The Ashes 2013-2014 (Next: 1st Test, The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia, 21-25 November 2013)

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Ashes 2013: England win Ashes as Stuart Broad stars with ball

 

 

Ashes 2013: England win Ashes as Stuart Broad stars with ball

 

An inspired spell of fast bowling from Stuart Broad catapulted England to a 74-run win over Australia in the fourth Test and sealed victory in the Ashes series.

 

Chasing 299 for victory, Australia were well placed on 168-2 but lost their next eight wickets for 56 runs as they collapsed to 224 all out.

 

Tim Bresnan turned the tide when he had opener David Warner caught behind for 71 and Broad followed up with a devastating burst of 6-20 in 45 balls to finish with 11 wickets in the match.

 

A breathless and barely believable evening session, in which nine wickets fell, ended in fading light at 19:40 BST when Broad had Peter Siddle caught at mid-off to put England 3-0 up in the series with one match to play.

 

Amazingly, less than two hours before the final wicket fell, it appeared far more likely that Australia would be heading to The Oval on 21 August with a chance of levelling the series.

 

The tourists made the ideal start to their run chase as Warner and Chris Rogers put on 109 for the first wicket - Australia's first century opening partnership in the Ashes since The Oval in 2005.

 

Rogers eventually fell one short of a half-century - caught by Jonathan Trott at slip off Swann - but even when the off-spinner followed up with the wicket of Usman Khawaja for 21, there was little sign of the madness that followed.

 

The turning point arrived when Bresnan produced a superb delivery to remove the dangerous Warner, who was drawn into pushing at a ball angled across him and got a thin nick through to Matt Prior.

 

Sensing their opportunity, England pounced in ruthless fashion. Broad sent captain Michael Clarke's off stump cart-wheeling before Steve Smith played on as he attempted to pull.

 

Roared on by the England supporters in the Chester-le-Street crowd, Bresnan trapped Shane Watson in front to leave Australia in disarray.

 

Broad, bowling as quickly and aggressively as at any time in his career, then had Brad Haddin and Ryan Harris lbw before bowling Nathan Lyon.

 

With just one wicket needed, England were granted an extra half-hour but, with the light fading, the umpires insisted on them bowling spinners from both ends.

 

Six overs came and went without any great alarm before the reappearance of the setting sun gave Alastair Cook the opportunity to go back to his pacemen.

 

Six balls from James Anderson failed to deliver the breakthrough but, when Broad returned from the Lumley End, it took him only three to induce a false stroke from Siddle and send the crowd into raptures.

 

Broad's match figures of 11-121 were the finest of his career and the best by an England bowler in the Ashes since Phil Tufnell's 11-93 at The Oval in 1997.

 

Earlier, Australia took England's last five wickets for 96 runs to bowl them out for 330, with Harris claiming 7-117.

 

The outstanding fast bowler, whose omission from the first Test is beginning to look like a glaring oversight, bowled centurion Ian Bell and Prior with successive balls and ended a brief cameo of 13 from Broad with a brutal bouncer that he gloved to gully.

 

Bresnan, who made 45, and Swann fought back with a crucial attacking partnership of 42 and, by the time Anderson was last man out, England had pushed their lead to within two runs of 300.

 

Even then, for long periods of the day it looked as if Australia would pull off a famous chase with something to spare.

 

But when Broad and Bresnan found their stride in the evening session, England were irresistible.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/23674442

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Ashes 2013: Alastair Cook eager to lift Ashes urn

 

 

Ashes 2013: Alastair Cook eager to lift Ashes urn

 

Alastair Cook says it will be an "an amazing moment" to lift the Ashes urn as a victorious England captain.

 

England go into the final Test, which starts on Wednesday, eyeing a 4-0 win after retaining the Ashes with a draw at Old Trafford, before clinching the series with victory in the fourth Test.

 

"When you come to the Oval, you walk past pictures of Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss doing it," he said. "Knowing I will be the next captain to do it brings a smile to the face."

 

The 28-year-old added: "In an absolutely ideal world, you want to do it with a victory, of course you would, but if we did lose the game, we wouldn't be that deflated because we would have achieved what we wanted to achieve."

 

Cook suggested England are unlikely to make any unenforced changes to the side which recorded a 74-run win at Chester-le-Street last time out. "We're picking the side with the best chance of winning the game," he said.

