England are back on track as Aussies tumble again
The Ashes series was poised at 1-1 when both Ricky Ponting and Andrew Strauss, respective captains of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and England, went out for toss at Melbourne on the opening day of the Boxing Day test. The toss was won by the English captain
and since then, luck has deserted the hosts who were hoping to repeat the heroics of the last Test.
The Aussies managed to beat England in the third match of the series at Perth but the team that took field at Melbourne seemed different in all aspects. The batsmen were unable to leave juicy deliveries outside the off-stump while the bowlers were unable
to bowl wicket-taking deliveries to their opponents. Not only were the Australians bowled out for less than 100 in their first innings, the bowlers conceded a lead of 59 runs by the time stumps were drawn on the eventful day.
Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326, hero of the last test, was twice dropped before he was finally dismissed for 5 runs when he was caught behind by Kevin Pietersen off Chris Tremlett. He was the first to go, followed by the out-of-sorts Phil Hughes whose dreadful run against
England continues. Tim Bresnan took his first wicket in an Ashes Test when he got Hughes caught behind by Pietersen for 16. The Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and vice captain Michael Clarke managed 10 and 20 runs as Australia fell from 15 for one to 58
for four. Ponting was caught by Graeme Swann off Tremlett while Clarke became one of the few victims of Matt Prior and James Anderson.
Before Clarke was dismissed, they had lost Michael Hussey for 8 and Steven Smith for 6 who has failed to prove his credentials as either a batsman or a bowler. Both fell to Prior-Anderson and as soon as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 went, so did the hopes of a revival by the hosts.
Brad Haddin managed 5 before he was caught by Strauss off Bresnan while Matt Prior and James Anderson accounted for Mitchell Johnson who failed to score this time around. From 66 for 6, the Aussies were 77 for 8, and only a few teams have managed to make a
comeback from such a position. Although Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle managed to reach double figures, something only 3 top order batsmen did for the hosts, the ghosts of the first two matches seemed to have returned to haunt Ricky Ponting’s men.
Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus fell to Chris Tremlett, giving the pacer his fourth wicket in the innings and the keeper, Matt Prior his sixth catch. The visitors bowled a tight length outside the off-stump and were rewarded with wickets at regular intervals.
Only 7 extras were recorded which included 5 no balls and 2 leg byes. James Anderson answered his critics with 4 wickets while Tim Bresnan proved his selection right with his 2 wickets.
When it was their chance to bat at the wicket where the Aussies faltered, England did extremely well. Not only did they manage to get the third umpire uphold a decision but also survived the fiery downpours and bowling from the hosts. At close of play on
the first day, the visitors were comfortably placed at 157 runs for the loss of no wicket. Alistair Cook looked set for another century after scoring 80 not out while Andrew Strauss was unbeaten at 64. The visitors are 59 runs ahead of the hosts and if they
manage to take a lead of even 250, Ricky Ponting might be in trouble. He would not only become the first Australian captain ever to lose Ashes three times, but his place in the side will be under scrutiny for the first time in his career.
England showed maturity in many of its decisions, be it dropping Steven Finn or retaining Jonathan Trott at number 3. Australia on the other hand stuck to the team that won the last match. They should have opted for some surprise package like Tim Bresnan
for England who was included in the side for Steven Finn. All they can do now is hope for some rain so that the match might end as a draw, otherwise it seems that luck is not on their side for the Boxing Day match.
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