Jamee's England Story [ICC 2006 - Ashes]

[Jamee999]

OK, so I'm bored and have 2 weeks off, so I figure I'll watch the Test Match and do an ICC story The format will probably be similar to Graham's, because his stories are gooood.

My England squad start off with the Ashes in Australia!

Here is the 18 man squad:

Opening Batsmen (3)

Alastair Cook
Andrew Strauss
Marcus Trescothick [captain]

Middle Order Batsmen (5)

Kevin Pietersen
Ian Bell
Owais Shah
Ed Joyce
Paul Collingwood

All-rounders (1)

Andrew Flintoff

Wicket-keepers (2)

Matt Prior
James Foster

Fast Bowlers (5)

Steve Harmison
Matthew Hoggard
James Anderson
Chris Tremlett
Ryan Sidebottom

Spin Bowlers (2)

Monty Panesar
Ashley Giles

 

[Jamee999]

New South Wales vs England - Warmup Game

This might be a tough match - the NSW team has quite a few internationals in it. We'll go in with the first choice lineup:

Strauss
Cook
Trescothick*
Pietersen
Bell
Prior+
Flintoff
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson
Panesar

England 394
Prior 111, Flintoff 95, Trescothick 54

New South Wales 196
Haddin 99
Anderson 4/28, Harmison 3/78

New South Wales 213/5 (f-o)
Panesar 4/31

A good match - with lots of players impressing, very pleased with the scores from Prior and Flintoff. Unfortunately though, Harmison got hit around a bit in the second innings, when he was trying to attack the openers - that'll be something I'll have to watch in the Tests...

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 1st Test Match - GABBA

Overcast conditions in Brisbane, and looks like a flat pitch, but I think that by Day 4 and 5 it'll take some spin, so we go in with the same team.

Australia line-up as follows:

Hayden
Hussey
Ponting*
Jaques
Martyn
Langer
Gilchrist+
Warne
Gillespie
Clark
McGrath

Not the side I was expecting, but a formidable one, nonetheless.

We win the toss and decide to bat first.

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 1st Test Match - Day One
AUSTRALIA RATTLE OUT ENGLAND

England 166
Strauss 41, Flintoff 30
McGrath 5/27

Australia 0/1
Hoggard 1/0

Australia are 166 runs behind, with 9 first innings wickets in hand

A disaster of a day for England! We struggled and scraped our way all day but were bowled out for just 166. Some felt that many English batsmen were too defensive - Alastair Cook batted for nearly 3 and a half hours for his 29, and Matthew Hoggard from Number Eight scored only 8, but took 96 balls to do so in stubborn defense. Flintoff was the only batsman who really broke this image - scoring his 30 at nearly a run a ball. Hoggard was able to dismiss Matthew Hayden in the only over that could be bowled before stumps.

Glenn McGrath was the star on the first day of the Ashes, but his bowling partner Shane Warne was surprisingly ineffective, bowling 22 tight overs, but taking no wickets.

-----

Australia vs England - 1st Test Match - Day Two
AUSTRALIA MARCH ON THROUGH THE RAIN


England 166
Strauss 41, Flintoff 30
McGrath 5/27

Australia 241/4
Jaques 103, Ponting 96

Australia are 75 runs ahead, with 6 first innings wickets in hand

England only managed to take 3 wickets on a rain-reduced second day at the GABBA. Steve Harmison removed Hussey early on, but Jaques and captain Ponting managed to pile on 198 for the 3rd wicket before Panesar (in a nice session-long spell) removed Ponting just short of his century. Jaques was run out 20 minutes before the players came off for the rain and abandoned play for the day.

England will start tomorrow with a new ball, and will need to dismiss Australia quickly if they are to have any hope in this first test.

Phil Jaques scored his maiden Test century against a languishing English side

-----
Australia vs England - 1st Test Match - Day Three
MARTYN TAKES MATCH AWAY FROM ENGLAND

England 166
Strauss 41, Flintoff 30
McGrath 5/27

Australia 374
Jaques 103, Martyn 96*, Ponting 96
Hoggard 4/64, Harmison 2/95, Panesar 2/102

England 6/0

England are 202 runs behind, with 10 second innings wickets remaining

Damien Martyn shepherded the tail expertly on the 3rd day, and ended up stranded just short of his century, as Australia took a 1st innings lead of 208. Martyn was frustrated by the accurate, defensive bowling of Monty Panesar, who kept the Australians to 2 runs an over for most of the day, while Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard (mainly) bowled from the other end, attacking the tailenders. Harmison unleashed a frightening display of quick, aggressive bowling against Stuart Clark, who managed to survive for an hour - and after he fell, McGrath slogged his way to what could be a cruical 27! (A score greater than all but 4 of England's batsmen could contribute)

England's batting will be cruely tested on the fourth day, as they could be in a struggle to make Australia even bat again!

