21 - 25 Second Test, Adelaide
I’d like to post some related articles Test match b/w Aussies and Ashes.
England: Nasser Hussain (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, John Crawley, Alec Stewart (wkt), Craig White, Simon Jones, Ashley Giles, Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard.
Australia: Steve Waugh (capt), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne, Andrew Bichel, Glenn McGrath.
Glenn McGrath reckons the Australians should keep the original Ashes urn if they win the current series.
[thumb=A]_38474701_mcgrath300.JPG[/thumb]
McGrath has proved too hot for England
Australia are already 1-0 up and bookmakers reckon the most likely result would be a 5-0 whitewash.
McGrath, who took eight wickets in the first Test, said: **“The fact the little urn can’t leave England is, I think, a little bit rough.” **
Writing in his column for the Sydney-based Sunday Telegraph newspaper, he went on: **“This is my fifth Ashes series and I’ve only seen it when I’ve been around Lord’s”
"We get a replica when we win but that doesn’t happen in too many sports.
"They don’t hand out a replica to the winners of the America’s Cup. They get the real thing.
“We’d love for our fans to be able to drop into the museum at the SCG, MCG or wherever and see the spoils of our victories over England.” **
The contest, which happens twice every four years, has now been won by Australia for seven series in succession.
When Australia last won it, in England in 2001, England captain Nasser Hussain was among those who felt the victors should keep the urn.
He said at the time: **“My own personal opinion is that they’ve played such fine cricket over the last 20 years, yes, they should take it home.” **
The original urn contains the burnt bail from the first Test England ever played in Australia, which they lost.
McGrath said: “It must be fragile. But surely we can keep it in a safe place for our fans to see.”
[thumb=A]_38475557_gillespie300.JPG[/thumb]
Gillespie was not injury-free in Brisbane
Fast bowler Jason Gillespie must again prove his fitness to the Australian selectors before he can be certain of starting in the second Ashes Test on Thursday.
Gillespie is still troubled by the calf muscle problems which have dogged him for the past month.
But he is more likely than not to take his place in the side to face England on his home groound, the Adelaide Oval.
Gillespie took three wickets in the crushing 384-run first Test victory in Brisbane last weekend.
But he was pulled out of a subsequent domestic fixture.
Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said he was recovering well.
“He’s continuing to improve,” he said. **"He’s demonstrated that he can bowl all right but it’s just that he felt a little tight.
"He wasn’t feeling any pain or anything untoward.
“I’ll have a look at him tomorrow and we might not look at him bowl until Tuesday.” **
If Gillespie is declared fit, Bichel and Lee will again fight for the final fast-bowling spot after both bowlers starred in this weekend’s round of Sheffield Shield matches.
Bichel remains favourite to retain his spot after taking nine wickets in Queensland’s victory over Tasmania at the Gabba.
The 32-year-old Queenslander was competent in last week’s first Test.
He took 2-74 in the first innings and he was not called on in the second innings as England capitulated for 79 in 28.2 overs.
Lee, who was dropped from Test cricket for the first time this month, has burst back into contention with a haul of 21 wickets in two matches for NSW.
Lee could hardly have done more and the 26-year-old is in line for a recall especially if Bichel fails to impress in Adelaide.
The third Test is at the bouncy WACA in Perth, which is ideally suited to Lee’s bowling
[thumb=A]_38478815_lee300.JPG[/thumb]
Lee took 11 wickets against South Australia last week
Fast bowler Brett Lee is keeping his fingers crossed about a recall to the Australian team for the second Ashes Test.
Lee was dropped for the opening game of the series in Brisbane, but has bounced back with 21 wickets in domestic cricket for New South Wales.
He believes, however, that he may have to wait for his chance with the selectors likely to opt for continuity following Australia’s 384-run win in the first Test.
**"It’s going to be very hard to change a side that’s done so well in that last Test.
“But if I’m lucky enough to get that opportunity I know I’ll be ready for it and my confidence is sky high,”** Lee commented.
The 26-year-old made a sensational entry into international cricket, taking 42 wickets in his first seven Tests.
But his form tailed off following surgery on his elbow and he managed only nine wickets in the 2001 Ashes series in England, at a cost of 55 runs each.
