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A test match dominated by England all over, has come to a static stop with India losing without much fight from the Indian batsmen.

Though the credit not to be taken away from England bowlers, who bowled exceptionally well. Getting the wickets of well-set batsmen with an aura on their side is a difficult job. But Anderson, Broad, Tremlett and Swann which made a formidable bowling line-up bowled the Indian batsmen to tatters. 2 dropped catches, LBW decisions given not-out controversially by the umpire and all the other obstacles obviously came in their way but they still went on to win the game against the odds. And they would have certainly thought about why they agreed to ‘no UDRS for LBW decisions’.

Anderson, who led the pack, first got Dravid out with the out-swinger which he nicked it to the keeper. A well-settled partnership was then broken by him back again when Laxman played a lose shot to give a catch straight into the hands of mid-wicket.

Gambhir and Tendulkar soon got out without showing much resistance in the match. Tendulkar looked quite in the rhythm, but too much defensiveness against the bowlers got him out of the match as Anderson again got an important wicket by trapping him in front of the stumps. Even Dhoni didn’t stay for long at the crease when he should have given support to the other end.

Batsmen troubled all over. Broad who was criticized for his inclusion before the match justified his inclusion altogether. Troubling the batsmen with his perfect line and length was his only aim. A hard-working all-rounder, he did all that he could to get the wickets on Indian batsmen. A determined shout against Tendulkar which looked plumb and he was given not-out. Even against Raina, he almost got his wicket and he was on the ground feeling heartbroken about which looked like a plumb and Billy just disagreed.

The only batsman who fought and got India into the fight was Suresh Raina, who made a gritty 78 against this English attack. When a batsman who is just 12 matches old, plays such a mature innings why can’t the others? Raina’s innings was gritty, patient and what is called as a shadow of a complete test batsmen. A slight polish and he’s already booked a place in the test squad for a permanent time.  A little time more he would have stayed to save the match and he could have been adjudged as the man of the match. But who would have been able to avert his wicket with that kind of delivery from Anderson.

Hopes were lost, and Indian tail-enders wouldn’t have been able to prevail for 28 long overs; and against a bowling line-up as such?

Though a match lost, it does have some positives out of the match. Raina, Mukund in the batting department where their temperament was tested and they did show patience to get some prominent scores. Dravid’s form was a worry for India, but does it look like the same anymore? Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar’s spells does show a good sign as India desperately needs an excellent seamer to partner Zaheer Khan.

England will be relieved looking at what they’ve done after what seems to be not the same as what happened in Lord’s in 2007 when India drew the match then. Now with another match in some days, its going to be difficult with Sehwag already out of contention for a place and Zaheer injured too. Uno numero status in danger, certainly!

India - England

India’s tour to West Indies has already kick-started with a win over them each in ODI’s and the T-20 formats. With youngsters giving a chance to prove their mettle in tests as well since the senior players have been given some rest, people are looking forward to the positives coming out of this series as this will prove how strong is India’s bench strength. However, this series hasn’t been the talking point which surprises me quite a lot as India- West Indies rivalry has been phenomenal as years have passed on, though it has lost its touch in the last decade or so.

With India touring England in the month of July this year, the focus has completely shifted on to them. With India playing overseas after a long time, it has to be a tough one to go past. Ganguly said,” India will win in West Indies, but England will be tough”. This looks quite true with the fact that England has been playing phenomenal cricket around and have been going great guns. Retaining Ashes cup at away and defeating Australia at their home ground is no sort of joke. Though their ranking in ODIs is quite higher when compared to their performances but when it comes to tests they’re just looking for a chance to throttle India from the top spot. And when you have the opportunity to defeat India in their own den with flurrying bouncers and swing that takes away the game from the Indian counterparts.

But what makes England a serious competitor to the #1 ranking which India has earned so deservedly. These players are certainly to be credited.

