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ThirteenOne Day Internationals were played in England in 2005 - 10 in the NatWest Series betweenEngland,Bangladesh andAustralia, and three between England and Australia in the NatWest Challenge immediately following the Series.
16 June Scorecard |
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ME Trescothick 100* (76) |
England won by 10 wickets The Oval, London Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andMR Benson (Eng) Player of the match:ME Trescothick (Eng) |
Amid rains atThe Oval,Jon Lewis had a stunning ODI debut for theEngland cricket team againstBangladesh, removingJaved Omar andMohammad Ashraful with successive deliveries before taking outNafees Iqbal in a good opening spell. Admittedly, it was aided by cloudy skies, which gave Lewis plenty of swing - his main threat - but it was still a decent return for the debutant.Steve Harmison was his usual erratic self, going for nine off the first five balls of an over before removingTushar Imran with a ball that was gloved onto thestumps just before the end of 15 overs, making it 57 for 4.Habibul Bashar, the highest averaging Bangladesh batsman, gloved a short ball from Harmison to a divingGeraint Jones, and he was on his way for 19 - Bangladesh now 72 for 5. Lewis actually bowled his ten overs straight, ending with three for 32, as the last over was just an exercise in defending from the visitors. WicketkeeperKhaled Mashud was next to go, attempting a pull off a poor ball down the legside, for 1. However, a solid recovery fromAftab Ahmed andMohammad Rafique slowly gave the Bangladeshis a chance, before rain intervened again after 30 overs.
Coming back from the rain break, Aftab and Rafique continued to smack the England bowlers, particularlyPaul Collingwood, but eventually Rafique gave a chance to Harmison at long leg and the Bangladeshis were seven down for 152. And only a couple of overs later, Aftab was out in a close run-out decision, for 51.Khaled Mahmud then went for a golden duck, playing a poor shot to a short ball from Harmison, his fourth wicket of the day. However,Nazmul Hossain andMashrafe Mortaza frustrated the English bowlers, withDarren Gough eventually ending the resistance as he got Nazmul for 6 to end the innings for 190. However, the Bangladeshis offered no resistance in the bowling, as only Mortaza was hit for less than six an over.Marcus Trescothick hit his ninth One Day International century off just 76 balls,Andrew Strauss supplied with a level-headed 82, and ten extras added up to a total of 192. The winning runs - a four from Strauss - were hit inside 25 overs and with all ten wickets to spare.(Cricinfo scorecard)
18 June Scorecard |
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Bangladesh won by 5 wickets Sophia Gardens,Cardiff Umpires:BF Bowden (NZ) andDR Shepherd (Eng) Player of the match:Mohammad Ashraful (Ban) |
Perhaps, the biggest upset in the history oflimited overs cricket,Mashrafe Mortaza shocked theSophia Gardens crowd when he hadAdam Gilchrist plumb on the second ball of the secondODI, taking the firstAustralian wicket without a run yet on the scoreboard - and it was to set the tone of the match. Most people would have expected Australia to swampBangladesh, especially after the 10-wicket defeat the Bangladeshi Tigers endured in the opening match with England, but a maiden from Mortaza gave them some hope, at least. Things looked to be going the right way for Australia whenMatthew Hayden took a boundary offTapash Baisya, but another maiden followed, and in the sixth overRicky Ponting padded up to Tapash Baisya - resulting in an lbw decision given, and Australia were - incredibly - 9 for 2. Cautious batting from Hayden andDamien Martyn followed, but some expensive bowling from Baisya relinquished the initiative, as Australia recovered somewhat. They survived through 15 overs, Hayden being caught off ano-ball from Tapash, but in the 16th, he was bowled byNazmul Hossain for 37 off an inside edge, just as Hayden were looking to get himself in. Some economical bowling fromMohammad Rafique who bowled ten overs for 31 runs, along with excellent bowling from Mortaza at the death, resulted in Australia finishing on 249 for 5, losing Martyn to Baisya for 77 and Clarke to the same man for 54. In fact,Michael Hussey with 31 not out off 21 balls andSimon Katich with 36 not out off 23 ensured that they got a competitive target.
