Australia 69 for 1 (Ponting 39*, Watson 24*) trail England 102 (Prior 37*, Siddle 5-21) by 33 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Australia seized total control of the fourth Test at Headingley on a day of unrelenting drama, as Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson combined in a second-wicket stand of 55 to heap an extra layer of humiliation onto an England line-up that had earlier been rolled over for 102 in 33.5 overs. Shorn of the services of Andrew Flintoff, and handed a late fitness scare when Matt Prior suffered a pre-toss back spasm, England's slender advantage in the Ashes had all but evaporated in the space of two sessions, as Australia's decision to recall Stuart Clark as part of a four-man seam attack paid handsome dividends.
Clark marked his comeback with a pre-lunch spell of 3 for 7 in 6.5 overs, while Peter Siddle followed up after the break with 4 for 3 in 14 balls, to finish with the stand-out figures of 5 for 21. Watson then climbed into James Anderson's first two deliveries of the reply, clattering them through point for a brace of fours in a style reminiscent of Michael Slater. By tea, however, Ponting had taken it upon himself to put his personal seal with a smouldering cameo of 39 not out from 49 balls.
Once again, Ponting came to the crease to a chorus of boos, after Steve Harmison had marked his England comeback by dismissing Simon Katich with his fourth ball of the match, and true to form, he turned the animosity to his advantage. Latching onto the slightest error in length, he pulled Graham Onions' first ball through midwicket for six, in an over that eventually went for 17 runs as Australia's fifty was brought up in just 39 deliveries. Ponting's only let-off came on 32, when Ian Bell missed a shy from the covers that would have run him out by five yards.
It was a stunning performance with bat and ball, rarely bettered even in the days of routine Ashes dominance that Australia has enjoyed in the past 20 years. If England looked disorientated after winning the toss, it was little wonder after a crazy morning's build-up, which began with a 5am fire alarm at the team hotel, and crescendo-ed an hour before the toss, when Prior - who has been so pivotal to their fortunes as a counterattacking No. 6 - went down with a back spasm while playing football. While Paul Collingwood donned the gloves as a precaution, Australia agreed to delay the toss by ten minutes to give England time to work out their final XI. The confirmation of Flintoff's lack of fitness ended up being the least of the team's worries.
In the event, the only England batsman to show any spine was none other than Prior, who was out in the middle at least two sessions sooner than he might have anticipated, but gritted his way to 37 not out from 43 balls before running out of partners. One other batsman managed double figures - Alastair Cook, who was the mainstay of a flimsy top order with 30 from 65 balls - in an abject display that has effectively left them needing to bounce back with victory at The Oval next week to regain the urn that had been so firmly in their grasp going into the final day at Edgbaston last week.
The chaos behind England's scenes evidently took their toll on the captain, Andrew Strauss, who was rejigging his team sheet right up until the moment that Ponting called incorrectly. Strauss should have been pinned lbw by Ben Hilfenhaus's first ball of the match (Billy Bowden's first adjudication of the Ashes), but in the end he lasted only 17 deliveries before driving loosely at Siddle, for Marcus North to snaffle a miraculous one-handed catch at third slip.
That moment was the catalyst for Australia's bowlers to raise their game to the rooftops. The restoration of Clark to the starting XI, at the expense of the spinner Nathan Hauritz, added a welcome measure of control, but the early wickets were shared, one apiece between all four seamers. Hilfenhaus was the next to strike, earning due reward for his line, length and consistent swing when Ravi Bopara, still failing to convince as England's No. 3, pushed cockily to an outswinger and fizzed a loose chance to Mike Hussey in the gully.
At 16 for 2, the stage was hardly set for Ian Bell to make his mark, and Mitchell Johnson responded to his arrival with his best and most hostile spell of the series. Threatening to bend the ball back into the right-hander at will, and finding a superb line to complement his subtle changes of length, Johnson found Bell's edge first-up, which raced away through gully for four, and then had a massive appeal for lbw turned down in the same over. In the end, a wicked bouncer did the trick, as Bell gloved a regulation chance through to Brad Haddin as he swayed out of line.
Paul Collingwood, whose returns have faded alarmingly since his match-saving performance at Cardiff in the first Test, couldn't negotiate Clark's sharp outswing, which he prodded limply to Ponting at second slip for a fifth-ball duck, and Clark claimed his second scalp in the space of 11 balls when Cook's resistance ended with a low edge to Michael Clarke at first slip.
