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England manage to draw the first test against Australia in Ashes Series 2009

One can simply say that it was an amazing test match that just concluded between England and Australia at Cardiff. There could not have been a more perfect beginning to the Ashes series as Australia pushed hard for victory in the first test match and England managed to hold on to salvage a draw in spite of some very ordinary bowling performance in the test match by its bowlers. The Englishmen were totally outplayed in all the departments whether it be bowling, batting, or fielding. England narrowly managed to get a draw out of this test match due to some determined and courageous batting by Paul Collingwood, James Anderson, and the English spinning wizard Monty Panesar. With this result England managed to head for the second test of the Ashes series with everything to play for in the upcoming matches.

If one looks at the closing stages of the test match then it was a huge task for both Monty Panesar and James Anderson to save the game for England. However, both these English knights showed enough courage and determination to hold fort in the final overs of the day and help England escape with a draw. Both these players played solid cricket to stop the Aussie bowlers from getting the last wicket, thereby denying Australia victory in the first test match. Panesar saw off 35 balls and Anderson saw off 53 balls in the closing stages of the match to make sure that England could snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat staring right into their face. In this course of time England tried out various tactics by calling the 12th man and Physio on several occasions to make sure that the game slowed down. However, it was grit and determination of the last pair that saw England sail through to salvage this draw.

England started the first innings of the match by handing over the advantage to the Australian bowlers as they were reduced to 97 for 3 at lunch on the first day. However, some solid batting performances from thereon by Kevin Pietersen (52 runs) and Paul Collingwood (50 runs) ensured that England were going smoothly till the final session of the day. Australia struck back in the final session of day one to reduce England to 336 for 7 with just the tail left in the England first innings. The second day started off well as Graham Swann and James Anderson played with a positive frame of mind to ensure that the English tail wagged a little longer so that England could put a decent first innings score of 435 runs on board.

However, the best part of the match had ended for the Englishmen as the Australians took control. The match from Day 2 afternoon session onwards till Day 5 afternoon session belonged to the Aussies as they outplayed the Englishmen in all departments of the game. The Australian batsman butchered the English bowler as they hit them to all parts of the ground. There was arrogance in the way the Aussies played and scored runs freely as the English bowlers toiled hard to get them out. Without any major contributions from the spinning duo of Panesar and Swann, the English pace attack looked toothless on an excellent batting strip laid out in Cardiff.

The Australian batsman dictated terms to the English bowlers and showed their batsman the way to get big scores in test matches as they pilled up a huge total. The major contributions came from Katich, Pointing, North, Clarke, and Haddin as the Aussie run machine feasted on the lackluster English bowling attack.  The Aussie captain was simply outstanding in the match as he scored 150 runs to ensure that the Australians did not need to bat again. Notable contributions from Katich (122 runs), Clarke (83 runs), North (125 runs) and Haddin (121 runs) ensured that the Australians put up a mammoth 674 runs in the first innings before declaring on Day 4 with an overall lead of 239 runs. The Australian bowlers were warmed up to hit form in the second innings as the English batsman faltered on Day 5 of the test match. Had it not been for Collingwood, Panesar and Anderson, it would have been a sure shot victory for the Australians. However, the end result is that both the teams are tied at 0-0 for the series and would hope to turn the tables in the next test match.

A dominant 189 run partnership between Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich swung the pendulum firmly in Australia’s favour in day 2 of the First npower Ashes Test, Cardiff.

England amassed an extra 99 runs in the morning session before finally being bowled out for 435. Australia’s start was electric, with Phil Hughes hitting a run a ball 30 before lunch. Andrew Flintoff eventually had him caught behind, but after that the play was all Australia as Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting hit centuries as Australia ended the day on 249-1, trailing England’s total by 186.

England’s start to the day was very positive. Beginning on 336/7 Stuart Broad struck two delightful fours off Peter Siddle, one a scorcher past mid off. The Nottinghamshire man met an unlucky end to his innings, a ball from Mitchell Johnson hit the underside of his thigh pad and dragged back onto his stumps.

Broad’s demise didn’t stem the scoring however, Graham Swann looked to be forceful, and keep the scoreboard ticking over, night-watchman James Anderson also got in on the act as the pair pushed three’s to the long square boundaries at the SWALEC Stadium. The positivity forced Ricky Ponting to spread sweepers on both the square boundary.

England’s aggression forced the Australian skipper to bring on Nathan Hauritz. And no doubt to the delight of batsman Graham Swann – an no doubt all of the England camp, Hauritz’s first ball spun sharply off the pitch, past the keeper for four byes.

Undeterred, Swann went after Hauritz – striking two consecutive boundaries down the ground followed by an audacious reverse sweep that went to the third man boundary. Swann and Anderson’s 50 run partnership coming up in just 38 balls as England were racing along at 7 an over in the morning session.

James Anderson fell trying to hit Hauritz over the top, and Monty Panesar after struggling for a short while, eventually edging the off-spinner to Ricky Ponting a gully.

Phil Hughes got off to a flyer at the beginning of the Australian innings, Stuart Broad imparticular on the receiving end of Hughes’ aggression as Australia made it to 39-0 in a short spell before the lunch break.

Immediately after lunch Andrew Flintoff was bought into the attack bowling around the wicket to Hughes. The over was lively, short pitched, but to Hughes’ credit – he evaded the short ball well.