That was not all, however. The chase began very sedately, onlyTushar Imran looking to take runs as he smashedBrad Hogg about, but Hogg got his revenge when Tushar was out for 24, lofting to Katich. Earlier,Nafees Iqbal had gone for 8, and withJaved Omar out as the third man to fall, for 19 off 51 balls, it looked to be business as usual for Bangladesh. But this match had more tricks up its sleeve. Hogg and Clarke leaked runs like a drain, six wides were bowled, andMohammad Ashraful showed another glimpse of why he's been called Bangladesh's finest batsman. As he made the second ODI hundred in the Bangladesh team's history, he forged a massive 130-run partnership withHabibul Bashar, and had a great two hours at the crease (although dropped on 54) - before picking outJason Gillespie at long on to be out for exactly 100. Bangladesh still needed 23 runs off 17 balls, butAftab Ahmed continued his fine form from the Oval match with England, as he first took aleg bye off Ashraful, then gave the strike to Rafique, who smashed a cover driven four before taking another legbye. A four and a dot-ball finished a 10-run over, meaning that Bangladesh now needed only 13 off 12 balls. A good over from McGrath followed, as he conceded only six runs - including an edged four from Rafique. With the last over, Bangladesh needed seven runs, and Ahmed swung the first ball of the over to midwicket for six. Thus, it became a formality - Bangladesh won with four balls and five wickets to spare, almost convincing in today's cricket, and the result meant that the Aussies needed a victory overEngland atBristol the following day to have any chance of winning the group stage.(Cricinfo scorecard)
19 June Scorecard |
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England won by 3 wickets County Ground, Bristol Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andJW Lloyds (Eng) Player of the match:KP Pietersen (Eng) |
Ricky Ponting chose to bat when he won the toss for the visitingAustralian cricket team in an extremely tense and see-sawing match atThe County Ground, Bristol. It looked like a great decision whenJon Lewis andDarren Gough were smashed about early on, as Australia made their way to 57 for 0 after 11 overs withAdam Gilchrist andMatthew Hayden taking sixes off Lewis over midwicket. However, with the entrance ofSteve Harmison, everything changed. In his third over - the twelfth of the game, he removed Gilchrist with a bouncy ball that the batsman edged behind, then Ponting with a yorker that he didn't play at - resulting in lbw - then a dot ball, and thenMartyn with a slog shot toPietersen at third man. Australia tried to consolidate, but when Hayden tried to hit out off Harmison four overs later,Paul Collingwood jumped up to pick the ball out of the air with his right hand - a magnificent catch, and Australia had lost four wickets for six runs, reminiscent of their collapse in the Twenty20 match earlier on in the week.
Australia dug themselves out of the hole, however,Michael Clarke andMichael Hussey slowly accumulating to increase the rate.England clearly lacked a fifth-bowler, opting instead forVikram Solanki to bat down the order, so they used a combination ofMichael Vaughan, Solanki and Collingwood to get through their ten required overs. That let Australia off the hook, with Clarke and Hussey adding 105, beforeJon Lewis - who had been taken to the cleaners earlier on - dug outMichael Clarke with an inside edge onto the stumps, taking the fifth wicket of the game at just the right time.Shane Watson accumulated well with Hussey, however, hitting six an over as Lewis was smashed about again, but Harmison got his revenge by completing his first five-wicket-haul in ODIs as Hussey was beaten by a slower ball - the first time Hussey had been dismissed in One-Day Internationals, for a batting average of 229. Then,Andrew Flintoff was brought back, getting a splendid yorker in for Watson, who was out for 25 just as the Aussies were preparing to hit out - the score 220 for 7 after 44.1 overs.Jason Gillespie andBrad Hogg survived a couple of overs from Flintoff and Harmison - meaning that Harmison finished with five for 33 off ten overs. Towards the end, Australia built up again, before losing Gillespie to a top edge, but 244 for 8 with seven balls remaining still looked difficult for England to chase. Gough dug outMichael Kasprowicz with a yorker with two balls to spare, and four legbyes ended the innings to take Australia to 252 for 9.
England started positively in reply, taking 39 off the first 34 legal deliveries (while Gillespie served up four wides and a no-ball in his first over), but Glenn McGrath took revenge by serving up a good yorker to haveMarcus Trescothick bowled for 16. Two overs later,Andrew Strauss went in identical fashion, and Vaughan and Collingwood were forced to consolidate. They did, although in jerky fashion, Collingwood eventually falling to Kasprowicz and Flintoff mistiming a hit off Hogg to see England into a spot of bother at 119 for 4 after 27.2 overs, with Vaughan andKevin Pietersen at the crease. Edges and runs followed, but when England lost Vaughan andGeraint Jones in quick succession, and were 93 short with only 74 deliveries left, it looked dark for England. Pietersen then upped the ante. Smashing runs to all corners, especially off Gillespie, he reached his fifty off 46 balls, and then took 19 more deliveries to bring up an additional 41 runs - although surviving an extremely close run-out decision near the 40th over. A level headed 7 not out from Lewis - making up somewhat for his bowling - ensured the English were home by three wickets and 15 deliveries - and the Australians had only managed two points from their first two matches, while England had gained 11.(Cricinfo scorecard)'
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England won by 168 runs Trent Bridge,Nottingham Umpires:BF Bowden (NZ) andDR Shepherd (Eng) Player of the match:PD Collingwood (Eng) |
Michael Vaughan chose to bat first on a good batting wicket atTrent Bridge, asEngland looked to set a massive target and keep up their good form. After a bit of a shaky start, withAndrew Strauss being dropped, butMarcus Trescothick smashed boundaries to all corners asBangladesh's bowlers were made to look distinctly ordinary. Trescothick made a 51-ball fifty, before taking Tapash apart in the 15th over, as England cruised to 128 for 0 after 15 overs. A couple of overs later,Nazmul Hossain made the breakthrough, a massive smash ending inShahriar Nafees' hands, as Trescothick hit an entertaining 85.
