England reclaim Ashes

It was a historic day in English cricket as a jubilant Michael Vaughan celebrated with his team-mates on an exhilarating victory in the Ashes 2005 Cup, being the first English captain to bring back the Ashes to England after 16 years. The Barmy Army along with the rest of the English crowd was overjoyed with what was quite possibly the most intense Ashes series ever. Despite Warne's commendable efforts, there was little he could do to halt a highly determind and disciplined English side. Australia's gradual decline was quite evident since the day were comprehensively defeated by minnows Bagladesh.


Vaughan is jubilant
as he lifts the Ashes

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo
England went in to the match knowing they only had to tie the match to reclaim the Ashes Cup while the Baggy Greens had to win the match only to share the cup with England. Having an upper hand in the series, the English side decided to continue playing with a positive mindset and aim for victory, rather than settle for a tie, the sign of an ambitious and highly perseverant side. Although they could only achieve a draw, it was quite evident from their game play and tactics that they were in no mood for showing complacency by drawing the match.


Warne had the English
batsmen in a spin

Image Courtesy: BBC
Although Warne had a fantastic series, claiming his 600th test dismissal and bagging 40 wickets in just this series, he was understandably unhappy with the result of the series. It was also good to see Matthew Hayden returning to his dangerous self, scoring a magnificent 138 in the first innings of the deciding test. At one point, McGrath looked absolutely lethal when he removed a well settled Vaughan and Ian Bell for a duck in consecutive deliveries. McGrath was precariously close to achieving his second Test hatrick when he pitched a bouncer to Kevin Pietersen, and got a deflection off his right shoulder in to the hands of Adam Gilchrist. Billy Bowden adjudged it not out, which turned out to be the right decision.


Pietersen single-handedly
saved England the Ashes

Image Courtesy: BBC
Kevin Pietersen having survived on the first ball from McGrath, was dropped at close slip by Matthew Hayden off Shane Warne's bowling in the next over. A few over later, he was dropped once again, this time at first slip off the bowling of Brett Lee, surprisingly by Shane Warne, who is known to have safe hands. Having being given two real chances, Pietersen capitalized the opportunity to score a magnificent 158 off 187 deliveries, smashing 15 fours and 7 sixes in his innings. Pietersen will have felt a little better being dropped twice, since he had dropped all 6 out of 6 catches in the series.


"Freddie" Flintoff was named
man of the match for his overall
exemplary performance

Image Courtesy: Manchester Online
Also noteworthy was Flintoff's stellar performance with the ball and the bat in the last Test. Flintoff scored a handful 72 in the first innings to help his side reach a defendable total, but it was his performance with the ball that left the Australians in shambles. The Australians were comfortably placed at 323 for the loss of three wickets in their first innings when Flintoff launched an excellent spell, grabbing a few wickets in quick succession that left the Australian batting exposed, only to be preyed upon by Hoggard.

Scorecard @ cricinfo

Victory in the Ashes series will give the English side a huge boost to their morale and will prepare them for their forthcoming tour of Pakistan. The Aussies on the other hand, will want to contemplate on what exactly went wrong and how to rectify their gradual decline in International cricket. Australia has some exiting prospects such as Jimmy Maher and Shawn Tait. It is time for the Australian side to revamp it's team before they face the same problem as the Pakistani side did in the 2003 World Cup or that India is facing at this time. Will this charged up English bowling attack survive the under the swinging blade of Afridi? Will their rock solid batting line-up be able to withstand the ferocious pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami? We will find out soon enough when England travel to Pakistan late in October this year.

India vs Zimbabwe Board XI

Dravid shines once again

Image Courtesy: SMH

India racked up a mammoth 572 in response to Zimbabwe Board XI's hard fought 294 with India's top three batsmen each scoring centuries. Opening batsmen Sehwag and Gambhir put up a an opening stand of 196 before India lost their first wicket. The ever-reliable Dravid scored 108 while captain Ganguly, Karthik and Kumble each contributed with scores of 46, 40 and 61 respectively. Earlier, Zimbabwe XI's Ebrahim struck a scintillating 169 to help his side achieve a somewhat respectable total. Despite India's valiant efforts, the match ended in a draw as Zimbabwe board XI reached 96 for 1 in their second innings. The Indian side received a much needed batting practice and the Indian cricket board will be hoping that this match provide a solid platform for the team in the forthcoming matches.

