The Ashes

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Aus should never ever ever have won this test. A dodgey call to give Strauss out. :cool: 5-0?

Cricket: Warne delivers the killer blow

Wednesday December 6, 2006

ADELAIDE - The world’s greatest wicket taker inspired Australia to a remarkable victory at the Adelaide Oval last night.

The home side hold a commanding 2-0 series lead after scoring 168 for four in the final innings.

Mike Hussey (not out 61) and Michael Clarke (not out 21) got Australia home but it was Shane Warne who produced the masterstrokes.

Given an inch by Steve Bucknor and Kevin Pietersen, Warne predictably took a mile.

His relentless, unchanged spell of 26-11-29-4, giving him 4-49 for the innings, was the catalyst for England’s inexplicable collapse from 59 for one overnight to 129 all out, with a little bit of help from two men who had previously been unkind to Warne in this match.

First, umpire Bucknor let his guard down long enough to allow Warne to convince him that Andrew Strauss’ bat or glove, as well as his pad, had deflected a catch to short leg.

Warne was unable to win a single appeal from Bucknor or Rudi Koertzen in the first innings, but his standing as an expert in the dark art of umpire persuasion was confirmed by television.

Replays showed the ball was nowhere near either, leaving Strauss to shake his head and Warne to reason that his luck was in.

That feeling would have been strengthened by the wicket of Ian Bell, run out in the sort of mix-up that should never happen in tests but does so nonetheless.

Bell’s departure brought Kevin Pietersen to the wicket, a man acknowledged as Warne’s master after his first-innings 158.

Pietersen had boasted previously that he could never imagine being bowled around his legs by Warne, given that he has made a habit of avoiding the sweep to deliveries pitched into the rough outside his leg stump.

But yesterday Pietersen decided for one moment that he would try it, and then looked around in disbelief to find he had been bowled behind his pads by a ball that turned almost square to strike his off stump.

Celebrations of the wicket were prolonged and pointed, as the Australians knew from painful experience - in the fifth test at the Oval last year - that Pietersen was the one Englishman capable of killing off their charge with sustained quick runs.

After that, Warne and the Australians were insatiable, as Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard both discovered when they were also mystified by deliveries loaded with spin.

“We all thought if we get two or three in a row we might just put them under pressure,” Warne said.

"I think we wanted to get a few of them out, and actually bowl them out, whether it took us all day to do that, but just to let them know that, hang on, we’re still about here, we still believe we can get you out.

“Those run outs, they’re just like a needless thing to lose a wicket, some of that gave us a bit of momentum, then Pietersen out straight away.”

Australian captain Ricky Ponting called it “the best test win I’ve ever been a part of”.

England can still square or even win the five-match series and retain the Ashes, but it will be a huge task to regroup after this devastating defeat.

They enjoyed four strong days, but their disastrous final day will be a massive setback. No side has ever lost after making so many runs and declaring in the first innings of a test.

England captain Andrew Flintoff said his team had paid a heavy price for a poor session.

"We’ve played a lot of good cricket in this test match apart from an hour today when we let it slip, and it just shows it can cost you.

“You have a bad hour and you are out of the test match. That’s exactly what’s happened.”

  • Scoreboard

England

First innings 551 for 6 decl

Second innings (overnight 59-1)

A. Strauss c Hussey b Warne 34
A. Cook c Gilchrist b Clark 9
I. Bell run out (Clarke/Warne) 26
P. Collingwood not out 22
K. Pietersen b Warne 2
A. Flintoff c Gilchrist b Lee 2
G. Jones c Hayden b Lee 10
A. Giles c Hayden b Warne 0
M. Hoggard b Warne 4
S. Harmison lbw b McGrath 8
J. Anderson lbw b McGrath 1
Extras (3b, 5lb, 1w, 2nb) 11
–Total (73 overs) 129
Fall: 1/31, 2/69, 3/70, 4/73, 5/77, 6/94, 7/97, 8/105, 9/119.

Bowling: Lee 18-3-35-2 (2nb), McGrath 10-6-15-2 (1w), Warne 32-12-49-4, Clark 13-4-22-1

Australia

First innings 513

Second innings

J. Langer c Bell b Hoggard 7
M. Hayden c Collingwood b Flintoff 18
R. Ponting c Strauss b Giles 49
M. Hussey not out 61
D. Martyn c Strauss b Flintoff 5
M. Clarke not out 21
Extras (2b, 2lb, 1w, 2nb) 7
–Total (for 4 wkts, 32.5 overs) 168
Fall: 1/14 2/33 3/116 4/121.

