Two and a half hours of spills, thrills and bellyaches put Australia out of sight and the home side may already be thinking about how to survive and force a decider at the OvalFor a while in mid-afternoon as the score ticked along, the white shapes moved listlessly about the Old Trafford turf and the men in green helmets punched gloves at some fresh milestone, something odd seemed to happen.Squint a little and the picture began to dissolve. Baggy-jeaned ghosts shuffled at the edge of the stands. Jangly guitar music seemed to float across the Manchester skyline. And for two and a half hours between lunch and tea on the second day of this fourth Test England went back to...
Australian opener was dismissed for the fifth time in the series by the England paceman who very much seems to have the left-hander’s numberSome Test series are defined by a single match-up. With the 2005 Ashes being used to fill every gap in the broadcast schedule during this year’s edition, there have been plenty of chances to see the full suite of performances but the duel that decided the result surely has to be Andrew Flintoff taking down Adam Gilchrist.However powerful Australia’s batting from the late 1990s through the first decade of the 2000s, there were plenty of times when the team was saved by Gilchrist. Until his arrival Australian wicketkeepers had averages in the 20s and chipped in with...
Hopes of more Ashes fireworks between England’s paceman and Australia’s master batsman were smothered on the first dayAt 11 minutes past four, as the first sozzled mid-afternoon cheer began to break around a wind-picked Old Trafford, Jofra Archer bowled a sharp, straight bouncer. Steve Smith ducked, splayed his feet and watched the ball arc past his nose. So far, so predictable.Except, not quite. A post-work TV viewer coming to the moment blind and expecting fire, battle joined and tumbling wickets might have wondered why Archer was bowling in a short-sleeved jumper. On the TV monitors the speed gun flashed up: 82mph. Related: Steve Smith and the rain frustrate England on first day at Old Trafford Continue reading...
Both sides have made surprising changes for the fourth Ashes Test, as the tourists try to ignore recent and ancient history and the hosts try to build with an unexpected recallThe challenge for England is to win conventionally, without the necessity of a superhuman performance from one of their players to get them over the line. That tends to happen just once or twice in a generation. They desperately need runs from fresh sources. The challenge for Australia is to forget.They must forget how they bowled England out for 67 in the first innings at Headingley, how they needed just one more wicket with a lead of 72 runs to retain the Ashes and how despite much sweat and toil...
Rather than being booed, Australia’s leading batsman should be saluted as a brave and decent cricketer for his stirring batting performances against EnglandFor tonight we’ll merry merry be,For tonight we’ll merry merry be, Related: Returning Steve Smith plays down impact of Jofra Archer bouncer Related: There have been 2,358 Tests since 1877 and this was the greatest of them all | Matthew Engel Continue reading...