as Strauss edged to slip for 85, but Vaughan was the big wicket. Just when he looked to be easing his way to a matchwinning century, Capone struck to have him trapped lbw for 99.
That brought tea, and Vaughan's innings had taken the run rate out of it. England were five down, but only 95 runs from the target.
That became six down when Dean bowled Flintoff for 9, and 78 runs were needed to win as Joyce came to the wicket. It was not a good time to drop a catch, but Dean let one slip through his fingers as Joyce gave him the chance at silly point, off Hing's bowling. 75 to win.
The drop looked worse in the next over as Joyce clattered two successive fours through the off side, but Dean made up for it in his next over, getting Geraint Jones to feather a catch through to Dharan. Jones was replaced by his namesake Simon with 57 runs to get, and with 51 required Hing finally got Joyce - the slow left armer had toiled away between lbw shouts, plays and misses and drops, and thoroughly deserved the crucial wicket.
Nerves began to jangle as Jones and Harmison resisted - 50 became 40, and then 36 required before Narang gleefully pouched a top edge at short fine leg to dismiss Harmison. That gave Dean his fifth wicket of the innings, and CW were one away from victory.
James Anderson lasted just long enough to allow Dean to refuse the new ball, the offspinner bagging six, and ten for the match, as Anderson nicked one behind. CW had won a fabulous match.
CW won by 31 runs
MotM - Michael Ballich
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