England wrap up T4 & retain Ashes. Let the Australian recriminations begin continue

England 513 defeated Australia 98 & 258 (85.4 ov, B Haddin 55*, S Watson 54, T Bresnan 4/50) by an innings & 157 runs: T4D4 at MCG: England retain Ashes, lead series 2-1 with one Test to play. Player of the Match: Jonathon Trott.

There was little deviation from the script that had been written before the day's play began as England completed a massive, and well merited victory over Australia.

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Congratulations to them: they are, despite their loss at Perth (which now seems apart from being much more than a fortnight ago difficult to explain, or perhaps to believe) , clearly the better team.

The recriminations will continue, as Australians have become accustomed to beating the Poms here (if more so to losing in England). I have my thoughts but for now I'll keep them to myself.

Depite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth we Australian cricket supporters need to keep things in perspective, as veteran journalist Keith Dunstan in today's Age reminds us.

Australian batting crumbles again to disciplined England bowling: T4D3

Australia 98 & 6/169 (66ov, S Watson 54) need 246 more runs with 4 second innings wickets left to avoid losing by an innings to England 513 (159.4 ov, J Trott 168*, M Prior 85, A Cook 82, A Strauss 69. P Siddle 6/76) : T4 D3 at MCG

Some time, probably before lunch tomorrow, England will take Australia's last three wickets (the injured Ryan Harris is highly unlikely to bat), complete a well deserved innings victory over Australia and retain the Ashes.

Today, another huge crowd (68,773) turned up to watch Peter Siddle continue to bowl his heart out as England lost its last five wickets for 69. Then the Australian batting, set a daunting (?improbable) 515 to make England bat again, fell apart after a foolish runout (once again involving Shane Watson) followed mot long after by Tim Bresnan dismissing Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey in quick succession.

While Matt Prior didn't get a 100 his aggressive 85/119b (11x4) was a good counterpoint to Jonathan Trott's more measured 168*/345b (13x4). But for Siddle's 33.1-10-75-6 who knows when England would have declared.

Bresnan, as in the first innings, justified his selection. 15-7-26-3 is an excellent analysis, though most of the time, unlike Siddle, he had the benefit of someone keeping the other end tight.

Australia are in disarray. Neither Ponting nor Michael Clarke looked like building a big innings and their futures as captain and vice-captain will be discussed even more in the coming days. Despite their underperformance and, in Ponting's case, yesterday's intemperate on field outburst (for which he was fined 40% of his match fee), I think it's too late in this series to remove them.

But beyond that...


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England keep building lead and path to victory:T4D2

England 5/444 (136 ov, J Trott 141*, A Cook 82, M Prior 75*', A Strauss 69. K Pietersen 51) lead Australia 98 by 346 runs with 5 1st innings wickets in hand: T4/5 D2/5 at MCG.

There was little to write home (or blog) about today unless you are a staunch England supporter (perhaps one of the 67,149 spectators who were at the MCG), in which case you are allowed a generous measure of triumphalism at the sight of Australia trailing by 346 runs on the first innings and consequently without any prospect of victory and little of a draw..

Australia did show a little resistance early in the day as Peter Siddle removed both Alistair Cook 82/152b (11x4) and Andrew Strauss 69/167b (5x4) for the addition of only 13 runs. But then Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen steadied the innings (as if at 2/170 it needed steadying) before Siddle returned to claim Pietersen lbw for 51/89b (7x4) and dismiss Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell cheaply, by catching them in the deep, off Mitchell Johnson's (short) bowling.

5/286 turned out to be Australia's last satisfying moment of the day as Trott 141*/278b (12x4) and Matt Prior 75*/105b (10x4) added 158 for the sixth wicket before stumps leaving England, as they were yesterday, dominant. Early in his innings Trott snicked Johnson to the keeper but survived umpire Aleem Dar's self-imposed review after replays showed the delivery was (just) a no ball. Pity about the overstepping as it was Johnson's best ball of the day. As for the other bowlers, Siddle was, as 26-8-58-3 suggests, by far the best. Steven Smith and Ryan Harris bowled the occasional teasing delivery, though Ben Hilfenhaus looked out of puff despite clocking some pacy balls on Channel 9's speed measuring instrument.

