Third Test: England v Australia .2811.E2.80.9315 August.29 Test matches in England in 2005

1 third test: england v australia (11–15 august)

1.1 day one
1.2 day two
1.3 day three
1.4 day four
1.5 day five

third test: england v australia (11–15 august)

day one

with series square after england s close win in second match @ edgbaston in birmingham, stakes of third test @ old trafford in manchester had risen significantly. day began england winning toss, , choosing bat first, giving shane warne chance become first man take 600 test wickets in england s first innings, , did against marcus trescothick mistimed sweep shot , caught behind australian wicket-keeper adam gilchrist, earning warne standing ovation old trafford crowd.

after naming unchanged line-up, england faced pairing of glenn mcgrath , brett lee. there doubts whether these play before match started, due injuries sustained earlier, both passed fitness tests. england s wickets fell slowly, many missed opportunity australia helping hosts run big first innings total. helped fruitful partnership between trescothick , michael vaughan, added 137 before trescothick dismissed after lunch. vaughan became first man in series century.

the frustrated australia team faced fearless england side challenged them @ every turn, , recovered nicely after dismissals of trescothick , vaughan, couldn t resist smacking full toss katich straight mcgrath @ boundary. vaughan dismissed after 166 runs, destined highest individual score in series. australia faced more defiant ian bell, had struggled in first 2 tests. picking vaughan left off after tea, bell, kevin pietersen , nightwatchman matthew hoggard closed out day england score 341 5.

day two

bell did not add overnight score, being given out caught behind in controversial circumstances, replays indicated did not make contact ball. following brief rain interval england lost 2 more wickets before lunch, andrew flintoff after scoring quick-fire 46 , geraint jones 42. after lunch australia dispatched remaining 2 wickets further 10 runs, bowling england out score of 444, glenn mcgrath finishing on worst-ever test figures of nought 86.

australia started innings tentatively matthew hoggard dropping low catch matthew hayden off own bowling. before tea australia lost first wicket hayden out caught @ short leg ashley giles first over. after tea australia lost couple of wickets, ricky ponting caught 7 , hayden given out lbw 34. gilchrist put on 30 before edging first ball of simon jones spell geraint jones.

this brought in michael clarke had been recuperating @ team hotel after damaging on first day. due injury, clarke needed hayden act runner. warne made inroads bat, @ edgbaston 4 days previously, clarke managed add 7 runs before being deceived slower ball simon jones. warne , jason gillespie saw day out warne finishing on 45 not out.

the day finished australia on 214 7, 230 behind , needing 31 runs avoid follow-on. score adjusted 210 overnight due umpire failing signal 4 byes.

day three

rain delayed start of play until 16:00 bst, , 8 overs possible before play again suspended, although further 6 overs bowled later on before yet more rain meant play abandoned day. australia had better of short day s play, adding 50 runs without loss pass follow-on target, although warne lucky survive on 2 occasions errors geraint jones: when warne had 55 missed relatively straightforward stumping opportunity, , on 68 dropped after edging ball flintoff. australia closed on 264 7, still 180 in arrears, england felt missed several opportunities put game beyond opponents.

day four

having been hampered rain-shortened day three, australians ready put more wood ball on day four, , did not disappoint. warne continued march towards maiden test century before holing out hook shot placed giles @ 90. simon jones mopped other 2 wickets bowl australia out 302, jones finishing innings career best figures of 6 53.

the english opening batsmen of andrew strauss , marcus trescothick began england s response, scoring 26 before lunch. after lunch, trescothick played on bowled after scoring 41 giving mcgrath first wicket of match. strauss put fine century, sixth 17 matches, scoring 106 before getting out caught. gilchrist demonstrated how difficult wicket-keeping missing 2 stumping opportunities remove bell , failing hold catch remove flintoff. bell capitalised on gilchrist s errors, partnering strauss 28 overs , recording well-deserved 65. geraint jones added swift 27 england more concerned scoring staying @ crease, , england declared on 280 give them spell @ australia in evening , chance of winning match next day. mcgrath recorded five-wicket haul in innings, expensive, giving away 115 runs. warne, despite bowling 25 overs, failed take wicket, recording figures of nought 74.

australia needed 423 win, record fourth innings total win match. australia saw out last 10 overs without losing wicket , put 24 runs, leaving 399.

day five

english hopes of win high, , 20,000 people locked out of stadium in addition 23,000 capacity crowd. australia started day needing 399 runs 98 overs if claim unlikely victory. day started poorly them langer falling 14 on seventh ball of day, nicking ball delivered matthew hoggard behind geraint jones. ponting narrowly survived being run out on , proved crucial in context of match momentum gradually swung in australia s direction. @ 1 point australia racked runs @ such rate win became real possibility. despite losing clarke , jason gillespie in quick succession send team 264 7, ponting battled on before succumbing harmison after 7 hours on crease record first australian century of series score of 156. enough earn man of match honours.

after dismissal of ponting, australia 354 9 4 overs remaining, , thrilling climax occurred england having real chance of snatching victory in similar fashion second test. unfancied pairing of brett lee , glenn mcgrath handled remaining 24 deliveries finish on 371 9, 52 short of victory sufficient draw game , leave series tied @ 1–1. (cricinfo scorecard)