England's 3 main bowling threats today - Harmison, Panesar and Hoggard

-----

Australia vs England - 1st Test Match - Day Four
COOK DRAGS ENGLAND BACK INTO CONTENTION

England 166
Strauss 41, Flintoff 30
McGrath 5/27

Australia 374
Jaques 103, Martyn 96*, Ponting 96
Hoggard 4/64, Harmison 2/95, Panesar 2/102

England 191/2
Cook 87*, Trescothick 59
Gillespie 2/59

England are 17 runs behind, with 8 second innings wickets remaining

A determined defensive effort by Alastair Cook has placed England back with a chance of saving the 1st Test Match. Cook batted all day for his 87, during which time he was dropped by Langer and Hussey, but capitalised on the Australian mistakes, and combined with Strauss and Trescothick to take England just shy of the Australian lead. All of the Australian bowlers were frustrated, with only Jason Gillespie being able to take wickets. Cook, Pietersen and the rest of the English lineup will have to battle hard tomorrow, but saving the Test Match isn't out of their reach.

Alastair Cook drives during his obdurate innings of 87*

-----

Australia vs England - 1st Test Match - Day Five
HAYDEN SMASHES AUSTRALIA TO VICTORY

England 166
Strauss 41, Flintoff 30
McGrath 5/27

Australia 374
Jaques 103, Martyn 96*, Ponting 96
Hoggard 4/64, Harmison 2/95, Panesar 2/102

England 329
Cook 124, Trescothick 59
Warne 4/71, Gillespie 2/92

Australia 122/3
Hayden 77*
Hoggard 3/48

Australia win by 7 wickets

Two greats of Australian cricket showed up today - Warne and Hayden, and we lost the Test match, as the Australians manage to chase down the target of 122 in just 18 overs. Warne managed to remove Cook, who had batted for over 8 hours for 124, as well as Prior and 2 tailenders. Flintoff battled away for his 30, and Anderson was defiant for his 22*, but England needed more runs, as they survived until just after tea.

Matthew Hayden came out attacking, and none of the England bowlers could slow him down - Hoggard managed to take three wickets, but Hayden and Martyn were able to take 10 off the final over of the match, bowled by Harmison, and Australia won.

Another piece of bad news from the match was that Ian Bell had his arm fractured by a short ball from McGrath, and will be out for 4 weeks.

Matthew Hayden did the damage, and Damien Martyn scored the winning runs

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 2nd Test Match - WACA

A warm, sunny day in Perth, and a pitch which looks like it's going to be tricky to bat on. We make a change - Paul Collingwood comes into the squad, to replace the injured Ian Bell:

Strauss
Cook
Trescothick*
Pietersen
Collingwood
Prior+
Flintoff
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson
Panesar

Australia are unchanged. We win the toss and chose to bat - I don't think it will be easy on the first day - but we've learnt about batting against Warne on Day 5 allready!

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 2nd Test Match - Day One
STRAUSS AND COOK BEAT BACK AUSSIE ATTACK

England 237/0
Strauss 125*, Cook 98*

England are 237 ahead, with 10 first-innings wickets in hand

England's openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss have shocked the Perth crowd, by staying at the crease for the entirety of the opening day of the second test match. Strauss and Cook frustrated the Australian bowlers, as McGrath, Gillespie, Clark and Warne bowled 20 or more overs each and couldn't pick up a single wicket! It was not exciting cricket, with the batsmen scoring at just under 2.5 runs an over, but it was effective, and England's 1st innings total at the GABBA has allready been surpassed!

Strauss and Cook leave the field after a succesful day

-----

Australia vs England - 2nd Test Match - Day Two
ENGLAND DRIVE ON TOWARDS BIG TOTAL

England 453/4
Strauss 155, Cook 111, Pietersen 72*
McGrath 2/108

England are 453 ahead, with 6 first-innings wickets in hand

The English batting line-up moved on even further today - with Kevin Pietersen adding to the centuries of Cook and Strauss, with 72*. It was a day of partnerships in the 40s, after the monster opening stand fell for 268, the next 3 partnerships all put on scores between 41 and 44, before Pietersen and keeper Matthew Prior finished the day together with 58 unbeaten runs. It will be interesting to see if and when Marcus Trescothick chooses to declare tomorrow, as England will need to take 20 Australian wickets to level the series.