So Australia is headed for defeat. Whether it is to be an honourable or dishonourable one will depend on the batters and the captain, who lost his composure at one point by challenging an umpire's decision which was clearly correct. Not a nice sight, but a reflection of the pressure Ricky Ponting is under. He should try to let his bat do the talking.

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Fox Sports report.

England to retain Ashes after dominating T4 first day

England 0/157 (47 ov, A Cook 80*, A Strauss 64*) lead Australia 98 (42.5 ov, C Tremlett 4/26, J Anderson 4/44) by 59 runs with all 2nd innings wickets intact: T4/5, D1/5 at MCG

After as one-sided day as anyone with even a rudimentary grasp of current cricket form could have expected, or as England supporters might have wildly fantasised about, Australia surely can only be saved by the weather from a crushing defeat which will leave the Ashes in England's possession (even though - small comfort- the series could still be drawn 2 all).

Yes, the toss favoured England, but, apart from the first 10 minutes, they made the most of the conditions. Andrew Strauss chose to field on an overcast morning, and from the outset the ball moved around.

Australia's luck ran for the first 10 minutes during which Shane Watson was dropped twice, but after he was caught off his gloves for 5, there were few moments when the team looked like getting, let alone holding, the upper hand.

Their quick bowlers Jimmy Anderson , Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan ( who replaced Steve Finn) exploited the English - like conditions magnificently and skittled the home team for 98. Their figures: Tremlett11.5-5-26-4, Anderson 16-4- 44-4, Bresnan 13-6-25-2, speak for themselves.

None of the Australian top order looked comfortable against them: several were caught playing at balls outside the off stump. Ricky Ponting failed again well caught in the slips - after a slow start, Michael Clarke struggled to the innings top score of 20 while Mike Hussey, as was bound to happen sometime in the series, and Brad Haddin both failed.

I thought that the tailenders should have hit out and, even if it meant a smaller total, got England in before the sun came out. But they didn't, the sun appeared, play was extended to make up for a rain break earlier in the day, and the pitch flattened, making the bowlers' job harder, though Strauss 64*/ 147b (5x4) and Alistair Cook (80*/137b (11x4) played hardly a poor shot between them.

Australia used six bowlers: the four quicks who'd played at Perth (Michael Beer again didn't make the final cut), Watson's medium-fast and Smith's leg spinners. None of them, as the scorecard suggests, really troubled the English openers. Certainly Mitchell Johnson didn't approach anything like his Perth form while none of the others showed many signs of their best. TV graphics showed that the England pace trio were accurate: the Australian quarted tended to spray the ball round a bit more.

So a disastrous day for Australia. Moreover, the hoped for (and hyped for) world record attendance didn't eventuate, even though 84,345 was pretty good given the moderate weather.

Surely Australia can't have another day as bad as (or England another as good as) today....I hope the South Africa - India Test in Durban isn't as one-sided.

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Fox Sports report

West Indies make captain's ODI series prediction look shaky

Now that the Pakistan tour is over with the visitors failing to win a match, though they came close in the T20 International, the West Indies have returned for the short form leg of their visit.

Chris Gayle's prediction of a 4-1 ODI series result to his team looks shaky, very shaky, after a professional Australia won ODI#1 by 113 runs in Melbourne: 8/256 from 50 ov v 143 from only 34.2 ov . West Indies seem to lack the depth to be able to challenge the home team for more than a few overs. Of course many of us thought the same after the First Test.

There has been some media comment about the small crowd of 25,000 or so, and comparisons have been drawn wirth the 60,000 who attended the T20 game v Pakistan on Friday. Yes, a big difference, but a good total, and in any event what do you expect when two internationals are scheduled at the same ground a day apart?

It will be interesting to see how many turn up here in Adelaide tomorrow for ODI#2: it's a working day and hot weather is forecast.

At last a century (for both Australia and Watson): T1 D4

Pakistan 258 & 3/170(45 ov) require 252 runs with 7 wickets in hand to beat Australia 5/454d and 8/225d (73.1 ov, S Watson120*, Mohammad Aamer 5/79) : T1 D3 at MCG.

The obvious highlight of a day in which Australia continued to move towards victory over a dogged Pakistan was Shane Watson's first Test century, which was also the first by any Australian this season.

If you've seen the TV highlights of the day's play you'll be aware that Watson was extremely fortunate not to be caught in the gully off the 186th ball he faced, and fortunate enough to score from the subsequent fumble the run he needed to bring up his century.