Alastair Cook

Averaging 48 in his test cricket, he gives England a perfect start what a team actually needs. But what has been exceptional, is the way he has come up and shown what he means to his team. He was the main reason to why England retained the Ashes trophy. A run machine for England, he scored 766 runs in 5 tests he played with an exceptional average of over 120. With 3 centuries, 1 double century and 3 more half-centuries he had a splendid series. And that happened in just about 7 innings in which he played. Even in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, he has already notched 335 runs in just 3 innings. Being in blazing form, he is the torch-bearer for England at the moment and certainly the man to watch out for.

Jonathan Trott

An exceptional player, playing just 19 tests has already notched 6 international hundreds which includes 2 double hundreds already. A prolific batsman, he has been in tremendous form this year, winning the cricketer of the year award for England. In the Ashes series tour he was next only to Alastair Cook and Michael Hussey for the number of runs he has scored. An exceptional double hundred in the 1^st test he played against Sri Lanka in the ongoing test series, was an example of his unbreakable defense. Always on the lookout for runs, he is going to be tough one to breakthrough.

Greame Swann

Been considered to become the best off-spinner, he certainly has got the talent to be one. With a career 135 wickets and a splendid economy rate of 2.9, he has always kept on the batsmen and never let him score runs. He always keeps the batsmen in defense and keeps him thinking all the time. The batsman ultimately succumbs to the batsmen and gives away his wicket. Making a debut in 2000 for an ODI, he was called back in 2007 and ultimately cemented his place in the team. Playing his spin is difficult, and with India touring to England in July, it’s going to be a strong but healthy rivalry between the best off-spinners in the world at the moment, Swann and Harbhajan Singh.

James Anderson

The spearhead of the England pace attack, he has been phenomenal this season. With 24 wickets in the Ashes series, he dismantled the Australian batting line up with sheer pace and his swinging ability. An experienced bowler, he is one of the best pacers in the world today along with Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan and Brett Lee. Though injured at the moment, it’s highly likely that he would recover before India’s tour and would get the perfect rest before such a high-profile series which would decide to who actually deserves the #1 ranking. Pace and swing is all that he’s got, and with the England pitches he wouldn’t need anything more except the experience and intelligence which he’s god-gifted.

Apart from these players, there are many more players who have been in exceptional form. Just the fact, that these players have taken away the limelight from the other players. Andrew Strauss along with Ian Bell and Matt Prior also has notched up some outstanding performances. Ian Bell especially has been consistently performing. Kevin Pieterson, though injured for the moment he has been well impressive for England in a couple of matches himself.  Even in the bowling department, Chris Tremlett has been phenomenal. Picking up 17 wickets in the Ashes tour and demolishing the Sri Lankan side along with Swann to win the test match which was always looking for a draw, he has given England a bowler to support Anderson.

A tough time ahead, India is not going to take this series lightly. M.S.Dhoni, the calmest ever captain the cricketing world would have ever seen, might know it better but it all falls down to square one. Defending the number 1 spot against a team like England is going to be tough. Laxman said,”I never got a 100 in England. Hopefully, it would be very special if I get a 100 at Lord’s and India wins the match,” Preparation has to be tough and I don’t think India will falter at this point atleast. A rivalry to watch out for, India-England has always been exceptional to watch. Right from early days, to taking out shirt incident by Andrew Flintoff and Ganguly mocking the same one, to Yuvraj Singh hitting Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in an over. There might be many more moments which I wouldn’t have been even aware about.

A tough schedule ahead, India-England is going to be an interesting tie to watch.