The new batsman Vaughan looked shaky at the crease, and eventually finished with an eight-ball duck, giving an inside edge to Nazmul's bowling.Andrew Flintoff was next to fall, giving a catch offAftab Ahmed to skipperHabibul Bashar for 17, but good recuperation from Strauss andPaul Collingwood kept the run rate well over six, and Strauss could hit a 100-ball century with a single off Rafique in the fortieth over, and with the next ball Collingwood hit his fifty with a boundary. After ten over, England were 270 for 3, and Strauss and Collingwood decided to have some fun. The next nine overs went for 116 runs, Nazmul getting Strauss with the second last ball of the innings for 152 - England's second highest ODI score, and their highest since 1983. Paul Collingwood made 112 not out as well - only his second ODI century - to propel England to 391 for 4, the second highest ODI score of all time.
Chris Tremlett, England's ODI debutant, started well with good pace - near 140 km/h - whileJon Lewis served up full tosses and wides from the other end. In the tenth over, Tremlett got his due reward, first havingShahriar Nafees gone with an inside edge and then followed up with havingTushar Imran caught behind for a golden duck.Mohammad Ashraful was then given another life, misreading a ball from Tremlett which ended up on the stumps - incredibly, the bails stayed on, so Ashraful survived. The next 20 balls he faced were duly dispatched for runs - he particularly took a liking toSteve Harmison, who conceded more in 17 balls today than in the entire match against Australia - and he made the fastest ODI fifty by a Bangladeshi off just 21 balls. He looked to be on his way to the fifth-fastest ODI century, having hit 94 off 51 balls, but eventually hit one expansive stroke too many as he was bowled by Collingwood.
That calmed the nerves of the England team - after 26 overs, Bangladesh required ten an over for the last 24 overs with seven wickets in hand andJaved Omar andHabibul Bashar - both with a batting strike rate which equated to less than four an over - at the crease. The only question was whether the Bangladeshis could steal a bonus point from the English, which looked unlikely as Collingwood grabbed two quick wickets and reduced them to 180 for 5, and in the next over he removedJaved Omar as the Bangladeshi got an inside edge. Collingwood eventually finished with six for 31, takingKhaled Mashud andMashrafe Mortaza as well, Mortaza bowled with the last ball of his 10-over-spell - to become the first person in ODI history to make a century and take a six-wicket-haul. Harmison, however, the hero of the last game, had to endure dropped catches off his bowling as he conceded 55 runs from eight overs, but he was not needed to bowl all ten as Tremlett removedMohammad Rafique for 19, ending the Bangladeshi innings on 223 - 168 runs behind England. Overall, England could take some good batting form from their openers and a stunning debut from Tremlett - who looked much more impressive than Lewis in this game - out of the match, while Bangladesh could be happy with the swashbuckling Ashraful and Nazmul's three wickets.(Cricinfo scorecard)
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Australia won by 57 runs Riverside Ground,Chester-le-Street Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andMR Benson (Eng) Player of the match:A Symonds (Aus) |
Australia squared theODI series by winning a game whereEngland missed their captainMichael Vaughan due to injury.Marcus Trescothick, the stand-in captain, won the toss and decided to chase at theRiverside Ground, thus giving his own side the task of batting under floodlights.Chris Tremlett who had made an impressive debut againstBangladesh, struggled early on with his line and length, and the Australian openersMatthew Hayden andAdam Gilchrist punished him for runs. In his fifth over, however, Tremlett got a breakthrough, Gilchrist mistiming a cut andGeraint Jones taking the catch behind. However,Ricky Ponting didn't toss his wicket away early, leaving it to Hayden to hit the runs, and at the end of 15 overs the Australians were 73 for 1.Andrew Flintoff andSteve Harmison, the change bowlers, kept the pressure up on the batsmen, however, not letting too many runs away even though they bowled the occasional wide, and they could reap the rewards with two quick wickets, Ponting for 27 and Hayden for 39, and people began to remember the last ODI between the sides.
However, this time there was no collapse. Twono-balls from Harmison followed,Andrew Symonds andDamien Martyn defended well, waiting for Harmison and Flintoff to be taken off and saved for the last overs. They were - and Australia were let off the hook. Symonds and Martyn paired up for 142 runs, taking runs off every bowler - even Flintoff and Harmison - and batted together for nearly 25 overs, with a partnership run-rate of nearly 6. The first four overs only yielded 13 runs, but when Harmison was taken off England lost the sting. Symonds was finallyrun out by the skipper Trescothick for 73, a hopeless attempt at taking a single, and Flintoff dug outMichael Hussey for 5 two overs later. Australia, however, made a highly competitive 266 for 5, and in the seaming conditions one would expect it to be enough.