Paul Collingwood was caught behind for 14 off the bowling of Glenn McGrath

-----

Australia vs England - 2nd Test Match - Day Three
ENGLAND SECURE MASSIVE SCORE

England 611
Strauss 155, Pietersen 112, Cook 111, Prior 106
McGrath 4/174

Australia 96/2
Hayden 43
Panesar 1/15

Australia are 515 behind, with 8 first-innings wickets in hand

England today were bowled out by Australia for 611, with 4 batsmen scoring centuries - Kevin Pietersen and Matthew Prior bringing their's up today, as they put on 120 for the fifth wicket. In reply, Australia scored 96 for the loss of 2 wickets, and are squarely behind the 8-ball. Monty Panesar removed Hayden, and Mike Hussey was run out.

Matthew Prior scored his maiden test century

-----

Australia vs England - 2nd Test Match - Day Four
AUSTRALIA DEFY ENGLISH ATTACK

England 611
Strauss 155, Pietersen 112, Cook 111, Prior 106
McGrath 4/174

Australia 351/8
Langer 69*, Jaques 61
Anderson 4/114

Australia are 260 behind, with 2 first-innings wickets in hand

Australia scored well on the fourth day, but none of the batsmen were able to go on, and England placed them well towards the follow-on, with Langer, Clark and McGrath still needing to score 60 more runs to avoid being made to bat again - an advantage to captain Marcus Trescothick that could be the difference between a draw and English victory.

James Anderson claimed 4 big Australian wickets - Ponting, Martyn, Gilchrist and Warne

-----

Australia vs England - 2nd Test Match - Day FIVE
AUSTRALIA BAT TO A DRAW

England 611
Strauss 155, Pietersen 112, Cook 111, Prior 106
McGrath 4/174

Australia 406
Langer 110*, Jaques 61
Anderson 5/136

Australia 253/1 (f-o)
Hayden 113*, Hussey 81

Test Match Drawn
Australia lead the series 1-0 with 3 Tests to play

Australia today managed to secure a draw in the second Test, even though they were asked to follow-on by England, but Langer and McGrath managed to bat for an hour and a quarter, and then in the third innings England threw everything at Australia, but to no avail, as Hayden scored a century in their total of 253/1. The two sides will move onto the next test match, with Australia 1-0 up.

Justin Langer scored a crucial century in the Australian resistance

 

[Somerset]

Great story so far, good read. Looking forward to seeing how you go in the rest of the series.

 

[Jamee999]

Victoria vs England - Warmup Game

I decide to rest tired or in-form players, giving the backups a chance to prove themselves:

Cook
Trescothick*
Joyce
Shah
Collingwood
Prior+
Flintoff
Tremlett
Harmison
Anderson
Panesar

A good pitch, but with a little bit in it for spinners. We lose the toss and are asked to field first.

Victoria 455
Flintoff 3/54, Panesar 3/89, Anderson 3/117

England 485/4 dec
Trescothick 151, Shah 123, Collingwood 103*

Victoria 38/2

An excellent batting performance, with Shah firmly grabbing the slot as the next batsman in line, but he's going to find it very hard to get into the team, as Collingwood scored his century at nearly a run a ball. The bowling wasn't as good, but 3 bowlers managed to get 3 batsmen out, with only Tremlett going wicketless of the main bowlers.

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 3rd Test Match - Adelaide Oval

We get to Adelaide and it's a complete dustbowl. I decide to drop the out of form Stephen Harmison, and replace him with second spinner Ashley Giles. It's a risk, but I think we need to take it. The England team:

Strauss
Cook
Trescothick*
Pietersen
Collingwood
Prior+
Flintoff
Giles
Hoggard
Anderson
Panesar

Australia also make a change, Stuart MacGill replacing Stuart Clark:

Hussey
Hayden
Ponting*
Jaques
Martyn
Langer
Gilchrist+
Warne
Gillespie
MacGill
McGrath

We win the toss and bat, which is cruicial, because not only do we get first use of a good pitch, we also will bowl 4th.

 

[pinchy81]

Nice start to the series and am liking the team. Just hope you can go onto and win the Ashes. Excellent layout as well mate.

