Date-stamped : 30 Dec94 - 10:29 England v Australia, Test 2 played at the MCG, Melbourne, 24-29 December 1994 (Rest 25th) ====> Day 1, 24 Dec 94 Devon Malcom went wicketless, but the England fast bowler's kangaroo hide boots have made an impression which will reverberate through the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pounding in for 21 overs from the Members' Pavilion end, the fast bowler began the pitch erosion which will benefit leg- spinner Shane Warne and his off-spin partner Tim May over the next four days. Australia's first-day, first-innings 7-220 may resemble scraps after their Brisbane Test 426-run feasting, but conditions were demanding, if never dangerous, on Saturday. Rare indeed is the occasion when Mark Waugh labours for almost 3 3/4 hours for 71 runs with a boundary every hour. He indicated Australia would probably have batted had Mark Taylor won the toss, the spin bowling of Warne and May being the factor of paramount importance. "With the rest day, the game will go six days, not five, so you probably don't want to bat last if you have a choice," Waugh said. "We thought it would be hard batting first, but it was worthwhile taking the risk. We did not want to bat in the fourth innings really as the Melbourne pitch can be variable on the last day. "On face value it doesn't look a great score, but in the context of the game, it's not a bad tally. There was quite a bit of in the wicket and the outfield was slow. You could probably add another 50 runs on the score for the outfield. The fact that England have to bat last could be a major factor in the game." On Saturday morning the pitch was still moist, although nowhere near as damp as on Friday, and England must have agonised over the omission of Angus Fraser, a man who bowled superbly at the MCG on the previous Ashes tour, a medium-paced seamer able to put the ball on a Christmas dinner plate. Ultimately, England left out Fraser, preferring Malcolm (0-53), Phillip DeFreitas (2-53) and Darren Gough (2-39) for pace with Phil Tufnell (2-59) providing left-arm orthodox spin. Mike Atherton won the toss and probably wished he had stuck to dice. England had to attack the stumps. All too frequently they pitched the ball short and Mark Taylor (nine in 73 minutes) and Michael Slater (three in 26 minutes) often weaved out of the way. England's coach Keith Fletcher said later: "I thought we stuck at our task all day long and that we bowled particularly well with the new ball in the morning. Occasionally, we were a little bit short, but all round I think we bowled well. It seamed about. We could have got more wickets [in the morning session]. I'm pleased at the end of the day that we have done well. Fletcher's words about the morning session were in contrast to the facts of the matter. By lunch, Australia were 2-64. Slater was run out through over-anxiety, starting for a run into the covers and turning back, to be beaten by DeFreitas's return to mike gatting, and Taylor was trapped on the crease for the lbw by DeFreitas. Taylor departed carrying a deep bruise on the right arm from Malcolm, but he performed a difficult task well. For 148 resolute and typically unglamorous, untroubled minutes, David Boon (41) defied England until, venturing down the pitch in a rare fit of derring-do, he was deceived by Tufnell's flight, attempted to adjust his stroke and edged a catch to the alert Graeme Hick, diving wide at slip. Of all the Australians, Michael Bevan (three) probably spent the unhappiest Christmas. He was at the wicket for almost half an hour before Gough, England's best, delivered a scorching short ball which the left-hander sought to turn to leg only for it to fly gently to Atherton in the gully. Internationally, Bevan is in the mire. His first three Tests against Pakistan yielded 243 runs at 60.75. Two Tests against England have produced scores of seven, 21 and now three. His consolation is that he might retain his position in Sydney next weekend because Damien Martyn, Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting have lacked consistency. At 4-100 after 47 overs, Australia were in urgent need of a stabilising partnership and, not surprisingly, the Waugh twins came to the party in a sensibly positive 71-run stand of 29 overs. Steve Waugh (61 not out) resisted for almost three hours only to lose Ian Healy (17) and Shane Warne (six) in the final half-hour. Clearly, for two batsmen who are never tedious, it was a demanding time, one broken only by the moment when Mark Waugh cut a short ball from DeFreitas to a tumbling Graham Thorpe behind point. England have taken the new ball and any score in excess of 250 will be most acceptable. Spinner Tufnell made the ball turn occasionally at the Members' Pavilion end from a combination of a moist strip and the initial scarring of the fast men, Malcolm