Bowling: Hoggard 4-0-29-1, Flintoff 9-0-44-2 (2nb), Giles 10-0-46-1, Harmison 4-0-15-0 (1w), Anderson 3.5-0-23-0, Pietersen 2-0-7-0.

  • AAP

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=4&ObjectID=10413994

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Cricket: Bold England keeps dream alive
Friday December 15, 2006
By Adam Cooper

England’s belated decision to play bold cricket breathed new life into the Ashes series after Monty Panesar spun the third Test into the tourists’ advantage at Perth’s WACA Ground.

Panesar made a mockery of England’s conservative selections this series when, given the chance to twiddle his spinning finger instead of his thumbs, took 5-92 on Ashes debut to help bowl Australia out for 244.

Aided by the reinvigorated fast bowler Steve Harmison, Panesar gave life to the tourists’ dreams of fighting back from 2-0 to keep alive their chances of retaining cricket’s most prized trophy.

However Australia’s bowlers also sprang to life to orchestrate a home side fightback on easily the most absorbing day of the series.

England was 51/2 at stumps.

England’s batsmen can expect the wicket to flatten and slow over what should be four more cracking days, but on the hostility Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee showed tonight, the tourists will have to bat superbly to forge out a first innings lead of any note.

McGrath halted a quickfire England start with the removal of Alastair Cook (15), and then Lee produced a peach to have Ian Bell caught behind for a second-ball duck, although television replays showed the speedster overstepped.

With Andrew Strauss (24 not out) due for a big score, England will be desperate to build a lead big enough to avoid a repeat of the last day of the second Test in Adelaide, when the tourists’ batsmen were mesmerised by Australia’s bowlers and succumbed to the pressure.

Panesar at least brought much-needed positivity to England’s cause with a display of class, occasion and resilience after he got the nod over Ashley Giles, after two Tests on the sidelines.

Panesar bowled a dumbfounded Justin Langer - leaving the ball with an angled bat - with his seventh ball and then won the battle against Andrew Symonds’ attempts to hit him out of the attack, when he had the allrounder (26) caught behind cutting at a wide ball.

Panesar became the first bowler since England’s Alan Mullally eight years ago to take five wickets on his Ashes debut, and only the third left-arm finger spinner to claim a big haul at the WACA Ground, after India’s Bishan Bedi, who took 11 wickets in 1977-78, and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori, who claimed 6-87 five years ago.

England’s other inspiration came from Harmison, who retained his place after a return of 1-288 in the first two Tests and bounced back with 4-48.

Harmison took the two major scalps of the day, first when he had Australian captain Ricky Ponting LBW for two and then in the second session, when he cut short Michael Clarke’s stylish innings of 37 when he latched on to a return catch from Clarke’s flat-batted pull shot.

With Clarke dismissed on the verge of something special and Symonds out to too adventurous a shot, the responsibility of saving Australia’s innings again fell to Mike Hussey, who seamlessly took over No.4 after Damien Martyn’s retirement and made 74 not out.

England’s new-found spirit was reflected in the way Harmison and Panesar wildly celebrated their scalps after difficult tours, and the way their teammates mobbed them in delight.

However after two late wickets, England was spared another big blow when Paul Collingwood (10 not out) was dropped by Shane Warne at slip, moving to his left, in Stuart Clark’s first over.

The great day’s cricket was observed by a crowd of 24,224 - the record for a Test day at the WACA Ground - which was well-behaved, and had only seven fans ejected by tea.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=1500922&objectid=10415519

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lol - what sport is this again? :smiley:

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Cricket: Australia win back Ashes

December 18, 2006
By Julian Linden

PERTH - Australia beat England by 206 runs in the third cricket test to regain the Ashes in record time after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series today.

Australia wrapped up another convincing victory with the second ball after lunch on the final day when Shane Warne bowled Monty Panesar to dismiss England for 350.

England beat Australia 2-1 at home last year to win the Ashes for the first time since 1989 but they handed the urn straight back after just 15 months, the shortest reign in the 124-year history of the contest.

