The Ashes 2009

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Weather adds to Australia's problems

England 1-0 up, Australia facing a selection conundrum, key injuries to both sides. By rights, this should be an epic, filled with the kind of outrageous twists and sub-plots we have come to expect from Ashes series, but predictions of inclement weather and a benign pitch have installed the draw as the most likely result. An anti-climactic sequel to England's historic victory at Lord's is in the offing.

Australia will be desperate to avoid a repeat of 2005, in which they entered the home stretch in arrears of England, but short of a Herculean bowling performance a result will be difficult to enforce if, as is expected, substantial periods of the match are lost to rain. To be any chance, Australia will presumably need Mitchell Johnson to rediscover the radar conspicuously absent on this tour to date.

England, meanwhile, will be praying Andrew Flintoff's pin cushion of a right knee is able to withstand the rigours of bowling on a heavy Edgbaston playing surface. Flintoff has been applying an ice machine to his knee each night to help alleviate the after-effects of his mighty bowling performance at Lord's, and is confident of playing a full part in the match. The all-rounder has fond memories of Edgbaston, having led England to a gripping two-run victory over the Australians four years ago with a virtuoso performance that included thunderous innings of 68 and 73, and seven wickets.

 

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3rd Ashes match starts tomorrow at 3.30 pm Sri Lankan time.

 

[chandikagunawardhana]

3rd test starts now........

 

[chandikagunawardhana]

Ponting won the toss and Australia bat first.
Watson in and will open the batting in place of Hughes.

 

[tsrockz]

England has a good chance to win ashes this year

 

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Australia 33/0 after 10 overs

 

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Australia 62/0 after 14 overs

 

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Australia 76/0 after 17 overs

 

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Haddin out with broken finger

Australia were dealt a major blow just moments before the scheduled start of play with Brad Haddin forced out of the side with a suspected broken finger and Graham Manou called in for his Test debut. Haddin sustained the injury while warming-up around the time of the coin toss, and his withdrawal will leave the Australians without the services of their first-choice wicketkeeper and leading run-scorer in this Ashes series.

The injury invited comparisons to Glenn McGrath's infamous ankle sprain at this very ground four years ago, which many felt changed the course of the entire Ashes series. On that occasion, Haddin rolled the ball that McGrath stumbled over on the morning of the match, but this time it was the Australian wicketkeeper forced out with a potentially series-ending injury.

Haddin sustained a suspected break of his left ring finger and was taken to hospital for scans. His captain, Ricky Ponting, had already submitted the Australian team sheet, which included Haddin's name, and team manager Steve Bernard sought permission from England team director Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss, which they acquiesced to.

Manou, 30, has played 88 first class games for South Australia, scoring 3.319 runs at 24.76 with the bat and claiming 299 dismissals. Haddin, meanwhile, is the second highest run scorer in the current series with 229 at 76.33, trailing only Strauss. He has endured a difficult series with the gloves, however, spilling several chances and conceding 53 byes at Sophia Gardens and Lord's.

Haddin is no stranger to broken fingers, fracturing a digit on his right hand in the first hour of his Test debut at Sabina Park last year. On that occasion, Haddin played through the pain in all three Tests against West Indies, before being rested for the limited overs portion of the Caribbean tour. He had played 17 consecutive Tests prior to his eleventh hour withdrawal on Thursday.

Manou becomes Australia's 411st Test player, and the first debutant since Bryce McGain's ill-fated appearace in Cape Town four months ago. His inclusion represented the second change to the Australian XI from Lord's, with Shane Watson earlier called in to replace the out-of-sorts Phillip Hughes at the top of the order.

 

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Australia finished the day 1 on 126/1 (30.0 overs).
Shane Watson 62*

 

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The Watson gamble pays off

The Shane Watson era begins. Again. After a frustrating sequence of false-starts and opportunities denied, Watson was on Thursday handed the keys to a kingdom he has only ever viewed from a distance, and occasionally dreamed of occupying.

The notion of the oft-injured Watson opening the batting in Test cricket is not entirely novel. Several years ago, when it emerged Justin Langer was headed for retirement, Watson boldly declared himself available to partner Matthew Hayden at the top of the Australian order. His offer was met with guffaws by sections of the Australian public, but not the nation's cricketing hierarchy, who sensed in Watson an ability with the bat seldom supported by statistics.