After a dull draw at Brisbane, the pressure on both England and Australia intensified as a win becomes a must at Adelaide to gain bragging rights for the remainder of the Ashes. Brisbane ultimately saw the psychological advantage go in England’s way as they scored a huge 517/1 in the second innings to achieve a draw, after a first innings deficit of 235 runs. On the other hand, Australia for the first time perhaps in a home series was under the pump because of a poor second innings bowling performance from all the bowlers and also Ricky Ponting’s captaincy is under scrutiny. The hype built on Adelaide seemed to be greater than that of Brisbane, as Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting walked out for the toss as 30,000 fans at the Adelaide Oval were rallying behind their teams. Ponting won the toss and elected to bat on another batting-friendly surface.
However, right from the first over, Australia succumbed to the pressure built on them. Simon Katich was run out of the fourth ball of the Australian innings in a horrible mix-up with Shane Watson. And worse he didn’t face a single ball. And then Ponting couldn’t have asked for a worse innings on his 150th Test. He was out first ball, edging an outswinging delivery to a waiting Graeme Swann at second slip. James Anderson and England were on a roll. England’s morning even got better when the Australian vice-captain, Michael Clarke was out in a similar fashion as Ponting for a mere score of 2 as Australia was reduced to 2/3 in 2.1 overs. Yet, Shane Watson was at the other end even as Michael Hussey walked into the crease.
Watson was unfazed by a bad start as he went on to score a dominant half-century which included 7 fours and a huge six of Swann. However, he proved to Anderson’s third wicket as his dismissal meant that Australia were reduced to 96/4. The next batsman was Marcus North, who many felt is surviving in the team due to his bowling than batting, and should not be playing. North was finding his touch until Graeme Swann dismissed him for 26. It was Brad Haddin who was the next man in, and he and Hussey needed to once again save Australia, just like how they did at the Gabba.
Hussey kept fighting even as wickets were falling. He was certainly back in the business with a well-deserved 93 after the superb 195 in the previous Test. It seemed like he was going to bail Australia out of a precarious situation yet again, until Swann, the world’s No.2 Test bowler made Hussey lose his concentration as he drove a fullish ball spinning outside off-stump to second slip to Collingwood, who doesn’t miss many catches. Swann struck again as Ryan Harris was given out lbw first ball controversially. It was 207/7, when Xavier Doherty joined Haddin at the crease. Brad Haddin proved his mettle yet again with a half-century. Despite this innings, England were able to bowl out Australia for 245 as Australia’s lower order didn’t trouble the scorers much. James Anderson was the star with 4 wickets in the end, and Swann got 2 wickets as well which is good considering that he had a bad game at Brisbane. Steven Finn and Stuart Broad got a wicket each. At the end of the day, England ended at 1/0 after 1 over with Strauss walking off the pitch as a happier man than his counterpart, Ricky Ponting who has a fair amount of contemplating to do if he has to ensure an Australian fightback on the second days play.

Andrew Strauss

England’s victory in the second ODI against Pakistan lifted them to the No.2 spot in the one-day international ranking. Whether they stay up for there for long is another matter altogether, but for a team considered as perennial underachievers, this is quite a high. Having said that their steady climb shouldn’t surprise any cricket loyalist since this team had left behind the baggage of the 90s — when they were publicly mortified time and again for underperforming — and renewed itself in recent times. With West Indies showing no signs of improvement and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe still languishing at the bottom of the pool, England’s resurgence should see a rise in the number of competitive games.

The most significant change for the English side has come at the top of the pecking order. With two wise men as captain and coach in the form of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, the team is in safe hands for a start. And so the turbulent phase that preceded it during the Pietersen-Moores era must be viewed as a blessing in disguise. Both Andrew and Andy are no-nonsense men, a quality evident in their approach to the game, which is slowly but surely gripping the other members of the side as well.

Things haven’t come easy for either Strauss or Flower, which is all the more reason why they are so resolute to their cause. Till a couple of seasons back the England skipper was unsure of his place in the squad. But, he has risen like a Phoenix from the Ashes and now commands the respect of most. Until very recently, the left-hander’s slot in the ODI side too was under question. There were doubts as to whether he would indeed be a part of the World Cup squad. However, Strauss has more than answered his critics, with two match-winning hundreds in three games. His play may not be ideally suited to the shorter format, but the improvements he has made in his game have been proficient.