and Gough. Spinners will have the final say in this game. (Thanks : Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald) Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au) ====> Day 2, 26 Dec 94 The siesta of the second Test became a Shane Warne-induced hypnotic trance for England in a balmy late hour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. Aided by three umpiring decision which would have had the English media howling the MCG walls down were not Jamaican Steve Bucknor deeply involved, the Test tilted Australia's way, after two tortuous, climax-building days. Opening batsman Alec Stewart (one, retired hurt) has a hairline fracture of the right forefinger, but it was the sudden lurch from 1-119 to 4-148 which changed England's ruddy complexion to pallid grey. England were in dogged pursuit of Australia's first-innings 279, of which Steve Waugh made an unbeaten 94, when Warne wove one of those exotic spin skeins which have made him a champion. In three-quarters of an hour, Warne (3-34) sent Mike Atherton (44), Graham Thorpe (51) and Mike Gatting (nine) marching in a 40-ball sequence, which left Englishmen tearing hair out and made Australian eyes roll. Three of the four England dismissals were contentious. Graeme Hick (23) stood momentarily after Craig McDermott (1-43) drove a wedge between bat and pad with his off-cutter for the catch at the wicket to Ian Healy. Umpire Steve Randell ruled that the ball clipped timber on its way, but while replays cast doubt, suggesting the ball brushed a pad, TV reproduces the sights, not always the sounds. Umpire Bucknor has deservedly won widespread admiration. It was the bravest of decisions to rule against Atherton, leaning well beyond the crease to Warne to a ball pitching about middle stump and keeping below the knee roll. Atherton appeared taken aback, but walked without demur. Thorpe was more nonplussed. Warne bowled his orthodox leg-spinner, an off-break to the left- hander, and it screwed sharply into Thorpe's pad, the ball rebounding to Mark Waugh at silly point. In the flurry, the Australians considered they heard the sound of wood, but there was also a suggestion the ball brushed Thorpe's batting glove. Again, Bucknor gave the difficult decision. When Gatting swept poorly to Steve Waugh behind square leg, it required Darren Gough (one not out) to assist Graham Gooch (15 not out) through the trying last overs. England coach Keith Fletcher was asked about the umpiring, replying: "You saw the replays, You make your own decisions." Having won the toss and put Australia in on a cardboard-coloured, moist strip, England required almost eight hours to weed them out. But at 4-100 Australia certainly did not resemble 13-8 on favourites to win the Test and England were decidely good value at odds of 6-1 against. Steve Waugh, batting at No 6, was essentially responsible for Australia continuing on well beyond 200, a painstaking effort of more than four hours which yielded just five boundaries. The cover drive which illuminated his series against South Africa was rarely seen until he was joined by last man Damien Fleming (16), by which time it was dawning that a Melbourne century was probably about to elude him yet again. Waugh and Fleming, greeted warmly by the crowd of 51,620, proceeded to put on 37 invaluable runs in just over half an hour. Later, Waugh considered the Test "probably 60-40 our way". "But on this sort of wicket, it only needs a couple of guys to dig in for a good partnership to turn the game around," he said. "It's a pitch where you have to work hard, a bit of up and down. You're never really comfortable. The wicket's only going to get worse from here on in. I think it will stay low and play a few tricks on the last two days. Anything over 200 will be hard to chase in the fourth innings." McDermott (1-43) bowled some superlative deliveries yesterday. Fleming (0-30) had an off day, but it was the wickets McDermott didn't take which gave Australia the whip hand. With his first ball after lunch, he sent Stewart to hospital, breaking the forefinger cracked in Perth, and with his fifth ball after tea he had Thrope seeking attention for a battered finger. McDermott's elation was understandable when he skidded an off- cutter back through Hick's guard. In 11 years and 62 Tests, he has taken 247 wickets, one ahead of another fabulous paceman - the quieter, less emotional but equally lethal Graham McKenzie, who took 246 wickets in 60 Tests. Richie Benaud claimed 248 wickets in 63 Tests, while far ahead is Dennis Lillee with 355 in 70 Tests. There was a brief delay when a ruck-rover type in Christmas boxer shorts invaded the pitch, arriving a stride or two ahead of security, to claim a bail and break the wicket. Both were soon put in their place. Stewart will bat later in this game, but will certainly