An aborted stint atop the Queensland order culminated in four ducks from six innings and a humbling average of 4.67. Undaunted, Watson pressed ahead with plans for regular top-order exposure, and eventually found his mark with the Australian one-day side, for whom he has averaged 54 in 17 innings in the opening role. Centuries in the Caribbean and UAE were notable for their maturity and watchfulness as much as their power; the result of several technique-tightening sessions under the tutelage of Greg Chappell.

Test cricket loomed as a more elusive prize. Considered a certainty for the No. 6 role ahead of the 2006-07 Ashes series, Watson was struck down with a hamstring injury a week prior to the first Test. It sidelined him for the majority of the summer. History appeared set to repeat when Watson injured his thigh prior to the opening tour match at Hove last month, and was subsequently ruled out of the first two Tests as he gradually increased his bowling workload.

Then it happened - a selectorial bolt from the blue to rival Cameron White's elevation to the senior spin bowling position in India last year. Called into replace the out-of-sorts Phillip Hughes, Watson entered the Edgbaston Test having never batted higher than No. 6 in his eight previous matches, and with single-digit totals in each of his last four innings. Hardly a compelling case to open.

The reasoning behind his selection was equally unconvincing. Hughes, it emerged, had become the collateral damage for the Mitchell Johnson form saga, with Watson called up as much for seam bowling insurance as top-of-the-order runs. A less disruptive move might have been to simply replace the errant Johnson with the ever-dependable Stuart Clark, but selectors, in announcing their shock move, indicated they coveted Johnson's wicket-taking potential more than Hughes' run-scoring ability.

Just what impact demotion will have on the confidence of Hughes, who arrived on these shores hailed Australia's next batting superstar, remains to be seen. What was clear, however, was that a Watson failure with the bat would have placed further scrutiny on Australia's selection policies which have been inconsistent in the extreme, mostly in regards to spin bowling.

So it was that Watson marked centre for an innings that commenced at 5pm on account of a water-logged outfield. Those looking for symbolism might feel the better-late-than-never first day's play at Edgbaston was a fitting stage for Watson who, since his Test debut in 2005, has been limited to nine Tests due to a demoralising run of injuries and is only now threatening to turn the corner.

It was in 2005 that Watson, then on duty with Hampshire, suggested Andrew Flintoff's all-round heroics in the Ashes might convince Australia's selectors to trial their own multi-tasker for series to come. Four years on, Watson found himself engaged in combat with his one-time idol, who attempted with little subtlety to unnerve the rookie opener with long, exaggerated stares and intimidating body language.

Flintoff failed. Batting on the only dry 22-yard stretch in the greater West Midlands area, Watson drove and pulled with more assuredness than Hughes the previous month, helping Australia to a dashing start in a rain-marred match where speed and dynamism will be crucial to achieving a result. Watson's judicious leaving outside off-stump was arguably as impressive as his stroke play, proving he was capable of patience and maturity not required in the limited-overs game. Before long, Watson had advanced to his second career half-century; a milestone marked with a subdued raising of the bat. His mission is not yet complete.

Watson's stint at the crease was not without its anxious moments. He survived two confident lbw shouts - the second, attempting to sweep Graeme Swann, appeared desperately close on replays - but nonetheless advanced to stumps unbeaten on 62. A maiden Test century is in the offing on Friday. Australia's selectors can breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

 

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England aim to regroup overnight

A day that began with the threat of a total washout finished with England wishing the rain had continued to fall. In the 30 overs that were possible at the end of an unexpectedly dramatic day, Australia had responded to their Lord's defeat with a bullish performance reminiscent of the resolve they showed in their vast first-innings performance in Cardiff three weeks ago. By the close they had batted with sufficient intent to make light of the loss of two sessions and ensure themselves enough momentum to have a proper go, in a fixture that many have already written off to the elements.

"It was a positive result," said Australia's coach Tim Nielsen. "Thirty overs is a hard time for anyone to have any impact in the big scheme of things. It can be one of those periods where you lose two or three wickets or struggle your way through. To be 1 for 126 at stumps is as good as you could have hoped for."

On a day when Brad Haddin's pre-match mishap drew uncanny parallels with Glenn McGrath's ankle- (and series-) turning moment four years ago, so too did the scoreline after the opening session of the contest. Back in 2005, England responded to their defeat at Lord's by racing to 132 for 1 at lunch on the first day, and today Australia's own batsmen performed almost the same trick. The only difference is that England have the opportunity to regroup overnight, a point that their wicket-taker, Graeme Swann, emphasised.