Lee insists, however, that he is now regained the speed he achieved prior to his operation.
**“I’m starting to hit my straps again. It’s been over 12 months since I had my major operation and it just feels that I’m at the stage where I was two years ago with my pace.” **
Lee’s fastest delivery was clocked at 97.8 mph (157.4kph) during the Test series in South Africa earlier this year.
Jason Gillespie will bowl in the nets on Tuesday in an attempt to prove his full recovery from a calf injury
If, as expected, the pace bowler makes the final XI, Andy Bichel and Lee will fight for the final spot.
Bichel won the position ahead of Lee in the first Test but took just two wickets in the first innings and did not bowl in the second.
Popular opinion has England losing the second Test in Adelaide and losing it badly.
[thumb=A]_38490689_fletcher300.JPG[/thumb]
England hope Crawley (right) proves his fitness
A combination of injuries and seemingly bottomless Australian superiority has seen bookmakers install England hopeless 12/1 outsiders.
In Australia, the media have taken to words like ‘farcical’ and ‘rout’ as they roundly predict a home win en route to a series whitewash.
And crowds are expected to pack the Adelaide Oval to unprecedented levels, such is the Aussie sporting public’s thirst for the blood of an Englishman.
[thumb=A]_38490695_hussain150.JPG[/thumb]
Hussain will be desperate to win the toss
The scene is certainly set for Australia to drive another nail into a stiffening England’s coffin.
But if England are to stage a comeback and reignite the Ashes, Adelaide is the place for them to do it.
Though Australia have not lost in the city of churches in their last seven matches (winning six), the last visiting side to lower their colours there was England in 1994.
What is more, clashes between the two sides in recent years should give Nasser Hussain’s men even more cause for encouragement.
In the four contests since the hosts’ eight-wicket win in 1982, both teams boast a win with two draws the other outcomes.
At this juncture of the series, another stalemate would not be so bad for England. Certainly, it would suit them much better than Australia.
Although Adelaide Oval’s curators have endeavoured to produce more ‘result’ pitches in recent years, it is still a batsmen’s paradise and the track most likely to preclude a home victory.
[thumb=A]_38490691_hayden150.JPG[/thumb]
Adelaide usually produces a belter of a pitch
With that in mind, England’s fortunes could depend on a slice of luck at the toss and a piece of good fortune relating to John Crawley’s fitness.
Hussain will be praying to exorcise the demons of Brisbane by winning the toss and batting, a must-do in Adelaide.
The rest of the team will be hoping in-form Crawley passes a fitness test on Thursday morning, paving the way for him to galvanise the middle order.
And if Australia yield to the temptation to go for the jugular with four fast bowlers, their own undoubtedly shaky middle could become England’s for the taking.
If all this positivity is too fanciful for England fans to take, a look back to 1954/55 should send them reaching for the smelling salts.
After losing the first Test in Brisbane by an innings, Len Hutton’s travellers turned things around in no uncertain terms to win the Ashes 3-1.
Victory seems pretty obvious for Aussies.
Confident Aussies Take on ‘Nervous’ England In Adelaide Tomorrow
ADELAIDE: England will seek to avoid going two-nil behind in the Ashes and to dispel notions of defeatism when they face Australia in the second Test here on Thursday.
Nasser Hussain’s team crashed to an embarrassing 384-run defeat in the opening Gabba Test – and in their capitulation indicated that an inferiority complex still exists against Australia.
Hussain admitted after the Brisbane fiasco, when England were bowled out for 79 in their second innings, that there were “11 very nervous cricketers” going into the opening Test. Their form only underlined that. Mathematically, England could still retrieve the Ashes after seven consecutive series losses if they lose the Adelaide Test with three matches to play.
In reality, it would be all but a lost cause. Team elder Alec Stewart was tagged here as the ‘grim keeper’ when he said that Steve Waugh’s Australians were playing better than during his previous six losing Ashes campaigns.
“The last series (4-1 in 2001) was the most one-sided series I’ve played in and they seemed to have upped their performances since then,” 39-year-old Stewart said this week. But Stewart was only stating the obvious. Australia have won 11 of the last 15 Ashes Tests and England have only triumphed in one of the opening three Tests when a series was alive.