On the other hand, Flower would have been desperate for something competitive following his county stint, which wouldn’t have presented him with much of a challenge as compared to his international experience. As so, ever since taking over the reigns of England coach, he has looked every inch the proper man for the task. What further binds Strauss and Flower is the fact that they have similar approaches, both to the game and as individuals – that of keeping it basic and simple. And this work ethic has been rewarded by some memorable victories in recent times.

Also unlike Pietersen, Strauss isn’t a charismatic figure and so the others also get their fair share of limelight. This is not to say that the former was a bad captain. However, things can work both ways. In England’s, they needed a steady hand to guide them and, other than Paul Collingwood, he was the best man for the job. Pietersen could lead from the front, but his flamboyance was fraught with risks, which has culminated in him being left out of the side.

Even as the Strauss-Flower partnership has had a major hand in the resurgence of England, there have been a number of others who have played their part too – be it Eoin Morgan as the finisher in the middle, James Anderson as the strike bowler or Jonathan Trott as the calming influence at the top. On current form, this bunch of united men led by Strauss-Flower seems destined for great things. Of course, their biggest test is yet to come – The Ashes. Until then, let them enjoy the winning feeling.

The result of the two-Test series between England and Bangladesh was least surprising, with the home side overcoming a stubborn challenge from the least-pedigreed Asian Test team.

However, while the 2-0 scoreline seems impressive, it doesn’t reflect the underlying story, that of England’s struggles in between moments of domination. That Tamim Iqbal managed to register hundreds in both the Tests tells a tale in itself.

At the same time, England fought back well against the rest, and came out of the series with their reputation in tact. Still, keeping the next Ashes in mind, it is very much clear now that England have plenty to work on before taking on the Aussie challenge.

First and foremost, the English bowlers needed the help of murky conditions to unsettle the Bangladesh batting line-up. This has to be a major cause of worry for Andrew Strauss and co.

It is a given that Bangladesh’s batting is among the weakest in Test cricket. Despite this, there were a number of occasions when England just had no answer to Bangladesh’s onslaught, when they went on the offensive. On the contrary, they just sat back and let the drama unfold. Iqbal’s innings in the first Test left a scathing impact on the Englishmen. He batted with supremely authority in both Test.

It was only when the sun hid behind the clouds that their fortunes changed, and the wickets started tumbling. Suddenly, Steven Finn became unplayable, and James Anderson joined him in the second Test.

While it was great for England that they captured 20 wickets in consecutive days in the concluding Test of the series, it is also a fact that they wouldn’t be greeted by any such helpful conditions in Australia. And, that is when the true worth of Finn and Anderson will be tested.

The series also gave England a chance to test a couple of their other fringe players, and see how ready they are for the five-day game. Both Ajmal Shahzad and Eoin Morgan, who was a surprise selection considering his unorthodox game, did reasonably well.

Also, Jonathan Trott’s double hundred was a memorable effort. Of late, the batsman has been in the news for some wrong reasons, and it was good for English cricket that he silenced some murmurs with the bat.

England need him to be among the runs as, in his short international stint, he has shown the maturity of a proper Test cricketer, on more than one occasion. It also helped that skipper Andrew Strauss and the rest got among the runs. And, with Graeme Swann too returning to his wicket-taking ways, England had further cause to celebrate.

At the end of the day, though, one needs to keep in mind that this was Bangladesh, and so their performances can only be viewed as tiny indicators of their capability. It is all the more important that this same yardstick is applied to Finn.

One shouldn’t put too much pressure on the tall fast-bowler so early, hailing him as a prospective Ashes hero. After all, he is yet to achieve anything substantial against a decent side yet. It is the series against Pakistan in late July that will give us all a better idea of what to expect from England and co in the near future.