“We have been very good there’s no doubt about it,” Australian captain Ricky Ponting said in a televised interview.

"I think all the hard work has come through in our play, we’ve turned it round and played some unbelievably good cricket.

“It’s a huge occasion for us to win the Ashes the way we have has been unbelievable.”

England captain Andrew Flintoff was generous in defeat.

“Australia played well in the three test matches…full credit to them,” Flintoff said at the post-match presentation.

“There’s still two matches to go and we’re playing for pride but that’s one thing our team have got plenty of.”

Australia set England a target of 557 to win the match but the tourists’ only real hope of keeping the series alive was to salvage a draw after losing the first test in Brisbane by 277 runs and the second in Adelaide by six wickets.

Warne, playing in possibly his last Ashes series, picked up three of the five wickets that fell on the last day to lift his career total to 699.

He heads to the fourth test in Melbourne, his home ground, poised to become the first man to reach 700 test scalps.

England started the final day hoping for a miracle to keep the series alive but lost their last five wickets for just 14 runs after Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen stalled Australia’s ruthless pursuit of victory with a stubborn 75-run partnership.

The pair pounded the Australian bowlers around the ground for the first hour before Warne triggered the collapse when he bowled Flintoff for 51.

The quick-thinking Ponting then ran out Geraint Jones for his second duck of the match when the England wicketkeeper failed to get his back foot behind the crease after surviving an lbw appeal off Warne.

Sajid Mahmood made four when he was trapped leg before wicket by seamer Stuart Clark and Warne dismissed Steve Harmison lbw to send the visitors to lunch on 349 for nine.

Pietersen, who survived a close run-out call on 46 that was referred to the video umpire, took a single off Warne’s first delivery after lunch to reach 60 before the master leg spinner rattled Panesar’s stumps to spark wild celebrations among the Australian players.

“It’s bloody fantastic to be honest, this side deserved this,” Warne said. "It hurt in 2005 and we knew we had to be ready.

“This side can do special things and we were ready right from day one. It’s a pretty good feeling.”

  • REUTERS

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10415944

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Im not watching ashes at the moment but did you watch nz vs sri lanka? Malinga da Slinga is insane. Did you see him waste vitori!!! :smiley:

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Only what I see on the news. Yet another suspect action that will never get addressed as Sri Lanka, Bangaldesh, India and Pakistan hold the ICC to ransom and do what they want :mad:

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MELBOURNE, Dec 20 - Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are poised to announce their retirements from international cricket.
The Nine Network tonight reported Warne, 37, was poised to announce his retirement as early as tomorrow, while McGrath, 36, is also expected to follow suit.
The two bowlers will play their final Tests in the fifth Ashes Test against England at the SCG, Nine reported.
Cricket Australia (CA) would tonight neither confirm nor deny the report.
CA spokesman Peter Young said it was up to Warne and McGrath to make any announcements regarding their futures.
There is nothing we can say,'' he said. Those two players are the masters of their own destiny and the owners of their own futures and when they announce decisions on their futures is up to them.’’
Young said he was not in a position to say whether McGrath or Warne had contacted Cricket Australia.

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Warne’s had a good day at the office… 700th wicket as part of 5 for 39 of 17.2 overs :eek: and the Poms skittled for 159 :o Mind you Aus would be a bit pissed at losing 2 late wickets :cool:

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What a way to say goodbye
Friday December 29, 2006

MELBOURNE - Australia thumped England by an innings and 99 runs in the fourth Ashes test yesterday to give Shane Warne a dream send-off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

In what has been a celebratory test match for several Australia players, Warne bid farewell to his home ground and hometown fans in style with two more wickets in his penultimate test match.

Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden hoisted Warne onto their shoulders just before the team left the ground.

Warne will start the final test of his career, in Sydney next week, perched on 999 international wickets, comprising 706 in test matches and 293 in one-day internationals.

Ricky Ponting’s team will head to Sydney with a great chance of pulling off the first Ashes series whitewash in 86 years, and only the second since Warwick Armstrong’s Australians won 5-0 in the summer of 1920-21.

If Australia’s Ashes win in straight matches in the first three tests wasn’t convincing enough, the home side dominated almost all of the fourth test from the moment England captain Andrew Flintoff won the toss and batted on Boxing Day.

