Tag: England

ASHES 2015: Australia Looking Cosy at the Home of Cricket after One-Sided Second Day.

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2nd Test, Day Two, Lord’s. 

Australia look strong favourites to level the Ashes series as they continue to dictate the second test at Lord’s.

After declaring on 566-8, the Aussie bowlers then demolished the top of the England batting order, to leave the hosts on 85-4 at the end of day two.

Steve Smith was the hero of the visitors innings- scoring 215 to become the third Australian to score 200-plus at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

After more than eight hours at the crease, facing 346 deliveries in the process, Smith engineered his sixth three figure total in his last eight tests, all of which have come during his first innings at the crease.

Had anyone before the match question his rank as second best in the world, they were silenced very quickly.

After breaking the record for the most runs in an Australian second wicket partnership at Lord’s, Smith’s batting partner Chris Rodgers fell for 173 to Stuart Broad, the only shining light of what was a very grey England bowling performance.

Broad took 4-82 in the end; with part time spinner Joe Root second best on the English bowling sheet with figures of 2-55.

If there was anything wrong with the Australian batting performance, it was the coming and going of captain Michael Clarke for just seven runs of 31 balls.

The batsman, whose batting record since the last Ashes series reads worse than Shane Watson, who was dropped for the second test, may want to move himself back down to number five in the order. His batting average at five is far better than his one at four.

After Australia declared, England faced the mammoth task of staging their own huge score to match their rivals- however it didn’t take long for the hopes of the nation to slowly crumble away.

Adam Lyth went for a two ball duck and not long after Gary Ballance was clean bowled by Mitchell Johnson. Ian Bell and Joe Root, who played so magnificently with the bat in Cardiff, both went for one as the weary hosts were left 30-4, with 19 overs still of the day to go.

Captain Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes saved England from any more embarrassment as they produced an unbeaten 55-run partnership to see the day out.

With fatigue kicking in, this will be a huge test for England to try and draw the test. One thing in their favour presumably is the weather, with heavy rain forecast for Sunday.

“There are no demons in the pitch but we had a ropey 20 minutes,” Broad told BBC Test Match Special.

“We’ve still got a chance to bat big. We have to apply ourselves. We’ve got 16 wickets to play with in this Test and if people get in and play to their game plan, they’re going to be hard to get rid of.”

The day though truly belonged to the Australians, who know a series draw would see them retain the Ashes. A win at Lord’s would mean a first test victory in England since 2001.

“England will be having a good night’s sleep and digging in,” Johnson told Sky Sports.

“Hopefully they’ll play that aggressive brand of cricket they’ve been talking about and we’ll see where that goes.”

ASHES 2015: Australia Bite Back With Record Partnership To Dominate Opening Day at Lord’s.

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2nd Test, Day One, Lord’s.

Chris Rodgers and Steve Smith both scored centuries as Australia ended day one of the second test on 337-1 to seize control at Lord’s.

Following their heavy defeat in Cardiff, the tourists hit back with a five-star batting display from opener Rodgers and second best batsman in the world Smith.

Despite David Warner handing his wicket recklessly to England, the two batsman were confident on what was a slow pitch with little bounce in the capital.

Their partnership of 259 broke an 85-year record for an Australian second-wicket partnership. It had previously been 231 set by Bill Woodfull and Don Bradman.

Rodgers also overcame a record of seven consecutive fifties without converting them to three figures as he scored his highest test score of 158. As a result, he became just the fifth Aussie to score over 150 runs in one innings at Lord’s.

“It’s one of the proudest moments of my life,” said the Aussie opener.

“To get a hundred here is so special.”

Smith in contrast played like two different batsman. Taking 111 balls to make it to half a century, he smashed his next 50 runs in just 50 deliveries.

“The pitch was a little bit slow and if you got in you needed to go big,” said Smith.

“I wanted to make it count today and get up on that board. It was about keeping England out there for as long as possible.”

As Australia eye up a massive score in their first innings, England will be desperate to find more wickets on what will be a crucial second day.

