Sun shines at Lord's on England as Australia fall under dark batting clouds of their own making: Ashes 2013 T2 D2

England 361(100.1ov, Bell 109, Bairstow 67, Trott 58, Harris 26-6-72-5, Smith 3/18)

 & 3/31 (20ov, Siddle 3/4) lead Australia 128 (53.30v, Watson 30, Swann 21.3-5-44-5) by 264 runs with seve 2nd inns wickets in hand; T2/5 D2/5 at Lord's, London.

Make no mistake about this: England may have lost 6 wickets on the day, but Australia lost ( or surrendered) 10 for a paltry response which has almost certainly left the Ashes in England's grasp.

The England last wicket wagged a bit - Stuart Broad 33/29b/1x6,5x4 and Graeme Swann 28*/26b/5x4, adding a handy 48 for the last wicket. 

When Australia batted Shane Watson and Chris Rogers initially held a feisty England attack at bay without troubling the scorers much. Then Watson played some exquisite off drives to move to 30 before he fell lbw (confirmed by review) to Tim Bresnan on the stroke of lunch. 

Australia 1/42 at lunch self-destructed to 7/96 at tea. 

It pains me to describe the dismal sequence of events, so I won't, except to draw attention to the bizarre lbw decision ( not reviewed) against Rogers: a loose, dropping full toss from Swann (which if bowled by a subcontinental bowler would surely have raised eyebrows among those concerned about spot betting). It wasn't out, but there was no review as Australia (no names mentioned here) frittered away its DRS opportunities.

Enough said...for now.

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England complete drubbing before drenching rain arrives: T2D5

England 5 /620 dec def Australia 245 & 304 (99.1 ov, M Clarke 80, S Watson 57, M Hussey 52, G Swann 5-91) by an innings and 71 runs: T2 D5 at Adelaide Oval. England lead 5 match series 1-0 .
Player of the match: Kevin Pietersen.

This morning England wrapped up, sooner than most Australian supporters hoped, a victory which had looked pretty much inevitable since the first 15 minutes of the match. Congratulations to them. They played like Australian teams of old (actually not that long ago).

On the last morning they focused on the realities of the situation on the ground, not worrying about the weather. It turned out that the weather wouldn't have saved this abysmal Australian performance as the forecast thunderstorms (with tropical strength precipitation) arrived an hour or so later than expected, bringing some relief from the 30+ degree temperatures (and, on the last 3 days, high humidity ) which had prevailed for the duration of the match.

At 261 Mike Hussey mistimed a pull shot off Steven Finn and was caught at midwicket, leaving Brad Haddin and Marcus North as Austrsalia's last realistic hopes. But neither of them lasted long as Graeme Swann persisted and Jimmy Anderson struck in consecutive balls as the last 6 wickets yielded but 43 runs. Thus the match ended as it had begun, with an Australian batting collapse.

Swann's 5/91 from 41.4 overs was a tribute to both his quality and his stamina, Finn's nip was impressive, Anderson had some good moments intermingled with some wayward ones, while of course Pietersen took that crucial Michael Clarke wicket late yesterday. Only Stuart Broad of the frontline bowlers missed out, partly because he's been injured and will miss the rest of the series. England should have little trouble replacing him from their reserves. Would that Australia could say the same about the changes they must surely have to make to their team.

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Fox Sports report and video highlights.

England stitch up innings victory:

England 9/574d** beat South Africa 343 & 133 (50 ov, G Swann 5/54, S Broad 4/43) by an innings and 98 runs : T2 D5 at Durban. England lead series 1-0 with two Tests remaining.

Few surprises as England today completed the victory which their bowlers had set up on D4. Graeme Swann took 5 second innings wickets giving him 9 for the match (and, deservedly, the Player of the Match award). Stuart Broad made good use of the conditions to finish with 4/43. The other bowlers were barely needed or used.

There is no doubt that South Africa can regroup. The challenge for them is how best to do so. The first step will need to be a tough selection process. How considerations other than recent performance impact upon some key questions, eg whether Makhaya Ntini should be retained, will be very interesting.

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** From The Times :

England's first innings total was reduced by one run overnight after the umpires ruled that an overthrow that crossed the boundary was worth four runs not five, as the batsmen had not crossed. England's revised total was, therefore, 574.

England sweep South Africa aside and head towards victory : T2 D4

South Africa 343 & 6/76 (32 ov) trail England 9/575d (170 ov, A Cook 118, I Bell 141, M Prior 60)by 156 runs with 4 second innings wickets in hand: T2 D4 at Durban.

England added 4/189 in sunshine to its overnight 5/386 before reducing South Africa to 6/76 as gloom (both literal and metaphorical) descended over Durban. This is not to let the home team off the hook: Test match days don't come much more one-sided than this, particularly when honours on the preceding ones have been fairly evenly divided.

There were several very good performances from England players, including Graeme Swann's 3/22 from 12 ov and Stuart Broad's 3/18 from 9, but the standout one was Ian Bell's 141/227b (1x6, 10x4).

I've not been alone in thinking that Bell was the weak link in the England batting chain, but this innings has proved me wrong. Sure, he began tentatively on D3 but once he'd found his touch he kept propelling his team into a strong position. And there was more: when South Africa batted again he caught Ashwell Prince at short leg off Swann, which precipitated a collapse from 1/27 to 6/50. Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel held on until the umpires decided that the light was too bad, but at 6/76 with a further 156 runs required to make England bat again surely, despite the surprises of D4, only bad weather can save the Proteas. If it does that will be unfair to England.

