CRICKET: England will not have Glenn McGrath to push them around any more in this series. Given the fight they put up on the final day of the fourth Test, Nasser Hussain and his team will be encouraged to believe they can avert the whitewash after the fast bowler pulled out of Australia's squad for Thursday's fifth Test in Sydney.
McGrath strained his left side on the fourth day here at the MCG and was unable to take the field after tea. The Western Australia paceman Brad Williams has been drafted into the squad as cover.
Australia's physiotherapist Errol Alcott said: "Glenn has suffered a left-side strain to his 'grunt' muscle. It is a soft-tissue injury and we are confident it will resolve over the short term but I felt it was prudent for him to miss this next Test match."
McGrath said: "I guess it's a question of looking at the bigger picture, as I did something similar in 1992, played on with it and was eventually sidelined for three or four months."
For once England gained some honour in defeat. They lost by five wickets, but Andy Caddick and Steve Harmison bowled their socks off on the final morning and had Australia reeling before stumbling over the line shortly before lunch yesterday.
"Lose an early wicket in chasing a low total and you start to doubt yourself a little in the dressing room," said Australia's captain Steve Waugh. "Then lose a couple more and all of a sudden it's game on."
Matthew Hayden had fallen pulling, Ricky Ponting blazed and made 30 before he and Damien Martyn were caught behind in one over from Harmison, and when Waugh gloved Caddick to second slip and Justin Langer, after 92 minutes, was leg-before two overs later, Australia were 90 for five.
Only 17 were needed now but one more wicket would have exposed the bowlers, and who knows? It did not happen, though, and Adam Gilchrist bashed the winning runs over point.
Even five-day matches can turn on a single moment, and one came in Harmison's seventh over yesterday. Fending at a short ball, Waugh got an edge to James Foster, but there was no appeal until the keeper had seen a big-screen replay.
To give him out on that basis would have been unethical, Hussain admitted. "Jamie had seen a deflection and even from mid-off I saw one. I was spewing when we didn't appeal. But any noise was drowned by the spectators roaring Steve Harmison in."
The next ball Waugh drove furiously but low to Hussain, who took a superb catch. But the umpire had called no-ball although, again, no one had heard it, least of all the batsman, who had set off back to the pavilion.
"It was the turning point," Waugh said. "It was an excellent catch all right, and at that stage - 66 for four as it would have been - England would have been on a bit of a roll."
Guardian Service
FOURTH TEST
Australia v England
(Melbourne)
Australia first innings 551 for six declared (J Langer 250, M Hayden 102, S Waugh 77, M Love 62 not out) England first innings 270 (C White 85 not out; Gillespie 4-25) England (follow on) second innings 387 (M Vaughan 145, R Key 52; MacGill 5-152
Australia second innings
J Langer lbw b Caddick 24
M Hayden c sub (Tudor) b Caddick 1
R Ponting c Foster b Harmison 30
D Martyn c Foster b Harmison 0
S Waugh c Butcher b Caddick 14
M Love not out 6
A Gilchrist not out 10
Extras (b-8 lb-5 nb-9) 22
--
Total (for five wickets, 23.1 overs) ... 107
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-58, 3-58 4-83 5-90.
Bowling: Caddick 12-1-51-3 (2nb), Harmison 11.1-1-43-2 (7nb)
Result: Australia won by five wickets.
Man of the match: Justin Langer.