As it turned out, it was.Brett Lee, opening the bowling for Australia, started off with a maiden over to Trescothick, and England struggled to get off the mark, being four for no wicket after three overs. Another maiden fromGlenn McGrath followed, and thenAndrew Strauss departed with an inside edge off Lee. In the next over, Trescothick was gone for a 15-ball duck, to an away-swinger from McGrath, and two balls laterPaul Collingwood gave a massive inside-edge onto his stumps - England were six for three, and staring down the barrel.
A rescue operation fromAndrew Flintoff andVikram Solanki followed, pairing up for 79 before Solanki was caught at midwicket offBrad Hogg. Then, Flintoff was nearlystumped off Hogg's bowling, only to give a catch at long on later on in the over for 44. With England at 94 for 5, they needed seven and a half runs an over, withKevin Pietersen andGeraint Jones at the crease. However, even Pietersen couldn't save them this time, as he was caught in the deep off Symonds for 19, and the rest of the match just became a task to bat out 50 overs. Thanks toDarren Gough, who made 46 not out (ironically, the top score of the innings), and a level-headed 11 not out fromSteve Harmison, England made that, but lost by 57 runs - thus also losing the bonus point.(Cricinfo scorecard)
25 June Scorecard |
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Australia won by 10 wickets Old Trafford, Manchester Umpires:BF Bowden (NZ) andJW Lloyds (Eng) Player of the match:A Symonds (Aus) |
Australia recorded a thumping 10-wicket win overBangladesh to level their head-to-head record in the NatWest Series to 1–1. Under leaden skies at Old Trafford,Ricky Ponting made the wise decision and chose to bowl, and short-balls fromBrett Lee immediately had the Bangladeshis worried. They survived six overs without loss beforeJaved Omar was trapped by an in-swinger for a 20-ball 3.Tushar Imran was next to fall to Lee, and many expected a procession to begin, butShahriar Nafees andMohammad Ashraful gave the crowd a treat with some special strokes. Ashraful had two top-edged sixes, as Lee was dispatched for 20 runs in the eleventh over. By the drinks break after 15 overs, Bangladesh were 76 for 2, having added 53 from the last 39 balls. Ponting, however, brought on the spinnersBrad Hogg andAndrew Symonds, who both got a fair amount of turn out of the Old Trafford pitch, and Symonds had Shahriar bowled for 47 with a yorker that he played late to. The next ball, he got the out-of-form captainHabibul Bashar, and the wickets began to tumble quickly. Symonds got five wickets for 18 runs, Hogg three for 29, Bangladesh collapsed from 137 for 6 (whenKhaled Mashud was bowled by Hogg) to 139 all out in three overs, as Ashraful went for 58 and no one else really offering any resistance to the slow Australian bowlers.
Bangladesh hadAdam Gilchrist in some trouble early on, especially through fast bowlerMashrafe Mortaza, who had him beaten several times in the opening overs, butMatthew Hayden was imposing at the crease, punishing the inevitable bad balls fromNazmul Hossain who was taken off after three overs, having conceded 29 runs. However, no one could stop the rot, Hayden and Gilchrist taking runs at will after a while to see Australia to the target inside 20 overs. Australia thus closed the gap to England to three points, as the situation indicated by the ICC rankings before the series became more and more possible - that Bangladesh were to be whipping boys and England and Australia would go through.(Cricinfo scorecard)
26 June Scorecard |
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England won by 5 wickets Headingley,Leeds Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andMR Benson (Eng) Player of the match:AJ Strauss (Eng) |
A lacklustre effort fromEngland's opening bowlers was still enough to beatBangladesh and cement a final between England and Australia in the NatWest Series.Habibul Bashar won the toss and batted first, and it looked to pay off asShahriar Nafees,Javed Omar andTushar Imran milked runs off the English opening bowlers. EspeciallySimon Jones - returning from injury - was erratic, bowling eight wides in the match, whileDarren Gough was just smashed around the park. However, Jones got the early wicket when Nafees cut it toMarcus Trescothick at slip - before Bangladesh rebuilt again. After 16 overs, they were 82 for 1, and looked to build a sizable target.
