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**KGKOOLKAT777** · 11-18-2014, 07:11 AM

Looks like a good read! Good luck.

**Mongrel** · 11-19-2014, 09:13 AM

England vs Australia, 1st test, Lord's, 1st day
Late strikes keep England in touch following Hayden ton

Australia 300 for 5 (Hayden 115, Langer 88, Hoggard 2-56) vs England

Damien Martyn's wicket in the last over has kept England in the hunt following a mammoth opening wicket stand between Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden on day one of the first test at Lord's.

Australian captain Steve Waugh won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny morning at Lord's. There were few surprises for either side, with Australia preferring Damien Martyn and Brett Lee over Greg Blewett and Stuart MacGill respectively and England picking its strongest XI.

There was a sense of déjà vu for Michael Vaughan's men as old foes Langer and Hayden raced out of the blocks in a dominant opening session. The English quicks were unable to stem the tide as Langer looked particularly strong outside the off stump, while Hayden was content to walk down the wicket to Matthew Hoggard and bully him through the on side.

With both men striking at a rate of around 70 runs per hundred balls, Hoggard and spinner Ashley Giles managed to tie things down in the middle session before Matthew Hoggard finally struck as he got one to straighten slightly and trap Langer leg before wicket for 88.

Hayden was joined at the crease by Ricky Ponting who looked watchful early. Ponting was happy to feed the strike to the burly Queenslander, who crossed his century with a delightful cover drive for four before he became the second man to fall leg before wicket - umpire Rudi Koertzen sending him packing to an inducker from Simon Jones.

That set about a mini-collapse for Australia, although Mark Waugh could count himself unlucky as he was struck outside the line yet adjudged LBW by Koertzen just four overs later for 10. The new ball brought about two much-needed wickets for the English, as Andrew Flintoff drew Ricky Ponting forward and had him knicking off for 42.

In the final over of the day, Steve Harmison came around the wicket to Damian Martyn and managed to have him fending away off the back foot. The short ball took the West Australian's gloves and ballooned up to Marcus Trescothick at first slip to hand England their fifth wicket and to put the match in an interesting position following the first day at the Home of Cricket.

Code:

Australia in England, 1st test
Lord’s, London (5-day match)

Toss: Australia

Australia 1st innings                                           R   M   B  4 6      
JL Langer             lbw                b Hoggard             88 215 152  9 1
ML Hayden             lbw                b SP Jones           115 284 214 13 0
RT Ponting            c Trescothick      b Flintoff            42 125  80  4 0
ME Waugh              lbw                b Hoggard             10  16  18  2 0
*SR Waugh                                not out               24      65  1 0
DR Martyn             c Trescothick      b Harmison             8  30  16  0 0
+AC Gilchrist                            not out                1       2  0 0
Extras                (nb 7, b 4, lb 1)                        12
Total                 (5 wickets, 90 overs)                   300

To bat: SK Warne, B Lee, JN Gillespie, GD McGrath

FoW:  1-196 (Langer, 51.5 ov), 2-237 (Hayden, 68.3 ov),
      3-250 (ME Waugh, 72.1 ov), 4-279 (Ponting, 82.2 ov),
      5-298 (Martyn, 89.3 ov)

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                    22      1     76      1
A Flintoff                  20      1     83      1
SJ Harmison                 14      0     38      1
MJ Hoggard                  17      0     56      2
AF Giles                    16      3     39      0
MS Trescothick               1      0      3      0

**Mongrel** · 11-20-2014, 02:35 AM

England vs Australia, 1st test, Lord's, 2nd day
Strauss down as McGrath terrorises England

Australia 471 all out (Hayden 115, Waugh 107, Jones 4-124) & 31 for 0 lead England 97 all out (McGrath 5-24, Warne 2-22) by 405 runs

Andrew Strauss will undergo scans to confirm whether he his first for the second test following a suspected broken hand which set in motion a disastrous train of events for England who succumbed to old nemesis Glenn McGrath during the second day of the 1st test at Lord's.