Scorecard @ cricinfo

Ashes2005: 5th Test @ The Oval

The Ashes Urn

Image Courtesy: http://www.vauxhallsociety.org.uk/

Cricket lovers from all around the world will be glued to their telvision sets, monitor screens, radios, and whatever device they can possibly get a hold of, to catch a glimpse of what is possibly one of cricket's most celebrated event: The Ashes. As the series comes to a climax, temperaments are high amongst fans on both sides that are participating in this fight for glory. England lead the series 2-1, which leaves the fate of the Ashes Urn in the hands of the deciding match that is currently underway at The Oval in England.

Strauss celebrates his
7th Test Century

Image Courtesy: BBC

Match Report:
At the end of the first day, England were comfortably poised at 319/7 with some much needed contributions coming from Andrew Strauss and the ever-dependable Welshman, Andrew Flintoff. Strauss and Trescothick initiated the English innings with some cracking strokes that left the Australian captain in a state of distress. Even with the return of legendary pace bowler Glenn McGrath, both openers had no trouble in dispatching him and his fellow opening bowler, Brett Lee to the boundary. The introduction of Shawn Tait in to the bowling attack did not bother either batsmen either. In fact, it only made things easier, as the English batsmen raced away to 82 without loss.

Flintoff scored a
valuable 72 off 115 balls

Image courtesy: http://www.newstodaynet.com/

As was bound to happen, the master of spin, Shane Warne was introduced. From that point on, things swayed drastically in favour of the Australians. Warne worked his magical spin and in quick succession got rid of Trescothick, Vaughan, Bell, and fellow Hampshire mate, Kevin Pietersen. With the loss of four vital wickets, the English batsmen were coercively placed on the backfoot. It was left to Strauss and Flintoff to sail the innings to a respectable total, and they did just that. Strauss scored a marvellous 129 off 210 deliveries while Flintoff contributed with a spirited 72 off 115 deliveries. Flintoff was unfortunate to not reach his century as he was caught by Warne off McGrath. Soon after, Tait was rewarded for his persistence when he struck Collingwood in front, who was only able to manage a meagre 7 runs in his 26 ball innings. Not very long after, Warne got rid of Strauss, who was becoming a thorn in the Aussies' way. When stumps were called, Geriant Jones was at the crease with Ashley Giles, both at scores of 21 and 5 respectively.

Warne spun a web and
trapped the English
batsmen inside.

Image Courtesy: BBC

Jones will have to play the leading role for the rest of England's innings to ensure a total of anywhere between 350 and 400. The English are backed by a fearsome bowling attack and score of 350+ will be a difficult ask for a fragile Australian batting lineup. It remains to be seen whether the English will retain the Ashes, or share it with the Baggy Greens. Stay tuned for more on the Ashes 2005!

Manufacturing of Cricket bats

An Ihsan 'Crown'
cricket bat on display

Image Source: www.middlepeg.com
Howdy folks! Cricket, traditionally a gentlemen's game is becoming popular around the globe, mainly due to some radical changes brought about in the nature of the game by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The following is a short video that I found to be extremely informative, that someone posted on some forum recently. It shows the entire process of manufacturing cricket bats in a factory. If you're a cricket buff, you will most definitely find this short clip very educational. Click here to watch this video.

Cricket 2005

Well well... the long awaited cricket 2005 has hit the shelves and is up for sale. Although, I would HIGHLY recommend against spending your money on such a futile venture. Not to discredit the hard work and money that EA has put in to it, but the difficulty level of the game is way beyond one's expectations. The game seems to have three levels of difficulty which I discovered only after I had considerably improved my the timing of my cover drives and straight drives. What makes this game so difficult is that there is no real tutorial included in the game that would help you understand the various kinds of strokes a batsman can play. Of course, it does come with a "nets practice" mode, but even there one must learn the nitty gritties of the game by oneself.

