Australia proceed steadily towards victory, despite Cook's resistance: T5D3

England 149 (48.4ov, Moeen Ali 30, Wood 24, Cook 22, Johnson 8.4-4-21-3, M Marsh 9-2-30-3, Siddle 2/32, Lyon 2/40) & 6/203 (79ov, Cook 85/234b/11x4, Buttler 33*/80b/3x4, Lyon 2/52, Siddle 16-10-14-1, Smith 1-0-7-1, Marsh 1/28, Johnson 1/51) need 129 more runs to avoid an innings defeat: T5/5 D3/5 at The Oval.

Once England's tail had wagged a little more and Mitchell Johnson had removed the principal waggers Moeen Ali and Mark Wood, Michael Clarke went against his previous practice and relied on his commonsense to enforce the follow on.

England, or more specifically Alistair Cook, made a better fist of things at the second attempt. But Cook's dismissal, caught at short leg off Steven Smith in the closing minutes of the day's play, must surely have, barring very heavy rain, sealed their fate, but not of course their recovery of the Ashes.

Cook's judicious strokeplay and exemplary (until that mistake) contrasted with the lack thereof of most of his teammates. A few of them played one or two good strokes, but none of the top order came close to matching Cook. Only Jos Buttler (who isn't, on his form thus far in the series a bona fide top order batter) managed to survive against the unrelenting Australian attack, in which Peter Siddle's economy was the highlight for me. I didn't think he was up to it, but am happy to acknowledge my error of judgment, unlike Shane Warne who on TV has continued to pooh-pooh him as a medium pacer. Some medium pacer, say I.

If all goes to plan the Test should finish on day 4. Even if things don't work out quite as Australia hope they have a considerable margin of safety in terms of runs and, maybe, time. The major threat is rain, which is forecast,as  I understand, for each of the last two days, though not for the entire days's play. Australia should win this one from here, but if England manage to hang on for a draw it won't be the first time that English weather has spoilt proceedings. Let's wait and see.


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More of the same as England keep moving towards crushing Test and series victory

India 224 & 1/35 (12 ov) trail England 7/710 dec (188.1 ov, A Cook 294, E Morgan 104, A Sfrauss 87, K Pietersen 63, T Bresnan 53*) by 451 runs with 9 2nd inns wkts in hand: T#3 D3 at Edgbaston.

To be honest I didn't watch all that much of the day's play: there was more appealing fare on other channels, notably a telecast of a live performance of Don Giovanni. I did see the only quarter decent passage of play for India when England lost three quick middle order wickets between 596 and 613, which put paid to whatever thoughts England may have had, and some commentators (but not me),did have of aiming for 1000 .

I also saw, just as I had the day before, many excellent strokes from Alistair Cook who continued to 294/545b (33x4). Eoin Morgan's 104/199b (11x4) was a worthy innings even if he, like but to a greater degree than Cook, benefited from some slack Indian fielding.

I saw several replays of Virender Sehwag completing a king pair: not that there was any doubt about the decision, it just summed up India's day, match and, quite possibly, series.

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Yes, England are good, but who'd have thought India were are this bad at Test cricket?

England 3/456 (115 ov, A Cook 182*, A Strauss 87, K Pietersen 63) lead India 224 by 232 runs on 1st innings with 7 wickets in hand: T#3 D2 at Edgbaston

Have there been many more one-sided Test matches? The scorecard says a lot , especially about the high quality of England's batting, with Alistair Cook's 182*/339b (26x4) poohpoohing those who thought his Australian Test summer was a five Test wonder, but it doesn't reveal how feebly India have played. The bowling, Praveen Kumar from time to time excepted, has lacked bite and the fielding has been sub-optimal: often below parkland cricket standard.

The match has already been, unless the weather intervenes, decided.India...though once upon a time there was a Test, when three of the current Indian team were shorter in the tooth, when what looked inevitable didn't turn out that way .




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England complete 3-1 series floorwiping,

England 644 defeated Australia 280 & 281 by an innings & 83 runs: T5 D5 at SCG.

England win series 3-1 and retain ashes.

Player of the Match and Series: Alistair Cook.

As expected, England wrapped up the match and series this morning after some resolute if belated resistance from Steven Smith and Peter Siddle.