McGrath effectively reduced England to 19-4 in one over following a triple wicket maiden that also sent Strauss back to the sheds retired hurt. In a hostile spell of bowling, McGrath managed to strike Strauss on the knuckles with a length ball and immediately dropped his bat in pain. After lengthy consultations with the team doctor, Strauss retired hurt to commence a horror over for the English.

Captain Michael Vaughan was officially the first batsman to go as he fended at a length ball outside off stump and knicked off to Shane Warne at first slip. Three balls later, McGrath managed to duck one back into Ian Bell to remove him leg before wicket before taking the prized scalp of Kevin Pietersen with the next ball as the South African-born maverick went hard at a wide delivery.

At the other end, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie kept the strikes coming as opener Marcus Trescothick's patience ran out as he slashed at a half-volley to give Warne his second catch of the innings, while Gillespie drew a rank swipe across the line from Andrew Flintoff to reduce England to 53-5.

McGrath, however, was on top of his game as he completed a five-wicket haul by beating the defences of Ashley Giles and Steve Harmison. That left legendary leg-spinner Warne to mop up the tail including top-scorer Geraint Jones for 24.

Earlier in the day, Australia posted a score of 471 following a mammoth 147-run stand between captain Steve Waugh and Brett Lee. There was cause for hope early in the day as Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne departed in quick succession leaving Australia teetering at 316-7. However Lee's aggression provided the perfect foil for an impressive ton from Waugh as Australia notched up a big total.

True to form, Waugh elected not to enforce the follow on, with openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden making it to stumps unscathed at 31-0.

Code:

Australia in England, 1st test
Lord’s, London (5-day match)

Toss: Australia

Australia 1st innings                                           R   M   B  4 6      
JL Langer             lbw                b Hoggard             88 215 152  9 1
ML Hayden             lbw                b SP Jones           115 284 214 13 0
RT Ponting            c Trescothick      b Flintoff            42 125  80  4 0
ME Waugh              lbw                b Hoggard             10  16  18  2 0
*SR Waugh             lbw                b Flintoff           107 235 171 14 0
DR Martyn             c Trescothick      b Harmison             8  30  16  0 0
+AC Gilchrist         c Flintoff         b SP Jones            14  21  25  1 1
SK Warne              c +GO Jones        b Flintoff             0   4   3  0 0
B Lee                 lbw                b SP Jones            68 143 109 10 0
JN Gillespie          not out                                   0  10   6  0 0
GD McGrath            lbw                b SP Jones             0   6   3  0 0
Extras                (nb 8, b 8, lb 3)                        19
Total                 (10 wickets, 131.3 overs)               471

FoW:  1-196 (Langer), 2-237 (Hayden),
      3-250 (ME Waugh), 4-279 (Ponting),
      5-298 (Martyn), 6-315 (Gilchrist),
      7-316 (Warne), 8-463 (SR Waugh),
      9-471 (Lee), 10-471 (McGrath).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                    35.3    3    124      4
A Flintoff                  31      2    132      3
SJ Harmison                 21      1     73      1
MJ Hoggard                  24      0     78      2
AF Giles                    19      3     50      0
MS Trescothick               1      0      3      0

England 1st innings                                             R   M   B  4 6      
AJ Strauss            retired hurt                             12  43  32  1 0
ME Trescothick        c Warne            b Lee                 12  73  44  1 0
*MP Vaughan           c Warne            b McGrath              0   1   1  0 0
IR Bell               lbw                b McGrath              0   2   3  0 0
KP Pietersen          c ME Waugh         b McGrath              0   1   1  0 0
A Flintoff                               b Gillespie           17  50  43  3 0
+GO Jones             c ME Waugh         b Warne               24  76  43  2 0
AF Giles                                 b McGrath              5  16  17  0 0
SJ Harmison                              b McGrath             10   9  12  1 0
MJ Hoggard                               b Warne                6  12  12  1 0
SP Jones             not out                                    9  13  10  1 0
Extras                (nb 1, w 1)                               2
Total                 (10 wickets, 36.1 overs)                 97

