Fourth Test: England v Australia .2825.E2.80.9328 August.29 Test matches in England in 2005

1 fourth test: england v australia (25–28 august)

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

fourth test: england v australia (25–28 august)

day one

glenn mcgrath once again ruled out due injury, time elbow, , australia dropped out-of-form jason gillespie, leaving them seam attack of brett lee, debutant shaun tait , michael kasprowicz. england, having been on top in last 2 tests, unchanged.

england won toss , chose bat, , got off flyer. boosted no-balls seamers — total of 18 before lunch — marcus trescothick , andrew strauss made hay quickly, , enjoyed batting on pitch gave bowlers no aid. recorded second 100-run opening partnership of series, before strauss freakishly dismissed for 35, sweeping shane warne onto boot , matthew hayden s waiting hands @ slip — wicket confirmed third umpire. michael vaughan continued on fine form old trafford, though, punishing bad balls brett lee go lunch score on 14. trescothick, meanwhile, rode luck, bowled off no-ball on 55, lee s displeasure. @ lunch england 129 for 1.

only 3.1 overs possible in afternoon session due rain. coming after tea, england lost 2 wickets shaun tait, used cloud cover effect , swung ball well. however, michael vaughan , kevin pietersen batted 67-run partnership, although each dropped once. towards end of day, ricky ponting brought himself on, , medium pace yielded wicket — of vaughan 58. overnight, match evenly poised england 229 for 4.

day two

australia dismissed pietersen @ beginning of morning s play, edging full oustwinger lee through wicket-keeper gilchrist. unbeaten century partnership andrew flintoff , geraint jones took england s score 344 for 5 @ lunch.

after lunch, pair continued score hour, , extended partnership 177 before flintoff lbw tait 102, first test century against australia. loss of flintoff did not deter english, jones continued hit runs through off side on way highest score against australians, making 85 before caught , bowled kasprowicz. next 2 wickets fell quickly, stubborn last-wicket partnership of 23 between matthew hoggard , simon jones — including incident ball hit stumps bails failed fall off — saw england 477 out @ tea.

in evening session, england s bowlers, matthew hoggard, managed find more swing australian bowlers had done, , ripped through australian top order. first 3 wickets fell in crucial period of 11 balls (although third, dismissed damien martyn lbw, debatable decision — television replays indicated ball might have hit bat before body). stumps australia had been reduced 99 for 5 complete excellent day england.

day three

simon katich , adam gilchrist decided attack best form of defence, adding 58 in 8.5 overs in morning, before england came take next 4 wickets addition of 18 runs, leaving australia perilously placed @ 175 for 9. simon jones main culprit, using swing effect removed katich , warne in successive balls, , had kasprowicz clean bowled. brett lee added 47 in 44 balls, including 3 huge sixes, take australia s score 218, before caught off simon jones s bowling give jones fifth wicket of innings. despite aggressive batting, australia therefore finished first innings 259 runs behind.

michael vaughan gambled, enforcing follow-on on visitors (the first time australia had followed on in 17 years). lunch, australia had reached 14 without loss in second innings, , powered on in afternoon session, losing matthew hayden , adding 100 more runs before tea. england, afternoon session worst of match — compound misery, simon jones showed signs of injury, , andrew strauss dropped justin langer on 38.

in evening session, england managed take 3 wickets, dropped catch , missed stumping. australia finished day still 37 runs in arrears 6 wickets still in hand. simon jones went off field during evening session ankle injury, , taken hospital ankle scan. while jones off field receiving attention, substitute fielder gary pratt ran out australian captain ricky ponting, verbally expressed displeasure @ england s use of subs players, umpires , administrators left field.

day four

day 4 began in earnest michael clarke , simon katich continuing partnership previous day. however, katich had twice flirted dismissal, saved chance both times. in words of bbc cricket commentator henry blofeld, s game of chess – white-flannelled figures on green grass. english , australians proceeded cold war part of morning, england attempting frustrate australian batting, latter refusing take bait. england s lead evaporated without wicket falling, matthew hoggard s taking of clarke s , adam gilchrist s scalps on either side of lunch break swung initiative england s hands.

the injury simon jones became obvious pacers struggled capture magic jones had created previous day had forced australia follow on. despite this, australian run rate remained low both sides stared each other down. mistakes geraint jones , kevin pietersen nullified dismissal of warne for 45 , kasprowicz for 19, , after few overs resistance tait bowled middle stump for 4, leaving 129 english chase after tea.

andrew strauss plays forward shane warne michael clarke waiting take catch.

england proceeded send game nailbiter — english wickets fell shane warne took 4 wickets (including of marcus trescothick (27), michael vaughan (0) , andrew strauss (23)). brett lee dismissed ian bell (3) , @ 57 for 4 england in trouble. andrew flintoff (26) , kevin pietersen (23) steadied ship invaluable partnership of 46 before both fell in quick succession lee. despite geraint jones (3) being dismissed cheaply, partnership of ashley giles (7) , matthew hoggard (8) guided english home. man of match honours went andrew flintoff, more importantly gave english crucial 2–1 edge heading london fifth , final test, ensuring not lose series. however, ashes going australia in event of drawn series, there still play @ oval.

(bbc scorecard)

ashes reactions public (last day)