Congratulations to England: they outplayed Australia in all departments of the game. Alistair Cook and Jimmy Anderson were expected to be liabilities yet they turned into gilt-edged assets. England's off-field preparation was first-class, too, despite the occasional raised eyebrow about the number of support staff.

Australia will probably drop back to number 5 in the world Test rankings which, notwithstanding my disdain for that system, is probably a fair place for them. Their next encounter will be against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in August which may not bring much joy either. By then there will of necessity have been much soul-searching among the Australian cricket players and administrators to follow not just the reality checks of the scorecards and the painful reminders of the video records but also the outpourings of supporter criticism.

England may rise even further in the rankings: their forthcoming home series against India should be a cracker, for which they should IMO start favourites.

But that's in the future. Now to the limited over phase of the tour (which I, if you've not already gathered, find less interesting). After a couple of T20 games there will be an overlong 7 match ODI series. On their last tour England, on the ropes of their Test 0-5 drubbing, made an eleventh hour recovery to snatch the title. Can Australia regroup too (as they did after losing the Ashes in 2009)?
I'm not predicting anything.

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Cook and Bell bat Australia out of match and series: T5/D3

England 7/488 (141 ov, A Cook 189, I Bell 115, A Strauss 60. M Prior 54*) lead Australia 280 by 208 runs with 3 first innings wickets in hand: T5 D3 at SCG.

England batted through the day adding 4/323 from 93 overs and by doing so snuffed out any hopes Australia might have had achieving a first innings lead or, more realistically, a relatively small deficit.

After nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson and Paul Collingwood both fell cheaply (the latter giving Michael Beer his first Test wicket). Alistair Cook and Ian Bell put England 100 in front before Cook, having been rightly reprieved on 99 by the UDRS, was out for a commanding 189/342b (16x4). Bell, who on 67 was also let off by the UDRS when perhaps the original decision should have stood, and Matt Prior, added another 107 before Bell fell for 115/232b (13x4) his first century against Australia. Prior's brisk 54*/59b (1x6, 5x4) was just right for the situation.

The Australian bowling? It was another day of honest trundling. There were a few edges but too few balls which beat the bat. Shane Watson was probably the best, and that's not saying much.

Not that I want or need to say much. England are well on course heading for another victory and series win, both of which they well deserve. I'm now going to watch a more even match: South Africa v India at Cape Town.


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Rain falls on England's (and Pietersen's parade: T2D3

England 551/4 (143.0 ov, K Pietersen 213*, A Cook 148, J Trott 78) ) lead Australia 245 by 306 runs with 6 1st innings wickets in hand:L T2/5, D3/5 Adelaide Oval

Kevin Pietersen is batting extremely well, Alistair Cook was eventually dismissed for 148/269b (18x4), Ian Bell looks well set, while Paul Collingwood's 42 in the context of the England innings constitutes a failure: these were the highlights of a rain shortened day where only 54 overs were bowled but England barrelled ahead to add 2/234.

Australia is demoralised: the bowling , Ryan Harris excepted, has been inept, the fielding has been well below Test, let along Australian Test, standard, while Ricky Ponting's field placings haven't borne a sufficiently close relationship to the capabilities of the attack.

But all praise to Pietersen, who continued in Saturday's vein advancing powerfully from 85 to 213*/296b (1x6, 31x4). He played as he's done in many of his recent innings but on this occasion hasn't got out in the 30s or 40s. Great batting, even allowing for the shortcomings of the bowling and the flatness of the Adelaide Oval wicket.

Should England declare at their overnight score? In normal circumstances I'd say they should bat on to 600 or so, but they do if the rain forecast for the last two days may rob them of what would be a well-merited victory.

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Fox Sports video highlights.

A century to Cook and a century in the shade as England press ahead: T2 D2

England 2/317 (89 ov , A Cook 126*, K Pietersen 85*, J Trott 78) lead Australia 245 by 72 runs with 8 first inns wickets in hand: T2/5 D2/5 at Adelaide Oval.

It was, notwithstanding the false dawn of Andrew Strauss being bowled in the first over, unquestionably England's day.

On a flat track Alistair Cook batted through a day where the temperature reached 38deg C (100 deg F) to reach 136*/246b (17x4). Jonathan Trott rode his luck, notably being dropped in the gully when he was 10, and settled down to add 174 with Cook before he was out for 78/144b (11x4). Kevin Pietersen then played an imperious innings in which he showed that reports of his vulnerability to slow left arm bowling are exaggerated. By stumps he'd made 85*/141b (13x4) of 141 as England continued their march towards victory.