 

Tim Bresnan is injured, with Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett and Chris Woakes in contention to replace the Yorkshire bowler. Cook has also backed leading bowler James Anderson, who has taken only four wickets in the past two Tests at an expensive average of 72.75, to come good again.

 

"He will admit he's been slightly off-colour but a slightly off-colour Anderson is still a mighty fine bowler," Cook insisted. "He'll be desperate to lead the attack as he has done for a number of years."

 

Essex opener Cook added that the chance to become the first England team to win a home Ashes series 4-0 will be their chief motivation at the Oval. "We've got the opportunity to do what no England side has done before, that's our goal," Cook said. "Every time you beat Australia is a good feeling."

 

England have never won four Tests in a home Ashes series and are seeking to match their biggest margin of victory - 5-1 in Australia in 1978-79. Of the 35 Ashes Tests at The Oval, England have won 16, lost six and drawn 13.

 

The weather forecast is set fair for the first three days of the match, with the possibility of showers over the weekend. All five days are sold out.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/23770476

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Australia win toss and will bat first

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Australia 11-1

 

Warner not hanging around after thick edge caught behind

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Australia 118-2

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Australia 144-3

 

Clarke gone

Anderson now 2nd in all-time England wicket takers list

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Ashes 2013: Shane Watson puts Australia in charge of fifth Test

 

 

Ashes 2013: Shane Watson puts Australia in charge of fifth Test

 

Shane Watson dismantled a new-look England attack to blast his first Ashes century and put Australia in a commanding position in the final Test at The Oval.

 

Watson scored a superb 176 - his highest Test score - and Steve Smith made an unbeaten 66 as the tourists reached 307-4 at the close of a disappointing day for the home side, who are targeting a first 4-0 series victory over their oldest rivals.

 

Watson was particularly disdainful towards Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan, who were both surprisingly handed their Test debuts as part of a five-man England attack.

 

The duo, who replaced Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan, both went wicketless, with left-arm spinner Kerrigan allowing nerves to get the better of him as he conceded 53 runs in eight overs.

 

The Lancashire bowler's main tormentor was Watson, who plundered 80 runs before lunch on his way to his first Test hundred in 48 innings.

 

Batting at number three - his fourth different position of the series - Watson put a difficult tour behind him with a dominant innings, featuring several powerful drives and pulls to the boundary.

 

The 32-year-old gave one chance, when Alastair Cook put down a straightforward opportunity to catch him for 104 at first slip off the bowling of James Anderson, before finally falling three overs before the close when he holed out to Kevin Pietersen at deep backward square leg.

 

Anderson, bowling with far greater rhythm than he did in the previous two Tests at Chester-le-Street and Old Trafford, had given the hosts an early breakthrough with the first of two wickets that took him past Bob Willis into second place in England's all-time list with 326 scalps.

 

After Australia captain Michael Clarke had won the toss and chosen to bat, David Warner was drawn into driving at a delivery shaping away from him and nicked the ball through to wicketkeeper Matt Prior for six.

 

Watson swiftly swung the momentum back towards Australia with an unforgiving assault on England's two debutants.

 

Warwickshire all-rounder Woakes, who will bat at number six in England's innings, was hit for three fours in an over as his first 30 balls cost as many runs, while Kerrigan was clobbered for 28 from his first two overs.

 

Lunch gave England vital breathing space and they responded with a much-improved display in the afternoon session.

 

Chris Rogers was caught at slip off Graeme Swann for 23, before Stuart Broad struck Michael Clarke on the gloves and Watson on the head with sharply rising bouncers in a high-class spell.

 

Clarke, clearly expecting further short balls, was then late on a full delivery from Anderson and bowled off his pad.

 

At the other end, Watson kept his composure through the nineties to bring up his third Test century off 116 balls - and first in 48 innings - with a drive through the covers off Anderson.

 

The tall right-hander's understated celebration belied the sheer relief he must have been feeling at finally converting a half-century into the kind of score that can influence the outcome of a match.

 

Watson found a steady accomplice in Steve Smith, who struck nine fours and a six in his third half-century of the series as Australia cemented their advantage in the final session.

 

Woakes, whose line and length improved as the day wore on, thought he had his first Test wicket when Watson was given out lbw for 166, only to be reprieved by the decision review system, which showed the ball was clearing the stumps.