FoW:  1-19 (Vaughan), 2-19 (Bell),
      3-19 (Pietersen), 4-31 (Trescothick),
      5-53 (Flintoff), 6-60 (Giles),
      7-73 (Harmison), 8-86 (Hoggard),
      9-97 (GO Jones).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
GD McGrath                  14      2     24      5
JN Gillespie                 9      0     26      1
B Lee                        8      0     25      1
SK Warne                     5.1    0     22      2

Australia 1st innings                                           R   M   B  4 6      
JL Langer             not out                                  15      19  2 0
ML Hayden             not out                                  14      17  2 0
Extras                (lb 2)                                    2
Total                 (0 wickets, 6 overs)                     31

To bat: RT Ponting, ME Waugh, *SR Waugh, DR Martyn, +AC Gilchrist, SK Warne, B Lee, JN Gillespie, GD McGrath

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                     3      0     19      0
A Flintoff                   3      1     10      0

Attached Files

**Mongrel** · 11-20-2014, 07:21 AM

England vs Australia, 1st test, Lord's, 3rd day
England taken to the edge

England 97 all out & 87 for 3 (Trescothick 45*, Gillespie 1-17) trail Australia 471 all out & 260 for 9 declared (Ponting 102*, Harmison 3-45, Jones 3-64) by 547 runs

An unbeaten century from Ricky Ponting help set England a virtually impossible target of 635 for victory on day three of the 1st test at Lord's.

Ponting struck 102* off 152 deliveries to further enhance Australia's position despite a steady flow of wickets by the English bowlers who did their best to stem the tide of runs. Resuming at 31-0, openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden fell in quick succession as they chopped on to Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff respectively, while Mark Waugh had his second successive failure as he played inside the line of a good length ball from Steve Harmison.

Ponting then combined with captain Steve Waugh for a 103-run stand for the fourth wicket, before Waugh was trapped leg before wicket by Jones who managed to move the ball back into the first innings centurion. Despite a single-figure score in the first innings, Damien Martyn looked to attack early with fingerspinner Ashley Giles the most appetising target. Giles, however, managed to extract some turn to beat Martyn's outside edge and allow Geraint Jones to stump the West Australian for 13.

Giles was in for some punishment as Adam Gilchrist raced to a quickfire 32, before he holed out to deep long on to hand Giles his second wicket of the match. That set about a quick flurry of wickets to the quicks as Ponting looked to run out of partners, before cracking Harmison for four through backward point to bring about the declaration at 260-9.

Set an insurmountable task of chasing 635 runs to win, England's top order were in two minds about how to approach the task. With Andrew Strauss absent, captain Michael Vaughan was again knocked over early as Jason Gillespie trapped him on the crease with a lovely inducker for three.

Ian Bell joined Marcus Trescothick in a handy 42-run stand for the second wicket, but he was undone by a fast yorker from Brett Lee that ballooned straight back to the New South Welshman. For the second time in the match, Kevin Pietersen failed to cause the Australians troubles as his old friend Shane Warne had him playing back and across and dismissed him leg before for three.

Trescothick proved resolute on his way to an unbeaten 45 as he and Flintoff survived to leave Australia two days to take six wickets in order to take a 1-0 lead.

Code:

Australia 2nd innings                                           R   M   B  4 6      
JL Langer                                b SP Jones            23  44  33  3 0
ML Hayden                                b Flintoff            18  55  36  2 0
RT Ponting            not out                                 102 209 152  9 2
ME Waugh                                 b Harmison             7  18  15  1 0
*SR Waugh             lbw                b SP Jones            41  98  68  5 0
DR Martyn             st +GO Jones       b Giles               13  31  25  1 0
+AC Gilchrist         c Pietersen        b Giles               32  33  27  5 0
SK Warne              lbw                b Harmison            10   7   7  2 0
B Lee                 lbw                b Harmison             0   1   1  0 0
JN Gillespie          c +GO Jones        b SP Jones             1   3   5  0 0
GD McGrath            not out                                   1   4   2  0 0
Extras                (nb 4, w 1, b 4, lb 3)                   12
Total                 (9 wickets declared, 61.1 overs)        260

FoW:  1-42 (Langer), 2-48 (Hayden),
      3-58 (ME Waugh), 4-161 (SR Waugh),
      5-191 (Martyn), 6-232 (Gilchrist),
      7-244 (Warne), 8-244 (Lee),
      9-245 (Gillespie).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                    15      0     64      3
A Flintoff                  15      3     37      1
SJ Harmison                 10.1    0     45      3
MJ Hoggard                   9      1     29      0
AF Giles                    12      0     78      2

England 2nd innings (target: 635 runs)                          R   M   B  4 6      
ME Trescothick        not out                                  45     100  6 0
*MP Vaughan           lbw                b Gillespie            3  16  10  0 0
IR Bell               c&b                b Lee                 20  48  33  3 0
KP Pietersen          lbw                b Warne                3  11  12  0 0
A Flintoff            not out                                  10  52  36  0 0
Extras                (nb 5, lb 1)                              6
Total                 (3 wickets, 31 overs)                    87

To bat: AJ Strauss, +GO Jones, AF Giles, SJ Harmison, MJ Hoggard, SP Jones.

FoW:  1-5 (Vaughan), 2-47 (Bell),
      3-52 (Pietersen).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
GD McGrath                   9      3     18      0
JN Gillespie                 6      0     17      1
B Lee                        5      0     18      1
SK Warne                     9      2     24      1
ME Waugh                     2      0      9      0

**Mongrel** · 11-20-2014, 10:36 AM

England vs Australia, 1st test, Lord's, 4th day
McGrath completes commanding victory

Australia 471 all out & 260 for 9 declared beat England 97 all out & 155 all out (Trescothick 62, McGrath 4-34, Lee 2-29) by 479 runs

Australia has completed a convincing victory over in England in the 1st test at Lord's following a clinical display on the fourth day to secure a 479 run victory.

Wicketless overnight, Glenn McGrath continued the carnage with a four-wicket haul on the fourth day as England continued to struggle against a pitch that was bouncing more variably and with less predictability. Only Marcus Trescothick (62) managed to mount any sort of resistance as the Aussie pace barrage suffocated the English middle order to complete the resounding victory.

Andrew Flintoff struggled to an uncharacteristically slow 17 off 78 balls and added just seven to his overnight total before he knicked off to Brett Lee. The edge flew between Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne at first slip, with Warne producing a stunning catch low to his left to remove the dangerous Flintoff.

Geraint Jones, as in the first innings, looked to be the only Englishman capable of countering the Australian bowling with attack, but he too succumbed to the 'zooter' from Shane Warne following a lively 21. That saw McGrath return to the attack to complete the rout, as he finished the day with figures of 12-3-16-4.

The tail had no way of countering McGrath's accurate bowling, with a couple of balls keeping low. Even Trescothick, who survived nearly four hours at the crease, had no answer to a short of a length ball that clipped the bottom edge of his bat and ended his innings on 62.

With Simon Jones bowled first ball, injured opener Andrew Strauss did not bat in the second innings as Australia completed the rout to take a 1-0 lead.

Strauss' broken hand will keep him out of at least the second test at Edgbaston, with England left with a difficult choice as to who will replace him at the top of the order. The favourite is Graham Thorpe, with Michael Vaughan, fresh off two failures, opening the batting and Ian Bell continuing at three. Also in the reckoning are Durham's Paul Collingwood and occasional opener Rob Key.

Code:

Australia in England, 1st test
Lord’s, London (5-day match)

Result: Australia won by 479 runs
Series: Australia leads the 5-test series 1-0

Toss: Australia
Man of the Match: GD McGrath (Australia)

Australia 1st innings                                           R   M   B  4 6      
JL Langer             lbw                b Hoggard             88 215 152  9 1
ML Hayden             lbw                b SP Jones           115 284 214 13 0
RT Ponting            c Trescothick      b Flintoff            42 125  80  4 0
ME Waugh              lbw                b Hoggard             10  16  18  2 0
*SR Waugh             lbw                b Flintoff           107 235 171 14 0
DR Martyn             c Trescothick      b Harmison             8  30  16  0 0
+AC Gilchrist         c Flintoff         b SP Jones            14  21  25  1 1
SK Warne              c +GO Jones        b Flintoff             0   4   3  0 0
B Lee                 lbw                b SP Jones            68 143 109 10 0
JN Gillespie          not out                                   0  10   6  0 0
GD McGrath            lbw                b SP Jones             0   6   3  0 0
Extras                (nb 8, b 8, lb 3)                        19
Total                 (10 wickets, 131.3 overs)               471

FoW:  1-196 (Langer), 2-237 (Hayden),
      3-250 (ME Waugh), 4-279 (Ponting),
      5-298 (Martyn), 6-315 (Gilchrist),
      7-316 (Warne), 8-463 (SR Waugh),
      9-471 (Lee), 10-471 (McGrath).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                    35.3    3    124      4
A Flintoff                  31      2    132      3
SJ Harmison                 21      1     73      1
MJ Hoggard                  24      0     78      2
AF Giles                    19      3     50      0
MS Trescothick               1      0      3      0

England 1st innings                                             R   M   B  4 6      
AJ Strauss            retired hurt                             12  43  32  1 0
ME Trescothick        c Warne            b Lee                 12  73  44  1 0
*MP Vaughan           c Warne            b McGrath              0   1   1  0 0
IR Bell               lbw                b McGrath              0   2   3  0 0
KP Pietersen          c ME Waugh         b McGrath              0   1   1  0 0
A Flintoff                               b Gillespie           17  50  43  3 0
+GO Jones             c ME Waugh         b Warne               24  76  43  2 0
AF Giles                                 b McGrath              5  16  17  0 0
SJ Harmison                              b McGrath             10   9  12  1 0
MJ Hoggard                               b Warne                6  12  12  1 0
SP Jones              not out                                   9  13  10  1 0
Extras                (nb 1, w 1)                               2
Total                 (9 wickets, 36.1 overs)                  97

FoW:  1-19 (Vaughan), 2-19 (Bell),
      3-19 (Pietersen), 4-31 (Trescothick),
      5-53 (Flintoff), 6-60 (Giles),
      7-73 (Harmison), 8-86 (Hoggard),
      9-97 (GO Jones).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
GD McGrath                  14      2     24      5
JN Gillespie                 9      0     26      1
B Lee                        8      0     25      1
SK Warne                     5.1    0     22      2

Australia 2nd innings                                           R   M   B  4 6      
JL Langer                                b SP Jones            23  44  33  3 0
ML Hayden                                b Flintoff            18  55  36  2 0
RT Ponting            not out                                 102 209 152  9 2
ME Waugh                                 b Harmison             7  18  15  1 0
*SR Waugh             lbw                b SP Jones            41  98  68  5 0
DR Martyn             st +GO Jones       b Giles               13  31  25  1 0
+AC Gilchrist         c Pietersen        b Giles               32  33  27  5 0
SK Warne              lbw                b Harmison            10   7   7  2 0
B Lee                 lbw                b Harmison             0   1   1  0 0
JN Gillespie          c +GO Jones        b SP Jones             1   3   5  0 0
GD McGrath            not out                                   1   4   2  0 0
Extras                (nb 4, w 1, b 4, lb 3)                   12
Total                 (9 wickets declared, 61.1 overs)        260

FoW:  1-42 (Langer), 2-48 (Hayden),
      3-58 (ME Waugh), 4-161 (SR Waugh),
      5-191 (Martyn), 6-232 (Gilchrist),
      7-244 (Warne), 8-244 (Lee),
      9-245 (Gillespie).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                    15      0     64      3
A Flintoff                  15      3     37      1
SJ Harmison                 10.1    0     45      3
MJ Hoggard                   9      1     29      0
AF Giles                    12      0     78      2