Stuart Broad of England takes a catch of Australia's Simon Katich in 2009 Ashes npower Test Series Second Test Second Day

England dominated day 2 of the second NPower Ashes Test match, with a strong bowling performance that has left them well placed with Australia needing 79 runs to avoid the follow on with only two first innings wickets in hand.

Andrew Strauss failed to add to his overnight score – and England as a team didn’t look like adding many more after losing 3 wickets in three consecutive overs. A near half century partnership from no 10 and 11 James Anderson and Graham Onions saw England move well past 400.

After that the day was England’s. Poor batting cost the tourists dear, and England will move into day 3 well on top with the possibility of winning their first Ashes test at Lords since 1934.

Strauss’ resistance didn’t last much longer into day two, bowled leaving a ball off Ben Hilfenhaus – not adding to his overnight score of 161. Graham Swann came and went in the blink of an eye – edging the ball straight to Ricky Ponting in the slips, the Australian captain taking the easiest catch you’re ever going to see in the slips, Siddle picking up his second wicket of the innings.

As if things couldn’t get any worse for England – they did. After previously edging a ball just past the stumps, Broad then chopped on the following ball – England had lost 3 wickets in 3 overs, and were now in danger of not making 400 – despite Andrew Strauss targeting a “minimum” of 450 on the eve of Day 2.

England’s innings wasn’t over yet though, James Anderson partnered by Graham Onions frustrated the Australian attack, passing the 400 mark with a relative amount of ease. Mitchell Johnson’s boundary problems weren’t confined to day 1 either – Anderson striking him for successive fours. The partnership fell just shy of 50 – but it was much needed after a disastrous start to day 2 for England, all out for 425.

England got off to the best possible start, after previously crashing Anderson to the cover boundary – Phillip Hughes gloved the ball off an attempted hook to keeper Matt Prior. England’s start got even better when Ponting inside edged the ball onto his pad, that carried to Andrew Strauss in the slips – Australia slipping to 10/2. Ponting was unhappy with the decision, the bat appear to hit the boot – rather than the ball. However, hawkeye suggested that the ball would’ve been crashing into leg stump – the wrong method to the right decision.

Australia survived the rest of the morning session, and a 4 over stint after lunch before a short burst of rain came. Another short burst of overs was followed by another shower. The teams came back out again at 3:40pm. Australia’s Simon Katich and Michael Hussey worked on building Australia’s score. Although Hussey can count himself lucky that a mis-timed hook shot landed wide at deep backward square. Australia entered tea on 87/2.

After a slow period after tea, Simon Katich miss-pulled Graham Onions to fine leg, Stuart Broad running around took a superb diving catch to dismiss the Australian – Katich falling two short of a half century.

Andrew Flintoff removed Michael Hussey with a 95 mph delivery that Hussey left, the ball did very little – maybe bouncing a little less than Mr Cricket was expecting – but nonetheless – a superb delivery – Hussey going for 51. England’s day got better when – the following ball – Michael Clarke flicked a delivery from James Anderson to Alastair Cook at short mid wicket. With that, both batsmen at the crease hadn’t faced the ball.

And things went from bad – to worse, for the tourists. Marcus North chopping James Anderson onto his stumps, Australia floundering at 139/6. A procession became a rout when Mitchell Johnson hooked Stuart Broad down to Alastair Cook at deep backward square.

Another one – this time Haddin. Australia still needing 78 to avoid the follow on, Brad Haddin pulling the ball to mid wicket. The floodlights – causing shadows – we enough for the umpires to offer the batsmen the light, and Australia naturally took it.

The visitors end day two in deep trouble, the first three overs of the day aside – its been all England. An ill-disciplined batting performance has left their tail needing to do some serious work on just saving the follow on. England will look to skittle Australia out tomorrow, and then hammer home their advantage with possibly enforcing the follow on.

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.

Paul Collingwood’s magnificent 74 gave England a hard hard fought draw. 20/2 going into the final day, England needed to bat out the day. With one session to go, England only had three wickets left, and when Collingwood fell with 11.3 overs remaining, it was left to James Anderson and Monty Panesar to save the game. Australia – gutted with the draw in a game that they dominated from start to finish.