And Matty Prior scored a century XD

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 3rd Test Match - Day One
MIXED DAY ONE FOR BOTH SIDES

England 241/4
Pietersen 68, Cook 60

England are 241 ahead, with 6 first-innings wickets in hand

It was another slow first day to an Ashes Test, as England ground out 241 runs. Alastair Cook played another anchor role, but he was counterbalanced by Trescothick, and especially Kevin Pietersen, who played a counter-attacking role, but got out 25 minutes before stumps - Collingwood and nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard guided the team home to the end of play.

Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen shared an important partnership

-----

Australia vs England - 3rd Test Match - Day Two
AUSTRALIA STICK THE KNIFE IN

England 320
Pietersen 68, Cook 60
MacGill 3/53, Warne 3/86

Australia 166/0
Hussey 88*, Hayden 68*

Australia are 154 behind, with 10 first-innings wickets in hand

England fell to a disapointing 320 on the second day, with the supposedly strengthened lower order (with Flintoff at 8 and Giles at 9, thanks to Hoggard as nightwatchman) lost 5 wickets for only 18 runs, as the spin twins, Warne and MacGill tore through the English tail, putting them in a very weak position. And then, openers Hussey and Hayden powered on, with an unbeaten 166 partnership, before the close of play. England will need to play better tomorrow.

Andrew Flintoff was one of Warne's 3 wickets

-----

Australia vs England - 3rd Test Match - Day Three
ENGLAND DRAGGED BACK TOWARDS PARITY

England 320
Pietersen 68, Cook 60
MacGill 3/53, Warne 3/86

Australia 459
Hussey 123, Ponting 98, Jaques 78, Hayden 72
Hoggard 5/137, Panesar 4/86

England 47/0

England are 92 behind, with 10 second-innings wickets in hand

Matthew Hoggard and Monty Panesar took 9 of the 10 wickets to fall on Day 3, as Australia were bowled out for 459. This time, it was Australia who collapsed, losing 8 wickets for 105, and their last 6 for 44! Hoggard removed Hayden in the first over, and progressed through, removing much of the Australian top order. Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss guided England home without loss.

Matthew Hoggard took 5 wickets on the third day

-----

Australia vs England - 3rd Test Match - Day Four
ENGLAND BAT THEIR WAY INTO THE GAME

England 320
Pietersen 68, Cook 60
MacGill 3/53, Warne 3/86

Australia 459
Hussey 123, Ponting 98, Jaques 78, Hayden 72
Hoggard 5/137, Panesar 4/86

England 292/3
Strauss 73, Pietersen 68*, Collingwood 50*

England are 153 ahead, with 7 second-innings wickets in hand

More resolute batting from England today, with all of top 5 passing 35, and 3 of them (Strauss, Pietersen and Collingwood) making 50s, the latter two unbeaten. Tomorrow will be another test of Marcus Trescothick's captaincy, as he may need to make a declaration. McGrath, Gillespie and MacGill were the wicket-takers.

Pietersen and Collingwood batted well on their way to unbeaten half-centuries

-----

Australia vs England - 3rd Test Match - Day Four
ENGLISH CONSERVATISM CREATES A DRAW

England 320
Pietersen 68, Cook 60
MacGill 3/53, Warne 3/86

Australia 459
Hussey 123, Ponting 98, Jaques 78, Hayden 72
Hoggard 5/137, Panesar 4/86

England 467/8 dec
Pietersen 131, Strauss 73, Collingwood 64, Prior 51

Australia 70/0

Test Match Drawn
Australia lead 1-0 with 2 matches to play

A disappointing final day, where Marcus Trescothick, the England captain seemed unwilling to be too aggressive in his declaration, not wanting to give Australia the chance to go up 2-0 in the series, and so the match fizzled out into a draw. Earlier in the day, Kevin Pietersen converted his overnight 68* into a century.

Kevin Pietersen was the Man of the Match

 

[Somerset]

At least you're scoring runs, up to the bowlers to step up if you're to get something out of the series though IMO.

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 4th Test Match - Melbourne Cricket Ground

Giles drops out on a flatter, more docile pitch, and I make the possibly surprising decision not to bring Steve Harmison back in, but to replace him with Ryan Sidebottom:

Strauss
Cook
Trescothick*
Pietersen
Collingwood
Prior+
Flintoff
Sidebottom
Hoggard
Anderson
Panesar

Australia make one change - Stuart MacGill drops out but Michael Kasprowicz, not Stuart Clark replaces him:

Hussey
Hayden
Ponting*
Jaques
Martyn
Langer
Gilchrist+
Warne
Gillespie
Kasprowicz
McGrath

We win the toss, and will hope to go off well on the sunny opening day.