Prior did his best to rally the innings in his standard counter-punching style, crashing a brace of fours in three balls as Johnson strayed briefly. At the other end, however, Stuart Broad found the going extremely tough in his over-promoted position of No. 7, and had it not been for the continued absence of a fourth slip, he might well have fenced a Johnson bouncer straight into the fielder's hands. In the event he could not make it through to lunch, despite some fairly blatent attempts to eat up the remaining minutes of the session. Clark struck with the final ball of the session, as Simon Katich at short leg kept low to scoop up a fence into the leg-side.
After the break, Prior tried to keep the score pushing along, but at the other end Siddle made mincemeat of a tail that has wagged regularly in the series so far, but was unable to make any headway at all with the momentum all in the bowlers' favour. Graeme Swann laboured to a 15-ball duck which ended with a snick to first slip, while Harmison - back in the side at Flintoff's expense - edged to the keeper to notch the 20th duck of his career, an England record he now shares with Mike Atherton.
The man who replaced him, Anderson, managed at least to extend his own world record duckless run to 53 innings with a scampered single to bring up England's hundred, but in so doing he sustained a leg injury that may well have reduced his effectiveness with the ball. Either way, a Siddle bouncer blasted him from the crease, before Onions copped a similar delivery which crashed off his forearm and lobbed to Katich at short leg. It may have been an erroneous way for the innings to end, but England could have no complaints. They had quite simply been routed, for England's third-lowest total in Tests at Headingley.
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Umar Akmal's maiden international hundred, a rousing unbeaten 102 from 72 balls, and Younis Khan's first half-century as captain took Pakistan to a large total and set up their first win on tour. Batting first has been distinctly advantageous at the Premadasa and so it proved as Pakistan put up a mammoth score and then pressured the Sri Lankan batsmen into self-destruction. Iftikhar Anjum played a major hand, claiming career-best figures as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 175, losing their last seven wickets for 45 runs in 12.3 overs.
The pace was set early by Umar's elder brother Kamran, who ensured the tempo did not flag despite Imran Nazir's early dismissal, but Sri Lanka's spinners struck thrice in less than six overs. Young Umar walked to the crease when Pakistan were 130 for 4, with a struggling captain searching for a partner and only Shahid Afridi to follow. He took the opportunity to prove that not all is as made to believe about Pakistan's domestic set-up. His effervescence complimented Younis' solidity and their 176-run stand paved the way.
Where Nazir, Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq struggled against a combination of tidy bowling and a slow track, Umar appeared comfortable from the get-go. He showed he wasn't going to get bogged down, swinging his seventh delivery - from Ajantha Mendis, no less - over long-on for a six and flicked almost effortlessly. His was a sensible approach, poaching the odd boundary and turning ones into twos while also dominating the perceived weaker bowlers. Finding the narrowest of gaps in the field and always sprinting hard between the wickets, he began rebuilding.
Credit is due to the man at the other end. Younis' innings contained crisp drives and wristy flicks and stolen runs but most importantly it was an effort that allowed Umar to flourish. Around his captain, Umar could play his own game and Pakistan didn't feel the pinch. Pakistan had been hurt in the series by Younis' indifferent form. Today they realised just what a difference runs from him can mean.
Importantly, he quickly assessed conditions and played with a welcome smoothness. Younis' innings was controlled, he ran hard between the wickets, and Pakistan's run-rate lifted to nearly five-and-a-half an over. With Umar rattling along Younis too changed his game. Soon defence turned to single hunting, gliding and efficiently flicking in the gaps.
Umar's half-century came up from 46 balls, after which he upped his strike-rate. Always keen to get back and across and then mow the ball over the on-side, he took consecutive fours off Mendis and then clubbed Lasith Malinga for 13 in the 46th over. Another effortless six off Malinga followed in the 48th over, the back leg once more lifted to gain power. Younis departed for 89 in the 49th over trying to get six but Umar reached three figures with two balls to spare. You can argue the pressure of winning the series wasn't there, but maiden ODI centuries don't come cleaner than this.
To chase 322 under lights in Sri Lanka a team needs something near a batting miracle. Upul Tharanga (80) played a cool hand to try and keep the required run-rate in check but there was little support. Pakistan's bowlers began by bowling too short - in particular Naved-ul-Hasan - and Tharanga and Sangakkara added 65 in good time. Sangakkara sped away to 39 from 33 balls before he was early into a drive against a slower ball from Anjum and scooped a catch to point.