Cook batted extremely well, playing few false strokes (one of which resulted in the umpire's caught behind decision being overturned) and, by my reckoning, missing even fewer balls. He looked especially good square of the wicket on both sides. In short, a class player.

Australia looked pretty ordinary, not least in the field where a couple of chances were put down and a run out missed (from side on, but why wasn't anyone up at the bowler's end stumps to take it?) Of the bowlers Ryan Harris, with his extra pace looked the best, while Xavier Doherty's inexperience was exposed.

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Fox Sports video highlights.

Huge England score leads to draw and poses many questions for Australia

England 260 & 1/517 dec (152 ov, A Cook 235*, J Trott 125*, A Strauss 110) drew with Australia 481 & 1/107 (26.0 ov, R Ponting 51*): T1 D5 at the Gabba Brisbane: series level 0-0 with 2 matches to play.

Yes, the First Test ended in a draw and, yes, England struggled for the early part of the match, but at the end it was they who had the measure of Australia.

For the record today England added 208 runs in 51 overs without losing a wicket against an increasingly dispirited and, to Australian supporters, dispiriting opposition. Several chances were offered but none accepted by the fielders, sapping even more of the bowlers' diminishing reserves of energy and,no doubt, motivation.

Enough of that. Let's give due praise to the magnificent batting of Alistair Cook 235*/428b (26x4) and Jonathan Trott 135*/266b (19x4) who added an unbroken 329 for the 2nd wicket, the highest partnership for any wicket by England in Australia.Had the match been a timeless Test the mind boggles at what the final total might have been: quite possibly (probably?) a four figure one. But it wasn't: England declared, left Australia up to 41 overs to make 297, and Shane Watson and an impressive looking, though hardly Cook or Trott standard, Ricky Ponting prevented England from causing even more embarassment.

The Second Test starts here in Adelaide on Friday. England has a few areas, eg middle order batting and perhaps Graeme Swann's bowling, requiring attention but these look minor issues compared to the home team;s woes. So what is Australia to do?

"Regroup" the pundits of the media, couch and pubs will say. What does this mean? For one thing there must be change(s) in the eleven: Mitchell Johnson and perhaps Marcus North and others must make way for Doug Bollinger or Ryan Harris, who've been added to the squad. But beyond these changes there needs to be a recovery of that elusive quality of self-belief, which has been a hallmark of so many Australian teams over the years. I know this sounds vague, but today at Bellerive in a Sheffield Shield match, overshadowed by events at the Gabba, bottom of the table South Australia beat Tasmania after being bowled out for in their first innings for 55 . Not a bad regrouping, eh?

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Fox Sports Report with video highlights.

Sunshine transforms Durban and England batting: T2 D3

England 5/386 (123 ov, A Cook 118, P Collingwood 91, M Bell 55*) lead South Africa 343 on first innings by 43 runs with 5 first innings in hand: T1 D3 at Durban.

The sun came out at Durban, helping to change the nature of the pitch and the match. Some doughty batting from Alistair Cook 118/263b (11x4) and Paul Collingwood 91/215b (7x4) put England well on the road to a first innings lead. In the last session Ian Bell overcame some initial discomfort against Morne Morkel to push the total along with a fluent 55*/84b (1x6, 5x4).

Good as the English batting was, the South African bowling contributed to this. Morkel excepted, it looked ordinary for most of the time. On the evidence of the series to date Makhaya Ntini is not worth his place. On D3 he was better than on D2 but rarely looked more than steady. He has an admirable record but there are other considerations which the selectors will bear in mind when the team for the next Test is chosen. Paul Harris also bowled (to continue in damn-with-faint-praise vein) steadily, yet his 1/92 from 23 ov didn't look as impressive as J P Duminy's 1/39 from 13. Most batters can survive against him by watchful waiting, waiting that is for the far from uncommon loose balls.

With three days gone and the England first innings still in progress a draw looks the likeliest result, and the one which South Africa is probably already resigned to. An England win isn't out of the question but its 4-specialist-bowler attack will need to lift against the solid and deep South African batting, not to mention the pitch.

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