However, their opener Javed - whose ODI strike rate was just above 50 at the time - slowed things down, and a double blow fromAndrew Flintoff - first getting Tushar with an inside edge to have him bowled, and thenMohammad Ashraful for a golden duck -Bodyline-style. That set the Bangladeshis back, and patient bowling fromAshley Giles andPaul Collingwood resulted in the run-out of captain Habibul for 10. WithAftab Ahmed falling for 15, it was up to wicketkeeperKhaled Mashud who did an excellent job in lifting Bangladesh past 200 - taking a particular liking to Gough as he made 42 not out off 43 balls. Flintoff got two more wickets in the innings, finishing with four for 29, as he had Javed bowled for 81 and Mashrafe bowled for 1.
England got off to a very good start, with Trescothick andAndrew Strauss continuing in the vein of previous matches against the Bangladeshis, and pairing up for 99 runs for the first wicket. Trescothick was eventually out for 43 toMohammad Rafique, giving a catch behind, but despite the spinners taking wickets, they were also expensive, Strauss in particular taking them for runs as he wasbowled on 98 - attempting a sweep to bring up the win, the bonus point and his own century. Instead, the win was brought up very anticlimactically, Geraint Jones facing three balls before Manjural Islam Rana served up awide. A disappointment for England would be that Flintoff still struggled with his batting form, only making 22, though in the match it mattered little - England still took the bonus point and qualified for the final, making the last two games redundant for them.(Cricinfo scorecard)
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The eighth match of the NatWest Series eventually became an anti-climax, but for large parts of the match it wasn't - despite the fact that both teams had qualified for the final before the last game.Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to send his openers in - and they took advantage.Darren Gough was innocuous, conceding 23 runs in his first two overs, prompting a bowling change in the fifth over, sendingSteve Harmison on. Meanwhile,Simon Jones got some swing with the new ball - and, yet again in this series,Adam Gilchrist was caught behind off a swing bowler, out for 19. Shortly afterwards, Jones tried to throw the ball back at the wicketkeeper asMatthew Hayden pushed it back to him, but Jones hit Hayden with the balls, and a few words were exchanged -Paul Collingwood joining in the fray as well.
However, the match got on, Jones and Harmison putting on the pressure and eventually having Hayden lbw on 14 - after he had failed to score from the last eleven deliveries.Damien Martyn then faced five dot-balls, and Jones served up a wicket maiden, and Australia were at 46 for 2 at the end of the tenth over. However, that was as good as it got for England.Andrew Flintoff dug out skipperRicky Ponting for 34, but it mattered little, as Martyn andAndrew Symonds took advantage of the bowling.Michael Vaughan tried to put himself on, but Symonds smashed him over midwicket for six - the first of the match, displaying the despair. With some no-balls from Gough, and Simon Jones getting smashed early on, Australia were 220 for 4 after 42 overs, and looked on course for 300. However, the run-out of Symonds for 74 changed the course of the innings.Michael Clarke departed for three, a good catch byGeraint Jones behind the stumps, and Harmison then served up a wicket-maiden in the 46th over, of all things. WithBrad Hogg andJason Gillespie giving soft catches to Gough, that redeemed his figures somewhat, but he still conceded 70 runs. The last over from Flintoff was very good, however, conceding only three runs with yorkers directed at the feet of the batsmen, and Australia had to be content with 261 for 9.
England's chase was interrupted once by rain, after three overs, when they were eight for 0, but coming back they were set 200 to win in 33 overs. That was never possible - rain started again after three more overs - and whenAndrew Strauss fell the umpires decided that play was no longer possible, and a no-result was declared.(Cricinfo scorecard)
30 June Scorecard |
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Australia won by 6 wickets St Lawrence Ground,Canterbury Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andJW Lloyds (Eng) Player of the match:Shahriar Nafees (Ban) |
The last game of the round robin of the NatWest Series was, as expected, won by the Australians. However, it summed up the improvement Bangladesh had made over the tour of England. In the first international, they were rolled over meekly by a no-balling, rusty English side - twice. In the last,Brett Lee andJason Gillespie put the pressure on early, and with the aid ofShane Watson had them on the reels with 75 for 5. Yet, Bangladesh recovered to post 250 for 8, and were theoretically in with a chance for most of the game. Yet, they started very, very shakily.Javed Omar was dropped byMatthew Hayden in the third over, only to be out toJason Gillespie in the next for an eight-ball duck - a disappointing end to a fine series for the Bangladeshi. Brett Lee had bothTushar Imran andMohammad Ashraful beaten with full deliveries, Bangladesh were 19 for three wickets down - an all too familiar position.
A quickfire 30 from captainHabibul Bashar helped to take away some of the jitters, as Bashar took 16 runs off a Brett Lee over, but a bouncer fromShane Watson wasn't successfully evaded, andAdam Gilchrist could take the catch.Aftab Ahmed had to settle for 7, and it was down to the last two recognised batsmen -Shahriar Nafees, who had quietly moved his way to 25 not out, and wicketkeeperKhaled Mashud. However, the two put on a nigh-on faultless partnership of 94, taking their time to consolidate. Shahriar eventually departed for 75, edging a short ball fromShane Watson to the wicket-keeper - the usual method of dismissal. However, their partnership had given Bangladesh hope, andMohammad Rafique took advantage with a six off Watson. Despite two more wickets falling - Rafique andKhaled Mahmud (caught at mid-on on the last ball) - Bangladesh had recovered to 250 for 8, which could potentially be tricky to chase.