From here the attack tidied up, Anjum sticking to a decent length and the spinners taking as much pace off the ball as possible. Thilina Kandamby went next, slashing Saeed Ajmal to slip, and a one-handed effort from Naved in the deep took out Chamara Kapugedera. Anjum bowled a lot of deliveries on an awkward length, too short to drive but too full to pull, and was rewarded with 5 for 30. Ajmal tossed the ball up into the rough with good control to take two wickets.
Tharanga played an extension of his half-century in the previous game, accumulating most of his runs by soft-handed steers through the arc between cover and gully. Third man proved a productive area for Tharanga, who didn't take the aerial route much. With his dismissal, feathering Anjum to Kamran, went Sri Lanka's chances. From here on it was a steady procession of wickets and Sri Lanka fell way short of the target.
Zaheer ruled out of Champions Trophy
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Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy starting late September, after undergoing a major shoulder surgery in South Africa last month. It is feared that he could miss the seven-match home ODI series against Australia in November-December as well if the recovery doesn't go according to plan. But a BCCI media release on Friday said Zaheer was responding well to the surgery and was expected to return to international cricket towards the end of the year, suggesting he could be in contention for the Australia series.
"Zaheer Khan had an arthroscopic labral repair in his left shoulder on 13th July 2009 done by the Johannesburg-based Dr Mark Ferguson," the release said. "Zaheer is undergoing rehabilitation in South Africa and is recovering very well. He is expected to return to international cricket by the end of this year."
Zaheer will return to India from South Africa on August 9. After 10 days, he will head back to South Africa for further rehabilitation on his shoulder, the release said.
He picked up the injury to his bowling shoulder during the second edition of the IPL while playing for the Mumbai Indians. Zaheer fell on his shoulder while fielding and was subsequently advised rest. Zaheer aggravated the injury during the World Twenty20 and had to undergo surgery in South Africa in July, causing him to miss the four-match ODI series in West Indies.
The 30-year-old has been advised a minimum of three months' rest. Ferguson, who carried out the surgery, has successfully treated Sachin Tendulkar and former India players Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble in the past.
The team for the ICC event has to be selected by August 23. The national selectors will be meeting on August 16 to pick the squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka starting September 8 and the Champions Trophy, beginning on September 25. Zaheer had been named in a list of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy.
India will be thankful that the injury is not likely to cost Zaheer any Test matches, if the recovery goes to plan. Although a big loss, it should be relatively easier to replace Zaheer in the shorter formats. It gives both RP Singh and Munaf Patel an opportunity to present better claims for their inclusion in the side, and Praveen Kumar a chance to cement his place as third seamer. Ashish Nehra has also sprung up as an option after he had a fairly successful return to international cricket in the ODIs in West Indies.
Big men, big deeds
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If, on balance, Australia have had the better of the previous two rounds in this poll, then here's a category that's designed to redress the balance. The names in the hat for England's allrounder slot are a select and elite trio. At a pinch, other names might have come into consideration, but frankly, what would be the point? Tony Greig, Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff are three such dominant characters - especially with the Aussies in their sights - that the trawl for allrounder contenders was short and to the point.
Let's take the names in chronological order, and first out of the traps comes Greig - tall, blond, strapping, and a man who never took a backwards step. At 6'7", he was built to intimidate his rivals, and while he was far from express as a paceman, he was cunning and steeped in variations, not least a tidy line in offspin, that earned him 13 wickets in a series-sharing victory in the Caribbean.
The abiding memory of Greig, however, was the sight of him signalling his own boundaries during a ludicrously brave century against Lillee and Thomson, in Brisbane in 1974-75. By bowling bouncers to the Aussies in the opening salvos of the series, Greig had started a fight that he could not hope to win, but typically he took it upon himself to front up for his error of judgment, just as he did when he "grovelled" at The Oval in 1976, after his ill-advised comments about West Indies.
Because of his involvement with Kerry Packer, Greig's career barely overlapped with that of his successor, Botham, although in many ways it's just as well, for it's hard to imagine how any dressing room could have been big enough for both. As a genuinely attacking outswing bowler, Beefy in his pomp was an outstanding and incisive paceman, and to this day he remains England's leading wicket-taker in Test cricket. Factor in the small matter of 14 Test centuries, including two in quick succession in the incredible summer of 1981, and his record speaks for itself.
And then last, but hardly least, is Flintoff - England's colossus du nos jours. Slow to fulfill his potential, and ravaged by injury when he ought to have been in his prime, there's little hope of the man's stats ever living up to the impact he made on the game. But every once in a while, when form and fitness came together, he was irresistible. The summer of 2005 was his zenith, but the three years from 2003 were his pomp. And that glorious final morning at Lord's last month could yet prove to have been a fitting last hurrah.
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