120*/220b (1x6, 10x4) out of 8/225 speaks for itself. Now, I wonder, will we stop hearing Watson described as a "stand in" or "makeshift" opener? There are good reasons why, as an allrounder, he should bat down the order but why tag him with these labels which are now (and have been since T2 against the West Indies) plain wrong.

While I doubt whether anyone seriously believes that Pakistan can win or even draw this Test, the visitors have shown flashes of pugnacity and resolution which I didn't expect of them, especially after their modest performances in New Zealand. In Australia's second innings Mohammad Aamer's 5/79 showed that he, like Umar Gul with the bat, is one several positive signs for the on field future of Pakistan cricket.

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Australian tighten grip despite poor start to second innings: T1 D3

Australia 5/454 dec and 3/111 (34 ov, S Watson 64*) lead Pakistan 258 (Misbah-ul-Haq 65*, Umar Akmal 51) by 307 runs with 7 second innings wickets in hand: T1 D3 at MCG.

Pakistan had some competitive moments, including some determined and aggressive batting and most notably reducing Australia to 3/40 in its second innings. Yet at the end of the day the match was still heading towards an emphatic Australian victory.

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Australia sort of comfortable against below par Pakistan: T1 D1

Australia 3/305 (90 ov, S Katich 98, S Watson 93, R Ponting 57) v Pakistan: T1 D1 at MCG

A good day for team Australia if a slightly disappointing one for Shane Watson and Simon Katich. Both were out - yet again - in the 90s, after putting on 182 for the first wicket against some modest Pakistan bowling and frequently slapdash fielding. No doubt the kerfuffle which produced the run out will be shown on TV and YouTube (follow the link below to watch the Foxtel highlights if you're in Australia). TV adjudication was required to send Watson, the crowd's preferred survivor, on his way for 93/191 b (11x4) .

Katich had started less confidently, was dropped early, but rode his luck well enough to nudge his way yet again to the brink of a century before being caught at backward point, where he'd been dropped early on, for 98/226b (5x4).

Ricky Ponting had cast aside any doubts about his fitness and took his place in the side. After winning the toss and electing to bat on what looked like a good typical MCG drop in wicket he came to the wicket with 182 on the board and peeled off a quickfire 57/60b (7x4), latterly in partnership with an assured looking Mike Hussey who on 38* is well placed to resume on D2 with nightwatchman Nathan Hauritz, another who had a temporary cloud over his fitness before play.

Pakistan were disadvantaged by an injury to leg spinner Danish Kaneria, who was in good form in the recent series v New Zealand. Unlike Ponting and Hauritz he was left out. Whether it was also wise to omit Umar Gul, who was not in good form in New Zealand, remains to be seen. His replacement Abdur Rauf didn't exactly set the world on fire today.

Australia can feel comfortable, well sort of comfortable, with today's effort. It would irritate the team that the curse of the 90s has struck in so many ways this season, but 99.99% of cricketers at all levels would, once they'd regrouped after being dismissed, be pleased enough with a score in the 90s.


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South Africa on course for match and series win despite lone hand from Ponting : Second Test Day 4

South Africa 459 and 0/30 need a further 153 runs to defeat Australia 394 and 247 (R Ponting 99, D Steyn 5/67): Second Test Day 4 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

At the start of today's play Mark Nicholas, introducing proceedings on Channel 9, got the series sponsor's name wrong (it's not nPower). He corrected himself quickly, which was more than the Australian team, apart from the captain and a couple of others, was able to do.

The movement of the match out of Australia's reach continued in the first hour when the score went from 0/4 via 0/37 to 3/49. Matthew Hayden seemed to be finding some touch when he drove Dale Steyn to short extra cover for a not entirely convincing 23; Simon Katich played himself in then snicked a wide one to the keeper; Mike Hussey was given out caught when the ball touched his helmet (and nothing else).

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke steadied things, not without some awkward moments until, and then beyond, lunch. But Clarke, in contrast to the first innings, surrendered his wicket cheaply to a poor ball from Steyn. Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin and Brett Lee all failed (the last two after showing some brief promise) making Australia 7/180.