Overall, the graphics, the vareity of shots that are available at the batsman's disposal, the different field settings, the option to switch between auto and manual fielding, the availability of even the most unrecognized domestic teams and the option to create/modify players, the option to play first class, domestic, international, and even Twenty20; deserves full credit. Apart from that, the actual gameplay is fairly difficult to pick up, especially for a novice cricket gamer. I suggest downloading the demo and tryinig it out first before actually purchasing the game. The demo is available at:

3D Gamers

The offical website for Cricket 2005 is:

http://www.eaplay.com/australia/games/pc/cricket/cricket2005/

I've posted a a couple of screenshots from the game at the end of this message.

Enjoy!


An orthodox front foot cover drive


An elegant back foot cover drive

Cricket Meri Jaan - Multimedia

Cricket Meri Jaan: The Ultimate in Pakistani Cricket Videos!

Hey Folks, if you're a cricket fan, then you have to watch these immaculate videos, aptly titled: "Cricket Meri Jaan", or "Criket is My Life". They're clips of Pakistani cricket players in action mostly, with some excellent background music. Click on the image to be redirected to the official webpage of Cricket Meri Jaan, or simply follow the link below:

Cricket Meri Jaan

Sheikh Zayed Cup: 2nd ODI - Sports

Malik scored a stylish half century to help
his team reach a respectable total of 290 Image Courtesy: AFP Getty Images

Hey folks, for those of you who were unable to follow the 2nd ODI being played between India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, here's a brief review of what happened yesterday:

A powerful Pakistani side notched up an easy win against a handicapped Sri Lankan side in today’s 2nd ODI being held at the lovely Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Sri Lankan greats; Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Upal Chandana were unable to join the side due to prior commitment with their respective English county teams. Pakistan were playing with the same team that beat India in last month’s tour, with the only two changes being the addition of Moin Khan at the expense of Rana Naved and Arshad Khan in place of Mohammad Sami.

Earlier, Pakistan started off slowly with Afridi falling away on 17 leaving Pakistan at 29 for 1. From there on, Butt and Malik steadied the innings, playing some sensible strokes and most importantly making sure they didn’t lose their wickets too soon. However, as the momentum was slowly picking up, Butt played a delivery from Malinga into the safe hands of Dilshan and Pakistan were left at 87 for the loss of two. Youhana stroked a quick 28 off 27 before being caught by Vandort off Dilshan’s bowling. Younis Khan then stepped in and played an excellent knock, scoring 71 off only 69 balls, with just 3 fours and a six in his entire innings. Inzamam too, chipped in with 30 off 31 balls while the rest of the tail ended cheaply but not before they were able to register a daunting score of 290. Moin Khan was run out when he was on a score of nil while Akmal was bowled out for just one.

The Sri Lankan response was hardly one they would have desired, with captain Marvan Atapattu being deceived by a late reverse swing from Rao Ifthikar and edging it straight in to the hands of the keeper. They had hardly recovered from the initial blow, when Vandort was bowled out to a sensational delivery by Rao once again; the ball swung into the left hander who was completely dumbfounded as the ball sneaked through between his bat and his body. From that point on, wickets tumbled one after another, with the only resistance coming from Jayawardene who stayed at the crease and played some fantastic shots. He scored 69 off 77 balls while his assistant Ramyakumara played responsibly to reach his half century off 81 balls. Jayawardene had begun to show signs of weariness and frustrations as the boundaries had dried up due to some very tight bowling by Malik and Afridi. He finally came down the track and tried to smash one out of the ground at long on, but only managed to play a simple catch into the hands of Butt. The Sri Lankan tail was dismissed quickly and without much opposition.