The English bowlers will feel a bit of injustice, as they didn’t play entirely bad. Stuart Broad was, in particular, very consistent with the ball. His high-pitched deliveries were unplayable at times, but narrowly missed the bails.

Mark Wood also played well once he got going, but again his unplayable deliveries just went wide of the stumps.

The same can’t be said of James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, who were punished when they pitched the ball too short.

“Hats off to the two guys who made hundreds – they played brilliantly throughout the day,’ said Anderson.

“They stayed patient, they attacked us when they could and made it really difficult for us to bowl at them for long periods of time and create that pressure.”

It was the first time in 22 years that England only took one wicket on the opening day of an Ashes Test match, and just the second time that only one wicket was taken in a Lord’s test.

England know that wickets are needed to get their foot back in the door and keep their Ashes lead in tact.

But with Michael Clarke and debutant Mitchell Marsh, who scored two hundreds in the warm up matches heading into the Ashes, to come in, things are looking good for Australia.

ASHES 2015: England Win First Test To Take Lead In Series.

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1st Test, Day Four, Cardiff. 

England crushed Australia by 169 runs to take a 1-0 series lead in this year’s Ashes.

In a brilliant display with the ball, the England bowlers dismissed the whole Australian line up for 242 in their second innings. Stuart Broad spearheaded the ruthless performance by Alastair Cook’s men on a fast-paced fourth day.

The result makes England’s dismal performance down under 18 months ago feel like a distant memory, as they produced four days of high quality, exhilarating cricket.

Australia, who were strong favourites to retain the urn, now must regroup and rebuild ahead of the second test at Lord’s next week.

The hosts struggled during the morning session, with Chris Rodgers the only victim heading into lunch. The turning point of the innings was in the final over of the session, when David Warner was trapped LBW by Moeen Ali for 52.

Cook’s decision to allow Ali to bowl the final over was just one of the many masterstrokes the Essex opener made in what was arguably his best performance as England captain.

After the lunch break, England went up the gears, and smashed through the Australian batting line up. Broad took the crucial wickets of Steve Smith on 33, and then Aussie captain Michael Clarke.

Adam Voges and Brad Haddin came and went in quick succession and when Shane Watson was caught LBW to leave the tourists on 151-7, the home fans knew that the result was almost guaranteed.

A brave Mitchell Johnson put up a late fight to keep the Australians in with a shout, striking up a partnership of 72 with Mitchell Starc at the tail end of the order.

However Joe Root, who had batted well earlier in the match, claimed both the wickets of Johnson and Starc.

When Josh Hazlewood smashed a ball from Ali to long on, all the England players, coaching team and supporters erupted with joy.

It was only the third time England had won the opening Ashes test, the last being back in 2013 when they last won the Ashes. In 15 of the last 17 Ashes series, the winners of the first test have gone on to win the urn.

“It was a brilliant performance,” said Cook.

‘This Test couldn’t have gone any better and we’ll enjoy tonight.

“Everyone was talking about what’s gone on in the past, but this is a different side. We had to look forward. We always took the attacking option in this game.

“Joe Root was fantastic and the bowlers were superb.”

New head coach Trevor Bayliss will also be more than satisfied with England’s performance in what was his first match in charge of the team.

For Australia, they have many thoughts to ponder over the next few days.

The main decision to be made whether to drop Watson from the team after being caught LBW yet again (the 14th time against England in 35 innings). His understudy, Mitchell Marsh, scored hundreds in both of the two warm up games ahead of the series and could refresh the middle order for the visitors.

Another worry is the fitness of Starc, who had ankle surgery prior to the first test. Signs of fatigue were clear on the Australian during England’s second innings and the physio’s will hope not to exaggerate any further damage.

“We were outplayed in all three facets,” admitted Clarke.

“England batted well on day one, we didn’t take our catches and our batting let us down in both innings.

“We look forward to making amends in the second Test. I’m sure the selectors will look at everyone’s performance and make a decision.”

ASHES 2015: England leave Australia with ‘Impossible task’ To Take Pole Position in 1st Test.

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1st Test, Day Three, Cardiff. 

