CRICKET ASHES TEST SERIES:AS THE SHADOWS of the gargantuan stands spread out across a sunlit Melbourne Cricket Ground evening, more than 68,000 people filed away knowing that England were on the verge of their primary goal of retaining the Ashes.
The scoreboard told its story: that England had extended their overnight score to 513, their first-innings lead of 415 exceeded by them in Ashes cricket only at The Oval in 1938; and that Australia had then succumbed once more to the skill and urgency of the England attack so that by the close they had been reduced to 169 for six in their second innings.
With two days remaining in the game, the forecasters suggesting fair weather and the unfortunate Australian bowler Ryan Harris out of the series with a stress-fractured ankle and so unlikely to hobble to the crease, England sipped their isotonic dressing-room drinks knowing with certainty that three more wickets and the job was done.
The turn of the screw came after tea, at which point Australia were rattling along at 95 for one, only 30 overs gone and Shane Watson on his fourth half-century of the series. This is supposed to be the sleepy time; the final session of the first two days had been wicketless but not this time.
While Graeme Swann wove a brilliant mesmeric spell at one end, that brought him figures of 22-11-23-1 and reinforced his standing as the best in the business (this on a Test pitch barely halfway through its natural life), it was Tim Bresnan, underestimated Yorkshire yeoman though underestimated no more, who, shown confidence in his ability, responded by producing the bowling of his life to start propelling Australia into the abyss.
Already, after the first innings, Bresnan’s appearance in this match had been seen as a triumph of proactive selection. The ball reversed, as England always knew it would on this Melbourne drop-in pitch. And with this old ball Bresnan, a picture of parsimony in his first spell as he calmed down the understandable overpitching overeagerness at the start of the Australian innings (which nonetheless contributed to the abrasion of the ball), suddenly caused mayhem.
Watson was lbw for 54, despite a referral, offering no stroke as the ball snaked into him, a man scared of ghosts and, so it seems, three figures such is his dreadful conversion rate of half-centuries.
Next went Ricky Ponting, a figure so haunted now as to make the hairs stand up on Watson’s nape. After 20 struggling runs, raging against the dying of the light, he dragged an inswinger on to his wicket and, grimacing, crinkle-faced and sad, walked away from this great arena, perhaps for the last time in a Test.
When Mike Hussey, Australia’s batsman of the series but without a run to his name in this innings, drove firmly to short extra cover for Ian Bell to collect superbly, Bresnan’s spell of wicket taking had brought him three for two in four overs and with its pace and skill revived memories of Dean Headley propelling England to an unlikely win on this ground a dozen years ago.
Swann then went round the wicket and immediately had Michael Clarke taken sharply at a wide slip, so that Australia were 134 for five and as good as cooked. The return of Anderson towards the day’s end produced the further wicket of Steve Smith, who made an uncomfortable 38 in the manner of a number nine before flinging the bat wantonly and losing his middle stump. If Smith is the answer at number six for Australia, then it begs the nature of the question.
Just as in Adelaide, the Australian decline had been kick-started by a run-out, perpetrated by Watson and his partner and executed by Jonathan Trott. Here, after a 53-run opening stand, Watson played Swann into the covers and called for a single.
Phil Hughes was slow to respond, Trott gathered and threw to Matt Prior who completed the job with the batsman a foot or so short. In this simple execution came another highlight of the difference in skill levels between the sides. On Monday Trott had been reprieved when his dive beat Ponting’s throw by a smidgen – one frame on the replay – when the bowler, Ben Hilfenhaus, gathered the throw from behind the stumps rather than in front.
As England learned under Duncan Fletcher, it is a move that can make the difference between a dismissal and safety. Further, England are told that no batsman in their team should be run out on anything other than a dive which is found to be fractionally quicker: Hughes attempted to run his bat in. It is the smallest percentages that can make the difference at this level.
In the morning Trott, imperturbably, had taken his score on to an unbeaten 168 before Peter Siddle finished the innings with his sixth thoroughly deserved wicket. As the last man Anderson surveyed his smashed wicket, Trott turned at the other end and, purposefully and at considerable length, re-marked his guard. Worth doing of course: he will probably play here again.
Melbourne Scoreboard
FOURTH ASHES TEST
THIRD DAY
Australia: first innings 98 (C. Tremlett 4-26, J. Anderson 4-44); England: First innings (overnight 444-5)
England: First innings (continued)
A Strauss c Hussey b Siddle 69
A Cook c Watson b Siddle 82
J Trott not out 168
K Pietersen lbw Siddle 51
P Collingwood c Siddle b Johnson 8
I Bell c Siddle b Johnson 1
M Prior c Ponting b Siddle 85
T Bresnan c Haddin b Siddle 4
G Swann c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 22
C Tremlett b Hilfenhaus 4
J Anderson b Siddle 1
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Extras (lb-2, b-10, nb-3, w-3) 18
Total (all out, 159.1 overs) 513
Fall of wickets: 1-159, 2-170, 3-262, 4-281, 5-286, 6-459, 7-465, 8-508, 9-512.
Bowling: Hilfenhaus 37-13-83-2 (w-1), Harris 28.4-9-91-0, Johnson 29-2-134-2 (w-2, nb-2), Siddle 33.1-10-75-6 (nb-1), Watson 10-1-34-0, Smith 18-3-71-0, Clarke 3.2-0-13-0.
Australia: Second innings
S Watson lbw Bresnan 54
P Hughes run out 23
R Ponting b Bresnan 20
M Clarke c Strauss b Swann 13
M Hussey c Bell b Bresnan 0
S Smith b Anderson 38
B Haddin not out 11
M Johnson not out 6
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Extras (w-1, lb-2, b-1) 4
Total (for six wickets, 66 overs) 169
Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-99, 3-102, 4-104, 5-134, 6-158.
To bat: R Harris, P Siddle, B Hilfenhaus.
Bowling (to date): Anderson 16-1-62-1 (w-1), Tremlett 13-3-55-0, Swann 22-11-23-1, Bresnan 15-7-26-3.