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One partnership but little else as England put South Africa on back foot : T2D1

South Africa 5/175 (61ov, G Smith 75, J Kallis 75) v England: T2 D1 at Durban

Fortunately Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis were in good form as England made early inroads into the South African batting on a day truncated by bad light (and a slow over rate).

From 2/10 Smith and Kallis batted beyond tea, increasingly asserting their authority over a disciplined England attack and adding 150 before Graeme Swann had Kallis well caught at slip for 75/132b (7x4). 3/160.

At 166 Smith was run out in a mix up with AB de Villiers for 75/186b (9x4). 4 runs later J-P Duminy was plumb lbw to Graham Onions, leaving de Villiers and Mark Boucher to grope their way in the deteriorating light to 5/175.

So it was England's day, though it's hard to tell what a good score for the team batting first in the humid conditions might be (250 is my uninformed guess), or whether the light, weather and over rates will allow enough play on days 2-5 to achieve a result.

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England batting flounders and Swann revives

South Africa 418 & 1/9 (4 ov) lead England 356 (104 ov, G Swann 85, P Collingwood 50, P Harris 5/123) by 71 runs with 9 second inns wickets in hand: T1 D3 at Centurion.

Thanks to Graeme Swann England are still in this match. On D3 a106 run 9th wicket partnership between him and James Anderson restored a degree of respectability to their team which, despite its selection of an extra batter (Ian Bell) in preference to a fifth bowler, had struggled to build a big first innings total. Swann biffed 85/81b (2x6, 10 x4), his highest Test score:

England's first innings deficit , though smaller than seemed likely at one point, has increased the chance of a South African victory instead of the draw I predicted yesterday. It may even be worth watching D4's play live.

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Heading for draw after D2?

England 1/88 (23ov) trail South Africa 418 (153.2 ov, J Kallis 120, JP Duminy 56, G Swann 5/110) by 330 runs with 9 1st inns wickets in hand: T1 D2 at Centurion.

South Africa after losing Jacques Kallis for 120/225b (1x6, 16x4) early scratched away for 63.2 overs adding 7/156. England did a little better, though both sides seem to be comfortable with a draw. And this in a three Test series!

Not a great day's Test cricket: one for watching the highlights to fill the gaps in one's viewing of the live relay.

The lowlight of what I did see was the perfect script for Makhaya Ntini's 100th Test spoilt as he had Alistair Cook dropped at third slip off his first ball to him.


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Draw confirms Australia's batting strength and both sides' bowling weakness: Ashes T3 D5

Australia 263 and 5/375 (112.2 ov, M Clarke 103*, M North 96, M Hussey 64, S Watson 53) drew with England 376: Ashes 09 T3 D5 at Edgbaston

The first two sessions of play were absorbing. Australia worked their way steadily and without too many indiscretions towards a position of safety and then, as tea approached, one of some strength which could have made for an interesting result had the match been played to a finish.

Shane Watson and Mike Hussey kept the England bowlers at bay for the first hour and a bit. From the last ball of the day's 16th over (and, surprisingly, his first) Jimmy Anderson induced Watson to snick one to the keeper: 3/137. Watson's 53 (114b/9 x4) completed a good batting double and hushed the many critics who thought he was no Test opener.

Michael Clarke looked assured from the outset. This was just as well, for not long after his arrival Hussey, who had looked in better touch (and more assured about which balls to leave) than previously in the series, fell to Stuart Broad for 64 (130b/13x4): 4/161.

The England bowlers were steady but far from unplayable: they weren't able to swing the ball as some of them had done in the first innings. At lunch 4/172 it was clear that a considerable though not impossible improvement (like two or three quick wickets) was required to keep England in with a good chance of victory.

That didn't happen. Clarke and Marcus North, the one elegant, the other pugnaciously gritty, batted through the next session against some increasingly pedestrian bowling (Graeme Swann was especially disappointing) . During the extended afternoon session 36 overs were bowled and Australia added 121. 4/293 (Clarke 73*, North 64*) at tea was safety plus.

There were one or two wobbly Australian moments in the last session, when England needed six or seven of them (and a couple of miracles). Unfortunately for them their prospective miracle worker Andrew Flintoff listened to his stressed body and didn't bowl. He must be doubful for T4.

In the 11th over after tea North was brilliantly caught by Anderson in the gully off Broad for 96 (159b/ 15x4). This was the third and last wicket to fall in a day when 84.2 overs were bowled. When Clarke reached his century the captains called the game off, leaving him 103* (192b/14x4) and Australia 5/375, a healthy lead of 263.

So, an honourable draw. England were on top for most of the game but couldn't finish off a resolute and perhaps (though it's really too early to tell) resurgent Australia.

Yet in the series England are still ahead 1-0. Therefore the challenge for Australia will be how to maintain its batting strengths while reshaping its attack. The batting order shouldn't change, but the attack must. Lawrence Booth writing for The Guardian's The Spin succinctly states the obvious:

Are England glad Stuart Clark is serving the shandies? You bet they are.

Australian selectors please note.

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