Mitchell Johnson dug in and supported the captain who, conscious of his team's predicament, became more introspective as he moved towards his second century of the match. He was caught at short extra cover for 99/169b (7x4). While this was not a flawless innings, Ponting had worked hard enough to earn his second century of the match, but it wasn;t to be.

The last two wickets, thanks to Johnson's 43 no/ 85b (5x4) added 35, leaving South Africa to amke 183 to win.

Brett Lee, determined as ever, opened the bowling, and bowled Neil McKenzie off a no ball. At the other end Graeme Smith was in ominously good touch, scoring 25 of his team's 0/30 at stumps.

Rain is forecast for Melbourne tomorrow. If it prevents a South African victory that will be a greater injustice than Ponting's dismissal for 99, unless, and this is a very big unless, Australia can rise like a phoenix from the ashes of their burnt expectations. Not likely I think, notwithstanding the other reversals of fortune in this series so far.

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Duminy and tail turn tables on Australia: Second Test Day 3

Australia 394 and 0/4 trail South Africa 459 ( J-P Duminy 166, D Steyn 73, G Smith 62, P Siddle 4/81) by 61 runs with 10 wickets in hand: Second Test Day 3 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

I was wrong. Again. What a turnaround!

South Africa went from a shaky 7/198 to 459 all out as Jean-Paul Duminy compiled an authoritative and almost nerveless 166/340b (18x4). As these stats indicate, this was an innings demonstrating great concentration and a mature judgment of when to attack.

He was supported first by Paul Harris's 39/67b (4x4), then by Dale Steyn's confident and, given his batting record, surprisingly fluent 76/191b (9x4,1x6).

The Australian attack, which was missing the injured Brett Lee and lacking a fully fi Andrew Symonds, moved from innocuous to inept, with moments bordering on farcical. Mike Hussey made the breakthrough, taking his first wicket in Test cricket after 53 runs had been added. From 8/251 Duminy and Steyn added 180 for the 9th wicket while Duminy and Makhaya Ntini rubbed salt into the wounds with a 28 run partnership for the 10th.

The Australian fielding didn't help. Hussey's failure to get near a lofted shot which he couldn't pick up in the sun was captured by the TV cameras and replayed many times. It looked ugly, especially for these days of limited overs cricket, and would have boosted further the confidence of the Proteas as well as diminishing that of the Australians.

Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich survived 3 overs at the end of the day. While a 58 run deficit may not seem many it's hard to see Australia, so many of whose shortcomings have been exposed in this series already, recovering enough to win the mach. To do so they'll have to play like South Africans.

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South Africa stumble: Second Test Day 2

South Africa 7/198 (G Smith 62, P Siddle 3/24) trail Australia 394 ( Ponting 101, M Clarke 88 no, S Katich 54, D Steyn 5/87) by 198 runs with 3 wickets in hand: Second Test Day 2 at Melbourne Cricket Ground

Australia's last 4 wickets added 117 to take them to 394 all out which looked to be reasonable in the circumstances. Michael Clarke was much more assertive than yesterday, adding 52/51b to finish with 88no/208 b ((4x4, 1x6). Dale Steyn was the best of the South African attack, finishing with 5/87 from 29 overs.

The South Africa innings was held together by Graeme Smith's 62/113b (6x4) as his top order teammates, Jean-Paul Duminy ( a determined 34 no) excepted, failed to live up to expectations and reputations. The Australian attack was, unlike the second innings at Perth, consistently probing and was rewarded for some intelligent bowling. Peter Siddle, on his home ground, was two or three notches above his Perth standard. He certainly justified his selection to the doubters, of whom I was one.

Australia are clearly on top at present; South Africa's resilience, so amply demonstrated in Perth, will tested again tomorrow...and beyond.
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Ponting century keeps Australia in game: Second Test Day 1

Australia 6/280 (R Ponting 101, S Katich 54, B Haddin 40) v South Africa: Second Test Day 1 at Melbourne Cricket Ground

Australia were once again indebted to Ricky Ponting for a superb 101/126b (10x4 1 x6) to keep them in the game against a persistent and frequently menacing South African attack. While Simon Katich, Brad Haddin and an out of sorts Michael Clarke gave handy support Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey failed again.

350 may be a good score on this MCG wicket. It is still within Australia's reach but tomorrow Clarke will need to build on today's scratchy 36 no/157b (only 1x4) and muster the lower order.

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