England started the day needing to attack. Captain Andrew Strauss dropping a quick single into the covers showing their intent.

Kevin Pietersen was nearly caught out by Ben Hilfenhaus delivery, choosing to leave alone a fairly straight delivery that nipped back in. Fortunately enough for England the ball wasn’t going on to hit the stumps.

He wasn’t out of the action for long, Hilfenhaus again, driving a ball in the air through the covers. But the following delivery knocked Pietersen’s off stump out of the ground, it was merely a straight ball – Pietersen squared up, falling for 8.

Spinner Nathan Hauritz found sizeable turn on the 5th day pitch. A short wide ball got the treatment from Andrew Strauss, but the following ball – a ball that bounced a fraction higher than the previous delivery – Strauss getting a thin snick to keeper Brad Haddin – Australia were rapturous – England in ever-deepening trouble at 46/4.

Hauritz was causing England all sorts of problems. Paul Collingwood had an inside edge onto his pad, the ball popped up – but fell just short of Simon Katich in at short leg. The following delivery Collingwood edged one down, after clipping his pads the ball rolled towards the stumps, the batsman got his foot on top of the ball just before it hit.

Prior and Collingwood stood together for a while, but the stand was unlikely to last – and it didn’t. Prior miss cutting Hauritz – the ball looping up – Michael Clarke taking the catch in the slips. England starring defeat in the face at 70/5.

Ricky Ponting chose to open up after lunch with two seamers. Ben Hilfenhaus was getting the ball two swing just a fraction, Flintoff was flashing, and a edge flew past 2nd slip for 4. Flintoff and Collingwood’s 50 partnership came up off 111 balls, still a long way to go.

And a long way to go it was, Flintoff edging Mitchell Johnson to Ricky Ponting, who took the ball into his hands just before it hit the ground.

Johnson had Broad in trouble straight away, a full-ish ball hit Broad in front of leg stump – the umpire gave it not out – Hawkeye suggested the ball would have hit the outside half of leg stump.

Australia reverted to spin, Hauritz and Marcus North as England battened down the hatches. Broad’s obduracy didn’t last for long, Hauritz angling the ball back in, Broad went back – the ball skidded on and struck him on the knee roll in front of middle stump England were 159/7. Broad showing the mistake of going back to a spinner on this surface.

Collingwood bought up his half century in 167 balls. Peter Siddle got into the new batsman striking him three times on the fingers and arms in a fantastic exhibition of short pitch bowling.

The short stuff from Siddle to Swann continued after the tea interval, the Australian hitting the England spinner on the helmet – the ball running away for two leg byes.

England ground the Australians down, Swann and Collingwood passing their 50 partnership. With 20 overs left in the match – England were 24 runs behind.

With 19 overs to go, Swann went to put a ball that didn’t bounce as much as he was anticipating, pinned in front by Hilfenhaus, for a well fought 31 from 63.

Hauritz then had a shout for LBW/Caught. Ricky Ponting to a superb catch in a short leg, but agonisingly for Australia – the LBW was outside the line – and the ball didn’t hit the bat.

In the following over, Anderson got one that reared on him, there was hesitation, Collingwood got a third of the way down the pitch, Anderson – rightly – sent him back, Collingwood would have been gone with a direct hit.

Siddle finally removed Collingwood – cut the ball at Michael Hussey in the gully, juggling the ball – Hussey took it at the second attempt – 74 runs from 245 deliveries – England 6 runs behind, 1 wicket left with 11.3 overs remaining.

It was left to Anderson and Monty Panesar. And in a nail-biting finish for everyone, the two ball-by-ball batted out the time. Got ahead of the Australia score, and when the time was up Ricky Ponting shook hands with Jimmy Anderson and the game was drawn. The fans rejoiced, England had save the game.