A short while later Flintoff forced opener Simon Katich to punt one back at him, he stuck his giant claw in the direction of the ball, and agonisingly for him and for England, the ball popped out and down to the ground.

But the breakthrough finally came when Flintoff had Hughes get an inside edge through to ‘keeper Matt Prior who took a smart catch diving away to his right – Hughes departing for 36.

In the following over Stuart Broad had close LBW appeals against both Katich and Ricky Ponting. Katich got a feather of an inside edge on his, and Ponting had himself well outside the line of the off stump – but Broad, England and the fans, were defiantly fired up.

The pair settled in for the afternoon session, as England turned to both spinners Graham Swann and Monty Panesar without fortune. On the stroke of tea Ponting scored a 2 off Broad to take himself to 11,001 test runs – joining the select group of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Allan Border.

Simon Katich went past 50 as Australia reached 143-1 at tea, the Flintoff/Hughes battle aside – Australia’s session.

It was much of the same after the break, the pair bought up their 100 partnership of 179 balls. Andrew Strauss tried every option available to him, but Ponting and Katich stood firm as Australia bought the 200 up. The run rate continued at 3.5 an over and England struggled to get any movement with the ball, or much life out of the pitch.

On the stroke of stumps Simon Katich bought up his hundred off 214 balls, and Ponting likewise off 155 balls. Australia ended the day in a dominant position – only 1 wicket down, and trailing by only 186 runs.

The 2009 Ashes series between England and Australia will start this morning as cricket looks to once again capture the imagination of the British public. Four years ago the two teams met to give us the greatest Ashes series of all time in a sporting contest that personified just why these two sides have such a long and respectable sporting history.

England come off the back of some impressive performances against a West Indies team and the Aussies start off in England having beaten South Africa in their own country. Despite the gap in quality between these two victories this could turn out to be a repeat of the 2005 series with every single match going right down to the wire.

The teams are very evenly matched and it appears that the side that bowls the better will win the series and the Ashes urn. Australia obviously do not have Glen McGrath and Shane Warne in their side any more, who between them bowled out in England five times by themselves in the last series to be held in England.

This is not easy to over come and is being put down as the main reason by many experts on the game as the factor that actually gives England a chance. England’s own bowling attack has the virtue of having now played together for a long period of time. There is no question that England have the better bowling options as they carry two world class spinners as well as players that can reverse swing the ball at great pace.

The batting line-ups of each side are very even and a lot will rest on the more experienced players in each side. Both England and Australia have four big names in their top six that can all go on and make big hundreds. If they do then every match should go down to the last day and will place all of the pressure on the bowlers to get everything right and earn their money.

A lot has been made of the fact that the first test match is being played in Cardiff and not at Lords as this is traditionally the case. There are two advantages already for England in this respect. Firstly, the Cardiff pitch should turn, this will allow England the freedom to name Monty Panesar and Graham Swann in their side whereas the Australians will probably only play Nathan Hauritz, a defensively minded off spinner.

Secondly, it has to be considered that whenever an Ashes series does start at Lords, England do tend to lose. It is important to get off to a good start in such a long series because it can give you vital momentum that you can carry forwards into the next match. Cardiff could work in England’s favour and it could give them a boost they need to believe that they can push on and win the series.

England should have thumped the West Indies when they played in the Caribbean but on too many occasions, seemingly certain wins were turned in to frustrating draws. If England can get their noses on front then it could be a long two months in this country for the Australians.

Team news is good for England who look set to name their strongest possible eleven. It has not been kept a secret that the pitch will turn and therefore Graham Onions could make way for Swann with Andrew Flintoff stepping back into the middle of the side. This will give England a nice balance and allow them to strengthen in more than one area. It also adds the important dimension of even more aggression that will be needed as there are no doubts over the fact that the Aussies are going to chirp away at all the English batsman that get to the crease.

For the Aussies they will be missing fast bowler Brett Lee. England will be more than happy about this. Lee has the ability to swing the ball at over 90mph and can cause all sorts of problems. Ask any Englishman in the side if they would rather he wasn’t playing and they’d all say yes.

Otherwise the Australian selection is hard to guess. Ricky Ponting has been keeping the cards close to his chest before the first game and it is expected that they will go in with three or four quicks and a spinner. However, you can never second guess the Aussies and it could well be the case that they have the next Shane Warne up their sleeve ready to bring out, a player who nobody would have heard of.

This would be a huge gamble though and it will probably be the case that the Aussies go in with only four bowlers and play an extra batsman. This would not be a stupid thing to do but it would automatically give a slight advantage to England who would fancy their chances of not being bowled out by a relatively one dimensional attack without Lee.

The toss is also crucial to England’s chances of winning the first game. As the pitch is expected to turn, it can also be expected that it will rapidly deteriorate, meaning that whoever wins the toss will bat first. You do not want to be batting on the last day in the last innings on a pitch that has unpredictable bounce and is turning square. From England’s point of view if they can get a good score on the board first up and then set the Aussies a massive target, it will allow Swann and Panesar to go mad and try to wreak some havoc in the later stages of the game.

It’s nice just to have the series back and it’s good that there is so much positive thinking surrounding the first test. A lot of people have already forgotten about the 5-0 thumping that was given to England in the last Ashes series and if the build up is any thing like the actual matches then we could all be on our way to buy box sets of the 2009 series as well.