Pakistan now face Indian tomorrow in the 3rd and final ODI match of the Sheikh Zayed Cup being played at the state of the art Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. India lost their first match to the Sri Lankan masters by 97 runs.

Evolution through self-belief

At the end of an extremely unsuccessful world cup and a humiliating exit by the Pakistani team, changes at a higher level and ultimately within the team were long due. A whole batch of senior players had been holding the team together for over a decade now, with some memorable victories, and some unpleasant ones. It seemed now, after such an embarrassing exodus from the World Cup that it was time to rejuvenate the team with some young blood. The senior members of the team had been playing on based on past performances and no one seemed to be clicking for the team anymore. The team was greeted with a flurry of accusations and pleas of a revolution within the PCB. With such a widespread appeal from the Pakistani public and extensive criticism from not just local cricket gurus, but even foreign think thanks, it was time to bring about a major change.

A new selection committee was appointed under Aamir Sohail, former Pakistani opening batsman to ensure that the team would recover quickly from their world cup defeat. Members of the selection committee included Saleem Yousuf, Shoaib Muhammad, Farukh Zaman and Shafiq Ahmed. Furthermore, Richard Pybus, then coach of the Pakistani team was sacked and replaced by Javed Miandad while Rashid Latif who had announced his retirement from Test cricket, was appointed to lead the newly reformed side. Eight of the senior members of the team were dropped out of the team, and it was up to the inexperienced boys to represent their country.

They didn’t start off too well, but gradually learnt the rewarding virtues of teamwork. Soon after, Pakistan hosted a series against a inexperienced, yet talented Bangladesh side and claimed a series whitewash of 3-0 in the Test matches, and 5-0 in the ODIs. This considerably boosted the morale of the youngster, but as always, there are always tradeoffs. The series ended with Latif being banned for 5 ODIs, while Javed Miandad was fired once again and replaced with Englishman Bob Woolmer, which came as a complete surprise to everyone, since he was expected to coach the side until April 2005. Inzamam was appointed as the captain of this volatile team, and was expected to bring out the best from this talented, young batch.

In 2004, the PCB hosted a home series against India and after a lot of debate and questions of security, the Indian side was to finally complete a tour of Pakistan after 15 years; history was in the making. The series was won by the Indians, but history had been written. The ice had been broken and the Indian side received enormous coverage by the media at home and abroad, and they returned home as celebrated heroes. Even though Pakistan had lost the test series by 2-1, and the ODI series by 3-2, the fact that they came so close to victory considerably bolstered their belief in themselves.

The following tour of Australia saw Pakistan losing out to a formidable Australian test side by 3-0. This time however, it was a totally different side that the Australians were facing. An energetic and spirited young team, who gave it everything and at times even troubled a very unrelenting and groomed Australian test side.

The next challenge that awaited Pakistan was a tour of India after many years. The Pakistani side was under immense pressure this time around since they had already suffered a series defeat at home the year before. A relatively and inexperienced side was selected for the tour and according the media reports, this was the weakest Pakistani side ever to play India. The strength-void that was created between the two teams was possibly also due to the fact that India is currently regarded to have the strongest batting lineup in test and one day cricket. The likes of Sehwag, who can be destructive to say the least, Tendulkar, who needs no introduction, Ganguly, with close to 10,000 runs in both, test and one days, and many more to face an under-strength Pakistani bowling. It was widely expected for India to comfortably seal the series in both the test matches as well as the ODIs.

India put up a magnificent performance in the first test match, only to be equaled by some brave batting by Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal to end the match with a draw. India, not satisfied by a less than mediocre performance, decided to give it their best. A great effort by most of their batsmen, and some excellent, restrictive bowling spells saw India take the game away from Pakistan comfortably. The third and final match was the deciding match for the rest of the series. Huge contributions from Inzamam and Younis Khan ensured that India would never really bother the Pakistanis too much.

