CRICKET THE ASHES FOURTH TEST:THE CORKSCREW nature of this series continued as England shrugged aside their humiliation in Perth to enjoy a day of domination of a kind rarely suffered by Australia. The home side, if they are to come back with any effect from this, will need a dramatic change in the conditions and a search deep into untapped areas of their souls.
The day had been set up for England by the seamers, with Jimmy Anderson, simply brilliant, finally getting some reward to take four for 44, Chris Tremlett following his Waca wickets with four for 26, including the Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, for 10, and Tim Bresnan, the quickest of the England men to the surprise of many, taking two for 25.
All 10 wickets fell to catches in the slip cordon, with Matt Prior’s six catches equalling the England record against Australia held jointly by Jack Russell, Chris Read and Alec Stewart.
Bowling is about partnerships. An attack competes individually but achieves as a collective. It is a chain as strong as its weakest link. A week ago in Perth, England’s bowling wilted, drawn into distracting confrontation, their discipline vanishing when they most needed it.
England’s entire bowling strategy in this series has been founded on the twin rocks of success with the new ball and attrition with the old and, on the back of his performance at the Waca, Steven Finn lost his place to Bresnan, parsimonious in spirit and intention, underestimated and utterly steadfast.
The attack was transformed back into a unit. For the 42 overs and five balls that England required to dismiss Australia, save only for the second over of the match from which Phil Hughes took Tremlett for more than 10 per cent of the final total, Anderson, Tremlett and Bresnan were in complete control. They bowled to a plan, did not deviate from it (nor had they to) and generally kept their counsel and emotions in check. Actions, they were saying, speak louder than words.
And, just as England had no answer to Johnson, Ryan Harris and the Perth bounce, so Australia, try as they might (and by no means did they all simply throw away their wickets), could find no solution to the subtle swing and nibbly seam, frustrated by the tattoo beaten out on a nagging length and a challenging line that strangled the life from their shot-making.
Eventually, almost with inevitability, each successive batsman was drawn into a stroke, occasionally rash, sometimes hypnotically, that resulted in an edge to the vultures perched behind the wicket. There was simply no freedom to play shots: a big acreage the MCG may be, and the outfield is sluggish, but Australia managed only seven boundaries, not all of them voluntary.
The pitch was a help and so was the toss which once more fell the way of Strauss, for here, in the first two sessions, were conditions that, far from assisting Australia, might have been made with the express purpose of making the England bowlers feel at home: not so much Headingley supplanted on the banks of the Yarra, but the sort of thing that old county pros might recognise at Derby or Chesterfield with Mike Hendrick coming at them and ghosting past the bat.
There was cloud cover too and a temperature that demanded a sweater rather than sweatband.
From it all three seamers found movement, nothing extravagant but just sufficient to challenge the edge of the bat. Sometimes it was in the air, sometimes it was off the seam, sometimes it was the smallest amount of the first lending the appearance of the latter – relentless probing.
Shane Watson, having been allowed two escapes before he had scored (both of them fiendish, one to slip and the other to gully) found Tremlett’s height too much and spliced to gully before, in the space of two overs, Hughes had flung the bat wildly at Bresnan (how Australia need Simon Katich to return), and Ponting had edged another lifter to second slip, departing with a rueful look at the surface that had betrayed him.
When, shortly before lunch, Anderson finally exposed Mike Hussey to be merely mortal and, on the resumption after a rain delay, Steve Smith was shown to be so far out of his depth at six that he should be batting in a lifebelt, Australia were 66 for five.
At this stage England, on a roll certainly, needed to take stock. England needed to finish the job, while mindful that the intelligence suggested that the pitch habitually eases after a couple of sessions.
And finish it they did, Anderson bowling wonderfully, with absolute control, Tremlett steaming in to collect the perks at the end, so that Australia lost six for 40 in the afternoon – no respite, no salvation, just processional. Michael Clarke top-scored with 20.
Each bowler fed from the efforts of the others. Their individual skills had melded into a team. The pack were hungry and they had their fill.
Guardian Service
Melbourne Scoreboard Day One
England won the toss and chose to bowl
Australia – First innings
S Watson c Pietersen b Tremlett 5
P Hughes c Pietersen b Bresnan 16
R Ponting c Swann b Tremlett 10
M Clarke c Prior b Anderson 20
M Hussey c Prior b Anderson 8
S Smith c Prior b Anderson 6
B Haddin c Strauss b Bresnan 5
M Johnson c Prior b Anderson 0
R Harris not out 10
P Siddle c Prior b Tremlett 11
B Hilfenhaus c Prior b Tremlett 0
Extras (lb 2, nb 5) 7
Total(all out, 42.5 overs) 98
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-37, 3-37, 4-58, 5-66, 6-77, 7-77, 8-77, 9-92.
Bowling: Anderson 16-4-44-4; Tremlett 11.5-26-4 (nb-1); Bresnan 13-6-25-2; Swann 2-1-1-0.
England – First innings
A Strauss not out 64
A Cook not out 80
Extras(b 10, nb 2, w 1) 13
Total(without loss, 47 overs) 157
To bat: J Trott, K Pietersen, P Collingwood, I Bell, M Prior, G Swann, J Anderson, T Bresnan, C Tremlett.
Bowling: Hilfenhaus 9-3-26-0; Harris 10-3-30-0; Johnson 7-0-42-0 (w-1, nb-1); Siddle 10-4-13-0 (nb-1); Watson 5-1-14-0; Smith 6-1-22-0.
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