Why change a winning formula? That was the attitude Australia's selectors took in Sydney by naming an unchanged team for the fifth consecutive Test. It was also how the Australian players seemed to approach their task. In all four Tests of this campaign Australia's top order has had a go early, knowing that Brad Haddin was there to save them. In every first innings they have wobbled. In every first innings Haddin has saved them. And so it was again.
This time Haddin had support from Steven Smith, whose second century of the series confirmed him as a mature player who can score runs the team is down. Smith has been one of Australia's revelations of the past year; Ben Stokes has been one of England's. Stokes proved himself a fighter in the defeat at Perth, where he became England's only centurion of the series so far; in Sydney he claimed six wickets to keep England in the match.
By stumps, England were 1 for 8 in reply to Australia's 326, trailing by 318 runs, and the early loss of Michael Carberry to Mitchell Johnson had hurt. Michael Clarke's knack of stationing fielders in the right positions continued when Carberry flicked off his hip and was caught low to the ground by Nathan Lyon, diving to his right from leg slip for a nine-ball duck. Alastair Cook was on 7 at stumps with nightwatchman James Anderson on 1, and much work remained to avoid a 5-0 defeat.
Full report to follow
Tea Australia 5 for 201 (Haddin 59*, Smith 48*) vEngland
Again Australia's top order failed in the first innings, again Brad Haddin rescued the team and again England were left to wonder what could have been.
At tea on the first day in Sydney, Haddin had another half-century and a partner who was staying with him, this time Steven Smith, and from 5 for 97 shortly after lunch the Australians had moved on to 5 for 201, the script following an almost identical path to Australia's first innings in every match of the campaign.
England's problems were compounded by the fact that their debutant fast bowler Boyd Rankin had left the field during his ninth over with what looked like an injury to his left hamstring, which meant a heftier workload for Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Ben Stokes.
Anderson and Broad both bowled searching spells straight after lunch, making the ball talk on a grassy, seaming pitch, but once George Bailey had edged to first slip there were no more breakthroughs.
The Haddin-Smith partnership had moved on to 104 at tea, with Haddin reaching his half-century shortly before the break with a quick single nudged back past the bowler Stokes. It meant that in every first innings of this series Haddin had scored at least a half-century, a remarkable feat that has so far set up four Australian victories and must make him as strong a candidate, if not stronger than Mitchell Johnson, for Player of the Series.
Haddin had reached 59 at tea and had scored his runs in his typical counterattacking style, hooking, pulling and driving with supreme confidence. On 9, he survived a review when England asked for a not-out caught-behind call to be checked, only to find the Anderson delivery had brushed both of Haddin's legs on the way through, but it was the only time when England really thought they might have had the better of Haddin.
Smith, on the other hand, didn't do it quite as easily and a number of times was troubled by deliveries that rose more sharply than he expected, but he too trusted his attacking style and had nine boundaries in his 48 when the tea break arrived.
Several times early in the afternoon session, Smith had shouldered arms to Anderson and survived close lbw shouts, and once he got through that period he began to score a little more freely.
Anderson and Broad both bowled well after lunch but their only wicket was that of Bailey, who was beaten outside off a number of times during his 1 from 10 balls before he finally edged one to a juggling Alastair Cook at first slip off Broad. It appeared that only a big second-innings score could save Bailey's Test career.
But Australia's more immediate concern was getting themselves back into the match after the top order struggled having been sent in by Cook.
Shane Watson fell from the final ball before lunch, ending an innings of 43 that featured seven boundaries. He played some crisp drives and pulls but his willingness to go for his shots meant England were always a chance of creating an opportunity. Eventually it was a standard forward push from Watson that brought his demise when he was trapped dead in front by Anderson, remarkably, the first lbw against an Australia batsman in the series.
Anderson had bowled too short in his new-ball spell to make full use of the conditions but Broad pitched the ball up and, despite leaking three boundaries to David Warner in his second over, was rewarded when he straightened one that took Warner's off stump as he tried to punch down the ground on 16.
Stokes had Chris Rogers bowled for 11 when he bottom-edged a pull back on to his stumps and Michael Clarke caught at second slip for 10 off a lovely delivery that straightened off the seam. Stokes and Broad both gave the ball a chance to move and drew the Australians into playing, and Rankin's extra bounce caused the batsmen some awkward moments until he had to leave the field.
Rankin was one of three debutants picked by England, the first time since 2006 that they had played that many in a Test and the first time since the 1993 Trent Bridge Test that they had blooded so many debutants in an Ashes Test. On that occasion it was Graham Thorpe, Mark Lathwell, Mark Ilott and Martin McCague; here it was Rankin, legspinning allrounder Scott Borthwick and batsman Gary Ballance. Joe Root, Monty Panesar and Tim Bresnan were dropped.
It also brought to 18 the number of players England had used throughout this series, not only a record for England in an away Test series but an equal high for all teams in away Test campaigns. The only other squad ever to use 18 players in a Test series away from home was West Indies in South Africa in 1998-99; incidentally, they lost that series 5-0.
The situation could hardly have been more different for Australia, who for the first time named the same XI in every Test of a five-match series. Ryan Harris and Watson were both passed fit to play after emerging from the Melbourne victory with niggles.
0 comments:
Post a Comment