 

England did, however, end a difficult day on a high note when Watson took on one short ball too many and was athletically caught by a diving Kevin Pietersen on the square leg boundary.

 

With nigh****chman Peter Siddle at the crease, the hosts will be hopeful of making further inroads in the morning as they look to claw their way into the match.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/23785798

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Hopeful of some bloody cricket this afternoon.

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Australia 324-5

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Australia 397-6

tea, day 2

 

If England can bat a big innings this has draw written all over it

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Australia 491-9

 

Looking like England will be needing 300+ to avoid the follow-on

 

Edit: Australia declare on 492-9

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England 68-1

 

Another shit innings by Cook

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Ashes 2013: England crawl towards safety against Australia

 

A conservative batting performance steered England towards safety in the final Test against Australia and lifted their chances of ending the Ashes series undefeated.

 

The hosts scored only 215 runs in 98.3 overs on a soporific third day to move within 46 runs of the follow-on at 247-4 in reply to Australia's 492-9 declared.

 

Joe Root found some form with 68 and Kevin Pietersen made a patient 50, but there was another failure for captain Alastair Cook, who was caught behind for 25.

 

Ian Bell ended the day unbeaten on 29, alongside debutant Chris Woakes, who drove the first ball of his Test career through the covers for four on his way to 15.

 

With significant rainfall forecast for Saturday, England's approach should ensure they salvage the draw they require to win the series 3-0.

 

But after an underwhelming performance from the home side with bat and ball, it looks as though Australia will finish the series in the ascendancy and carry more momentum into the return series down under, starting in November.

 

England's openers, who survived a testing period on Thursday evening to reach 32-0, advanced to their highest partnership of the series - 68 - before Cook perished.

 

The skipper, who is averaging only 27 for the series, had just survived a reviewed appeal for leg before wicket from Ryan Harris, but fell in the fast bowler's next over when he hung his bat out and nudged one through to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

 

Root's half-century, which included 11 boundaries, owed a lot to his decision to play forward more often than in previous innings, where a tendency to stay on the back foot to the seamers had frequently brought about his downfall.

 

This time it was Nathan Lyon who took Root's wicket, the 22-year-old Yorkshire batsman falling into a trap that had been set by Michael Clarke and top-edging a sweep to Shane Watson at short long leg.

 

Jonathan Trott scored only two boundaries as he ground out 40 off 134 balls in a particularly torpid period before tea.

 

His quest for a first half-century of the series was thwarted by Mitchell Starc who trapped him lbw in front of leg stump with the first delivery with the second new ball.

 

Pietersen's 133-ball half century was his second slowest in Tests and featured only four boundaries.

 

On his home ground, the Surrey batsman found off-spinner Lyon particularly difficult to get away, but it was Starc who eventually removed him when a thin edge off a full delivery flew low to Watson at slip.

 

Woakes, brought in to replace Jonny Bairstow at number six, drew one of the biggest cheers of the day when he creamed his first ball for four to evoke memories of David Gower, who did the same on his debut in 1978.

 

But the day finished in a manner far more characteristic of what had gone before as Bell and Woakes blocked out the final few overs to keep six wickets intact at the end of a session in which 66 runs were scored in 34 overs.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/23818166

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With rain forecast all day tomorrow, I think we can safely say this will be a draw and series finish 3-0 to England. Roll on November and the Gabba in Brisbane!

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Splish Splash Splosh

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England didn't lose a single wicket today.

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England 377 all out

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Australia declare on 111-6 :o

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Australia have declared. Eng need 227 to win off 44 overs. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ashes&src=hash">#ashes</a></p>— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/statuses/371653312581738496">August 25, 2013</a></blockquote>

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England 54-1

 

174 runs needed

 

32 overs left

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England 116-2

 

Need 111 more runs to win

 

Overs left 18

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Pietersen 9 fours in just 25 balls :lol:

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kevin Pietersen's 50 off 36 balls is now the fastest <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Ashes&src=hash">#Ashes</a> fifty for England, passing Matt Prior (37 balls at Lord’s in 2009)</p>— srav's (@sravys88) <a href="https://twitter.com/sravys88/statuses/371688816894951424">August 25, 2013</a></blockquote>

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England 180-4

 

Need 47 more runs to win

 

36 balls left

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England 206-4

 

Need 21 more runs to win

 

25 balls left

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Bad light stopped play :lol:

 

Match drawn