Battling England cling on for draw

CRICKET:THE DRAMA of the Ashes continues. As the evening shadows lengthened across Sophia Gardens, and the clock on the Really Welsh pavilion ticked round to 6.40pm, James Anderson kicked out a pad to a wide delivery, the last ball of an over from the Australian off-spinner Nathan Hauritz. He saw it balloon over the slips and then, for no discernible reason except that his partner, Monty Panesar, had opted to take a crazy single, he scampered to the other end. It was to prove the final delivery of a pulsating day and a scintillating match in which Australia had appeared to be heading for an overwhelming win.

With 40 minutes of the match remaining, a minimum of 69 balls, and England still six runs short of making Australia bat again with Panesar striding purposefully to the crease, the game looked up.

Instead, with surprisingly few alarms, a couple of thumping blows, some solid wood behind the ball and high-decibel support from another packed ground, the pair eked out the overs. They added 19 runs, gaining a lead of 13 and leaving Australia no time even for the slenderest run chase, had they taken the final wicket.

Those last, dramatic overs were not without their controversy, however. A minimum of 15 must be bowled in the final hour, but more can be bowled if they can be fitted in. Australia’s over rate was going to allow them extra.

England needed to slow things down. Anderson, a streetwise cricketer, might have managed anyway but out came the 12th man with the usual devices, a fresh pair of gloves and a drink. Time wasted. Ricky Ponting fumed, but probably understood.

He would have been less understanding two overs later when not only did the 12th man reappear but so too did the physiotherapist, who trotted on, patted Anderson on the back and trotted off again. That was just shabby and to his credit, Anderson appeared to want no part of it.

There is gamesmanship and there is gamesmanship. It did England no credit.

England can now go to Lord’s for Thursday’s second Test in better heart than might have been, although they would be wise not to gloat.

Losing a session to rain on the fourth evening helped, with only eight overs made up yesterday, and they know that but for a brief time on the second morning, when the tail wagged and the Australians looked ragged, Ponting’s side were in control. Australia will come at them just as hard again.

Here, on a pitch that emasculated pace bowlers and spinners alike once the ball had lost its hardness, England were given a batting lesson by Australia’s four centurions, one absorbed only by Paul Collingwood among the top order. They need to think long and hard about the disciplines required, the selection of shots according to the conditions and the bowling. Further to that, Andrew Strauss will, over the couple of days allowed him, need to reassess how he sets his fields so that his bowlers can maintain a measure of control. Too much of the Australian batting was allowed the luxury of easy runs without risk.

Survival in Cardiff will be no reason not to consider changes to the side, either. Lord’s will provide more pace but less deterioration and when, today, England announce their squad for the second Test, it is likely to include the 13 who arrived here with the addition of Steve Harmison. The likelihood is that one or both of he and Graham Onions will play.

If it was the partnership of Anderson and Panesar that finally caught the imagination of the crowd, then it was the indefatigable batting of Collingwood that led the way.

He was at the crease in only the third over of the day, after Kevin Pietersen was bowled by Ben Hilfenhaus.

He played himself to the slowest England half century for four years and by the time his bat flickered out and sent a catch skimming to gully, where it was parried and caught at the second attempt, the Durham batsman had, in five and three quarter hours of unwavering concentration and skilful technique, reached 74.

It was his first mistake and, distraught, he could scarcely drag himself from the crease. A standing ovation would have been scant consolation, but by golly it was earned.

The rest of the England batting, as it had been for most of the match, was at times pitiful in its lack of application or ability to absorb fundamental lessons.

Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara had already gone the previous evening, to inept shots (never mind the duff decision against Bopara), and Pietersen, who had tried to sweep to fine leg a ball from three feet wide of his off stump in the first innings, perversely opted to play no stroke at all at a straight one second time around. It was heading for the meaty part of his off stump.

Strauss, having square cut Hauritz to the boundary, tried to repeat it next ball and encountered more bounce than before, while Matt Prior tried to cut a similar delivery that was too close, turned into him and bounced.

As he watched Collingwood from the dressingroom, he might ruminate that a key to batting is knowing what to leave as well as what to play. Andrew Flintoff hung around with Collingwood for an hour and a half, helping add 57 for the sixth wicket before a drinks break disrupted his concentration and he edged to second slip.

Further resistance came from Graeme Swann, who took a battering from Peter Siddle but made 31, using up another 80 minutes before he too lost concentration and was lbw trying to pull a ball that failed to bounce.

Cross-bat shots on slow, last-day pitches are not the best choice. Perhaps they can add that to their tattoos.