Although the morale was sky high in the Pakistani dressing room, the Indians started the ODI series with two consecutive and comprehensive victories against a frail Pakistani bowling attack. Thereafter, the Pakistanis never showed complacency and never allowed India a moment to breath, and prevailed in four consecutive games as they wrapped up a series win by 4-2. The mood in the Pakistani dressing room was ecstatic to say the least. They had achieved what their predecessors could never imagine, a huge victory against a much stronger Indian side. They will now go to West Indies with a strong sense of self-confidence with an enormous victory behind them.

The morale of the story is, with hard work, commitment, proper channeling of talent, and faith in the ability to crush the opposition, no matter how big the challenge may be, can lead to fabulous victories such as the one we all have experienced over the last few days. After an unsatisfactory performance in the 2003 World Cup in England, the Pakistani team stands tall, heads up high within a matter of two years. Such is the power of unity and hard work, and of course, divine assistance by the omnipotent and All-powerful Allah.

A Perennial Propaganda

The series between Pakistan and India had long been awaited by fans of cricket on both sides of the border. It started off to a great start, with the Indians putting in some truly commendable cricket. The first test ended in a tie, as the Pakistani team somehow managed to draw a game that was expected to be won by the Indians. They gained a comprehensive victory over Pakistan in the second test however, and it was expected by most that India would take the test series away from Pakistan. However, the Pakistani youngsters showed their opponents what they are made of, and in the face of enormous pressure, outplayed India at their own game. Inzamam and Younis Khan along with the support of a few others, managed some big scores and drew the series by 1-1.

Once the one day series commenced, the Indians notched up two extremely convincing victories. Until that point, many Indians believed that the series would favor the Indians and that the Pakistanis would hardly manage one victory in the ODI series. After the third and fourth matches were won by Pakistan, the Indians did what they are best at; they raised the 'Match fixing' card to discredit the amazing Pakistani performances. They began predicting that Pakistan would win the 5th ODI match too, following an Indian victory to level the series and please the Indian fans since the last victory would belong to the Indians. In addition, to prove their position, they pointed out the fact that there would be 6 encounters, which is quite an odd number of matches to be played, since there is a great chance for a series draw. The fact that the two teams would play 6 ODI matches never bothered anyone until Pakistan won the 3rd and the 4th ODIs in succession.

Once Pakistan snatched the 5th ODI away from India, supporters of the Indian team (and some pessimistic Pakistani fans, unfortunately) were absolutely positive that India would win the last match to draw the series, which would be a good addition to a series of tit-for-tat moves in the field of politics to buttress the peace relations between the two nations. To their horror, the Pakistani side disproved all the negativity that was being pelted at them, defying all predictions against them, and took the series away from the home side in what turned out to be a fantastic display of all round team effort.

With Pakistan winning the series, the Indian fans have found a new version of the 'match fixing' propaganda. It is now believed that India hosted the series right about the time when Indo-Pak relations are at a crucial stage, when President Musharraf would be invited to India and be greeted by an Indian loss (Not a Pakistani victory) in the game of cricket. This is how enthusiastic the Indians are towards peace. This is a sign of friendship, they say. To them I say, what was that the Indian fans did at Jamshedpur and again at Delhi? Is this the type of friendship in which you are interested? I would respect a defeated opponent who would accept his/her defeat with grace, than an opponent who would blame his/her loss on external factors.

A Silent Giant Awakens

Mahendra Dhoni raises his bat
after scoring his maiden century

He is known to some as "Dashing Dhoni", because of his charming looks. Looks however, do not play a major role on the ground, and Dhoni clearly understands that. He showed the world just why he was brought in to the side and even after scoring a mediocre 26 runs in 5 innings, he was retained in the side, and for good reason. On the 5th of March, 2005, he played an innings that will be remembered by cricket lovers across the globe. He hammered 148 runs off just 123 balls, smashing 15 fours and 4 massive sixes in his maiden century.

In response, the already under strength Pakistani bowling had absolutely no answer to Dhoni's excellent knock. He was finally sent back to the pavillion by Mohammad Hafeez, but not before he had made his mark in international cricket. This youngster has a long way to go, but he has given his side just what they needed, a wicket keeper capable of batting as magnificiently as he did in the 2nd ODI at Visakhapatnam.

