When a team scores two double centuries against you in two back-to-back matches, and that too in your own backyard, it is not hard to foresee the troubled times ahead.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, who must have been well aware of the shortcomings in their bowling department even before the series begun, would now after the conclusion of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide today need to do conduct a serious search for a bowler who can get
them back into the series.
England on the other hand would be over the moon about the result and would be happy with their batting performance after the first drawn Test in Brisbane too where Alastair Cook scored a double century and Captain Andrew Strauss a century. And their bowlers
are doing the job too.
After http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 and Hussey had given Australia hopes of making a fabulous escape, Clarke’s ouster by Kevin Pietersen, the man who can do no wrong at the moment, late on the 4th day meant that the whole responsibility of effecting, an improbable at
best, turnaround to save the Test match on the 5th day fell on Hussey’s shoulders once again.
Knowing that a thunderstorm was expected late in the afternoon that could keep them away from victory, England themselves turned up with a thunderous performance to wrap up the match before lunch against an increasingly mediocre looking Australian team.
When Matt Prior dropped Mike Hussey off the bowling of Graeme Swann, England must have feared the worst. Thankfully for them though their worst fears did not come to pass, as Hussey succumbed to a poorly played shot off Finn for a dogged 52 in just the sixth
over of the day.
Australia must have been hoping that wicketkeeper Brad Haddin could reproduce his performance of the first Test a few days ago, or at least bat the way he did in the first innings of this match but it was not to be. After making just 12, the Australian keeper
edged an Anderson delivery to Prior behind the stumps who made no mistake.
To compound the Aussies’ misery, in-coming batsman Ryan Harris, who was on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-King-c41197 pair, inexplicably decided to leave the next ball from Anderson that swung back and hit him on the pads, and not even a review could spare his blushes, as Australia lost their
7th wicket. The two wickets off the last two balls of the over had left Anderson on a hat-trick for his next over.
On the other end though Swann moved in to remove Marcus North who was Australia’s last slim hope. As the batsman came forward to a Swann delivery that struck him on the pads, umpire Tony Hill of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 gave him not out. The review used to good effect
by England this time showed that the ball had struck North’s pad first and the decision was overturned to England’s utter joy. North could only make 22, and another failure for the tormented left-hander will surely spark fierce debates on his career in the
Australian team.
Graeme Swann then performed Australia’s last rites, getting rid of Doherty and Siddle for the addition of just 18 more runs, in the process picking up a deserved 5-wicket haul and handing his side victory by an innings and 71 runs, a victory that should
surely motivate England to better their fine performance even further in the next Test at WACA, Perth.
For England, it could not have been more perfect, more of their batsmen, in Collingwood and Pietersen got amongst the runs, while all of their bowlers except the injured Broad put up fine performances. As far as Australia are concerned though, nothing is
going right at the moment, and it is hard to see them coming back into the series if they keep on playing in the same fashion.
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