Australia bowled England out for 159 in the first innings and then recovered from 84 for five on day two with the bat through a 279-run partnership between Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden, who made 156 and 153 respectively.

The home side established a 260-run lead when bowled out for 419 in the first hour of day three, and then steamrolled through the England line-up after lunch.

The tourists lost their 10 wickets for 120 runs, after one stage sitting at 41 for none.

ENGLAND

First innings 159

Second innings

A. Strauss c Gilchrist b Lee 31
A. Cook b Clark 20
I. Bell lbw b McGrath 2
K. Pietersen b Clark 1
P. Collingwood c Langer b Lee 16
A. Flintoff lbw b Clark 25
C. Read not out 26
S. Mahmood lbw b Warne 0
S. Harmison lbw b Warne 4
M. Panesar c Clarke b Lee 14
M. Hoggard b Lee 5
Extras (12l, 1w, 4nb) 17
–Total (65.5 overs) 161
Fall: 1/41, 2/47, 3/49, 4/75, 5/90, 6/108, 7/109, 8/127, 9/146, 10/161.

Bowling: Lee 18.5-6-47-4 (3nb), McGrath 12-2-26-1 (1w), Clark 16-6-30-3 (1nb), Warne 19-3-46-2.

AUSTRALIA

First innings (overnight 372-7)

A. Symonds c Read b Harmison 156
S. Warne not out 40
S. Clark c Read b Mahmood 8
G. McGrath c Bell b Mahmood 0
Extras (6lb, 1w, 9nb) 16
–Total (108.3 overs) 419
Fall: 1/44, 2/44, 3/62, 4/79, 5/84, 6/363, 7/365, 8/383, 9/417.

Bowling: Hoggard 21-6-82-1 (1nb), Flintoff 22-1-77-3 (8nb), Harmison 28-6-69-2, Mahmood 21.3-1-100-4 (1w), Panesar 12-1-52-0, Collingwood 3-0-20-0, Pietersen 1-0-13-0.

  • AAP

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10417094

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Cricket: Murali criticism hypocrisy, says ex-captain

Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe is defending himself against another attack from Sri Lankan interests, this time from his old adversary Arjuna Ranatunga.

Crowe, who queried the legality of Muttiah Muralitharan’s wrong-'un during the second test in Wellington and sent film footage to the International Cricket Council unprompted, insists he did so - not out of spite - but for the greater good of the game.

“I wasn’t being nasty or malicious. I’ve got a lot of respect for Sri Lankan cricket and I love the way they play the game,” he said last night.

“I can understand Arjuna wanting to protect Murali and Sri Lanka’s chance of success at the next World Cup but, from an independent viewpoint, I think the issue deserves to be discussed.”

Crowe reiterated yesterday that he was startled only by Murali’s doosra, or wrong-'un, and particularly the action employed on the first evening and the second morning of the second test.

The footage sent by Crowe will evidently be used by the ICC in a split-screen format to compare Murali’s action during the Wellington test with the action he employed under laboratory testing.

Ranatunga yesterday questioned why Crowe didn’t raise the matter in Christchurch when New Zealand were winning, instead of bringing it up when the home side were suffering a heavy defeat at Wellington.

“You don’t wait till your team loses and then make a big hue and cry about it,” said the former test captain.

"I had a lot of respect for Crowe as a player and as a gentleman. But I’ve got to say that I’ve lost that respect.

“He sounds more like an Australian now.”

Ranatunga suggested hypocrisy and racism were behind the criticisms about his countryman’s action.

“I feel sorry for Murali,” he said. "He’s got to put up with this kind of crap whenever he comes up with a good performance.

"If he’d been playing for Australia, New Zealand or England they would have hailed him as the greatest bowler ever to play the game.

“He would have been known as the genius who overcame deformity and became a star. But simply because he’s an Asian, he’s got to go through this.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10417095

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Australia. I love them…

Just look how the ICC changed the laws for bowling to suggest what they are doing.

Malcolm Speed the ICC hope has shown how tough he is. Sack the 2nd best umpire, fine Australia for dissent, let Pakistan get away with there captains little dummy spit on being called for ball tampering.

I guess the ICC will make a law saying Australia can only have 6 players play for them.

:rolleyes: