Gunmen attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan – At least a dozen men ambushed Sri Lanka's cricket team with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers Tuesday as they drove to the stadium ahead of a match in Pakistan, killing six policemen and a driver.

The attackers struck as a convoy carrying the squad and match officials reached a traffic circle 100 yards (meters) from the main sports stadium in the eastern city of Lahore, triggering a 15-minute gunbattle with police guarding the vehicles.

Seven players, an umpire and a coach were wounded, none with life-threatening injuries.

The assault was one of the worst terrorist attacks on a sports team since Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Tuesday's attackers melted away into the city, and none was killed or captured, city police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said. Authorities did not speculate on the identities of the attackers or their motives, but the chief suspects will be Islamist militants, some with links to al-Qaida, who have staged high-profile attacks on civilian targets before.

The bus driver, Mohammad Khalil, accelerated as bullets ripped into the vehicle and explosions rocked the air, steering the team to the safety of the stadium. The players — some of them wounded — ducked down and shouted "Go! Go!" as he drove through the ambush.

The attack reinforced perceptions that nuclear-armed Pakistan is veering out of control under terrorist assault.

The head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, said the country was "in a state of war."

"We will flush out all these terrorists from this country," he vowed late Tuesday.

Sri Lanka had agreed to this tour — allowing Pakistan to host its first test matches in 14 months — only after India and Australia backed out of scheduled trips over security concerns. The assault will end hopes of international cricket teams — or any sports teams — playing in the country for months, if not years.

Tuesday's attack came three months after the Mumbai terror strikes that killed 164 people. Those raids were allegedly carried out by Pakistan militants, and the assault in Lahore resembled them in many respects. Both were coordinated, used multiple gunmen, apparently in teams of two, who were armed with explosives and assault rifles and apparently had little fear of death or capture.

Authorities will also consider possible links to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger separatist rebels who are being badly hit in a military offensive at home, though Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said it was unlikely the group was involved.

Authorities canceled the test match against Pakistan's national team, and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered his foreign minister to immediately travel to Pakistan to help assist in the team's evacuation.

A special flight is expected to bring the players home in the early hours of Wednesday, according to a Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry official.

TV footage of the attack showed at least two pairs of gunmen with backpacks firing from a stretch of grass and taking cover behind a small monument before moving on. It was taken from the offices of a Pakistani news channel overlooking the site of the ambush.

"These people were highly trained and highly armed. The way they were holding their guns, the way they were taking aim and shooting at the police, it shows they were not ordinary people," said Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province. "This is the same style as the terrorists who attacked Mumbai."

An Associated Press reporter saw police handling what looked like two suicide jackets. Officers also recovered two backpacks apparently used by the attackers before fleeing, as well as walkie-talkies.

"It is a terrible incident, and I am lost for words," said Steve Davis, an Australian who was to have umpired the match.

Lahore police chief Rehman said "between 12 and 14 men" took part in the assault and they resembled Pashtuns, the ethnic group that hails from close to the Afghan border, the stronghold of al-Qaida and the Taliban. He said officers were hunting them down.

Two Sri Lankan players — Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana — were being treated for bullet wounds in a hospital but were stable, said Chamara Ranavira, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan High Commission.

Umpire Ahsan Raza was hit in his abdomen, medical Superintendent of the Services Hospital, Mohammad Javed, said.

Team captain Mahela Jayawardene and four other players had minor injuries, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board said. Ranavira said British assistant coach Paul Farbrace also sustained minor injuries.

Haider Ashraf, another police officer, said six policemen and a driver of a Pakistan Cricket Board vehicle were killed.

Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said little could be done to stop such an attack, saying "there is never enough security to counter a well organized and determined terrorist group."

The Dubai-based International Cricket Council condemned the attack. But ICC President David Morgan told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the organization had no role in deciding on whether Pakistan was safe enough for a tour since Sri Lanka and Pakistan agreed to the match.

One militant group likely to fall under particular suspicion is Lashkar-e-Taiba, the network blamed for the Mumbai terror attacks in November, in which 10 gunmen staged a three-day siege targeting luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other sites.

In the past, India and Pakistan have blamed each other for attacks on their territories. Any allegations like that will trigger fresh tensions between the countries, which are already dangerously high.

July 11th 2008
I started this file in 2005 when I had an early premonition that for a number of reasons England were about to exceed expectations and win the ashes. They never regained that form since but today there is a turn up. South Africa, a highly thought of side, are here for a Test Match. We lost the toss and were put into bat. A good but slow pitch, with play interrupted by rain. At the end of day two it looked like this (below). The only contentious point was Collingwood's dismissal, an error by the usually excellent Billy Bowden - it came off Collingwood's pad.

The reason for this high score was largely because of the reversion by the England team to playing classic cricket, not idiocentric, idiomatic personalised cricket. They went back to basics, even though Pietersen always has his specials. Bell was in form after a really good run-up playing for Warwickshire. Broad was impressive.

npower Test Match Series: England v South Africa
10-07-2008 at Lord's , Day 2 of 5

Close

South Africa won the toss and decided to field

England 1st Innings 593 for 8 (156.2 overs)

South Africa 1st Innings 7 for 0 (3.2 overs)

England 1st Innings - Declared

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Strauss	lbw	b M Morkel	44	131	6	0
Cook	c de Villiers	b M Morkel	60	132	9	0
Vaughan		b Steyn	2	3	0	0
Pietersen	c Boucher	b M Morkel	152	181	20	1
Bell	c and b	Harris	199	336	20	1
Collingwood	c Amla	b Harris	7	13	1	0
Ambrose	c Smith	b M Morkel	4	7	0	0
Broad		b Harris	76	124	10	0
Sidebottom	not out		1	22	0	0
Extras		15nb 7w 14b 12lb	48
Total		for 8	593	(156.2 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Steyn 35.0 8 117 1 Ntini 29.0 2 130 0 M Morkel 34.0 3 121 4 Kallis 20.0 3 70 0 Harris 38.2 8 129 3

Fall of wicket   114 Strauss 117 Vaughan 117 Cook 403 Pietersen 413 Collingwood 422 Ambrose 574 Broad 593 Bell

South Africa 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	not out		2	13	0	0
McKenzie	not out		5	7	1	0
Extras			0
Total		for 0	7	(3.2 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Sidebottom 2.0 0 5 0 Anderson 1.2 0 2 0

Fall of wicket

Umpires: B F Bowden, D J Harper
England: Vaughan, Cook, Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson, Panesar
South Africa: Smith, McKenzie, Amla, Prince, Kallis, de Villiers, Boucher, M Morkel, Harris, Steyn, Ntini


The next day we did OK

South Africa 1st Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	c Bell	b Anderson	8	21	1	0
McKenzie		b Panesar	40	89	5	0
Amla	c Ambrose	b Broad	6	32	1	0
Kallis	c Strauss	b Sidebottom	7	19	1	0
Prince	c Ambrose	b Sidebottom	101	184	13	1
de Villiers	c Anderson	b Panesar	42	119	5	0
Boucher		b Broad	4	11	0	0
M Morkel		b Panesar	6	22	1	0
Harris	c Anderson	b Panesar	6	18	1	0
Steyn	c Sidebottom	b Pietersen	19	46	2	0
Ntini	not out		0	1	0	0
Extras		1nb 2w 1b 4lb	8
Total		all out	247	(93.3 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Sidebottom 19.0 3 41 2 Anderson 21.0 7 36 1 Broad 23.0 3 88 2 Panesar 26.0 4 74 4 Collingwood 4.0 1 3 0 Pietersen 0.3 0 0 1

Fall of wicket   13 Smith 28 Amla 47 Kallis 83 McKenzie 161 de Villiers 166 Boucher 191 M Morkel 203 Harris 245 Prince 247 Steyn

Then it all got stuck for England. The pitch hardened up and it was thought the spinners would have a good chance, but no.  England's bowlers failed to dent a South African team that had decided their reputation was at stake and had the time to rescue it. It was slow, slow going till the bowlers tired and then SA started to score. The day's play ended like this:

South Africa 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	c Pietersen	b Anderson	107	207	11	0
McKenzie	not out		106	330	14	0
Amla	not out		20	48	3	0
Extras		1nb 3w 4b 5lb	13
Total		for 1	246	(97.2 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Panesar 34.0 8 74 0 Pietersen 6.0 1 19 0 Sidebottom 18.0 6 23 0 Anderson 19.2 4 52 1 Broad 15.0 3 55 0 Collingwood 5.0 3 14 0

Fall of wicket   204 Smith

Umpires: B F Bowden, D J Harper
England: Vaughan, Cook, Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson, Panesar
South Africa: Smith, McKenzie, Amla, Prince, Kallis, de Villiers, Boucher, M Morkel, Harris, Steyn, Ntini

There were calls for Flintoff to return as a blaster of stumps but the fact is England dropped a couple of catches. Can't afford that. The next day will decide the tenor of this test.

---

FIRST TEST, Lord's (day five):
England 593-8 dec drew with South Africa 247 & 393-3

Hashim Amla became the third centurion of the South Africa follow-on as the first Test at Lord's ended in a draw.

Amla shared 152 with Neil McKenzie, who spent more than nine dogged hours at the crease for his 138 before edging a wide delivery shortly after lunch.

Ryan Sidebottom bowled the ball of the match, a magical yorker to bowl Jacques Kallis, but it was a rare highlight.

Amla's fine display of application resulted in his fifth Test ton as the tourists closed on 393-3, 47 ahead.

South Africa 2nd Innings - Close

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	c Pietersen	b Anderson	107	207	11	0
McKenzie	c Ambrose	b Anderson	138	447	16	0
Amla	not out		104	242	14	0
Kallis		b Sidebottom	13	52	2	0
Prince	not out		9	54	0	0
Extras		1nb 5w 8b 8lb	22
Total		for 3	393	(167.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Panesar 60.0 15 116 0 Pietersen 7.0 1 21 0 Sidebottom 30.0 9 46 1 Anderson 32.0 7 78 2 Broad 26.0 7 78 0 Collingwood 11.0 4 37 0 Cook 1.0 0 1 0

Fall of wicket   204 Smith 329 McKenzie 357 Kallis

Umpires: B F Bowden, D J Harper
England: Vaughan, Cook, Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson, Panesar
South Africa: Smith, McKenzie, Amla, Prince, Kallis, de Villiers, Boucher, M Morkel, Harris, Steyn, Ntini


In the second test, SA outplayed England. We had some bad decisions but SA played brilliantly. On our side, only Broad did that.


I was unable to watch the subsequent matches, but on August 3rd Vaughan and Collingwood resigned as Captain and One-Day captain respectively. The pressures of captaincy, they both decided, had affected their performance too badly. Two great cricketers and great captains, they keave a big hole and it will be hard to fill. I guess Strauss will step up to the challenge, and maybe Flintoff.
I would like to put it on record that SA played brilliantly and our efforts are not as bad as it looks and Vaughan performed well in the field.

Results

Wednesday, 30 July 2008

npower Test Match Series

England: 231 & 363 South Africa: 314 & 283-5 South Africa beat England by 5 wickets
scorecard match report

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Friday, 18 July 2008

npower Test Match Series

England: 203 & 327 South Africa: 522 & 9-0 South Africa beat England by 10 wickets
scorecard match report


http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com//03082008/4/vaughan-stands-alone-numbers-game.html


Well it's Pietersen for captain! Great idea. He will be well up to it, though whether it affects his batting will remain to be seen.



The evidence is in. Pietersen made a brlliamt century in the first innings and steered the team through to a win by 6 wickets.
Details:

npower Test Match Series: England v South Africa
07-08-2008 at The Brit Oval , Day 5 of 5

England beat South Africa by 6 wickets

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat

South Africa 1st Innings 194 all out (64.5 overs)	South Africa 2nd Innings 318 all out (99.2 overs)
England 1st Innings 316 all out (95.2 overs)	England 2nd Innings 198 for 4 (52.5 overs)

South Africa 1st Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	c Anderson	b S Harmison	46	103	7	0
McKenzie	c Cook	b Flintoff	17	55	2	0
Amla		b S Harmison	36	35	8	0
Kallis	lbw	b Anderson	2	5	0	0
Prince	c Bell	b Anderson	4	14	1	0
de Villiers	lbw	b Panesar	39	53	8	0
Boucher	c Ambrose	b Anderson	3	13	0	0
M Morkel	c Bell	b Broad	17	30	3	0
Harris	not out		13	49	1	0
Nel	c Ambrose	b Broad	4	5	1	0
Ntini		b Panesar	9	29	1	0
Extras		2nb 1b 1lb	4
Total		all out	194	(64.5 ovs)

Bowler O M R W S Harmison 18.0 6 49 2 Anderson 15.0 1 42 3 Flintoff 15.0 2 37 1 Broad 14.0 3 60 2 Panesar 2.5 0 4 2

Fall of wicket   56 McKenzie 103 Smith 103 Amla 105 Kallis 118 Prince 132 Boucher 158 de Villiers 168 M Morkel 172 Nel 194 Ntini

England 1st Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Strauss	c Smith	b Ntini	6	20	1	0
Cook	c Boucher	b Ntini	39	102	5	0
Bell	c Smith	b Ntini	24	41	3	0
Pietersen	c Kallis	b Ntini	100	137	15	0
Collingwood	c and b	Kallis	61	124	10	0
Flintoff	c Boucher	b Kallis	9	13	0	1
Ambrose	c Smith	b Kallis	4	11	0	0
Broad	c McKenzie	b Ntini	1	36	0	0
S Harmison	not out		49	59	8	0
Anderson	lbw	b Harris	13	34	1	0
Panesar	run out		0	0	0	0
Extras		5nb 1w 4lb	10
Total		all out	316	(95.2 ovs)

Bowler O M R W M Morkel 22.0 3 78 0 Ntini 24.0 3 94 5 Nel 19.2 5 56 0 Kallis 15.0 2 51 3 Harris 15.0 4 33 1

Fall of wicket   7 Strauss 51 Bell 111 Cook 219 Pietersen 233 Flintoff 241 Ambrose 248 Collingwood 263 Broad 316 Anderson 316 Panesar

South Africa 2nd Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	lbw	b Anderson	0	5	0	0
McKenzie		b Broad	29	58	4	0
Amla	c Ambrose	b S Harmison	76	99	14	0
Kallis	c Collingwood	b S Harmison	9	57	1	0
Prince	c Strauss	b Flintoff	24	53	4	0
de Villiers		b Panesar	97	170	12	0
Boucher	c Collingwood	b Anderson	12	44	1	0
M Morkel	c Bell	b Panesar	10	22	1	0
Harris	c Flintoff	b Broad	34	74	3	0
Nel	not out		3	8	0	0
Ntini	c Collingwood	b Broad	2	9	0	0
Extras		3nb 5w 6b 8lb	22
Total		all out	318	(99.2 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Anderson 22.0 2 85 2 S Harmison 25.0 6 84 2 Flintoff 18.0 4 53 1 Panesar 17.0 5 37 2 Broad 16.2 4 44 3 Pietersen 1.0 0 1 0

Fall of wicket   0 Smith 82 McKenzie 119 Amla 138 Kallis 161 Prince 201 Boucher 218 M Morkel 313 Harris 313 de Villiers 318 Ntini

England 2nd Innings - Close

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Strauss	c Smith	b Harris	58	107	6	0
Cook	c Smith	b Ntini	67	106	12	0
Bell		b Ntini	4	19	1	0
Pietersen	c McKenzie	b Harris	13	27	2	0
Collingwood	not out		25	50	4	0
Flintoff	not out		11	14	1	1
Extras		6nb 1w 6b 7lb	20
Total		for 4	198	(52.5 ovs)

Bowler O M R W M Morkel 13.0 2 43 0 Ntini 14.0 4 55 2 Harris 19.5 5 56 2 Nel 5.0 0 21 0 Kallis 1.0 0 10 0

Fall of wicket   123 Cook 147 Bell 147 Strauss 182 Pietersen

Umpires: Aleem Dar, S J Davis
England: Strauss, Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Flintoff, Ambrose, Broad, S Harmison, Anderson, Panesar
South Africa: Smith, McKenzie, Amla, Kallis, Prince, de Villiers, Boucher, Harris, Nel, M Morkel, Ntini

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Bangladesh demolish India by great bowling at the top of the batting order and great bowling and catching toward the end! 192 all out.
10 to win from 33... Bangladesh win with 5 wickets to spare - WOW!

March 17th 2007 - Andrew Flintoff has been found drunk in charge of a pedalo. This man has a talent for self-destruction. How fitting that Asaac Asimov's "Bicentennial Man" was shown again on UK Channel 5 today. What a great film - though personally I have always thought that the point of making mistakes was to learn from them, whereas Asimov gives the impression that he really does believe in freedom for its own sake and enjoyment in doing the 'wrong thing' for fun. Oh, maybe not. Anyway, very few people are funny when they are drunk. Those that are are to be highly valued. In vino veritas. The science in the Asimov film should not be taken too seriously, ingenious and realistically  hypothesised though it is. The future it shows is not imminent and things can turn out very differently. But much of the philosophy is serious stuff and the science is used to demonstrate some very important truths.

Pakistan cricket coach, the great Bob Woolmer, has died in hospital in Jamaica, after being found unconscious on the floor of his hotel room. Very bad news.

England v. Canada: Vaughan and Joyce make it to 55 for 0 easily  in 10 overs and 100-0 in 19.3 overs. Then Vaughan mistimes and is caught backward point for 49.  153 for 2, Bell out trying to speed up, sweeping. Joyce out sweeping then Pietersen straight after for 5 - strange shot. 161 for 4. 200-4.  Bopara trying a reverse sweep is bowled. Nixon and  Collingwood take it to 279-6 at the end. The middle order failed badly.

Two cast-iron LBWs not given against Canada. Who is that umpire? Blind, whoever he is. Parker. 55 for 3 should have been 55 for 5.
At 123 for 4 another LBW not given by the other umpire. This is ridiculous!, Then an amazing stumping by Nixon and an LBW given by Parker at last. 193-6.  A good run-out, then 228-7 when they ran out of overs. But England must do much better.

I have to say there has been some really terrible LBW decisions - given not out when there was no question at all it was middle stump.


MARCH 21 2007    The police find the death of Bob Woolmer possibly 'suspicious'. His wife doesn't. She feels the stress and disappointment caused heart failure. What strikes me is that nobody gives Ireland the credit for winning rather than Pakistan stick for losing. Today we saw Pakistan roundly beat Zimbabwe. The truth is Ireand were brilliant - it was St Patrick that inspired them.

MARCH 22: Now there are reports that Woolmer was murdered, his neck broken. This is hard to believe. Losing to Ireland was no shame at all - they won it fair and square. I do not see match-fixing as a possibility in this case either, or, therefore, preventing the exposure of it as a motive for murder.

11:00pm I have now heard the news that Woolmer was definitely murdered. The World Cup continues for the time being but if it is found that his death came from anything to do with the game and its players, then the World Cup should be abandoned this year as a matter of principle.

MARCH 23   Now there are suggestions of match-fixing in the Pakistan-Windies match. I pass.

Pybus fears Pakistan backlash

By Simon Austin

People must be very careful about stone throwing at Pakistani cricket Richard Pybus

People should not 'throw stones' at Pakistani cricket following Bob Woolmer's murder, says their former coach Richard Pybus.

Pybus, who was in charge from 1999 to 2001 and again in 2003, told BBC Sport: "People must be very sensitive about this not becoming anti-Pakistani.

"That's way too soft a target and I don't think Bob would have wanted that.

"It must not become an issue about Pakistan people or cricket. There are fabulous people involved out there."

The 42-year-old, who takes over as Middlesex coach this summer, added: "People must be very careful about this becoming a stone-throwing exercise at Pakistani cricket.

"I learnt a tremendous amount about the game and Pakistani culture during my time in charge. I gained a great deal from it."

PAPERS ON PAKISTAN It is a tragedy, but one you could not see befalling any other team but Pakistan Derek Pringle (Daily Telegraph) The challenge of Pakistan cricket is one facing no other nation Mike Selvey (The Guardian) Whatever the rumours, conspiracy theories or sheer lies...Woolmer would almost certainly still be alive if he had not taken on the job of Pakistan coach John Etheridge (The Sun)

Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room on Sunday following Pakistan's shock World Cup defeat by Ireland.

Jamaican police subsequently revealed that the 58-year-old had been murdered and rumour has been rife that his death could be linked to match-fixing.

Pybus, the first foreign coach of Pakistan, says he saw no evidence of fixing during his time in charge.

"I wasn't privy to anything with regards to sides underperforming or guys being influenced.

"I would hate to think it happened while I was coach. If it had been, I'm sure I would have known about it because the manager would have brought it to my attention.

"But on the other hand I would be naive to presume that world cricket was completely squeaky clean," he said.

Pybus believes the job of Pakistan coach is arguably more demanding than any other role in the game.

"There are a lot of challenges, with logistics, administration and things outside the sport," he said.

"There's a tremendous capacity to sabotage goals from within the team. It makes it difficult to do consistent planning. As a coach you want to be strategising, not dealing with outside matters. It's an incredibly volatile environment."

But he added: "It can be a very rewarding job. There are some fabulous cricketers and administrators in Pakistan."

Pybus says he believes Woolmer and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq presided over the most successful period in the history of Pakistan cricket.

They reached third in both the one-day and Test rankings and achieved rare stability.

But he says "things went a bit pear shaped with the saga at the Oval", when the players refused to go back onto the pitch during a Test against England last year after being accused of ball tampering by umpire Daryl Hair.

Pakistan players Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif then tested positive for steroids at the end of last year.

"There is a cumulative build up of stress on a coach of Pakistan and I can imagine it was the same for Bob, particularly after the Oval," Pybus said. "But I'm sure the level of success he had would have been reward for that, tempered by a poor performance at this World Cup."

Pybus also paid tribute to Woolmer for helping him early on in his coaching career.

Bob saw a young coach coming through and kept an eye out for me Richard Pybus

When Pybus was starting out as a coach in the late 1990s, Woolmer was in charge of South Africa.

"He looked out for me and was very kind," Pybus said. "He saw a young coach coming through and kept an eye out for me.

"I am incredibly grateful to him. When I didn't have a coaching post, he tried to set something up for me and then invited me to do some coaching with the national team to keep me occupied.

"It was real kindness. I was a student observing an elite coach. As far as international coaches are concerned, he was right up there.

"He was always up to speed with developments in other sports and other walks of life.

"He was also a fine man-manager - he couldn't have had the level of success he did without being one.

"Cricket has lost a great coach and a great man."

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/cricket/6485549.stm

Published: 2007/03/23 17:16:24 GMT

© BBC MMVII

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. . . . . . .

MARCH 30th 2007
There have been some very exciting games (I will not comment here, see the BBC links above). Australia still the favourites, Glenn McGrath in high form.
England have won all their games, with some good performances, but as a team we have not impressed even against teams with low expectations.
Today we played Ireland and it has to be said we could easily have lost. Collingwood, Flintoff, Pietersen and Nixon did their stuff well but we were lucky to get 2 early Irish wickets. It is not surprisng they beat Pakistan. On the whole they were the better team today.

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APRIL 5th 2007

ICC World Cup: England v Sri Lanka
04-04-2007 at Antigua         

A mean decision against Bell, a doubtful one against Vaughan, we lose by 2 runs though our tail wagged brillantly.
The scorecard needs no other comment except to say we bowled and fielded really well, and Sri Lanka are a formidable side.
Oh yes, one other point. Although Cricket now gets most of its income from the media, the ticket prices were so high, presumably aimed at tourists, that the stands were 3/4 empty. What folly. They should have many more cheap seats.
OK, there is one more point - the end was really, really, really, magnificently exciting. The crown was going wild. England could have won off the last ball.

In Play

England won the toss and decided to field

Sri Lanka Innings 235 all out (50.0 overs)

England Innings 233 for 8 (50.0 overs)

Sri Lanka Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
W U Tharanga	c K P Pietersen	b A Flintoff	62	103	2	0
S T Jayasuriya		b S I Mahmood	25	26	4	1
K C Sangakkara	c P D Collingwood	b S I Mahmood	17	33	2	0
D P M D Jayawardene	c E C Joyce	b P D Collingwood	56	61	4	0
L P C Silva		b A Flintoff	24	37	2	0
T M Dilshan	run out		5	6	0	0
R P Arnold	c E C Joyce	b S I Mahmood	20	22	1	0
W P U J C Vaas	c P D Collingwood	b A Flintoff	4	5	0	0
S L Malinga	c P A Nixon	b S I Mahmood	2	7	0	0
M Muralitharan	not out		2	2	0	0
C R D Fernando	run out		2	2	0	0
Extras		4nb 4w 3b 5lb	16
Total		all out	235	(50.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W J M Anderson 10.0 1 39 0 S I Mahmood 9.0 0 50 4 A Flintoff 10.0 0 35 3 P D Collingwood 10.0 0 44 1 M S Panesar 8.0 0 45 0 M P Vaughan 3.0 0 14 0

Fall of wicket   37 S T Jayasuriya 69 K C Sangakkara 160 W U Tharanga 175 D P M D Jayawardene 193 T M Dilshan 215 L P C Silva 219 W P U J C Vaas 226 S L Malinga 231 R P Arnold 235 C R D Fernando

England Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
E C Joyce	lbw	b S L Malinga	10	21	1	0
M P Vaughan	c K C Sangakkara	b W P U J C Vaas	0	3	0	0
I R Bell	run out		47	71	4	0
K P Pietersen	c and b	M Muralitharan	58	80	5	1
P D Collingwood	lbw	b C R D Fernando	14	21	2	0
A Flintoff	c S L Malinga	b C R D Fernando	2	7	0	0
R S Bopara		b C R D Fernando	51	51	4	0
P A Nixon	c D P M D Jayawardene	b S L Malinga	43	46	2	1
S I Mahmood	not out		2	2	0	0
Extras		2nb 2w 1b 1lb	6
Total		for 8	233	(50.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W W P U J C Vaas 8.0 1 45 1 S L Malinga 10.0 1 49 2 C R D Fernando 9.0 0 41 3 S T Jayasuriya 8.0 0 31 0 T M Dilshan 5.0 1 16 0 M Muralitharan 10.0 1 49 1

Fall of wicket   1 M P Vaughan 11 E C Joyce 101 I R Bell 126 K P Pietersen 133 A Flintoff 133 P D Collingwood 220 P A Nixon 233 R S Bopara

Umpires: Asad Rauf, B F Bowden
England: E C Joyce, M P Vaughan, I R Bell, K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, R S Bopara, P A Nixon, S I Mahmood, J M Anderson, M S Panesar
Sri Lanka: S T Jayasuriya, W U Tharanga, D P M D Jayawardene, K C Sangakkara, L P C Silva, R P Arnold, T M Dilshan, W P U J C Vaas, C R D Fernando, S L Malinga, M Muralitharan

---

EASTER DAY  APRIL 08 2007

England v. Australia
I will reserve judgment until we have seen the Australians bat but they did a pretty good job in the field, allowing us only 247 all out. We were looking good despite early casualties till Collingwood got caught behind for 2, then it all fell apart with only Pietersen (magnificent) and Bopara notching up the score, Flintoff out stumped in one of his usual charge and misses. The best one can say is we used our overs and wickets.

England captain Michael Vaughan admitted that his side failed to take their chances after a seven-wicket defeat to Australia in Antigua.

Australia cruised to 248-3 after England had been dismissed for 247. Nothing more to be said. Australia were good, we were pants.

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APRIL 14 2007
World Cup Super 8, Grenada: New Zealand 196-5 beat South Africa 194-7 by five wickets.
Excellent bowling and fielding by NZ

New Zealand were too strong for an uncertain South Africa side, winning by five wickets with 10 balls left.

The result puts the Kiwis and Sri Lanka into the World Cup semi-finals, and means Tuesday's England v South Africa match is a virtual quarter-final.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6551369.stm

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APRIL 15 2007

ICC World Cup: Bangladesh v Ireland
15-04-2007 at Barbados

Ireland beat Bangladesh by 74 runs

Ireland won the toss and decided to bat. They played a perfect game, putting Bangladesh under a lot of pressure in the mid-game by taking very risky runs. This cost them some wickets but caused the Bangladesh fielding to crack under the strain. Ireland's fielding was excellent, Bangladesh some good batting but all too little of it.

Ireland Innings 243 for 7 (50.0 overs)

Bangladesh Innings 169 all out (41.2 overs)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/fds/hi/statistics/cricket/scorecards/2007/4/13094/html/scorecard.stm

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APRIL 17th 2007
England demolished by South Africa.
Pietersen caught mid-off for 2 or something pathetic. A really awful, stupid shot.
111 for 3 was not too bad but then Strauss was caught for 46, Collingwood  LBW for 30... 115 for 5.... Flintoff clean bowled for 5, his bat nowhere near the ball, NIxon caught behind for 1.... 121 for 7.....Mahmood bowled for 0 (all those by Andrew Hall).... 132 for 8.
Bopara rallied, Panesar gace it a go but caught for 2. All out 154

Then SA came in to bat and it was all over.

APRIL 19th  Post Mortem:  There have been lower scores than 154 and South Africa played well, I have no patience with those who say it was a humiliating defeat, it was just very tired, bad batting from some of our batsmen who have done great things in the past. They were nervous when the should have been bold and careless when they should have been focussed. The coach carries the can and Fletcher has gone today. He, just as his players, have had to sustain their excellent recovery (from a poor patch before he came on the scene), too long against too hard and rising competition. Look at the drubbing Sri Lanka just gave Ireland, a young team but in top form, focussed and giving their all. The were skittled out for the lowest score ever in one day internationals.

---

APRIL 21st 2007
At 154 for 2 against Windies, 26th over, with 301 the target, England were looking good. Vaughan had played a blinder with a cracking run rate.
Then it went wrong. We lost Bopara, Collingwood played-on, Flintoff lobbed a dolly of a catch....
At 197 for 6 it all depends on Nixon and Pietersen. Required run rate now 8 an over? I don't fancy it.

If we lose this match it will be due to the difference between England and Windies fielding. We lost three crucial wickets to run-outs when the stumps were hit with great throws that were not expected. We failed run-outs by missing the stumps when we should have hit them.

22:54:00 GMT:  Well, I did say 'if'.  As it turns out, England won with 1 ball and 1 wicket to spare, in a thrilling finish. We wagged our tail in style!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6577023.stm
This was our best performance of the series.  Weird, but wonderful. Great spectator sport too. Man of the match, KP. It could well have been Vaughan, who set the pace wot won it.

The match marked the international retirement of the great Brian Lara, the hightest scorer in test cricket. He got run out for 24 - but so what, the Don had a funny exit too.

---

APRIL 25th 2007
Australia just too good for South Africa. McGrath was deadly and the other bowlers mopped up the rest. When it came to batting, although Gilhrist was dismissed for 1 it was by a brilliant ball and from that point on the balance of defensive and attacking play was outstanding, especially by MIchael Clarke. Sri Lanka are worthy adversaries in the final. I believe Australia have the expertise to beat them but in Cricket, you never can tell! Here is the story of today's match:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6588929.stm

Saturday, 28 April 2007

ICC World Cup Final                    
Sri Lanka did well to make 215.  Australia were strong and Gilchrist had his eye in from the very beginning. 149 off 104 balls is sensational

Rain interfered with the match but the result was fair.
Sri Lanka: 215-8 ( 36.0 overs )
Australia: 281-4 ( 38.0 overs )
Australia beat Sri Lanka by 53 runs (D/L)
scorecard

Now we await the sad verdict on Bob Woolmer


JUNE 9th 2007
A few days ago Scotland Yard said in their opinion Woolmer died of natural causes.

Pakistanis demand apology over Woolmer

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor, The Independent

Published: 08 June 2007

The Jamaican police force is facing growing pressure to make a public apology to the Pakistan cricket team over the investigation into the death of their former coach Bob Woolmer.

New evidence sent to the Jamaican authorities is believed to show that Mr Woolmer died of natural heart failure and was not murdered, as the police had originally claimed.

The 58-year-old coach was found unconscious in his hotel room during the Cricket World Cup on 18 March after his players had suffered a humiliating defeat by the lowly ranked Irish. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Dr Ere Seshaiah, the Kingston pathologist who performed a post-mortem examination, said after his initial autopsy that the cause of death was inconclusive. But when he re-examined the body, he decided Mr Woolmer's death was caused by "asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation", pointing to bruises in tissues of the neck.

This triggered a major murder investigation, which overshadowed events on the field and led to speculation that the Pakistan players might be somehow implicated in their own coach's death. Later it emerged that a toxicology report had indicated the presence of weedkiller in Mr Woolmer's body, leading to a new theory that he had been poisoned and then strangled.

During the 10-week investigation, the players and their backroom staff were fingerprinted, swabbed for DNA and interviewed by Jamaican police .

Yesterday, the Pakistan team spokesman, Pervez Mir, repeated his belief that Mr Woolmer died of natural causes and accused the police of marring the World Cup. Mr Mir, speaking to Sky Sports News, said the team assisted the police investigation, but that "never in a million years could I even think anyone in the Pakistan team could have been or would have been involved in that".

He added: "I think they should make a public apology, and right now I'm on my way into Pakistan where I will be recommending to the chairman of the board to take necessary legal action unless the Jamaican police formally apologise to the Pakistan team, to the Zimbabwean team, the Irish team and the West Indian team, who were all staying in the hotel.

"There was so much insinuation, so much name-throwing, finger-pointing and all of that, and I'm afraid the Jamaican police and the pathologist will be held responsible for marring the World Cup, for creating mistrust and distrust among the cricketing fraternity."

---

AUGUST 30th 2007
I have not found much to report on Cricket since the previous entry till this match. England were leading 2-1 in the series, They did a superb job bowling and fielding in the first innings here and a win seemed well within reach. Then it all collapsed in the face of excllent agressive bowling from India and a classic Pietersen careless skier. Flintoff failed to settle down even though we had time and overs to spare so then he was gone too. However, Stuart Broad (who had led the bowling attack) then teamed up with Bopara to take us home with only 2 lucky breaks right toward the end, with 3 wickets to spare! There was one LBW decision England should have lost, but we deserved it.

Stuart Broad is a man with a future. His batting is classic, his bowling accurate. Bopara was as good in the field as he was today with the bat.

 

NatWest One Day International Series: England v India
30-08-2007 at Old Trafford

England beat India by 3 wickets

India won the toss and decided to bat

India Innings 212 all out (49.4 overs)

England Innings 213 for 7 (48.0 overs)

India Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Ganguly	c Bell	b Anderson	9	14	2	0
Tendulkar	c Flintoff	b Pietersen	55	86	9	0
Karthik	c Prior	b Broad	4	22	1	0
Dravid	c Prior	b Flintoff	1	8	0	0
Yuvraj		b Broad	71	104	5	1
Dhoni		b Panesar	13	18	1	0
Agarkar	c Prior	b Broad	6	5	1	0
Powar	c Bell	b Broad	7	11	0	0
Chawla	not out		13	11	1	0
Zaheer	c Collingwood	b Anderson	20	19	3	0
RP Singh	c Bopara	b Anderson	0	1	0	0
Extras		1nb 8w 4lb	13
Total		all out	212	(49.4 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Broad 10.0 1 51 4 Anderson 9.4 2 38 3 Flintoff 10.0 3 31 1 Panesar 10.0 0 39 1 Collingwood 9.0 0 43 0 Pietersen 1.0 0 6 1

Fall of wicket   17 Ganguly 31 Karthik 32 Dravid 103 Tendulkar 140 Dhoni 147 Agarkar 178 Yuvraj 179 Powar 210 Zaheer 212 RP Singh

England Innings - Close

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Cook		b Zaheer	0	5	0	0
Prior	c Powar	b Agarkar	4	5	0	0
Bell		b Agarkar	24	20	4	0
Pietersen	c Chawla	b Agarkar	18	21	3	0
Collingwood	run out		47	55	7	0
Flintoff	c Yuvraj	b Agarkar	5	8	1	0
Shah	c Karthik	b Powar	8	20	1	0
Bopara	not out		43	82	3	0
Broad	not out		45	73	4	0
Extras		1nb 13w 5lb	19
Total		for 7	213	(48.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Zaheer 9.0 1 45 1 Agarkar 10.0 0 60 4 RP Singh 6.0 0 22 0 Chawla 10.0 0 43 0 Powar 10.0 0 26 1 Yuvraj 2.0 0 8 0 Tendulkar 1.0 0 4 0

Fall of wicket   0 Cook 14 Prior 35 Bell 81 Pietersen 94 Flintoff 110 Shah 114 Collingwood

Umpires: Aleem Dar, M R Benson
England: Cook, Prior, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Flintoff, Bopara, Shah, Broad, Anderson, Panesar
India: Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Yuvraj, Karthik, Dhoni, Agarkar, Powar, Chawla, Zaheer, RP Singh

nnnn

JULY 16th 2006
I was not going to write anything on Cricket this year - that is until I heard yet more moaning from pundits about Geraint Jones. This time the complaint is he doesn't make enough runs. Well, you chumps, does he take enough catches for you? Five so far in the last innings off three different bowlers is good enough for me. As for runs, his average may not be spectacular but he is often in at a moment when the choice between hitting out and staying in is particularly tricky, and he has usually made a serious contribution. Jones is not  a weak link in the batting side and he's a great keeper.

JULY 17th 12:06
"The way Pakistan are batting they'll struggle to get 150 let alone 380! They haven't got a hope in hell."
TMS summariser Geoff Boycott.

Oh how wrong you are Geoffrey. It's true there is a confidence problem. But they have every hope.


JULY 27th
I did not care to write anything on the rest of this match. England were nowhere, having declared too late anyway. The second test will be better, won't it?  It can be a lot better.

JULY 28th
That's more like it. And I can agree this time with all Geoff Boycott's comments. Bell magnificent, Cook a great innings.
But for God's sake Monty Panesar doesn't need to dance around like an idiot every time he gets a wicket. That's what he is supposed to do. Yes, Jones did get out trying to score too quickly without getting his eye in. No matter. He got his 8 in short time and that was good.

JULY 29th
Great cricket all round.

AUGUST 3rd
Just as I thought, the selectors have resorted to computerised thinking and decided that Geraint Jones has to go, to give way to a wicket-keeper who scores more runs. A poor decision. Jones makes runs when they are needed. He goes for fast scoring when that is needed and yes, can get out doing that. He has never been the reason for an England defeat and almost always a key hand in their victory. So don't use your brains of course, just dump him on the basis of crass arithmetic that does not show the game.  No harm done, he can rest his damaged finger. His replacement will be under a bit of pressure though...

August 7th
It seems the selectors were right  - Read kept wicket perfectly and scored vital runs in Englands second innings of this 3rd test against Pakistan. OK, I guess I was wrong !       Tomorrow should be a vintage battle'

August 8th. The scorecard tells the tale and shows the credits, but the unnecessary runout was critical.

Pakistan 2nd innings (target: 323 runs) R M B 4 6 Salman Butt c Trescothick b Hoggard 16 38 28 4 0 Taufeeq Umar c Cook b Panesar 11 79 54 1 0 Younis Khan b Panesar 41 109 83 4 0 Mohammad Yousuf run out (Collingwood) 8 13 7 1 0 Faisal Iqbal c Read b Mahmood 11 16 11 1 0 +Kamran Akmal c Read b Mahmood 0 2 2 0 0 *Inzamam-ul-Haq st Read b Panesar 37 84 73 6 0 Mohammad Sami run out (Pietersen/Mahmood) 0 6 6 0 0 Shahid Nazir c Trescothick b Mahmood 17 26 20 3 0 Umar Gul c Collingwood b Mahmood 0 4 4 0 0 Danish Kaneria not out 0 9 2 0 0 Extras (lb 6, w 5, nb 3) 14 Total (all out, 47.5 overs, 198 mins) 155

FoW: 1-23 (Salman Butt, 9.1 ov), 2-52 (Taufeeq Umar, 17.4 ov), 3-68 (Mohammad Yousuf, 20.3 ov), 4-80 (Faisal Iqbal, 24.4 ov), 5-80 (Kamran Akmal, 24.6 ov), 6-112 (Younis Khan, 35.2 ov), 7-113 (Mohammad Sami, 36.4 ov), 8-148 (Shahid Nazir, 44.1 ov), 9-149 (Umar Gul, 44.6 ov), 10-155 (Inzamam-ul-Haq, 47.5 ov).

Bowling O M R W Hoggard 7 3 26 1 (2nb) Panesar 17.5 4 39 3 Harmison 15 3 62 0 (1nb, 1w) Mahmood 8 2 22 4

AUGUST 17th
The score at tea-time (it rained in the morning) reveals an England team unable to handle Pakistan's bowling. Pietersen decided to stop the paralysis but striking out right away and was out first ball. Read and Mahmood will now face the rested fast bowlers. If they last, it will be a great effort.

England v Pakistan 4th Test - The Oval

England 1st innings R M B 4 6 ME Trescothick c Mohammad Hafeez b Umar Gul 6 43 0 0 *AJ Strauss c Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Asif 38 57 7 0 AN Cook lbw b Shahid Nazir 40 69 6 0 KP Pietersen c Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Asif 0 1 0 0 PD Collingwood lbw b Mohammad Asif 5 7 1 0 IR Bell c Faisal Iqbal b Danish Kaneria 9 28 1 0 +CMW Read not out 26 44 3 0 SI Mahmood not out 1 8 0 0 Extras (b 4, lb 1, nb 4) 9 Total (6 wickets, 42 overs) 134

Well, here's how it ended:

+CMW Read                                b Umar Gul            33      62  3 0
SI Mahmood                               b Umar Gul            15      32  2 0
MJ Hoggard            c Kamran Akmal     b Mohammad Asif        4      12  0 0
SJ Harmison           not out                                   8      15  2 0
MS Panesar                               b Umar Gul             0       1  0 0
Extras                (b 4, lb 4, nb 7)                        15
Total                 (10 wickets, 53.2 overs)                173

Which shows once again why Cricket is a game infinitely more interesting than Baseball, Soccer or frankly anything else including chess.
It is multifaceted and multiskilled and tests the character of every player and every position and every aspect of team preparation and management.

Now we shall see if Pakistan, having shown how to manage this pitch as bowlers (even with average fielding and poor wicket-keeping), they can manege it better than England as batsmen. We shall see. They don't have to make a lot to get a lead in the first innings!
Geoffrey Boycott says: "It's not that w batted badly but......"  Come off it Geoffrey. With a few exceptions we were crap. And at the end of the day Pakistan are about 91 for 1 and out bowling has been partly crap and we should have had two more wickets if our fielding had been good. Cricket is a test game this is a test match, and we have been found wanting.

AUGUST 19th

*** Tea: Pakistan - 444/7 in 115.5 overs 

and not a single Pakistan batsman has been bowled or LBW. I invite you to draw your won conclusions, but one thing is clear - they decided to defend their wicket and succeeded, and to make runs and they succeeded, and England did not find a way to prevent that. Pakistan learned from the previous matches and changed their game. England seems only to have one game. It has been rumbled, and more of the same will not help.

AUGUST 20th
Pakistan made a substantial total leaving England 500+ to reach before even setting the tourists a target. I am pleased to say the English batsmen decided to pay due respect to their oponents and this tme were making a game worth watching. It was all going well when a while before tea the umpires decided the ball had been scuffed deliberately. A new ball was offered to England and taken, but a penalty of five runs was awarded against Pakistan.

During the tea break, it seems the Pakistan team decided they had not been responsible for the condition of the ball and took offence at the summary judgement. They did not come out to play. After 15 minutes the umpires took the bails off and awarded the match to England. That is quite right, BUT - It seems to me these umpires had better be pretty sure of their ground if this is not going to cause some problems. There are some one day matches to play, and either Darrell Hair or our Pakstani friends are going to eat humble pie OR the tourists may pack up and go home! That would e a pity, as relations between the teams is good and respect has been well earned on both sides.


AUGUST 21

ICC charges Inzamam with bringing game into disrepute

Monday August 21, 02:30 PM

DUBAI (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) charged Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq on Monday with bringing the game into disrepute after his team forfeited the fourth test against England at the Oval.

An ICC spokesman Jon Long said the charge was brought forward by the umpires.

"There are two charges brought forward by the umpires, one for changing the condition of the ball and the other for bringing the game into disrepute," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Dubai.

(Reporting by N.Ananthanarayanan by New Delhi)

Er.... yes.... I suppose there has to be a clear cut end to all this in today's world where authority is so unsure of its own security. In my youth, these things did not always have to be rammed home, lessons were learned, apologies often given and often accepted. But we are in a world in transition. I await the outcome with interest.


AUGUST 25th
Now, what with the hearing of this case by the ICC being postponed due to illness in the family of the president of the tribunal (or whatever the correct term is) it woud be difficult to imagine a more complicated and delicate scenario. However, it gets even more convoluted. The following seems very strange until one realises that Darrell Hair was just saying that if his umpiring decision was going tio cause an international political incident he would rather retire from the profession - he's just not into politics, he was just trying to be a Cricket Umpire. The $500,000 is just to compensate for him giving up the job in the interest of world peace!!

ICC reveals Hair 'quit' proposal

Darrell Hair offered to resign as an umpire in exchange for a payment of $500,000, the International Cricket Council has revealed.

He made his offer in a letter to the ICC after last weekend's controversial end to the fourth Test at The Oval.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told a news conference in London that Hair had been under great stress.

But he said he was satisfied Hair had not made the offer with any "dishonest, underhand or malicious intent".

Speed added: "He was seeking to find a solution that was in the interests of the game."

The BBC news says "More follows..."
I await with interest.


AUGUST 26th
The 'more' that counts is this:

Pakistan reaffirm one-day plans
Pakistan said Hair's e-mail to the International Cricket Council represented a "moral victory" for them. 

So Darrell Hair has, by a circuitous route, achieved what he wanted - which was not to be responsible for the cancellation of the one-day matches or for an even worse international diplomatic incident. But this was achieved without his golden handshake, but by publicising his offer to step down for the sake of peace. He was willing to play the 'fall guy', but now he lrisks being made the actual fall guy to appease the delicate sensibilities of others. I have no idea if the ball was deliberately tampered with but years of experience have taught me that those who make a big fuss about their honour usually have a  guilty conscience even if innocent, while those who defend their innocence simply and briefly, and are willing to wait for the judgement of time and procedure, are unlikely to have a guilty conscience even if they have inadvertently broken a rule. By putting of the investgation and judgement till later in September the ICC has played a canny game (for a change!). They had to release Hair's proposal because of the nature of today's media and public perceptions, and they have made the best of a difficult job.

NOVEMBER  8th 2006
The final judgement on Hair is now in: he has lost the confidence of the cricketing authorities and has been dropped as an international umpire.

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NOVEMBER 10th 2006
I have refrained from comment on England's recent performances.
We are going to have to do a lot better than this to retain the Ashes

Prime Minister's XI v England											d
Tour Match at Canberra
Prime Minister's XI	347	-	5	overs completed	50	ovs
England	181	all out			38.4	ovs
Prime Minister's XI beat England by 166 runs

"There are not too many people who play a short ball at your head at 150kph too well."
PM's XI skipper Cameron White.

True. That was what gave the England team trouble on this occasion. They played them, but they got out.

---

===================================================================================================

THE ASHES 2006
1st Test - Brisbane

DAY ONE      NOV 23

Some mixed bowling by England, much of it quite good. Flintoff making most of the pressure here though. Fielding OK too. But Australia's batting is sensational and Ponting in masterful control with only a few exceptions. Wonderful to watch. These guys have been practising. As Flanders and Swan would have said: "It just isn't done!". At least they are winning, though, its not just us losing, though both opening bowlers failed miserably and took no wickets.

346 for 3 at close of play
Tomorrow is another day

DAY TWO     NOV 24

Lunchtime: 427 for 4.   Still great batting, Flintoff got the wicket, but Ponting is still there and motoring

*** Day 2 *** Australia: 350 runs in 90.6 overs (555 balls), Extras 15 *** 4th Wicket: 150 runs in 264 balls (RT Ponting 83, MEK Hussey 66, Ex 3) *** RT Ponting: 150 off 235 balls (17 x 4) *** Drinks: Australia - 389/3 in 104.0 overs (RT Ponting 157, MEK Hussey 79) *** 4th Wicket: 200 runs in 357 balls (RT Ponting 109, MEK Hussey 82, Ex 9) *** Australia: 400 runs in 106.1 overs (650 balls), Extras 21 *** Lunch: Australia - 427/4 in 116.0 overs (RT Ponting 177, MJ Clarke 10)

Then it took another 173 runs, but we got 9 wickets and Oz declared at 600 *** Australia: 450 runs in 122.2 overs (748 balls), Extras 22 *** 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 90 balls (RT Ponting 23, MJ Clarke 27, Ex 1) *** Drinks: Australia - 476/6 in 130.0 overs (MJ Clarke 34, SK Warne 6) *** Australia: 500 runs in 134.3 overs (821 balls), Extras 23 *** MJ Clarke: 50 off 86 balls (4 x 4, 1 x 6) *** Tea: Australia - 528/8 in 141.3 overs (B Lee 16) *** Australia: 550 runs in 145.1 overs (886 balls), Extras 25 *** 9th Wicket: 50 runs in 44 balls (B Lee 11, SR Clark 39, Ex 0) *** Australia: 600 runs in 154.5 overs (944 balls), Extras 25

There was one LBW given not out which would have made a difference, but then Ponting was given out on a decision that might have conceivably gone the other way, which made up for it a bit. One difficult dropped catch coming high out of the sun. But again, great batting and a great spectacle. Oz is a great team. Flintoff 4 for 99 - good work

But our innings went pear-shaped rather too quickly
*** England 1st innings
*** England: 50 runs in 13.3 overs (83 balls), Extras 6
*** End Of Day: England - 53/3 in 17.0 overs (IR Bell 13, KP Pietersen 6)

England 1st innings at end of day 2                            R   M   B   4 6
AJ Strauss            c Hussey           b McGrath             12  25  21  2 0
AN Cook               c Warne            b McGrath             11  28  15  1 0
IR Bell               not out                                  13      43  1 0
PD Collingwood        c Gilchrist        b Clark                5  26  13  1 0
KP Pietersen          not out                                   6      12  1 0
Extras                (lb 4, nb 2)                              6
Total                 (3 wickets, 17 overs)                    53

it has been a perfect pitch. With a fully fit best choice team, we stood a good chance, but as things are they will be heroes if they pull this out of the bag!  Glenn McGrath dismissed Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook with successive balls, though Strauss was unlucky as the fielders nearly collided and could have lost it, and Stuart Clark got Paul Collingwood caught behind.. There were some stylish strokes though. Good luck chaps.  Here's a great pep talk from the gallant captain - video available to UK Broadband users only

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6179254.stm

ALL IS NOT LOST!
 

Well,,, it may be now for this game. The BBC tells us the bad news at 1:30 am GMT

FIRST TEST, DAY THREE:
Australia 602-9 dec v England 102-5 <<<<<<

Australia dismissed Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in successive overs to leave England on the ropes.

Pietersen had an early let-off when Stuart Clark failed to hold on to a miscued pull running back from mid-on.

But he was soon on his way after offering no stroke to a ball from Glenn McGrath and was given out lbw for 16.

Skipper Flintoff's innings lasted three balls as he was caught behind off Lee for a third-ball duck.

England 1st Innings so far

		Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	c M E K Hussey	b G D McGrath	12	21	2	0
A N Cook	c S K Warne	b G D McGrath	11	15	1	0
I R Bell	not out		35	110	4	0
P D Collingwood	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	5	13	1	0
K P Pietersen	lbw	b G D McGrath	16	44	1	0
A Flintoff	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	0	3	0	0
G O Jones	not out		13	32	1	0
Extras		6nb 1b 7lb	14
Total		for 5	106	(38.4 ovs)

That man McGrath.....

Can't resist this from the BBC web site's Ben Dirs:

1139 (Brisbane time): Umpire Bowden is decked by a Jones sweep! How marvellous...I mean how awful...A sweetly-timed shot by the England batsman, which strikes Bowden on the hip, sending sunnies and walkie-talkie flying. Choker for Jones, that was going for four. Bowden will have secretly loved that, the old drama tart. 108-5

1201: Jones wins a little skirmish last ball before lunch. Warne spends more than a minute resetting his field and the sight screen, sends one down from round the wicket and Jones pulls him away for four. 118-5

Lunch for Jones and Bell, bed for me.
I awake to grim news:

England were 118-5 at lunch but were soon in the mire again as McGrath pinned Jones (19) on the back foot and won another lbw decision. Bowden took an age to make up his mind.

Bell reached his half century off 155 balls with a nudged single but then sliced the first delivery of a new spell from Clark to Ponting at slip.

Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison were both caught behind without troubling the scorer and England's innings came to an end when Giles (24) skied McGrath to Hayden at gully.  157 All Out.

It is not looking good for England now. The follow-on was not enforced. According to the Aussie commentators on ABC, the team get paid a percentage of the gate receipts so by prolonging the game for a day or two they get more money in their pockets. This seems to be the cynical reason, with the added advantage of giving the bowlers a bit of a rest. I think it's better for the specatators anyway. Its a game, remember? Entertainment. Fun to play and fun to watch.

Australia 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer	not out		88	134	9	0
M L Hayden	run out		37	41	6	0
R T Ponting	not out		51	66	3	0
Extras		1nb 4lb	5
Total		for 1	181	(40.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W M J Hoggard 8.0 1 31 0 J M Anderson 9.0 1 54 0 A Flintoff 5.0 2 11 0 S J Harmison 10.0 1 45 0 A F Giles 5.0 0 22 0 K P Pietersen 3.0 0 14 0

This was good:
1541: WICKET Australia 67-1 (Hayden)
A run out does for Hayden, Anderson fizzing in a pin-point throw and Jones whipping off the bails. Bully boy Hayden was out by a whisker. Meanwhile, Harmison gets a bit of magic spray on that wrist.

But the figures tell the tale
First Test, Brisbane, day three (close): Australia 602-9 dec & 181-1 v England 157

It was Len Hutton who said 50 years ago that to beat Australia in Australia, the opponent has to be at least 25% better than the Australians.
This year, they are at least 25% better than us at batting and 50% better at bowling. I don't think we can manage 75% better at fielding to make it evens, let alone win.

---

DAY 3 at Brisbane - Langer makes his century and Australia declare their 2nd innings at  202 for 1

         Nearly 650 ahead, it's a massive score for England to aim at.

Here is how they do today, much better than their first innings, though Bell, the only scorer then, was trapped by Warne with a slider LBW.
BBC's Ben Dirs writes:
What an absolute shocker from Freddie, attempting to pull Warne and skewing a dolly to Langer at mid-on. Mindless Freddie, mindless. The sad part is, Strauss, Collingwood and Flintoff have gifted this match to the Aussies. They could quite easily have been 271-2 at stumps tonight.
Well, Collingwood got stumped charging Warne in a bid to make his century with emphasis.  Tempted and trapped!  But he did just about contribute his quota. [6 x 100 = 600 I reckon]

England 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	c sub	b S R Clark	11	31	1	0
A N Cook	c M E K Hussey	b S K Warne	43	94	4	0
I R Bell	lbw	b S K Warne	0	4	0	0
P D Collingwood	st A C Gilchrist	b S K Warne	96	155	13	2
K P Pietersen	not out		92	151	14	0
A Flintoff	c J L Langer	b S K Warne	16	26	4	0
G O Jones	not out		12	28	1	0
Extras		9nb 1w 8b 5lb	23
Total		for 5	293	(80.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 17.0 0 81 0 G D McGrath 12.0 2 30 0 S R Clark 19.0 5 56 1 S K Warne 31.0 7 108 4 M E K Hussey 1.0 0 5 0

Fall of wicket   29 A J Strauss 36 I R Bell 91 A N Cook 244 P D Collingwood 271 A Flintoff

"For the first time in the match I can recommend the highlights if you're an England supporter. About two hours after the close you can see them on the BBC website." Jonathan Agnew on TMS

---

DAY 4  Not an impressive start.
Pietersen is out 2nd ball, exactly as designed by Lee, caught by Martyn just waiting for it, We fall for it every time! The crowd are still mostly stuck outside as there was a poer cut and all the gates are electric. DOH!

On the other hand Jones starts of well with a series of 4s and Giles starts of OK too. But with Pietersen gone we cannot make it. Giles will get overconfident and they will snap him up, and Jones sooner or later unless he really has learned his lesson.

1028: An absolute huckleberry of a cover-drive from Jones, the ball fizzing through the covers. McGrath's getting a bit of tap to be fair. Four from the over. McGrath looking a little bit ginger. Not sure what it is with these Aussie players and their egos - why doesn't he have his feet up now? Instead he's steaming in with the Aussies only needing four wickets in the day. 325-6

1032: Giles has a waft and is beaten. Jones walks down the track and has a little chat. Jones now 33, and at least England are making the Aussie bowlers work for their wickets. 326-6

1033: WICKET England 326-7 (Jones 33)  - McGrath cleans Jones up, the England wicket-keeper attempting a back-foot drive and playing on.

Yep - the BBC's live web page (above) tells it all. Time for bed.

This time I have to agree with Geoffrey Boycott: It is no shame to lose, but to lose by poor play, which we did this time, is not good. However, Geraint Jones played really well as keeper and his batting in the second innings was first class. The ball that got him was a tricky one. No, on seeing it again it was straight and he thought it might jink. Wrong. Inside edge, played on.

G O Jones

b G D McGrath

Runs 33

Balls 47

4s 5

6s 0

LET'S MOVE ON......

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===============================================

ADELAIDE now, NOV 30th or is it DEC 1 down under? The 2nd Test, DAY ONE

England win the toss and go in to bat on a good wicket. McGrath is pronounced fit. The game is afoot...

24 for no wicket at 1:14 GMT, no more emtries here till I get time tomorrow, but the start is not disastrous. We can do it, with a bit of luck...

Looks like we did get a bit though Strauss gave it away to a catch at midwicket.

Close

266 for 3 (90.0 overs)

England 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	c D R Martyn	b S R Clark	14	44	0	0
A N Cook	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	27	57	2	0
I R Bell	c and b	B Lee	60	148	6	0
P D Collingwood	not out		98	202	7	0
K P Pietersen	not out		60	95	5	1
Extras		6nb 1lb	7
Total		for 3	266	(90.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 20.0 1 77 1 G D McGrath 18.0 3 51 0 S R Clark 15.0 3 25 2 S K Warne 27.0 6 85 0 M J Clarke 10.0 1 27 0

Fall of wicket   32 A J Strauss 45 A N Cook 158 I R Bell

OK, I had a look at the highlights. Australia bowled at their best. Their field was well placed. They put on a lot of pressure and got the early wickets. But Bell and Collingwood hunkered down and waitied for the moment, Then they hit some, with really fine strokes and recovered the position. I can't see the crowd drifting of home here. They are really getting their money's worth. Lee then gets Bell out with a calculated bouncer which he knew Bell was about to go for after tea. He skied it. The tactics of these bowlers are brilliant. We fall for it every time. Then Pietersen  takes over from Bell and the score mounts. Collingwood is blistering, nearly loses it at 98, but doesn't  Umpiring spot on all the time.

DAY 2

Today I am happy to agree completely  with Geoffrey Boycott. Same team as Brisbane, getting it better, a bit still to learn on the hooking. We need 500 runs.  It's a real battle.

The placing of the scoring strokes round the field has been remarkably spread. I great repertoire.

At around 12:20 local time Warne switches from attacking to defensive bowling to calm Pietersen down. He succeeds and the run  rate drops. At 327 for 3, at 2:04 am GMT I am off to bed.

---

Saturday morning in the UK is sublime!.

A J Strauss	c D R Martyn	b S R Clark	14	44	0	0
A N Cook	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	27	57	2	0
I R Bell	c and b	B Lee	60	148	6	0
P D Collingwood	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	206	392	16	0
K P Pietersen	run out		158	257	15	1
A Flintoff	not out		38	67	2	1
G O Jones	c D R Martyn	b S K Warne	1	7	0	0
A F Giles	not out		27	44	4	0
Extras		8nb 2w 10lb	20
Total		for 6	551	(168.0 ovs)

Now in my view that's enough, if we are going for a win,

To get them out, it is our fielding, the catching and wicket keeping, which will make the difference, as much as the bowling. These guys are not going to give us many second chances.

Australia 1st Innings at close of play

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer	c K P Pietersen	b A Flintoff	4	8	1	0
M L Hayden	not out		12	21	1	0
R T Ponting	not out		11	26	2	0
Extras		1nb	1
Total		for 1	28	(9.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W M J Hoggard 5.0 1 14 0 A Flintoff 4.0 0 14 1

Fall of wicket   8 J L Langer

DAY 3   12:15 Adelaide time

It was going brilliantly today till Giles dropped Ponting. That could be the most expensive mistake in this year's English Cricket, but let us hope not. OK, it was travelling, and no doubt Ponting was counting on that as part of its survival factor. He certainly cracked it.

We can still do it. But  81 for 3 with Ponting still there is very much worse than 61 for 3 if Ponting was not one of the remaining batsmen.

Sunday morning in England we can see that dropped catch cost well over 100 runs, probably the follow-on and maybe the match...

Australia 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer	c K P Pietersen	b A Flintoff	4	8	1	0
M L Hayden	c G O Jones	b M J Hoggard	12	30	1	0
R T Ponting	c G O Jones	b M J Hoggard	142	245	12	0
D R Martyn	c I R Bell	b M J Hoggard	11	33	1	0
M E K Hussey		b M J Hoggard	91	212	7	1
M J Clarke	not out		30	44	5	0
A C Gilchrist	not out		13	17	1	0
Extras		7nb 2lb	9
Total		for 5	312	(97.0 ovs)

NO BYES and, note, there were only 2 byes let through in the Oz first innings of the 1st Test of 602 runs in 155 overs. That's wicket-keeping!

Hoggard is praised as the 'man of the match' already on UK TV, but three of his wickets were catches by Bell and Jones. They are the ones responsible. Harmison would have got another  wicket if the slips had been properly placed - they were too far back. But the wicket keeper never gets a mention unless he fails to catch a ball of the thousands he will have to catch in this series. Batsment and bowlers just can't bear to admit it is the wicket keeper who wins or loses most matches, so it is a convention that they are ignored in all the hype and bollocks that surrounds the public image of the game. Jones is just the 'youngster' who might get the sack if he doesn't make enough runs.

Just as I begin to despair, with
Aus 377- 5   113.4 ovs   v Eng 551- 6
Gilchrist is out for 64, caught Bell. The bowler was Giles. As I said at the start, this match will be won or lost by the catching of our fielders and keeper. If we drop these Aussies we will lose, its that simple. Look through the score cards for the catchers. If the batsman's score was below what was expected and need of him, or the wicket came at the critical moment, you will see who won the matches. Flintoff has placed his men well with a very few exceptions, and even those few exceptions in position have meant trouble. Then they have to hold them. Gilchrist was getting into his stride there and the follow-on is long gone, but now so is he and now I am off to bed. Cooke got a real clout on the side of the head earlier at short leg but survived, saved by the helmet no doubt,

Monday morning in the UK....OK we got them out. And Hoggard was indeed the man of the match,  am happy to concede, though Bell and Jones were again critical in their excellence to achieve the result and I count them both men of the match as well.

Australia 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer	c K P Pietersen	b A Flintoff	4	8	1	0
M L Hayden	c G O Jones	b M J Hoggard	12	30	1	0
R T Ponting	c G O Jones	b M J Hoggard	142	245	12	0
D R Martyn	c I R Bell	b M J Hoggard	11	33	1	0
M E K Hussey		b M J Hoggard	91	212	7	1
M J Clarke	c A F Giles	b M J Hoggard	124	224	10	0
A C Gilchrist	c I R Bell	b A F Giles	64	79	8	0
S K Warne	lbw	b M J Hoggard	43	108	4	0
B Lee	not out		7	33	0	0
S R Clark		b M J Hoggard	0	7	0	0
G D McGrath	c G O Jones	b J M Anderson	1	21	0	0
Extras		7nb 1w 4b 2lb	14
Total		all out	513	(165.3 ovs)

---

FINAL DAY
Tuesday  midnight and very early morning in England and it's all going wrong.
First of all a a totally wrong decision gives Strauss out caught at 1:15am - that should be 11:24 in Adelaide I think
Next, while I am typing this, Bell gets run out through a misunderstanding with Collingwood.
Suddenly we go from a certain draw with a chance to practice, to danger. 70 for 3
It has to be said that the bowlng is very, very good, but it has not succeed.ed The 2 last wickets are due to a wrong decision and a horrendous mixup by the runners!

The next thing - Petersen takes a mad sweep at a ball from Warne and is bowled for 2. The PRAT!

England 2nd innings R M B 4 6 AJ Strauss c Hussey b Warne 34 79 3 0 AN Cook c Gilchrist b Clark 9 48 35 1 0 IR Bell run out (Clarke/Warne) 26 73 2 0 PD Collingwood not out 0 5 0 0 KP Pietersen not out OH YES HE IS NOW!! 1 3 0 0 Extras (lb 1) 1 Total (3 wickets, 32.3 overs) 71

I am going to bed. I just don't want to know. We have gone from a winning position to a possible follow-on advantage, lost the follow-on advantage and now look like losing the match.

---

Tuesday morning about 6am (probably, don't know, couldn't look). Wake up to hear it got so much worse. Everyone gets out except Collingwood and even he was unable to score faster than a snail. Then the Aussies come in and dammit WE LOSE with wickets and even two or three overs to spare. Even though without 2 very bad decisions by the umpire we would have still almost certainly drawn, we can't complain about the loss. The Oz bowling was top, and they had us pinned down and rattled.

The only complaint I have is the bullying and whingeing of the Aussies over GOOD decisions (the majority) which did not give England out when there were not, as shown in the videos replays. They really will try anything to intimidate umpires and players, and we begin to see that it is just as well if we don't keep the Ashes as these guys are so tied up and sensitive in their own kudos there would probably be civil war in Australia if they lost again and the umpires and English team would have to be evacuated by helicopter from the field on the final day.

Here is the grisly tale in scoreboard form, In spite of two bad decisions which kicked our fate from draw to lose, the umpires did a great job under tough circumstances. We can live with that. Let's see if our Australian friends can learn to. In the last Ashes, the umpiring errors were balanced and did not in my view produce a false outcome. It was a close run thing, and won at the end by great play.

England 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	c M E K Hussey	b S K Warne	34	79	3	0
A N Cook	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	9	35	1	0
I R Bell	run out		26	73	2	0
P D Collingwood	not out		22	119	2	0
K P Pietersen		b S K Warne	2	5	0	0
A Flintoff	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	2	24	0	0
G O Jones	c M L Hayden	b B Lee	10	24	1	0
A F Giles	c M L Hayden	b S K Warne	0	8	0	0
M J Hoggard		b S K Warne	4	24	0	0
S J Harmison	lbw	b G D McGrath	8	21	0	0
J M Anderson	lbw	b G D McGrath	1	28	0	0
Extras		2nb 1w 3b 5lb	11
Total		all out	129	(73.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 18.0 3 35 2 G D McGrath 10.0 6 15 2 S K Warne 32.0 12 49 4 S R Clark 13.0 4 22 1

Fall of wicket   31 A N Cook 69 A J Strauss 70 I R Bell 73 K P Pietersen 77 A Flintoff 94 G O Jones 97 A F Giles 105 M J Hoggard 119 S J Harmison 129 J M Anderson

Australia 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer	c I R Bell	b M J Hoggard	7	8	1	0
M L Hayden	c P D Collingwood	b A Flintoff	18	17	2	0
R T Ponting	c A J Strauss	b A F Giles	49	65	5	0
M E K Hussey	not out		61	66	5	0
D R Martyn	c A J Strauss	b A Flintoff	5	4	1	0
M J Clarke	not out		21	39	0	0
Extras		2nb 1w 2b 2lb	7
Total		for 4	168	(32.5 ovs)

Bowler O M R W M J Hoggard 4.0 0 29 1 A Flintoff 9.0 0 44 2 A F Giles 10.0 0 46 1 S J Harmison 4.0 0 15 0 J M Anderson 3.5 0 23 0 K P Pietersen 2.0 0 7 0

Fall of wicket   14 J L Langer 33 M L Hayden 116 R T Ponting 121 D R Martyn

Umpires: S A Bucknor, R E Koertzen
Australia: J L Langer, M L Hayden, R T Ponting, D R Martyn, M E K Hussey, M J Clarke, A C Gilchrist, S K Warne, B Lee, S R Clark, G D McGrath
England: A J Strauss, A N Cook, I R Bell, P D Collingwood, K P Pietersen, A Flintoff, G O Jones, A F Giles, M J Hoggard, S J Harmison, J M Anderson

Test Match Series: Australia v England
01-12-2006 at Adelaide, Day 5 of 5

Australia beat England by 6 wickets

England won the toss and decided to bat

England 1st Innings 551 for 6 (168.0 overs)	England 2nd Innings 129 all out (73.0 overs)
Australia 1st Innings 513 all out (165.3 overs)	Australia 2nd Innings 168 for 4 (32.5 overs)

---

A WEEK AND A HALF TO REST UP AN PLAN OUR COME-BACK. But the fact is the Oz side are super-experienced, coherent, motivated up to the eyeballs, have their professional lives on the line at the peak of their careers, are playing at home and let's face it - probably the best team in the world. Carlsberg would have no chance of getting a team together to prove otherwise

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DECEMBER 14th   -  PERTH  -   HERE WE GO.  THIRD TEST

 

Australia v England - 3rd Test

14-12-2006 at Perth, Day 1 of 5

Close

Australia won the toss and decided to bat

Australia 1st Innings 244 all out (71.0 overs)

England 1st Innings 51 for 2 (14.0 overs)

Australia 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer		b M S Panesar	37	68	6	0
M L Hayden	c G O Jones	b M J Hoggard	24	33	3	0
R T Ponting	lbw	b S J Harmison	2	11	0	0
M E K Hussey	not out		74	161	10	0
M J Clarke	c and b	S J Harmison	37	67	4	0
A Symonds	c G O Jones	b M S Panesar	26	30	2	2
A C Gilchrist	c I R Bell	b M S Panesar	0	4	0	0
S K Warne	c G O Jones	b M S Panesar	25	23	3	0
B Lee	lbw	b M S Panesar	10	25	2	0
S R Clark		b S J Harmison	3	5	0	0
G D McGrath	c A N Cook	b S J Harmison	1	2	0	0
Extras		4nb 1w	5
Total		all out	244	(71.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W M J Hoggard 12.0 2 40 1 A Flintoff 9.0 2 36 0 S J Harmison 19.0 4 48 4 M S Panesar 24.0 4 92 5 S I Mahmood 7.0 2 28 0

Fall of wicket   47 M L Hayden 54 R T Ponting 69 J L Langer 121 M J Clarke 172 A Symonds 172 A C Gilchrist 214 S K Warne 234 B Lee 242 S R Clark 244 G D McGrath

England 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	not out		24	47	4	0
A N Cook	c J L Langer	b G D McGrath	15	15	2	0
I R Bell	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	0	2	0	0
P D Collingwood	not out		10	22	1	0
Extras		2nb	2
Total		for 2	51	(14.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 5.0 0 24 1 G D McGrath 5.0 1 18 1 S R Clark 2.0 1 1 0 S K Warne 2.0 0 8 0

Fall of wicket   36 A N Cook 37 I R Bell

Match report by  Anna Thompson on the BBC site gives a good summary. Monte Panesar the hero.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6178327.stm

I WILL MAKE A COMMENT RIGHT NOW - IT IS THE QUALITY OF FIELDING THAT IS MORE CRITICAL THAN THE BOWLING. EACH SIDE HAVE GREAT BOWLERS. THEY WILL COME UP WITH DIFFICULT BALLS TO PLAY FROM TIME TO TIME. THEY HAVE SIX ATTEMPTS EACH AND EVERY OVER TO DO THIS. BUT WHEN THEY BEAT THE BATSMAN, UNLESS IT HITS THE STUMPS OR IS AN LBW, THE FIELDERS HAVE ONE CHANCE TO MATCH IT WITH A CATCH, STUMPING OR RUNOUT.

Cook and Bell were caught., but Warne dropped Collingwood. An easy catch, you may say, but NO CATCH IS EASY IN CRICKET unless you have plenty of time, which helps.

---

THIRD TEST DAY 2  -  NOT GOOD. The Australian bowling was excellent and so, so crafty. They know exactly how to tempt or fool each English batsman. Strauss plays a fine innings and is given out caught in a bad decision - he never touched it. Freddie plays a really poor one. Jones makes a duck for the first time in 51 innings so of course Boycott will be down on him in his usual prejudiced way in spite if the fact that Jones is responsible for saving more runs and getting more wickets than anyone else. Face it, we are up against the world's cleverest cricketers on their home ground, with tactics they have spent the last 6 months planning to make sure that failure is impossible. They know how to make us play badly unless occasionally we break the spell. The duff decision on Strauss unnerved the team and as in previous similar cases we lost confidence as a result. Pietersen is careful and survives till 70.

England 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	42	71	6	0
A N Cook	c J L Langer	b G D McGrath	15	15	2	0
I R Bell	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	0	2	0	0
P D Collingwood	c M L Hayden	b G D McGrath	11	33	1	0
K P Pietersen	c A Symonds	b B Lee	70	123	8	1
A Flintoff	c S K Warne	b A Symonds	13	31	2	0
G O Jones	c J L Langer	b A Symonds	0	4	0	0
S I Mahmood	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	10	18	1	0
M J Hoggard	c M L Hayden	b S K Warne	4	39	0	0
S J Harmison	c B Lee	b S R Clark	23	33	3	0
M S Panesar	not out		16	26	3	0
Extras		10nb 1w	11
Total		all out	215	(64.1 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 18.0 1 69 2 G D McGrath 18.0 5 48 2 S R Clark 15.1 3 49 3 S K Warne 9.0 0 41 1 A Symonds 4.0 1 8 2

Fall of wicket   36 A N Cook 37 I R Bell 55 P D Collingwood 82 A J Strauss 107 A Flintoff 114 G O Jones 128 S I Mahmood 155 M J Hoggard 175 K P Pietersen 215 S J Harmison

Australia 2nd Innings           Hoggard clean bowls Langer with a brilliant delivery, first ball of the match, but then....

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer		b M J Hoggard	0	1	0	0
M L Hayden	not out		57	103	9	0
R T Ponting	not out		57	112	7	0
Extras		1w 4lb	5
Total		for 1	119	(36.0 ovs)

                                                  Close of play Day 2

DAY 3
Australia 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer		b M J Hoggard	0	1	0	0
M L Hayden	c P D Collingwood	b M S Panesar	92	159	12	0
R T Ponting	c G O Jones	b S J Harmison	75	128	10	0
M E K Hussey	c G O Jones	b M S Panesar	103	156	12	0
M J Clarke	not out		135	164	17	1
A Symonds	c P D Collingwood	b M S Panesar	2	6	0	0
A C Gilchrist	not out		102	59	12	4
Extras		1nb 2w 15lb	18
Total		for 5	527	(112.0 ovs)

Gilchrist's performance was stunning. He scored 100 in about 50 balls, 24 in a single over off Panesar.
England bowled well. Australia batted better.

Bowler O M R W M J Hoggard 20.0 4 85 1 A Flintoff 19.0 2 76 0 S J Harmison 24.0 3 116 1 M S Panesar 34.0 3 145 3 S I Mahmood 10.0 0 59 0 K P Pietersen 5.0 1 31 0

Fall of wicket   0 J L Langer 144 R T Ponting 206 M L Hayden 357 M E K Hussey 365 A Symonds

England 2nd Innings                                           This was Strauss's third bad call! What is it with this umpire?

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	lbw	b B Lee	0	4	0	0
A N Cook	not out		7	22	1	0
I R Bell	not out		9	12	1	0
Extras		2nb 1lb	3
Total		for 1	19	(6.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 3.0 1 5 1 G D McGrath 3.0 0 13 0

Fall of wicket   0 A J Strauss

The key to this series, even though Australia are the best side, clearly having practised to achieve this moment, has been getting Strauss out early. It is a pity it has been due so often to a wrong umpiring decision. Let us see what happens now on DAY 4 of the 3rd Test...

England 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	lbw	b B Lee	0	4	0	0
A N Cook	c A C Gilchrist	b G D McGrath	116	290	9	0
I R Bell	c J L Langer	b S K Warne	87	163	8	2
P D Collingwood	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	5	36	0	0
K P Pietersen	not out		37	80	4	0
M J Hoggard		b G D McGrath	0	2	0	0
A Flintoff	not out		2	6	0	0
Extras		5nb 6w 4b 3lb	18
Total		for 5	265	(96.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 19.0 3 49 1 G D McGrath 20.0 5 50 2 S R Clark 17.0 5 31 1 S K Warne 31.0 4 100 1 A Symonds 9.0 1 28 0

Fall of wicket   0 A J Strauss 170 I R Bell 185 P D Collingwood 261 A N Cook 261 M J Hoggard

Superb innings by Cook and Bell, Cook falling eventually to McGrath from exhaustion in the heat I would reckon sapping his concentration. Hoggard came in as Night Watchman but is bowled by McGrath. Was it even a good idea to put him there? You never can tell. Cricket is full of surprises and the result can hang on imponderable chances. The combined loss of Strauss (bad umpiring) and Collingwood (good bowling, tentative play, fine keeper catch) certainly gives us a really poor chance. Pietersen and Flintoff will need to be heroic and brilliant beyond all historical records and Jones to focus his batting skills.


DAY 5

TIME: 12:50 in Perth - England 336 for 5 - Pietersen and Flintoff have both reached their half-century, with some terrifying moments on the way, and I am off to bed, can't take the strain,

When I wake up, I am glad I slept through it

Australia beat England by 206 runs

Australia won the toss and decided to bat

Australia 1st Innings 244 all out (71.0 overs)	Australia 2nd Innings 527 for 5 (112.0 overs)
England 1st Innings 215 all out (64.1 overs)	England 2nd Innings 350 all out (122.2 overs)

Flintoff was out just after I tuned out. Jones was run out 0 while he stayed still waiting for an LBW not out decision with his back foot on the line, but not within the crease. And the rest fell like skittles.

DECEMBER 18th - No need to wait to sum up the 2006 Ashes.
Now that Oz honour is saved perhaps we can have a couple of matches with less intimidation of the umpires? The trouble is the crowd like the result to be in doubt till the very end. If the umpiring had been better that might have happened and we could have lost in a more exciting manner.

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DEC 27th 2006  4th ASHES Test - Melbourne
After a poor 1st Innings howing, with England all out for 159, we had  the Aussies really on the back foot  at 84 for 5. But then they dug in (with only a little bit of luck and helpful decisions) This Sky News report says it all. Well, the bones of it.

Aussie Pair Turn Screw On England

Wednesday December 27, 08:13 AM

Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds powered Australia into a commanding position with big centuries in the fourth Ashes Test. The pair came together with their side in trouble at 84 for five, still trailing England by 75 runs, after the tourists claimed three wickets on the second morning. But just as England looked set to fight their way back into contention, Queensland pair Hayden and Symonds forged a stunning 279-run partnership.

Australia built up a 213-run lead to reach 372 for seven at the close.

Hayden hit a superb 153, his 27th Test century, and Symonds cracked his maiden Test ton to finish unbeaten on 154, including 15 fours and a six.

Earlier Andrew Flintoff took the wicket of Ricky and after lunch Matthew Hoggard removed the dangerous Mike Hussey.

Steve Harmison snared Michael Clarke but Symonds then came to the crease and took the attack to Egland.

England's only consolation was two late wickets for Sajid Mahmood with the new ball.

The Lancastrian firstly inducing Hayden into an edge behind and then tempting Adam Gilchrist into edging a wide delivery to second slip.

Australia 1st Innings			R	M	B	4	6
JL Langer	c CMW Read	b A Flintoff	27	45	29	3	0
ML Hayden	c CMW Read	b SI Mahmood	153	418	265	13	2
B Lee	c CMW Read	b A Flintoff	0	2	1	0	0
RT Ponting	c AN Cook	b A Flintoff	7	37	28	0	0
MEK Hussey		b MJ Hoggard	6	37	20	0	0
MJ Clarke	c CMW Read	b SJ Harmison	5	6	5	0	0
A Symonds	c CMW Read	b SJ Harmison	156	327	220	15	1
AC Gilchrist	c PD Collingwood	b SI Mahmood	1	10	8	0	0
SK Warne	notout		40	75	54	6	0
SR Clark	c CMW Read	b SI Mahmood	8	34	24	0	0
GD McGrath	c IR Bell	b SI Mahmood	0	9	6	0	0
Extras	(lb 6, w 1, nb 9)		16
TOTAL	( All out , 108.3 overs , 505 mins )		419

 

Fall of Wickets

1-44 (JL Langer, 9.2 ov)
2-44 (B Lee, 9.3 ov)
3-62 (RT Ponting, 17.3 ov)
4-79 (MEK Hussey, 24.1 ov)
5-84 (MJ Clarke, 25.2 ov)
6-363 (ML Hayden, 90.4 ov)
7-365 (AC Gilchrist, 92.3 ov)
8-383 (A Symonds, 99.2 ov)
9-417 (SR Clark, 106.5 ov)
10-419 (GD McGrath, 108.3 ov)

 

NEXT: We just didn't make it. Australia didn't need another innings. Even Pieterson got nowhere.

England Second innings: 161 for 10,    65.5 overs

Extract from Yahoo Sport

"There are a few of us on this trip who obviously feel we can play better, myself included," conceded captain Andrew Flintoff. "There is a disappointment and we have to come together.

"If we want to have any dreams of beating Australia there's got to be more than three or four lads performing in the same game. We've got to have six or seven lads doing well and that's not what we've had so far."

That is underlined by only two batsmen in England's line-up - Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood averaging over 40 in the series - and only two bowlers - Flintoff and Matthew Hoggard - have taken more than 10 wickets.

Contrast that to Australia, who have eight batsmen averaging over 40 in the series and four bowlers with more than 10 wickets, including Shane Warne and Stuart Clark who have claimed 21 wickets apiece.

MY COMMENT
We hugely underestimated the task, I am afraid. Ponting and his men had spent the last months dedicating their souls and bodies to thrashing England as they knew if they failed their careers would be over and their reputations trashed for all time in the History books by their fellow Australians - not by us. Australians can't accept a match well played, bravely fought and lost. They stand or fall by it. Since England is never going to stand or fall by Cricket or anything else in particular, we may have difficulty in finding a bunch of people prepared to spend a lifetime worrying about it.

OTHER COMMENT:

Gatting hits out at sorry England

Mike Gatting has launched a blistering attack on the England team after their capitulation in the fourth Ashes Test.

England trail Australia 4-0 in the best-of-five series after being beaten by an innings and 99 runs at Melbourne.

Gatting, the last captain to lead a winning England side down under, told BBC Radio Five Live: "It started off reasonably - but it's getting worse.

"We haven't kept our discipline, and against a side like Australia you have got to keep your discipline."

Gatting added that England's bowling at the MCG was "horrible" while the fielding was "poor".

"All we seemed to do was try to bounce out number 10 and 11," he said. "It was ridiculous."

They shouldn't have lost in Adelaide and they fought hard in Perth - but here there was a resignation, almost Mike Gatting

In a reference to the England bowling plans which went missing and were handed to the Australian media, Gatting said: "Whatever the next sheet of paper they put up is, I hope it says 'let's get the basics right first'."

The tourists now face the prospect of a 5-0 whitewash for the first time since 1920-21, with just the Test in Sydney to come.

Gatting believes England were unlucky to be 3-0 down after the Perth Test but feels they have now taken on the demeanour of a thoroughly beaten side.

"They shouldn't have lost in Adelaide and they fought hard in Perth - but here there was a resignation, almost," he said.

"You can't say they weren't trying, but once you are on the end of a hiding it is not a nice place to play cricket.

"They have really got to try to pick themselves up if they are to get anything out of Sydney. If there is any incentive it is not to lose 5-0."

606: DEBATE BT

Geoff Boycott also hit out at the current crop of England players, claiming they looked like they had "given up" in Melbourne.

"Apart from Alastair Cook, I don't think anyone has the stomach to play a rearguard innings," the former England opener told BBC Radio Five Live.

"It was just poor all round. That's what's so disappointing for the fans. It's like they've given up."

Boycott added: "You can't see England winning in Sydney. They are too inconsistent to win.

"They are patchy, they have one good session out of three and that's not enough to win Test matches."

Another ex-England captain, Brian Close , agreed that the bowling has not been good enough.

"It looks as if we have gone backwards, and our bowling standards are not good enough," he said.

"We have hardly got a spin bowler of real top class in the game at the moment, and the pace bowlers are not very accurate."

It's the small things that are crucial, they send vibes out to the other team, and it's the small things that have annoyed me in this series Nasser Hussain

England coach Duncan Fletcher has come in for criticism throughout the tour over matters of selection and preparation, and Close believes it is now time for him to leave the post.

"I think he is past his sell-by date," he added. "In our day we didn't need coaches. If you played for England you were supposed to be a good player and didn't need coaches."

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain was dismayed at the apparent lack of determination shown by England's batsmen.

"You have got to show the opposition an 'over my dead body' approach, the stubbornness of a Boycott or an Atherton," he said.

"Was that stubbornness there? I don't think that was evident from anyone."

On England's performance over the four Tests, Hussain added: "They've played poor cricket.

You now hope that England will start to admit that they got their preparation wrong Ian Botham

"It's the small things that are crucial, they send vibes out to the other team, and it's the small things that have annoyed me in this series... like Kevin Pietersen, after four Tests, finally being moved up to number four in the batting order."

England legend Ian Botham insisted the England camp ought to finally accept that their preparation for the Ashes series had been poor.

"You take your hat off to Australia. When they lost the Ashes they sat down and worked things out," he said.

"They admitted that their preparation had not been right.

"You now hope that England will start to admit that they got their preparation wrong. There is no getting away from that, just look at the score in the series.

"It's praise to Australia and to England it's 'stop hiding, admit when you've got it wrong. Put your hands up and take it on the chest and then move on, and move on quickly'."

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6214241.stm

Published: 2006/12/28 17:18:13 GMT

© BBC MMVI

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Australia v England - 5th Test      We can do better.

Test Match Series: Australia v England
02-01-2007 at Sydney, Day 1 of 5

In Play

England won the toss and decided to bat

England 1st Innings 234 for 4 (81.2 overs)

England 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	29	52	3	0
A N Cook	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	20	47	2	0
I R Bell		b G D McGrath	71	153	8	0
K P Pietersen	c M E K Hussey	b G D McGrath	41	104	1	0
P D Collingwood	c A C Gilchrist	b G D McGrath	27	73	4	0
A Flintoff	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Clark	89	142	11	1	That's better...
C M W Read	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	2	9	0	0
S I Mahmood	c M L Hayden	b B Lee	0	1	0	0
S J Harmison	lbw	b S R Clark	2	24	0	0
M S Panesar	lbw	b S K Warne	0	14	0	0
J M Anderson	not out		0	5	0	0
Extras		2nb 3w 5lb	10
Total		all out	291	(103.4 ovs)			That's just enough...

Bowler O M R W G D McGrath 29.0 8 67 3 B Lee 22.0 5 75 3 S R Clark 24.0 6 62 3 S K Warne 22.4 1 69 1 A Symonds 6.0 2 13 0

Fall of wicket   45 A J Strauss 58 A N Cook 166 K P Pietersen 167 I R Bell 245 P D Collingwood 258 C M W Read 258 S I Mahmood 282 S J Harmison 291 A Flintoff 291 M S Panesar

Australia 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
J L Langer	c C M W Read	b J M Anderson	26	27	4	0
M L Hayden	c P D Collingwood	b S J Harmison	33	77	5	0
R T Ponting	run out		45	72	6	0
M E K Hussey	c C M W Read	b J M Anderson	37	100	3	1
M J Clarke	c C M W Read	b S J Harmison	11	24	1	0
A Symonds		b M S Panesar	48	95	6	0
A C Gilchrist	c C M W Read	b J M Anderson	62	71	8	0	This is what I feared.
S K Warne	st C M W Read	b M S Panesar	71	65	9	2	And this too. Geoffrey Boycott understimates cricketing genius rising to the occasion
B Lee	c C M W Read	b A Flintoff	5	10	1	0
S R Clark	c K P Pietersen	b S I Mahmood	35	41	1	0
G D McGrath	not out		0	3	0	0
Extras		6nb 4w 10lb	20
Total		all out	393	(96.3 ovs)			This too much...

Bowler O M R W A Flintoff 17.0 2 56 1 J M Anderson 26.0 8 98 3 S J Harmison 23.0 5 80 2 S I Mahmood 11.0 1 59 1 M S Panesar 19.3 0 90 2

Fall of wicket   34 J L Langer 100 M L Hayden 118 R T Ponting 155 M J Clarke 190 M E K Hussey 260 A Symonds 318 A C Gilchrist 325 B Lee 393 S R Clark 393 S K Warne

England 2nd Innings at close of play day 3

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A J Strauss	lbw	b S R Clark	24	41	3	0
A N Cook	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	4	8	1	0
I R Bell	c A C Gilchrist	b B Lee	28	49	5	0
K P Pietersen	not out		29	92	3	0
P D Collingwood	c M L Hayden	b S R Clark	17	36	3	0
A Flintoff	st A C Gilchrist	b S K Warne	7	21	1	0	Flintoff thought his foot was in, so failed to move though he had time. DOH!
M S Panesar	not out		0	7	0	0
Extras		2nb 1w 2lb	5
Total		for 5	114	(42.0 ovs)			We are not going to make it...

Bowler O M R W B Lee 10.0 3 34 2 G D McGrath 13.0 7 22 0 S R Clark 11.0 4 29 2 S K Warne 3.0 0 14 1 A Symonds 5.0 2 13 0

Fall of wicket   5 A N Cook 50 A J Strauss 59 I R Bell 93 P D Collingwood 108 A Flintoff

Umpires: Aleem Dar, B F Bowden
Australia: J L Langer, M L Hayden, R T Ponting, M E K Hussey, M J Clarke, A Symonds, A C Gilchrist, S K Warne, B Lee, S R Clark, G D McGrath
England: A J Strauss, A N Cook, I R Bell, K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, C M W Read, S I Mahmood, S J Harmison, J M Anderson, M S Panesar

Day 4     We are skittled out for 147

My final thoughts: the psychological pressure on us as batsmen was incredible, and this was part of the Australian game. We play some silly strokes at balls we could leave alone, and this is not because our team are dim. It is because the Aussies know how to make us do it and their bowlers are brilliant. There was some great cricket played at Sydney by both sides - absolutely terrific stuff - but our tail is too weak and when our leading batsmen are out, the game's up. We have not been humiliated, just roundly beaten by all the skills in the cricketing book.

Our wicket keepers, both Jones and Read, in spite of the derision of the commentators, have been so good they have cost Australia many times more runs than they could have been expected to make as batsmen. The post mortem is forecast to say that they should both be sacked. WRONG. The deficiency lies elsewhere and Jones can make a great batsman with more training, Read probably, too.

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EPILOGUE FEBRUARY 2nd 2007
After a diastrous tour where we succeeded in losing every time to Oz and beating New Zealand only once (I think), England succeeds in beating Australia and hanging in possibly to the final. The team is not the same tean that lost the Ashes but that is not necessarily the reason we won,

International Triangular Series: Australia v England
02-02-2007 at Sydney

England beat Australia by 92 runs

England won the toss and decided to bat

England Innings 292 for 7 (50.0 overs)

Australia Innings 200 for 9 (38.5 overs)

England Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
E C Joyce	c N W Bracken	b S W Tait	107	142	10	0
M B Loye	c N W Bracken	b G D McGrath	29	33	3	1
I R Bell	c A C Gilchrist	b G D McGrath	51	60	4	0
A Flintoff	lbw	b C L White	3	10	0	0
A J Strauss	c S R Clark	b N W Bracken	26	24	3	0
J W M Dalrymple	run out		30	18	3	1
P A Nixon	c B J Hodge	b S W Tait	4	2	1	0
R S Bopara	not out		7	5	1	0
L E Plunkett	not out		10	7	1	0
Extras		1nb 19w 5lb	25
Total		for 7	292	(50.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W S W Tait 10.0 0 68 2 N W Bracken 9.0 1 53 1 S R Clark 10.0 0 55 0 G D McGrath 10.0 0 51 2 M J Clarke 4.0 0 18 0 A Symonds 2.0 0 16 0 C L White 5.0 1 26 1

Fall of wicket   58 M B Loye 169 I R Bell 179 A Flintoff 222 A J Strauss 256 E C Joyce 261 P A Nixon 274 J W M Dalrymple

Australia Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A C Gilchrist		b L E Plunkett	0	1	0	0
M L Hayden	c J W M Dalrymple	b S I Mahmood	51	62	7	1
B J Hodge		b S I Mahmood	1	6	0	0
M J Clarke	c P A Nixon	b L E Plunkett	18	29	2	0
A Symonds	retd hurt		39	35	4	1
M E K Hussey		b R S Bopara	6	15	0	0
C L White	c P A Nixon	b A Flintoff	13	20	0	0
N W Bracken		b M S Panesar	21	26	3	0
S R Clark	not out		15	23	2	0
G D McGrath	lbw	b L E Plunkett	1	7	0	0
S W Tait	run out		11	10	1	1
Extras		16w 8lb	24
Total		for 9	200	(38.5 ovs)

Bowler O M R W L E Plunkett 9.5 1 24 3 S I Mahmood 7.0 0 38 2 A Flintoff 8.0 0 47 1 M S Panesar 10.0 0 64 1 R S Bopara 4.0 0 19 1

Fall of wicket   0 A C Gilchrist 4 B J Hodge 45 M J Clarke 116 M L Hayden 137 M E K Hussey 160 C L White 180 N W Bracken 187 G D McGrath 200 S W Tait

Umpires: D J Harper, I L Howell
Australia: A C Gilchrist, M L Hayden, B J Hodge, M J Clarke, A Symonds, M E K Hussey, C L White, N W Bracken, S R Clark, G D McGrath, S W Tait
England: M B Loye, E C Joyce, I R Bell, A J Strauss, R S Bopara, A Flintoff, J W M Dalrymple, P A Nixon, L E Plunkett, S I Mahmood, M S Panesar


NOT ONLY DID WE GET THROUGH TO THE FINAL (which is not one match but the best of 3)
WE THEN WIN THE FIRST OF THOSE THREE AGAINST AUSTRALIA

HOW? WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK WHICH WE DESERVED, AND THE MOST TERRIFIC WILL, STAMINA, AND GOOD JUDGMENT.

AUSTRALIA'S TAIL COLLAPSED AFTER A VERY STRONG START.
ENGLAND THEN WENT IN TO BAT AND HAD A DISASTROUS START. BUT THEY FOUGHT BACK.
THERE WERE STILL TIMES WHEN IT LOOKED AS IF ALL WAS LOST, BUT THEY JUDGED THE RUN MAKING TO WIN WITH
THREE BALLS TO SPARE AND FOUR WICKETS IN HAND.
COLLINGWOOD WAS THE UNDISPUTED MAN OF THE MATCH.

International Triangular Series: Australia v England
09-02-2007 at Melbourne

England beat Australia by 4 wickets

Australia won the toss and decided to bat

Australia Innings 252 all out (48.3 overs)

England Innings 253 for 6 (49.3 overs)

Australia Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A C Gilchrist	c A Flintoff	b S I Mahmood	5	10	0	0
M L Hayden	c S I Mahmood	b J W M Dalrymple	82	102	7	0
R T Ponting	c P D Collingwood	b M S Panesar	75	75	7	0
M J Clarke	run out		33	39	0	1
B J Hodge	lbw	b M S Panesar	5	10	0	0
M E K Hussey	c P A Nixon	b A Flintoff	17	19	1	0
S R Watson	c I R Bell	b S I Mahmood	9	13	0	0
G B Hogg	c I R Bell	b A Flintoff	10	11	1	0
B Lee	run out		0	5	0	0
N W Bracken	not out		3	5	0	0
G D McGrath		b A Flintoff	0	2	0	0
Extras		9w 4lb	13
Total		all out	252	(48.3 ovs)

Bowler O M R W L E Plunkett 10.0 0 56 0 S I Mahmood 8.0 0 45 2 A Flintoff 9.3 1 41 3 M S Panesar 10.0 0 44 2 P D Collingwood 4.0 0 21 0 J W M Dalrymple 7.0 0 41 1

Fall of wicket   32 A C Gilchrist 170 R T Ponting 180 M L Hayden 196 B J Hodge 229 M J Clarke 229 M E K Hussey 248 G B Hogg 248 B Lee 250 S R Watson 252 G D McGrath

England Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
E C Joyce	c G D McGrath	b B Lee	6	18	1	0
M B Loye	lbw	b B Lee	0	6	0	0
I R Bell		b B Lee	65	90	3	0
A J Strauss	lbw	b N W Bracken	0	2	0	0
P D Collingwood	not out		120	133	7	1
A Flintoff	c A C Gilchrist	b S R Watson	35	36	0	1
J W M Dalrymple	run out		3	5	0	0
P A Nixon	not out		11	10	0	0
Extras		3nb 7w 3lb	13
Total		for 6	253	(49.3 ovs)

Bowler O M R W B Lee 10.0 0 41 3 N W Bracken 8.3 1 38 1 G D McGrath 10.0 0 53 0 S R Watson 8.0 0 51 1 G B Hogg 10.0 0 52 0 M J Clarke 3.0 0 15 0

Fall of wicket   1 M B Loye 14 E C Joyce 15 A J Strauss 148 I R Bell 222 A Flintoff 225 J W M Dalrymple

Umpires: Asad Rauf, D J Harper
Australia: A C Gilchrist, M L Hayden, R T Ponting, B J Hodge, M J Clarke, M E K Hussey, S R Watson, G B Hogg, B Lee, N W Bracken, G D McGrath
England: M B Loye, E C Joyce, I R Bell, A J Strauss, P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, P A Nixon, J W M Dalrymple, S I Mahmood, L E Plunkett, M S Panesar
 

NIXON DID WELL TOO. THE NEXT MATCH WILL BE TOUGHER/

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