England regain Ashes after slog in the dust

CRICKET ASHES SERIES, FINAL TEST, FOURTH DAY: At 12 minutes to six on a glorious sunshine-soft late summer evening, England regained the Ashes they had surrendered so abjectly in Australia three winters ago. It had been a hard slog.

Set an unlikely if not impossible 546 to win, Australia had made such a thunderously aggressive start on Saturday evening that a smidgeon of doubt might have crept in. None should have been there. The total would have been hefty on a pristine pitch but on one about which Woody Guthrie might have written songs, it was, any cricketer worth his salt would have said, just not a function of “if” but “when”. All out for 348, Australia had lost by a massive margin of 197 runs.

Australia battled worthily and nothing less would have been expected. Ricky Ponting played a majestic innings on an awkward pitch until he was run out for 66 when a century had seemed within his compass. Then came Mike Hussey, Mr Cricket, whose abject form over the past year had left him perhaps one innings away from returning to the ranks of plain Mr. But as Johnson (Dr, that is, rather than Mitchell) is supposed to have said of a fellow facing imminent execution, it concentrates the mind wonderfully.

Over the course of five-and-a-half hours of technical expertise Hussey compiled a career-saving innings until he was last out for 121 to spark the England celebrations.

There are unlikely to be any Trafalgar Square open-top bus rides this time but maybe Andrew Strauss, unquestionably and officially England’s man of the series, could be persuaded to do an hour on the plinth.

It had been an incredible turnaround after as comprehensive a defeat was administered to England at Headingley. It was to England’s advantage and the credit of Strauss and Andy Flower, the director of cricket, that they had the time to reflect, rethink and then gather once more. The changes paid dividends.

Australia will wonder how it all slipped away but in truth, their record in England in the past two tours now contains one single win and three losses in the last nine matches.

For his part, Ponting, a most generous opponent in defeat, will be remembered not just as a master batsman but as the second Australian captain after Billy Murdoch to lose the Ashes twice in England and the first for more than a hundred years.

His future as captain must now be in doubt with Michael Clarke waiting in the wings ready to assume the mantle.

After a day in which they had beaten repeatedly at the door only to be rebuffed, the end, when it came arrived swiftly with five wickets falling in a cascade for 21 runs in 48 balls.

The second new ball had brought little joy as Hussey and Brad Haddin constructed a sixth-wicket partnership of 91 that if it did not threaten to bring victory in the match, might have taken it into today and who knows what weather.

The breakthrough came from Graeme Swann’s offspin and Haddin’s impetuosity as he attempted to haul the ball into the stand at midwicket and succeeded only in finding Strauss stationed near the fence.

An end was open. Strauss called up Steve Harmison, an anonymous bystander for much of the day, but an enforcer when the tail comes in. A second slip was moved in and Johnson edged straight to him. Collingwood, the catcher, had not enjoyed a happy catching day to that point. This was held gleefully.

Next Peter Siddle, who tried to scoop to the leg side and helped the ball from the leading edge of his bat to Flintoff at extra cover.

Stuart Clark went next ball, taken easily at short-leg and the prospect presented itself of a Harmison hat-trick to end the game and win the Ashes. The dream finish did not materialise as Ben Hilfenhaus defended stoutly. Instead Swann found the edge of Hussey’s bat, the ball deflected onto his pad and to short-leg and the job was done.

To gain momentum, as with their win at Lord’s, England needed early wickets, and they came from Swann and Stuart Broad, the man of the match. Simon Katich, 43, seduced by some turn away from the bat, offered no stroke to a straighter ball from Swann and was lbw.

In the following over from Broad, Shane Watson had made 40 when Broad forced him on to the back foot and sneaked an off-cutter low inside his pads to catch him lbw. If the batsman suspected an inside edge then he was misled by the sequence of noise and touch. It got things moving.

Now though, Ponting and Hussey, playing the conditions, scoring off the back foot unless the ball was hugely overpitched, put together a partnership of 127. The pitch was offering tricks, but was more sluggish than earlier on. Simply hoping to bulldoze their way to victory was not an option. But the next three wickets, when they arrived were fortuitous in the extreme beginning with Ponting. Hussey had worked Harmison wide of midwicket and set off for an easy run as Flintoff hobbled stiffly to his left to field.

Ponting, though, was late setting off, watching the ball initially. Flintoff’s throw uprooted a stump with Ponting a foot short of his ground.

If Flintoff had been unable to inspire with bat or ball in his swansong then this was a seminal moment.

Another arrived in the following over, as Clarke, Australia’s player of the series, skipped down the pitch to Swann and clipped to the onside.

The ball, however, struck the left boot of Alastair Cook at short leg and rebounded to backward short-leg whence Strauss flicked it on to the stumps with Clarke scoreless and millimetrically short of the crease.

If that was a bonus, then so too was the wicket of Marcus North, who was in no mood to hang around.

A massive attempted sweep almost swung him off his feet so that Matt Prior, whose keeping has improved immeasurably as the series has progressed, was able to remove the bails even as he scrabbled to get his foot back. It was a close call but Billy Bowden, correctly as it proved but sailing close to the wind, gave it out without referral.

Guardian Service