England 2nd innings (target: 635 runs)                          R   M   B  4 6      
ME Trescothick                           b McGrath             62 235 184  8 0
*MP Vaughan           lbw                b Gillespie            3  16  10  0 0
IR Bell               c&b                b Lee                 20  48  33  3 0
KP Pietersen          lbw                b Warne                3  11  12  0 0
A Flintoff            c Warne            b Lee                 17 103  78  1 0
+GO Jones             lbw                b Warne               21  52  33  3 0
AF Giles              not out                                  13  55  39  2 0
SJ Harmison           lbw                b McGrath              4  39  27  0 0
MJ Hoggard            lbw                b McGrath              1  10  11  0 0
SP Jones                                 b McGrath              0   1   1  0 0
AJ Strauss            absent hurt                               -
Extras                (nb 8, lb 3)                             11
Total                 (9 wickets, 70 overs)                   155

FoW:  1-5 (Vaughan), 2-47 (Bell),
      3-52 (Pietersen), 4-97 (Flintoff)
      5-135 (GO Jones), 6-135 (Trescothick),
      7-153 (Harmison), 8-155 (Hoggard),
      9-155 (SP Jones).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
GD McGrath                  21      6     34      4
JN Gillespie                17      5     33      1
B Lee                       10      1     29      2
SK Warne                    17      5     45      2
ME Waugh                     5      1     11      0

**morty** · 11-20-2014, 02:58 PM

great stuff mate but expecting England to bounce back in the 2nd test!

**Mongrel** · 11-21-2014, 04:31 AM

England vs Australia, 2nd test, Edgbaston
England positive ahead of second test

Big picture

England copped a hammering at Lord's and will be keen to bounce back quickly against an Australian side who looked several classes above. A key problem identified was the inability to play straight balls with variable bounce, which saw Glenn McGrath profit with match figures of 9-58 off 35 overs.

While there is room for improvement across the board for the English, the pressure is most obviously on a batting lineup that failed to show much resistance outside of Marcus Trescothick at the top of the order. It will be weakened further with the loss of Andrew Strauss to a broken hand, but it gives the chance for Kent veteran Rob Key to provide some stability at the top of the order after he was somewhat surprisingly selected ahead of Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood.

Despite the comprehensive victory, Australia will be looking for improvement from Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn who both fell cheaply in their outings at Lord's. Waugh was perhaps unlucky to be dismissed in the first innings leg before wicket, but he played a dire shot in the second to depart in single digits. On the bowling side, the Aussies will be looking to continue the pressure they mounted in the opening test with all four front line bowlers chipping in. There's no shortage of part-time options in the Australian middle order, either, should England show more backbone as is no doubt expected of them at Edgbaston.

In the spotlight

Any number of English batsmen could fill this roll, but undoubtedly the pressure is on captain Michael Vaughan who had a dismal start to his series. Vaughan's twin failures of 0 and 3 are rumoured to have prompted Key's selection at the top of the order, with little faith being shown in Vaughan to return to form against the newest of new balls. Vaughan needs to pay back his selectors with a solid contribution in Edgbaston or else the English top order will encounter unending pressure throughout the series.

That pressure will no doubt come in the form of Glenn McGrath who was immense in the opening test. His typically unerring line and length bowling frazzled the English bowlers, but he will encounter less assistance at Edgbaston than he received from the surprisingly fragile Lord's wicket. McGrath will fancy himself against the predominantly right-handed top order, which finds another member in the form of stodgy Kent opener Key.

Team news

While England annnounced Key's selection at the top of the order, there remains some doubt over Ashley Giles' selection in the side after his up-and-down effort at Lord's. The left-arm orthodox spinner has been a handy member of England's side but was clearly targeted by the Australian batsmen in the first test, with Adam Gilchrist particularly aggressive. The youngster Anderson offers occasional brilliance which would be valuable against the Australian batting lineup, but the presence of five right-arm seamers might put undue pressure on the part-time bowling of Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan.

England (possible) 1 Robert Key, 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Ian Bell, 5 Kevin Pietersen, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles/James Anderson, 9 Steve Harmison, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Simon Jones

Australia have named an unchanged lineup for the second test, with Brett Lee again preferred over Stuart MacGill following a good performance in the second innings at Lord's. In contrast to the fragility of the English batting lineup, the Aussies look steady enough that Greg Blewett and Simon Katich are unlikely to get a look in this series.