Mashrafe Mortaza was hit around for twelve in the first over, however, and the momentum swung towards Australia. Mortaza hit back by inducing an outside edge fromMatthew Hayden to wicketkeeper Mashud for 1, and four balls later a ball from Mortaza hit captainRicky Ponting on the pads - but too high to be given out. Gilchrist and Ponting paired up well, however, even though Gilchrist rode his luck with a few drives in the air, but in the 10th over he gave a somewhat dubious catch to slip Khaled Mahmud, and was gone for 45 - all while rain threatened to damage the match. However, the weather gradually improved, along with Australia's chances - after 15 overs, they were 83 for three, having lostDamien Martyn for 9, but only needed slightly less than five an over. However, economical bowling and riskless batting from Australia saw Bangladesh in with a chance again. Ponting andMichael Clarke let the run rate go to more than six an over, but Khaled Mahmud's bowling at the death toAndrew Symonds left a bit to be desired, as Australia could take the necessary runs and win by eleven balls and six wickets to spare. A Bangladeshi – Shahriar Nafees – got the Man of the Match award, possibly for his effort to keep the match exciting after Bangladesh had crumbled to 75 for 5.(Cricinfo scorecard)
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2 July Scorecard |
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Match tied Lord's, London Umpires:BF Bowden (NZ) andDR Shepherd (Eng) Player of the match:GO Jones (Eng) |
The final of the NatWest Series ended in an anticlimax for the visitors, but throughout it gave entertainment to the crowd - despite being a relatively low-scoring game. It didn't look to be low-scoring early on, though, asAdam Gilchrist andMatthew Hayden punished theEngland opening bowlersDarren Gough andSimon Jones to be 50 for 0 after 6.3 overs. Two balls later, Hayden went for one expansive stroke too many - driving toAshley Giles at mid-off for 17. England captainMichael Vaughan brought his change bowlers on, firstAndrew Flintoff for Jones (who had been taken for 29 runs in his first three overs) and then the big man fromAshington,Steve Harmison.
Those changes turned the match on its head. Instead of the Australian batsmen taking easy runs off the English bowlers, the English bowlers now tied down the batting, getting rewards in the form of wickets. Gilchrist gave a catch toKevin Pietersen at short leg for 27, and when Harmison was brought on a couple of overs later, he immediately got a wicket - ofRicky Ponting for 7, and Australia were 71 for 3 after 12.1 overs.Damien Martyn andAndrew Symonds decided to retreat into their shell, as the English bowling turned from difficult to nigh-on unhittable, Flintoff getting a touch on the off-stump of Symonds, but the bail didn't fall off, so he survived. However, the pair could only add 19 from 35 deliveries, before Harmison had Martyn caught behind with a ball that moved away from the batsman, off the waiting edge and intoGeraint Jones' gloves.
Following thedismissal of Martyn, Vaughan brought backJones - realising thatAustralia were reluctant to hit runs and thus allowing Jones to get through his overs without causing as much damage as he did early on. In fact, he and Harmison were part of a remarkable streak - they served up 28 successive dot-balls to Symonds andMichael Clarke (who bowed under to the pressure and was hit on the pad, outlbw for a 19-ball two). However,Michael Hussey - facing his first ball at 93 for 5 after 25 overs - took control of Jones, and when Harmison was taken off, Australia were let off the hook.
Symonds and Hussey batted out 15 overs, but Symonds struggled to hit runs and eventually smashed a drive toAndrew Strauss, who took a grateful catch, thus ending Symonds' innings for 29 - off 71 balls, a good innings inTest cricket but inODI cricket virtually useless.Michael Vaughan then used a strange bowling change, keeping spinnerAshley Giles on for an over more than required and thus borrowing one fromAndrew Flintoff who wasn't allowed to bowl a full ten. In the event, it mattered little. Flintoff had ample time to rip outBrett Lee andJason Gillespie, and, with Harmison taking care ofBrad Hogg andGlenn McGrath committing batting suicide with a shot not exactly out of the textbook, Australia were all out for 196 - and England were comfortably in the drivers' seat.
That was before they got in to bat, however. England survived the first three overs, bowled by McGrath and Lee, without loss. From then on, however, the English lost wickets by the bucketful. England went from 11 for 0 to 19 for 4 in the space of four overs, as the bowlers put the pressure on immediately, and their entire top-order came and went for single-figure scores.Paul Collingwood andAndrew Flintoff survived for a couple more overs, before Flintoff edged McGrath to slip - the score 33 for 5, and England should see themselves lucky to bat out 50 overs - or even score 100 runs. Collingwood andGeraint Jones decided to wait, giving McGrath maiden overs (as he finished his first bowling spell with figures of 7-4-9-3), and despite the batsmen being rapped on the pads, they survived, even taking the occasional six offJason Gillespie.