Stewart said he had played in just one “meaningful” Ashes victory - England’s nine-wicket victory at Edgbaston in the 1997 series opener. Otherwise, England’s wins have come when the Ashes were gone. The pressure on Hussain’s men to compete this week is intense with the team ridiculed both here and in the English press.
And things worsened for the tourists late Tuesday when spinner Ashley Giles was ruled out for six weeks with a broken wrist after being struck on the wrist by paceman Steve Harmison while batting in the nets. Giles is expected to be replaced in the bowling attack by Yorkshire spinner Richard Dawson.
Hussain said he got it wrong when he won the toss and sent Australia into bat in Brisbane only for Australia to get away to a 492 first innings and take control. Shane Warne, the legspin antagonist of English batting since his memorable Ashes debut in 1993, says England have to be positive in their current predicament.
“There’s no use playing eight or nine batters, they’ve got to take 20 wickets to win the Test match,” the 481-Test wicket-taker said. “I would say the best thing for them to do, with the way the quicks bowled in Brisbane and the few injuries they’ve got, would be to win the toss, bat and play two spinners … that would be an aggressive, positive move from England.”
Kent youngster Robert Key threw his hat into the ring for an Ashes debut with an unbeaten 174 to save England from another dire defeat against Australia A in Hobart last weekend. But whether England’s team management are prepared to add Key to the starting eleven at the expense of bowling allrounder Craig White is an intriguing selection issue.
The tourists have to find a replacement for sidelined paceman Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard – who went wicketless for 164 runs in Brisbane – may be saved given the paucity of bowling talent witnessed against Australia A.
Selectors have the choice of whether to play Steve Harmison or Alex Tudor to share the pace workload. Andy Flintoff looked out of it against Australia A and may need more time to recover from his hernia operation. Australia have no such vexed selection problems with Jason Gillespie given until Tuesday to prove he has overcome a troublesome calf muscle injury.
If Gillespie satisifies selectors that he is ready for the rigours of a five-day Test then it will be down to Andy Bichel and Brett Lee for the third fast bowling slot, with Lee coming into reckoning again with 21 wickets in his two last matches for NSW.
England’s attack will have to find a way of removing the prolific-scoring opener Matthew Hayden, who scored 197 and 103 in the Brisbane Test. But England’s other obstacle is how they handle Australia’s two champion bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Warne. McGrath took eight wickets at the Gabba and has 411 wickets in Tests.
Arrogant Aussies are in need of a good beating from someone. Too bad England is unlikely to do it. But they are looking good at 94-1 at lunch on Day 1.
It's about time for England to take back what belonged to them, the Ashes!
England needs a match winner with the bat and ball like Botham, to help them out again.
England: 154-2
Vaughan survived an apparent catch
Congrats to Vaughan. This guy has been having a amazing year.
Yeah, well that's why they say poor fielding costs you matches.
well played England!!
England: 295/4
Well done England.
Only if they can post 400 runs, they will be assured of not losing the match.
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/021122/80/df8jk.html
**Australia take control after England collapse **
By Julian Linden
ADELAIDE, Australia (Reuters) - Australia have seized control of the second Ashes test after England’s batting crumbled for the second time in the series and their fielders once again failed to take their chances.
England began Friday in a strong position at 295-4 after their humiliating first-test defeat but ended it in trouble with Australia just 95 runs behind with eight first-innings wickets in hand.
When stumps were drawn, Australia were cruising at 247 for two with Ricky Ponting not out 83, Damien Martyn unbeaten on 48 and another big total on the horizon.
England had collapsed to 342 all out before lunch with fast bowler Jason Gillespie and leg spinner Shane Warne capturing four wickets each.
Michael Vaughan’s heroic 177 from the first day counted for little as the last seven wickets fell for just 47 runs, mirroring the team’s collapse in the Brisbane test.
Typically, the Australians were quick to make them pay for their missed opportunity.
FLYING START
Openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer gave Australia a flying start with a century partnership in 18.1 overs before Ponting and Martyn took over.
England again let themselves down with their poor fielding, dropping Hayden and Martyn twice each.
Hayden was dropped twice in the space of five balls, first by Mark Butcher then by Andy Caddick, while England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart missed two relatively simple chances off Martyn, the first when he was on 18 off spinner Richard Dawson, the second on 37 off paceman Steve Harmison.