England are in firm control of the first Ashes test in Cardiff, although they may now have more than just the Australians to worry about, as they look to take a 1-0 series lead.

Forecasts for Sunday aren’t looking promising, with heavy rain predicted in the Welsh capital all morning. If anything, that should motivate Alistair Cook and co. to get the job done on Saturday.

England are in a great position to win the first test. After dismissing the rest of the Australian batsman in just over an hour Friday morning, they then had a resurgent Ian Bell to thank as they ended the day 411 runs ahead of their bitter rivals.

The visitors themselves began slowly, with Shane Watson trapped LBW by Stuart Broad during the second over of the day. James Anderson also picked up two wickets, moving him up to 11th in the England all-time test wickets list.

Despite losing Cook and Gary Ballance early on, Bell seemed to re-find his form at the perfect moment, scoring 60 runs to build on England’s 122 run lead ahead of their second innings.

He was eventually cleaned bowled by Mitchell Johnson, his first wicket of the match, but the Warwickshire man had caused the major damage to Australia’s hopes of turning the test around in their favour.

The ever-reliant Joe Root and oh so confident Ben Stokes added more gloss to the England scoreboard before a mini collapse from 207-4 to 245-8 had the home crowd on edge.

Step up Mark Wood, who added 32 with his sluggish method to score more runs for the hosts.

He remained at the crease until Anderson became Nathan Lyon’s fourth wicket of the day, meaning the Aussie is the first spinner from his country to take 150 test wickets.

England were all out for 289, but it means Australia must do the impossible in order to win the match.

Chasing 412 to win, Michael Clarke’s team would need to better the great Don Bradman’s team, who chased down 404 against England at Headingly back in 1948.

“We’re definitely still in it,” said Lyon.

“If we bat two days the result will go our way. There’s no reason why we can’t dig deep.

“We’ve got to learn from our first innings with the bat – be more patient. There were too many 30s in the first innings, so we need to try and push on a bit more and have a couple of our top five get big hundreds.”

The weather seems to be the Aussies’ greatest ally- and if they can still be in the match come stumps Saturday evening, then a draw would be a realistic result.

Right now though, this test looks like England’s to lose.

ASHES 2015: Ali Contributes With Bat and Ball To Give England Upper Hand.

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1st Test, Day Two, Cardiff. 

Moeen Ali justified the England selector’s decision to play him over Adil Rashid with an excellent all-round performance, as England gained the upper hand in the first Ashes test in Cardiff.

After scoring 77 with the bat, Ali also took two crucial wickets as visitors Australia ended the second day on 264-5. They are 166 runs behind England, who were dismissed for 430 all out earlier in the day.

Ali added 51 runs to his overnight total as he raced out the blocks in the early morning sunshine in the Welsh capital.

He then claimed the wickets of Australia danger man Steve Smith and captain Michael Clarke to leave England in a commanding position.

The decision to stick with Ali over Rashid was the toughest the selector’s faced ahead of this test match, but they will now feel more than overjoyed with their decision.

Ali looked in top form, and his wickets today also mean that he now boasts a better wicket per ball average (53) than past spinners Graeme Swann (60), Monty Panesar (75) and Phil Tufnell (91).

After being hit for three boundaries in four balls, the spinner confidently decided to again invite Smith on with a bowl, which read ‘come and attack me’. Smith though could only edge the ball, which was caught by Alastair Cook at slip.

He then caught and bowled Clarke on 38, just as the Australian captain was beginning to find his rhythm.

“In the first innings it was important that we got 430 – and the way we put the Australia bowlers under pressure,” said Ali.

“We are slightly ahead. A couple of early wickets tomorrow would put them under pressure. I would rather be in our position than Australia’s.”

Australia had made a decent start to their innings- with veteran opener Chris Rodgers scoring an impressive 95 before being caught behind from a Chris Wood delivery.

It was the seventh consecutive test fifty that Rodgers had scored for the Aussies, however he has failed to convert any of those half centuries into hundreds.

Following his dismissal, the frustration showed as Rodgers kicked the ground in disbelief and grudged off the field of play in a state of disappointment.