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 4th Test Match - Day One
ENGLAND SHOW MORE AGGRESSION ON WAY TO TOTAL

England 282/5
Trescothick 59, Pietersen 51*
Warne 3/36

England are 282 ahead, with 5 first innings wickets remaining

Despite a brilliant display from Shane Warne, England managed to make their way to 282/5, thanks to lots of starts, but none of the batsmen have been able to resist the charms of Warne (or Damien Martyn, if you're Matt Prior) for too long. Kevin Pietersen has stroked a fluent century, and Andrew Flintoff has passed 30 for the first time in the series, and so England could be on their way to a good total.

Shane Warne took 3 wickets on the opening day of the 4th Test

-----

Australia vs England - 4th Test Match - Day Two
ENGLAND BREAK INTO AUSTRALIA BATSMEN

England 432
Pietersen 139*, Flintoff 67, Trescothick 59
Warne 4/91, Gillespie 4/114

Australia 121/4
Ponting 48*
Anderson 2/32, Hoggard 2/35

Australia are 311 behind, with 5 first innings wickets remaining

On England's best day of this Ashes series, England managed to complete a large first innings total, thanks to an unbeaten century from Kevin Pietersen, and then a very impressive bowling display from James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard who took a brace of wickets each. Andrew Flintoff's best innings of the series was stopped at 67, when he was trapped infront of the wickets by Shane Warne.

Kevin Pietersen scored his 3rd century of the series

-----

Australia vs England - 4th Test Match - Day Three
ENGLAND IN COMMANDING POSITION TO LEVEL SERIES

England 432
Pietersen 139*, Flintoff 67, Trescothick 59
Warne 4/91, Gillespie 4/114

Australia 241
Gilchrist 65, Ponting 53
Anderson 6/95, Hoggard 4/67

England 106/1
Cook 44*, Trescothick 44*

England are 297 ahead, with 9 second innings wickets remaining

A commanding bowling performance by English swing bowlers James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard bowled Australia out for 241 today, a mere 9 runs ahead of the total Australia needed to avoid the follow on. Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer both moved to their half-centuries, but couldn't get much further. Alastair Cook and Marcus Trescothick took England to a lead of just under 300 by the close of play.

James Anderson took 6 Australian wickets, to add to his 5-wicket haul in the second test

-----

Australia vs England - 4th Test Match - Day Four
AUSTRALIA UNLIKELY TO SAVE TEST

England 432
Pietersen 139*, Flintoff 67, Trescothick 59
Warne 4/91, Gillespie 4/114

Australia 241
Gilchrist 65, Ponting 53
Anderson 6/95, Hoggard 4/67

England 294/7 dec
Trescothick 96, Cook 81
Warne 3/66, McGrath 3/85

Australia 66/0

Australia need 420 more to win, with 10 second innings wickets remaining

England set Australia a massive target of 486 to win the fourth test. Marcus Trescothick and Alastair Cook were the two main contributers in the English second innings, but both were ensnared before they could reach their centuries. Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey guided Australia to the close, but they will need to bat all day to save the match.

Marcus Trescothick fell just short of his century

-----

Australia vs England - 4th Test Match - Day Five
AUSTRALIAN REARGUARD SAVES TEST

England 432
Pietersen 139*, Flintoff 67, Trescothick 59
Warne 4/91, Gillespie 4/114

Australia 241
Gilchrist 65, Ponting 53
Anderson 6/95, Hoggard 4/67

England 294/7 dec
Trescothick 96, Cook 81
Warne 3/66, McGrath 3/85

Australia 313/8
Hayden 76, Gilchrist 54*
Hoggard 5/105, Panesar 3/72

Test Match Drawn
Australia lead 1-0 with 1 test to play

A fantastic rearguard effort by Adam Gilchrist and the Australian batting order has saved the fourth test at the MCG. Monty Panesar was able to remove 3 of the Australian top order, before Matthew Hoggard removed 5 other batsmen. Damien Martyn was able to bat for more than 3 hours, as did Matthew Hayden. It's a very dissapointing result for England, especially with the lack of penetration from Flintoff and Sidebottom. The Sydney Test is now crucial - if England win they will retain the Ashes. If there is a draw, or Australia win, the Ashes will stay down under.

Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie resisted well

 

[GIMH]

Oooh, exciting finish ahead, get on with it Jamee

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 5th Test Match - Sydney Cricket Ground

A few big changes for this Test - Bell and Giles replace Flintoff and Sidebottom. Turning pitch, and Flintoff's runs will be made up for by Bell, and I think that Giles will take more wickets. We lineup as follows:

Strauss
Cook
Trescothick*
Pietersen
Bell
Collingwood
Prior+
Giles
Hoggard
Anderson
Panesar

Australia continues with it's bowling wheel of fortune:

Hussey
Hayden
Ponting*
Jaques
Martyn
Langer
Gilchrist+
Warne
Kasprowicz
MacGill
McGrath

Ponting wins the toss and asks us to field.

 

[Jamee999]

Australia vs England - 5th Test Match - Day One
MAGNIFICANT HOGGARD PEGS BACK AUSTRALIANS

Australia 312/8
Hayden 64, Langer 62* [retired hurt]
Hoggard 5/94, Panesar 3/94

Australia are 312 ahead, with 1 first innings wicket remaining

A fantastic display of swing bowling by Matthew Hoggard has pegged back Australia, leaving them with just 1 wicket remaining at the end of Day One (Justin Langer had his rib broken by a sharply rising delivery from James Anderson, who had an otherwise poor day). 4 Australian batsmen made 50s, but none got past 65.

Matthew Hoggard picked up his 3rd 5-wicket haul of the series

-----

Australia vs England - 5th Test Match - Day Two
ENGLAND CRUMBLE AGAINST AUSTRALIAN THREAT

Australia 319
Hayden 64, Langer 62* [retired hurt]
Hoggard 6/95, Panesar 3/100

England 219
Pietersen 67, Anderson 28*
Kasprowicz 3/30, McGrath 3/31, Warne 3/80

Australia 8/0

Australia are 108 ahead, with 9 second innings wickets remaining

England have fallen to a first-innings gap of 100 runs in the 5th Test, and even that was only thanks to a scrappy 45 run partnership between Anderson and Panesar. Only Kevin Pietersen made more than 30, an enterprising, attack innings, but he was one of 3 batsmen to fall to Warne. It is a very poor showing by the English, who will have to apply themselves much more in the future.

Monty Panesar and James Anderson's partnership of 45 could yet prove to be crucial

-----

Australia vs England - 5th Test Match - Day Three
AUSSIES PUSH ON TOWARDS MASSIVE TARGET

Australia 319
Hayden 64, Langer 62* [retired hurt]
Hoggard 6/95, Panesar 3/100

England 219
Pietersen 67, Anderson 28*
Kasprowicz 3/30, McGrath 3/31, Warne 3/80

Australia 286/6
Gilchrist 72*, Martyn 67, Hussey 63
Hoggard 2/66

Australia are 386 ahead, with 3 second innings wickets remaining

Another good Australian batting display has put England out of the Ashes - barring a remarkable 4th innings performance. Adam Gilchrist is unbeaten, after a century partnership with Damien Martyn. There was, however, yet another setback for England as star bowler was ruled out of the rest of the Test because of a back injury. Hoggard had bowled 55 overs in the test so far. If England can somehow manage to bat for all of the next 2 days, they will retain the Ashes...

Damien Martyn scored a half-century

-----

Australia vs England - 5th Test Match - Day Four
AUSTRALIA REGAIN ASHES

Australia 319
Hayden 64, Langer 62* [retired hurt]
Hoggard 6/95, Panesar 3/100

England 219
Pietersen 67, Anderson 28*
Kasprowicz 3/30, McGrath 3/31, Warne 3/80

Australia 340
Gilchrist 108, Martyn 67, Hussey 63
Anderson 3/98, Hoggard 2/66

England 122
Strauss 60*
McGrath 4/44, Warne 3/37

Australia win by 318 runs
Australia regain the Ashes, winning 2-0

A timid batting performance by England has surrendered the Ashes to Australia, as Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne ripped out the English batting lineup. Andrew Strauss was the only batsmen to show any resistance, carrying his bat for 60 unbeaten runs in an innings that lasted only 4 hours.

Ricky Ponting, the victorious captain

English Top Performers:
Kevin Pietersen 550 runs @ 68.75
Matthew Hoggard 31 wickets @ 23.48

 

[GIMH]

You dropped Flintoff, ****, hope you lose

TTTT he is a disappointment on the ICC games isn't he? Anyway, this should be interesting. Bring it on.

 

[Jamee999]

So that's the end of my story - disapointing for England that we couldn't secure that Ashes - but that's the way things are...

 

[Somerset]

Bad luck on the series result, but a well presented story regardless.