Hayden, man of the match in the first test after making twin centuries, helped give Australia the start they needed only to throw his wicket away on 46 when he skyed a ball from all-rounder Craig White and Caddick safely held the catch in the outfield.
Langer followed soon after for 48 and the total on 106 when he was adjudged to be out caught by Stewart off Dawson although television replays suggested he was unlucky.
Any hope England might have had of bowling the Australians out cheaply on an Adelaide Oval pitch still perfectly suited to batting, ended quickly as Ponting and Martyn continued the run-spree with an unbroken stand of 133.
Ponting reached his half-century off 94 balls when he drove Dawson through the covers for four and finished the day 17 runs shy of a fifth hundred from his last seven tests.
Martyn was less convincing and lucky to survive after Stewart’s missed chances but still managed to hit four boundaries and reach the close two runs from a second successive half-century.
Australia had dropped five catches to allow the English to steal the honours on the opening day but they were quick to regain the initiative on Friday morning with Gillespie and Warne mopping up the middle and lower order in less than two hours.
FAMILIAR COLLAPSE
Gillespie triggered the all-too-familiar collapse when he removed Butcher in the third over of the day. The Surrey left-hander, who failed to add to his overnight 22, edged a catch to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and the rest just followed.
Gillespie, who took 4-10 on the second day, captured his second wicket when White hooked a catch to Andy Bichel at fine leg for one as England’s batsmen began to show signs of panic.
Dawson was trapped lbw by Warne for six, then Caddick departed for a duck when Warne bowled him round his legs, allowing the 33-year-old Australian to overtake India’s Harbhajan Singh as the world’s leading wicket taker for 2002.
Former England captain Stewart made a patient 29 in 109 minutes before his resistance came to an end when Gillespie had him lbw.
Four balls later, Gillespie had Matthew Hoggard caught behind for six to finish the England innings on a depressing note.
England, who have been plagued by injuries on this tour, suffered a scare before the start of play when Vaughan was taken to hospital for precautionary x-rays on his injured right shoulder.
He was eventually cleared of any serious problems but did not field at all during the day. He will probably need to play another big role in the second innings.
England rolling over once again. I thought Pakistan's opening bowlers wasted the new ball too many times but Caddick and Hoggard are taking this too new depths.
Aussies Back In Business.
England 342 all out
Australia 247/2
well australia will lose as vaghan mite not ba in the secod inning due to blow from gillespie, aur waise bhi if Enland can score how cant Aussie batting line cant post a mamoth score with englands worthless bowling, Enland shayd ye wala test bhi haar jaegi as Aussies were scorin at fast rate to get the win!!!!
[thumb=A]_38498183_in_vaughan150.JPG[/thumb]
The moment Vaughan was struck by Gillespie
England’s catastrophic injury toll took a further hit when it was revealed Michael Vaughan may not bat in the second innings in Adelaide.
The Yorkshireman suffered a painful blow on his right shoulder from a Jason Gillespie bouncer during his brilliant 177 on Friday.
He was given the all-clear after an X-ray at a local hospital today but was still in too much pain to take his place in the field.
England coach Duncan Fletcher revealed: **"There could be a slight problem with him batting.
“At this stage he is struggling just to turn his arm over and is pretty sore still. He couldn’t throw a cricket ball at this stage.” **
England are hopeful Vaughan may improve with an extra night’s rest.
But they are already making provisions for being without John Crawley in next week’s third Test in Perth.
Crawley is struggling to overcome a thigh injury and was replaced in the side for the second Test by Robert Key.
But with his fitness still a doubt for the WACA Test, which starts on 29 November, England could desperately require yet another replacement.
Fletcher added: **"Crawley is struggling with his slight muscle tear and he is not making much progress.
“We will be keeping an eye on him over the next few days.” **
England’s back-room staff, meanwhile, hold out hope that Ashley Giles may recover in time for the fourth Test at Melbourne on Boxing Day.
But as his damaged left wrist provides the fulcrum for his spinning hand it is probably an optimistic outlook at best.
Referring to the timescale he is working to if he is to return to Australia and get in enough practice to be ready for the MCG, Giles admitted: **"It will probably be longer than three weeks.