Image Courtesy of BBC News.

Pakistan claims nail-biting win!

In a dramatic series of events, the Indian team was stunned by an amazing display of cricket by a very disciplined and determined Pakistani side. Even though Pakisan was only able to level the series, the manner in which why conducted their business was simply fabulous. Thanks to Inzimam and Younis Khan's century and double century respectively, Pakistan was able to amass 570 in the first innings. In response, Virender Sehwag boosted his side by scoring a double century in response, and saw his side's innings end at 449.


Ganguly was a troubled man on the last two days

In their second innings, the moment the two youngsters Yasir Hameed and Shahid Afridi stepped in, their intention was clear. Shahid Afridi went in to give Pakistan a flying start, and Yasir Hammed made sure he wasn't too far behind Afridi's mega onslaught. The two gave Pakistan a double adrenaline pump as the Indian bowlers had no answer to a fantastic display of strokes by both these youngsters. Afridi then threw away his wicket away when he charged down the pitch to smack yet another one out of the ground, but failed to make contact and ended up in the pavillion. However, Yasir Hammed continued to play sensibly and scored 76 with some flamboyant strokes. Younis and Inzamam both added 84 and 31 to the score before declaring the innings. India quickly raced to 25 without any loss by the end of the day in 7 overs.

India required a massive 383 runs to win the game and the series, or to play through the last day and tie the game, which would still result in an Indian victory in the series. However, the Pakistani team quiclky got rid of Sehwag, the danger man and from that point on, India looked to be on the defensive, and could never really recover from that point on. The test series has been drawn and Pakistan will now play 6 one day international matches against India, beginning 2nd of April at Cochin.

Inzi and Younis make history

Inzi raises his bat after reaching

his 21st Test century in Bangalore

On the first day of the third test match being played in India's silicon valley, Bangalore, between arch rivals Pakistan and India, Pakistan found itself in trouble right from the beginning. Pakistan were down by 2 when they had only registered a meagre score of 7 runs on the board. Soon after, captain Inzimam and vice captain Younis Khan stepped in, took control, and showed the rest of the team how the game is played. Inzimam scored a staggering 184 off 263 balls, while Younis was quietly ticking the scoreboard at 127, at the end of the first day. The two batsmen notched up 316 runs between them, while Inzimam was only the fifth player in cricket's history to have scored a century in his 100th match. He was also responsible for scoring the highest ever individual score on this ground, taking over the previous record of 175 set by none other than Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batsman the world has ever seen. Way to go, Inzi and Younis! Congratulations!

Ashes 2005 Report

Well well, it's that time of the year and Australia have taken the long trip all the way to England to compete in one of cricket's most celebrated, yet most intense rivalries of all times. England have put together a formidable team to face the mighty Australians, unlike the past. Before we get to the actual series, let us discuss a little bit about the Natwest series which preceded the commencement of the much awaited Ashes.

The Natwest series pitched three international teams against each other, namely: England, Australia and Bangladesh. Most people were dumbfounded as to why Bangladesh had been selected to play against two of the world's strongest sides however, their skepticism was soon proven wrong when minnows, Bangladesh comprehensively chased a respectable total of 249 by 5 wickets. Mohammad Ashraful, the stylish and extremely talented Bangladeshi youngester smashed 100 off 118 deliveries, sending a shock wave within the Australian dressing room. This was a deafening blow to the Australians adding to their woes from their defeat at the hands of the English county team, Somerset and their prior defeat to England in a Twenty20 match.

Soon after, Australia were once again beaten by a young and powered up English side. This defeat finally woke up the Australians who then went on to win every match thereafter, apart from the final which ended up in a tie against England. The two teams shared the trophy and even though it seemed like the Australians had returned to their habitual ways of expecting nothing less than a victory, the English had put up a strong show; this finally made the Australians realize that the English were in no mood for complacency.