“I started to get some rhythm with my feet and weight. Once you hit some out the middle the confidence comes through,” said Rodgers.

“I’m just disappointed I didn’t make it count.

“The pitch is a bit two-paced now. You saw with the Adam Voges dismissal that kicked a little. It is going to get harder and harder, but if you set your stall out and you are happy to bat a long time there is still the opportunity.

“It has been an excellent day of Test cricket. England maybe have the slight upper hand but hopefully we can get a few more runs.”

If England can get back batting with a lead of 60-100, and then score well themselves in their second innings, they should be able to sneak an early victory over their bitter rivals.

The pitch in Cardiff is becoming more of a batsman’s’ nightmare each passing day. There seems to be less bounce on a wicket, which highly favours the bowlers (both seamers and spinners).

It would seem difficult for Australia to chase anything surpassing 350 in order to win this match, but don’t rule anything out- they are still searching for a first Ashes test victory on English soil for 14 years, that’s more than enough motivation for them to turn this test around in their favour.

ASHES 2015: Root Rescues England On Opening Day Of Test Series.

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1st Test, Day One, Cardiff. 

Joe Root was England’s saviour once again as England ended day one of the first Ashes test in a decent position against rivals Australia.

Before Root’s galvanising performance at the crease, the crowd in Cardiff were watching on in fear as the Australian seamers attacked the stumps with relative success, reminiscent of scenes down under 18 months ago.

Adam Lyth’s Ashes debut ended predominantly when he went for just seven runs early on. Captain Alistair Cook went next for just 20 before Ian Bell came and went with just one run to his name.

With the score 43-3, England were in need of a hero, and he came in the form of the ever reliant Root. But it almost wasn’t to be.

When Root slightly edged the ball on zero, England fans’ hearts jumped to their mouths as the world suddenly went slow motion. Seemingly, any England fan praying for his survival had their wish granted as Aussie wicket keeper Brad Haddin dropped the simplest of catches. England fans and players alike blew air from their cheeks. The Australians thought to themselves what could have been.

After the scare, Root was composed, and hit the right shots towards the boundaries left, right and centre. Before long, Gary Ballance and himself contributed 153 runs between them to steady the ship.

Root made it to a half century in just 56 balls and then quickly made it to three figures with a trademark cover drive. His century in 118 deliveries was the fastest ever recorded in the first test match of any Ashes series.

The Yorkshire batsman made it to 137 before he was caught behind, but by then his job was done.

It was another magnificent innings for Root, who is the highest test run scorer in the world in 2015. He has scored 675 runs in 10 innings, with two hundreds and four half century’s altogether.

“I’m really pleased with the way things have gone. I rode my luck at times, especially early on,” said Root.

“It’s a little bit slow. Seeing the first few not carry was a bit of a worry. There’s a little bit there – there are a few little indentations, which could be helpful when we bowl.

“I’m happy to be in the position we are in as a team. Hopefully we can kick on in the morning. The longer we can keep them out there, the better it is for us.

“The guys out there currently are both very capable of scoring big scores – hopefully tomorrow is one of those days where they take it to them and we score 400-plus.”

By the end of the day England, guided by Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler before his late dismissal, surpassed 300 runs and ended on 343-7.

The Australians will still feel that they can turn the tide of the first test should they take wickets early in tomorrow morning. One highlight of their day was the 3-70 bowling figures from Ashes debutant Josh Hazlewood.

Hazlewood dismissed opener Lyth for the first wicket of this summer’s Ashes. He also crucially caught Gary Ballance LBW and got the wicket Jos Buttler late on.

“The game is fairly level at this stage. Hopefully we can clean them up in the morning,” said Hazlewood.

“We were good in patches. We kept it tight for periods but we leaked a few runs. When Root was batting he played fantastically and we need to find a plan for him.

“The wicket is quite slow and nullifies the short stuff but we tried to keep it full and swinging. The Duke ball is good fun – if you get it in the right areas there is always something there. If they get 40 or 50 more I think that’s about par for them.”