“I will be working hard as soon as I get back. I have got to do what I can but it is a broken bone and there is only so much that can be done to heal a bone and it will take time.” **
Giles said he had no regrets over the net session which halted his Ashes campaign, when a short delivery from Steve Harmison did the damage.
“We have to practice hard. We have to try to replicate what will happen in a game situation,” he said.
Aussies Make Hay As England Collapse Again
ADELAIDE: Ricky Ponting led Australia’s charge towards a big total in the second Ashes Test here Friday as England surrendered their opening day initiative with another spectacular batting collapse.
Coming into the second day at 295 for four, the tourists, needing to avoid defeat here after losing heavily in Brisbane, undid all their good work of Thursday to unravel and be all out for 342, their last six wickets tumbling for 47 in 26.2 overs.
Australia made it look easy in reply as their top order hummed along at four runs an over to chip away at England’s first innings total with every batsman getting a start and silencing the boisterous Barmy Army England following. At the close, Australia were 247 for two – 95 runs behind England’s total – with Ponting unbeaten on 83 and Damien Martyn, dropped twice by Alec Stewart, not out 48.
Front-line bowler Andy Caddick, needing to lift and lead an inexperienced attack, was toothless with his 10 overs conceding 61 runs. Ponting raised his 17th Test half-century following up his sweetly-struck 123 in Brisbane with another exhibition of crisp strokeplay. His partnership with Martyn steadily put Australia in command, their 133-run stand came up in 159 minutes.
England had few successes along the way. They removed in-form opener Matthew Hayden for a relatively cheap 46 and his partner Justin Langer for 48. Yet up to then the two left-handers had bounded along to their seventh century partnership in 15 months.
Their stand of 101 came up off just 72 balls in 99 minutes. Hayden was man-of-the-match in Australia’s comprehensive 384-run victory in Brisbane scoring 197 and 103, so getting him out for 46 on Friday was something of an achievement for the English.
Hayden threw his wicket away going after Craig White only to spiral a catch to Caddick at deep mid-off. Langer fell 16 minutes later when he went to cut and appeared to bottom edge to 'keeper Alec Stewart giving off-spinner Richard Dawson his first wicket of the series.
Hayden was dropped twice in his typically-belligerent stay at the crease, offering Mark Butcher a difficult high chance at cover point when on 22 off Steve Harmison and two runs later he was dropped by Caddick on his follow-through one-handed.
Stewart badly missed two chances to dismiss Martyn. The right-hander was on 18 when the 39-year-old Stewart spilled a regulation catch off Dawson and he had another life on 39 when the keeper was slow to snap up a chance to his right.
England’s miserable day began when they failed to capitalise on opener Michael Vaughan’s blazing knock of 177 on Thursday. Legspin tormentor Shane Warne and home-town hero Jason Gillespie took four wickets each to have England all out just before lunch.
Gillespie triggered the collapse with an inspired spell of 4-10 off 6.5 overs, while legspinner Warne claimed 2-10 off seven overs in the morning session. Gillespie finished the innings with 4-78 and Warne took 4-93.
Warne, who now has 485 career Test wickets, leapfrogged Indian Harbhajan Singh as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket this year. The 33-year-old champion legspinner has with 61 wickets in nine matches this year, ahead of fellow spinners, Singh (58 in 11) and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan (55 in eight).
Gillespie, bowling beautifully off the seam, unhinged England when he dislodged Butcher and White in the first half-hour. Gillespie, who had two catches put down off his bowling on the opening day, got Butcher to edge to Adam Gilchrist for 22 and then enticed White to hook to Andy Bichel positioned at long leg for one and leave the tourists at 308 for six.
Warne chipped in mesmerising Dawson (6) and Caddick (0) before Gillespie polished things off with the wickets of Alec Stewart (29) and Matthew Hoggard (6).
Stewart, who had a pair of ducks in the first Brisbane Test, was England’s big hope to shepherd the tailend but when his 109-minute knock ended, lbw to Gillespie, it was all over for England. Vaughan’s wicket just three balls before stumps on Thursday proved crucial as Australia seized the advantage of bowling at the lower order at the outset of Friday.