After 25 overs, England were 65 for 5, but the Australian spinners didn't get too much out of the track. Dot-balls flourished, but the partnership kept in there, and a second six - from Jones off Hogg - showed their intent. After thirty-five overs, England were 113 for 5, and required a run a ball, with four overs of Lee and three of McGrath still to negotiate. However, England kept pushing, never letting the run-rate get above 7. Skipper Ponting showed some desperation when he broughtMichael Hussey on with nine overs to spare, knowing that the spinners couldn't keep it tight, but got his reward in Hussey's second over when Collingwood was run out for 53 - off 116 balls.
Then Geraint Jones smacked two fours off Hussey to end the over, meaning that England needed 39 off 36 balls. Five balls later, a miscued sweep off Hogg hit Geraint Jones on the pads - gone for 71 - and England only had three wickets to spare. Two more balls were delivered before that tally was cut down to two - Husseybowled Simon Jones for a two-ball one, so with Gough and Giles in, England needed 35 off 29 balls. Despite taking the runs off Hussey, Brett Lee's 47th over only yielded a single, as his variations of length turned out to be just the thing. However, Ponting now needed another over from either Hussey, Hogg or Symonds - deciding to use Hussey, he was punished, as Giles hit twos to both the off and leg side, and a wide from Hussey resulting in a nine-run over. Lee then came back on, and with his short ball had Giles playing a definitely unorthodox stroke - a sliced edge over Gilchrist's head for four.
Singles were taken to end the over, but McGrath was to bowl the last over of the game, with England still needing ten to win. Things got easier for England when McGrath overstepped with the first ball of the over, Gough making contact and running the single to cut the target by two - theno-ball for overstepping and the run single - and the no-ball meant McGrath still had to bowl six balls in the over. Giles then played and missed, before hitting a single, and then Gough drove the two next balls to cover for two. Suddenly, England only needed three off two - and were, incredibly, in a winning position again. But Gough's next shot was right back to McGrath, who took it up well and tossed it at the stumps, running out Gough and meaning that McGrath would bowl to Ashley Giles - and England still required three to win. The ball hit Giles' pads, ran away down the off side, and Giles and Harmison ran all they could to scamper two leg-byes - and tie the game.(Cricinfo scorecard)
7 July Scorecard |
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England won by 9 wickets Headingley,Leeds Umpires:MR Benson (Eng) andRE Koertzen (SA) Player of the match:ME Trescothick (Eng) |
England were lucky to win thetoss and get a chance to bowl under cloudy skies atHeadingley, as they beatAustralia by nine wickets to take their second victory in fiveODIs so far. Putting Australia in to bat, they didn't get immediate reward - as especiallyDarren Gough was smashed about byAdam Gilchrist, but the run rate at least stayed around four an over. And withSteve Harmison andAndrew Flintoff removing the openers in successive overs, things looked brighter for the English.Ricky Ponting andDamien Martyn added 39 for the next wicket, but in 11 overs, all while the English captainMichael Vaughan set attacking fields according to the newpower play rules.
Englandall-rounderPaul Collingwood came on as third-change bowler, and used the helpful conditions to incite Ponting's demise, asKevin Pietersen held a catch to dismiss the Australian captain for 14, and Collingwood continued to end with four wickets for 34 runs, as Australia slumped from 107 for 2 to 159 for 6 - all wickets courtesy of Collingwood. However,Michael Hussey showed his skills from number seven yet again, as he made a 52-ball 46 - while the ball was still moving around due to the cloud cover - and lifted Australia to 219 for 7.
The English reply was initially jittery. The pace ofBrett Lee and accuracy ofGlenn McGrath shook the English opening batsmenMarcus Trescothick andAndrew Strauss. Trescothick, for example, was caught off ano-ball from Lee, but survived, as the openers lasted nearly 25 overs - before Strauss wascaught behind offBrad Hogg for 41. By that time, however, the sun had come out, the ball didn'tswing much in the air, and as Lee kept on bowling no-balls - seven in total - things simply wouldn't work out for Australia. Trescothick used 132 balls to bring up his century, skipper Michael Vaughan made a healthy contribution with 59not out, and England brought up the winning total with four overs to spare.(Cricinfo scorecard)
10 July Scorecard |
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Australia won by 7 wickets Lord's, London Umpires:RE Koertzen (SA) andJW Lloyds (Eng) Player of the match:B Lee (Aus) |
Ricky Ponting,Australia's captain, had so far had a difficult series against theEnglish. In five innings this summer, his highest score was 34, in the no-result atEdgbaston, and hisbatting average was a meagre 16.40. However, on aLord's track that suited the batsmen, he was back into his old magnificent form, guiding Australia back on track to victory, and levelling the NatWest Challenge.