Australia (probable) 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

**Mongrel** · 11-21-2014, 12:21 PM

England vs Australia, 2nd test, Edgbaston, 1st day
Harmison strikes late but Australia still ahead

Australia 48 for 3 (Langer 25, Harmison 2-4) trail England 221 all out (Flintoff 72, Bell 57, Lee 4-46) by 173 runs

Two important wickets in as many overs to Steve Harmison has kept England in the hunt on an improved day of cricket to open the second test at Edgbaston. Following another disappointing batting display from the English, their fast bowlers struck three times in 11 overs to reduce Australia to 48-3 at stumps on day one.

Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to bat, with Rob Key joining Marcus Trescothick at the top of the order. Key left well, but there was an element of inevitability about his dismissal as he feebly fended at a length ball from the unflappable Glenn McGrath for two off 20 balls. That put all the pressure on England's captain Vaughan who disastrously left a stock McGrath ball alone. The ball nipped back and saw Vaughan on his way for his second duck of the series to reduce England to 13-2.

Marcus Trescothick, who provided the sole resistance for England in the first test, departed not long after for 21 as Brett Lee managed to get his yorker on target to have him trapped straight in front of the wicket. That paved the way for a brief recovery from Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen, before Pietersen, who was just starting to free his arms, became the second person to leave the wrong ball from McGrath as he lost his off stump on 18.

The recovery proper, however, was on between Bell and Andrew Flintoff who added a much-needed backbone to the feeble England performances thus far. Bell looked particularly good against the Aussie seamers as he made England's first fifty of the series before Shane Warne managed to catch an outside edge that landed precariously in the webbing of Adam Gilchrist's gloves.

In the first test, Geraint Jones surprisingly showed the most intent against the Aussie bowlers, and he continued that aggression at Edgbaston. His start was again thrown away as a short ball from Brett Lee surprised him and was merely fended to Mark Waugh at gully. The star of the England innings was an assured knock from Andrew Flintoff who showed impressive restraint in his innings of 72. He became part of Brett Lee's late flurry, though, as he missed an opportunity at a century with an awkward swipe across the line. Lee finished with 4-46 as England were bowled out below par for 221.

With 11 overs to play, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden showed intent early with a quick 35-run stand. Late in the day, though, the English seamers struck as Matthew Hayden chopped on to Harmison, who then caught the outside edge of Justin Langer with a bristling bumper.

With just over an over to play, Ricky Ponting couldn't keep down a bouncer from Simon Jones around the wicket, which ballooned to Flintoff at second slip.

Australia resume tomorrow at 48-3 in control, but England are still in the hunt despite the presence of the Waugh Brothers at the crease.

Code:

Australia in England, 2nd test
Lord’s, London (5-day match)

Result: 
Series: Australia leads the 5-test series 1-0

Toss: England
Man of the Match: 

England 1st innings                                             R   M   B  4 6      
RWT Key               c Ponting          b McGrath              2  26  20  0 0
ME Trescothick        lbw                b Lee                 21  64  46  3 0
*MP Vaughan           lbw                b McGrath              0   2   3  0 0
IR Bell               c +Gilchrist       b Warne               57 158  99  7 0
KP Pietersen                             b McGrath             18  47  38  2 0
A Flintoff                               b Lee                 72 182 166  6 0
+GO Jones             c ME Waugh         b Lee                 32  72  49  5 0
AF Giles              lbw                b Warne                5  30  19  0 0
SJ Harmison           c +Gilchrist       b Warne                2   9   7  0 0
MJ Hoggard                               b Lee                  1  11   4  0 0
SP Jones              not out                                   4   6   7  0 0
Extras                (nb 2, w 1, b 4)                          7
Total                 (10 wickets, 76 overs)                  221