"At the start of any game, especially after a defeat, a team that is licking their wounds is going to come out fighting," he said. "You obviously hope they don't, but you have to expect that from Australia, and it's disappointing we didn't manage to match our performance at Lord's in this first innings. Any game of cricket where you leak runs at four an over, you're going to be at a disadvantage, but we're in a fortunate position that the ball is only 30 overs old, so we can go home tonight, take stock, look at where we're going to bowl tomorrow, to [Shane] Watson in particular, and I'm sure we'll come back 100% improved."

Andrew Flintoff forgot the mantra that made him so effective at Lord's, and pounded the ball in far too short and wide, while James Anderson's figures of 10-0-45-0 were frustratingly familiar - he came closer than any of England's seamers to forcing a breakthrough, but each of his seven four-balls were slashed away with alacrity as his radar failed to factor in a featherbed wicket that offered no margin for error.

"It was obviously a little disappointing," Swann said. "We didn't think it was a bad time to bowl for just a 30-over session, but we didn't put it in the right place consistently enough. It's certainly not an easy wicket to bowl on because it's a very good pitch but fair play to Australia and Watson in particular. I didn't realise he was an opening batsman, but he played like one today, so all credit to him. He was obviously under pressure coming in, because it's not easy opening the batting, but he played exceptionally well."

Watson's inclusion at the top of the order might have caught England even more on the hop had it not been for Phillip Hughes' untimely tweeting, but Swann claimed they had not had time to work out any plans for a player whom they had never before faced in Test cricket. "We had some good plans to Hughes that seemed to be working well, and coming into this game we were expecting that to continue and we were hoping he was still there," he said. "To have a new guy in, we have to go back to the drawing board, but having seen him play we have a much better idea of how he can bat. Hopefully we can come up with something more useful tomorrow."

Swann denied that England had found the conditions tricky to negotiate after days of unrelenting rain, and instead heaped praise on the ground staff who worked all through the night to get the pitch fit for a belated start. "Yesterday when we trained here the outfield was a quagmire, and then when we left, with the rain and the puddles on the field, it was touch-and-go if we'd get going at all. So all credit to the Edgbaston ground staff. I know if I was in charge we wouldn't have bowled a ball today."

 

[chandikagunawardhana]

Hughes needs to work at his game - Nielsen

Phillip Hughes is a quiet boy who will hear a lot of advice after his brief international entrance was ended when his spot was taken by the stand-in opener Shane Watson. Life on this tour has been exciting but hard for the 20-year-old Hughes, who is in his first slump as a senior player following England's short-pitched attack in the opening two Tests.

And now come the tips, starting with the coach Tim Nielsen telling him he has to tighten up. That way he can avoid the sort of dismissals that make fast bowlers fight among themselves to get a go at him.

"He does need to go away and work at his game," Nielsen said. "He probably exceeded our expectations initially with the success he had in South Africa, and the way he played. He's been a little bit unlucky here."

After two fends ended his innings in the warm-up in Worcester, he looked generally uncomfortable against Andrew Flintoff and Co in scraping to 36, 4 and 17 in Cardiff and London. With Australia behind in the series, they could no longer carry him on potential in such a crucial series.

"I'm not going to go into an inquisition about what Phil Hughes needs to do," Nielsen said. "We made the decision that we thought we could strengthen the side by playing Watson at the top and getting some extra bowling. Shane was here as the spare batsman and that's the way we've gone." Watson celebrated the promotion with an unbeaten 62 as Australia reached 126 for 1 at the end of the first day at Edgbaston.

So Hughes is not the new Bradman, just a boy with a loose, homespun technique that prevents him from avoiding balls aimed at his body, and makes him susceptible to catches behind. It is only a serious issue against the game's elite, which is why he was able to career to all sorts of records playing for New South Wales and Middlesex.

After five games, including one in which he posted two centuries against a mighty South Africa, he is now the spare batsman in England instead of a main man. Hughes also leaves with a lesson about not letting those close to you reveal that you've been dropped half a day before the news is officially released. For someone not playing, it was a busy day.

 

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2nd day's play is going on..

 

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Australia 263

England 63/2 (22 overs)

England trail by 200 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

 

[chandikagunawardhana]

Sad news, Miserable weather washes out play.
Play has been abandoned for the day.

Australia 263
England 116/2 (36.0 overs)
England trail by 147 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

 

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4th day's play will start at 4.30 pm Sri Lankan time.

 

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Australia 263
England 354/8 (88.0 overs)
England lead by 91 runs with 2 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

 

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The third Ashes match ended in a draw short while ago.

 

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Clarke hits ton to secure draw

Australia 263 & 375/5 (112.2 overs)
England 376