It started well for Australia, too. IncludingMichael Kasprowicz in the squad and gambling on winning the toss and subbing one of their bowlers off, they won it - and Kasprowicz got immediate reward. After the English openers had survived the opening overs of McGrath and Lee to be 25 for 0 after eight overs, Kasprowicz was brought on, and Strauss chopped an inside edge onto his own stumps. Nine balls and three runs later, captainMichael Vaughan was hit on the pads by an inswinging delivery fromGlenn McGrath and was out for 1.Marcus Trescothick andKevin Pietersen soon followed to the pavilion, and England were - yet again - staring down the barrel at 45 for 4.
However, England weren't undone that easily. Waiting forJason Gillespie, who had been conceding many runs all series,Andrew Flintoff andPaul Collingwood paired up for a calm 103 in a little over 20 overs, before Collingwood becameBrett Lee's second victim of the day, luring Collingwood to attempt a cut shot off a fast, short ball and edging to keeperAdam Gilchrist. England's resistance didn't end, however, and despite Lee ripping out wickets - ending with five for 41 - the lower-order combined, eking out 30 from the last 21 balls to lift England to a somewhat defensible total of 223 for 8.
And, whenAndrew Flintoff was brought on as the fourth bowler to be used in six overs, and removed Gilchrist with his second ball of the day, things looked hopeful for England, but that was as good as it ever got.Ricky Ponting smashed 14 fours and a six on his way to 111, making a century off 105 balls,Michael Vaughan was forced to wait with the power play overs,Simon Katich,Damien Martyn andAndrew Symonds played well-paced innings, and England found themselves unable to contain the Australians. The end was always in sight, eventually coming with 34 balls remaining,Darren Gough bowling a no-ball - his third of the day - to gift the game to Australia. It was symptomatic of Gough's poor series, and indeed, he had Gilchrist bowled off a no-ball in the very first over. Hisbowling analysis for the game read 6.2-0-43-1.(Cricinfo scorecard)
12 July Scorecard |
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Australia won by 8 wickets The Oval, London Umpires:RE Koertzen (SA) andDR Shepherd (Eng) Player of the match:AC Gilchrist (Aus) |
This match was eerily similar to the one two days earlier - except thatJason Gillespie actually got rewards with the ball, and the batsman to play himself into form wasAdam Gilchrist - however, both England and Australia picked batsmen as their supersubs, just like on the 10th of July.Australia won the toss, chose to field to gain an extra batsman, and hadEngland on the rack.
The game was won in the first few overs. The pitch, asSurrey andHampshire showed ina game played three days later, had a par score well in excess of 300. However,Glenn McGrath's first four overs were maidens, and his fifth over only failed to be becauseJason Gillespie dropped a skier, much to the amusement of the crowd. WithBrett Lee bowling well and picking up the early wicket ofMarcus Trescothick for a duck, England were well behind on the run rate from the start.
They never recovered. Despite another skier being dropped, this time byAdam Gilchrist, and the crowd enjoying Gillespie dropping more catches whilst practising in the field, Australia's dominance and fine fielding on the ground saw more England wickets fall. In 27.5 overs, they only mustered 93 runs - for the loss of six wickets, withMichael Vaughan,Andrew Strauss,Andrew Flintoff,Paul Collingwood andGeraint Jones all out. A desperate situation meant England had to use their substitute, putting onVikram Solanki for bowlerSimon Jones - and Solanki helped save England to some respectability, along withKevin Pietersen. Solanki made an unbeaten 53 and Pietersen 74 as England posted 228 for 7.
On a flat, unresponsive pitch, England's bowlers (now without the subbed-off Jones) were helpless. Gilchrist smashed an 81-ball ton, with an array of shots all around the ground, and eventually ended on 121not out. Three of the English bowlers conceded more than six an over -Steve Harmison, with 81 runs off 9.5 overs,Darren Gough, with 37 off four, andAshley Giles with 64 off ten. The two wickets the English got -Matthew Hayden caught behind for 31 andRicky Pontingstumped for 44 - were largely pointless.
In all, it was a comprehensive victory for Australia, probably one of their easiest on the entire tour - possibly excluding the 19-over demolition of Bangladesh in game six of the group stage, with the biggest excitement being when the officials and players were presented toHis Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh in the break. The Duke was at the ground to officially open the new OCS stand atthe Oval. He took the opportunity to lead the tributes to umpireDavid Shepherd, on his retirement from international umpiring. Former British prime ministerSir John Major and current Australian prime ministerJohn Howard also sent tributes to Shepherd.(Cricinfo scorecard)