FoW:  1-13 (Key), 2-13 (Vaughan),
      3-34 (Trescothick), 4-79 (Pietersen),
      5-135 (Bell), 6-197 (GO Jones),
      7-213 (Giles), 8-215 (Flintoff),
      9-217 (Harmison), 10-221 (Hoggard).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
GD McGrath                  19      6     44      3
JN Gillespie                14      2     44      0
B Lee                       16      1     46      4
SK Warne                    19      2     61      3
ME Waugh                     6      0     18      0
DR Martyn                    2      0      4      0

Australia 1st innings                                           R   M   B  4 6
JL Langer             c +GO Jones        b Harmison            25      29  5 0
ML Hayden                                b Harmison            14      14  3 0
RT Ponting            c Flintoff         b SO Jones             4       2  1 0
ME Waugh              not out                                   3      16  0 0
*SR Waugh             not out                                   1       6  0 0
Extras                (nb 1)                                    1
Total                 (3 wickets, 11 overs)                    48

FoW:  1-35 (Hayden), 2-44 (Ponting),
      3-44 (Langer).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                     5      0     31      1
A Flintoff                   3      1     12      0
SJ Harmison                  3      1      5      2

**Mongrel** · 11-22-2014, 09:10 AM

England vs Australia, 2nd test, Edgbaston, 2nd day
Waugh, Martyn hit form as England toil

Australia 349 for 8 (M Waugh 102, Martyn 62, Harmison 4-60) lead England 221 all out by 128 runs

Fresh off disappointing first tests, Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn have steered Australia to a commanding lead at stumps on day two of the second test at Edgbaston following a century to the New South Welshman Waugh.

Continuing from Australia's overnight total of 48 for 3, Waugh was joined by his brother Steve as the pair flayed the English bowlers early with Simon Jones taking the brunt of the twins' attack. In a 143-run stand for the fourth wicket, Steve Waugh looked odds-on to pass his second century of the series as he effortlessly neutralised the English quicks. However he somewhat surprisingly became Steve Harmison's third victim as he bottom edged a cut shot on to the stumps to depart for 57.

That brought Damien Martyn to the crease who, like Mark Waugh, had struggled in the first test to get going. He made a fluent start in a partnership marked by the classic cover drives from both Martyn and Waugh alike. However, after crossing his first ton of the series, Waugh misjudged a delivery from wide of crease from Andrew Flintoff and was dismissed LBW for an impressive 102.

That brought Adam Gilchrist to the crease, who quickly took Australia past England's first innings total as he targeted Jones and Ashley Giles in particular. His innings of 48 from 54 balls came to an end with the score on 298, as he played all around a half volley from Simon Jones. Unlike England's tail, though, Australia's bottom order resisted to end the day at 349-8; Shane Warne dismissed leg before for 10 before Damien Martyn played inside a stock ball from Ashley Giles to fall for a well-made 62.

Code:

Australia 1st innings                                           R   M   B  4 6
JL Langer             c +GO Jones        b Harmison            25  31  29  5 0
ML Hayden                                b Harmison            14  25  14  3 0
RT Ponting            c Flintoff         b SP Jones             4   4   2  1 0
ME Waugh              lbw                b Flintoff           102 236 178 12 2
*SR Waugh                                b Harmison            57 198 138  6 0
DR Martyn                                b Giles               62 162 117  7 0
+AC Gilchrist                            b SP Jones            48  63  54  5 1
SK Warne              lbw                b Harmison            10  18  17  1 0
B Lee                 not out                                  21  68  44  2 0
JN Gillespie          not out                                   2  22  17  0 0
Extras                (nb 4)                                    4
Total                 (8 wickets, 101 overs)                  349

To bat: GD McGrath.

FoW:  1-35 (Hayden), 2-44 (Ponting),
      3-44 (Langer), 4-187 (SR Waugh),
      5-215 (ME Waugh), 6-298 (Gilchrist),
      7-309 (Warne), 8-343 (Martyn).

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
SP Jones                    25      2    123      2
A Flintoff                  22      3     60      1
SJ Harmison                 18      2     60      4
MJ Hoggard                  17      1     40      0
AF Giles                    17      3     55      1
MS Trescothick               2      0     11      0

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England 2005 vs Australia 1999-2001

England 2005 vs Australia 1999-2001

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