The series may have ended in a tie, but England emerged as the moral victors, having chased a target of 196 and scoring two runs off the last over to secure a draw; just when everyone thought Australia had all but sealed the series at the home of cricket, the Lord's cricket stadium. The Natwest series came to an end and both Australia and England had a considerable amount of time to prepare for the upcoming Ashes 2005.

Test cricket is an entirely different ball game, in comparison to One Day cricket. Test cricket is the most holistic form of game amongst all versions of the sport. It draws out every aspect and talent of a true cricketer while testing their endurance over a period of five whole days. Of course, the game does not necessarily stretch that long at times, as was witnessed in the 1st test of the Ashes 2005 cup. The match ended on the fourth day when England were set a mammoth target of 420 by the ever-resilient Australians, which was always a tad bit too difficult to achieve against the powerful Australian bowling line-up.

Ricky Ponting was fortunate enough to win the toss and consequently elect to bat on a pitch that seemed to degrade later on during the course of the match. The Australians started off steadily with Justin Langer scoring the team's highest score at 40. Matthew Hayden scored a disappointing 12 off 38 balls when he was emphatically bowled by a marvelous outswinger by Hoggard. Ricky Ponting and the rest of his batsmen failed to contribute with the willow, ending their first innings at a measly 190, giving England the perfect opportunity to build a huge total which would be unachievable in days to follow.


Vaughan - Failed to to make
an impression with his
batting or his captaincy

Image courtesy: Telegraph.co.uk
England got off to a dreadful start when they lost Trescothick to a magnificent delivery from Glenn McGrath which turned away from the batsman at the last moment to produce an outside edge in to the safe hands of Shane Warne. This wicket also marked McGrath's staggering 500th test wicket, only the fourth man to accomplish such a monumental feat after team mate Shane Warne, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and former West Indies captain and pace bowler, Courtney Walsh. From that point on the England batting line-up was completely dominated by some ferocious pace bowling from McGrath and Lee, and as always, Warne working up his magic to reduce the English side to a humble 155.


McGrath - Getting better
with age

Image courtesy: BBC
Australia had to capitalize on the second chance that came their way and recuperate from their first innings downfall by amassing a respectable total. The Australians bounced back by scoring 384 before being bowled out by a fired up English bowling attack. There were all round contributions from the Australian batting order with Ponting, Hayden, Clarke and Katich scoring 42, 65, 91 and 67 respectively. The English were set a massive total of 420 with two entire days remaining; the perfect opportunity to turn the game around. As always however, the Australians did not go in to the field to beat the English by time or watch the match culminate in a tie. England started off very wellTrescothick and Strauss playing some flamboyant strokes around the ground, placing themselves in a comfortable position, in terms of morale and scoring rate. The two batsmen were well on course and they didn't seem to falter the least bit initially, but Lee and Warne had other ideas. Lee removed Strauss seizing a brilliant caught and bowled opportunity while Warne got rid of Trescothick who was beginning to look dangerous.


Warne troubled the English
batsmen with his magical spin

Image Courtesy: BBC
Warne and Lee sent the two incoming batsmen back in to the pavilion soon afterwards with Vaughan being left dumbfounded by a lightening fast delivery from Lee. The only resistance from the miserable English batting side in either innings came from Test debutant, Kevin Pietersen. The selection committee's gamble of selecting between Thorpe, a veteran of 100 Tests and Pietersen paid off. Pietersen scored a patient 57 off 148 balls in the first innings and 64 not out in the second innings, a valiant effort from a youngster who was new to the Test arena and when the rest of the team was in simple words, crumbling down at the other end.


Pietersen - A brave Knight amongst
the trembled peasants

Image Courtesty: Sportinglife.com
The English side ended their innings at a pathetic 180, suffering a heavy defeat by 239 runs at not only their home ground, but the home of cricket. All is not lost as England will play four more Tests against an extremely determined Australian side in the forthcoming days. The next Test beings Edgbaston on the 4th of August. For a listing of the Ashes schedule, please follow the link below:

'Australia in England' Schedule and results