miss the Sydney Test, starting next Sunday, and England's last three qualifying matches of the World Series. England's tour selectors and chairman of selectors Ray Illingworth last night discussed another reinforcement. While all-rounder Craig White could take the gloves in a limited-over game, Lancashire's Neil Fairbrother might be a tempting addition. Devon Malcolm (1-78) clanged a bell-ringer off Waugh's grilled helmet, which drew an impassively cold stare, but it was Darren Gough (4-60) who was again England's most auspiciously quick bowler of Australia's innings. In four deliveries of his 23rd over, Gough's fuller length was rewarded with the wickets of Tim May (nine) and McDermott (nought), the latter with a clever slower yorker. (Thanks : Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald) Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au) ====> Day 3, 27 Dec 94 Craig McDermott the axeman and Shane Warne the surgeon combined to hew England`s Ashes ambitions to the bone at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. McDermott (3-72) and Warne (6-64) dismissed England for 212, after which Australia extended their 67-run first innings lead to 237 with two days remaining in the second Tests. David Boon (64 not out) and Michael Bevan (three not out) contin- ue on their grim path this morning with Australia entrenched at 3-170 and planning to extend their second innings by another good four hours. England face the prospect of trailing 2-0 by tomorrow evening and having to win the last three Tests to regain the Ashes. McDermott, the 11-year firebrand of 62 Tests, now level on 249 wickets with Michael Holding (60 Tests) and one wicket ahead of Richie Benaud (63 Tests), is intent on overtaking Dennis Lillee as Australia`s greatest wicket-taker or blow a gasket in the ef- fort. But he heard the footsteps of Warne (151 wickets from 31 Tests) careering up behind him last night and admitted: ``I would really like to play long enough to become No 1 before Warney overtakes me.`` McDermott, 29, did not consider the feat of overtaking Lillee`s Australian record of 355 wickets in 70 Tests beyond his fearsome physical capacity or fabulous technical prowess. ``If I bowl well enough, long enough, I can certainly overhaul his tal- ly,`` he said. Ambition was vastly less important in the life of leg-spinner Warne - at 25, four years McDermott`s junior. Warne said: ``I play the game to get mates, so that in 20 years` time I can sit about talking about how we all beat the West Indies in Mel- bourne.`` In Australia`s first Test win in Brisbane last month, Warne`s 8- 71 in the second innings was the eighth occasion he had claimed five wickets or better in an innings. Such is his consistency that in 11 other Test innings he has taken four wickets. Warne has now taken 50 wickets against England, joining Fred ``The Demon`` Spofforth and Terry Alderman in the Ashes half- century in eight Tests. On unprotected pitches, Charles ``The Terror`` Turner wreaked havoc with 50 from six Tests. On Monday, Warne took 3-8 in a 40-ball sequence, and 3-29 in 34 balls yes- terday. Top-order, low-order meant nothing to him. Injured opener Alec Stewart (16) returned as England lost two wickets in a quarter of an hour yesterday, broken finger sodden with painkiller, and promptly lofted Warne to the boundary. But until Darren Gough`s defiantly fast bowling, which brought him the wickets of captain Mark Taylor (19) and Mark Waugh (29), there was little for England`s cheer squad, the so-called ``Barmy Army``, to do - save wrap itself in Union Jacks and remain death- ly silent. McDermott was as stunned as anybody when his amiable warm-up full toss, the first ball of the day, was patted back equally gently as a return catch by Graham Gooch (15). But, as he said: ``I`m pretty happy with all 249 wickets, even the full toss today. They`re all great to have under the belt.`` Following some unnecessarily harsh criticism of his first-day performance in a Melbourne newspaper, McDermott indeed had the last laugh, standing smiling with arms raised at the edge of the pitch, level with Richie Benaud himself. Australia`s second innings started inauspiciously for England as fast bowler Devon Malcolm skidded and crashed on the pitch, the ball still clutched in his hand. So well did the big man recover that he beat Taylor three times outside off stump in the over, the ball cutting away to slips without a touch. Gough`s first innings success carried little weight. He was held back until the 19th over by English captain Mike Atherton, im- mediately straightening the ball and deceiving Taylor with varia- tion of pace. No better shots of the series were the cover drives which Michael Slater (44) sent exploding through to the fence from Phil DeFrei- tas and Gough. ====> Eng Team Replacement Gloucestershire`s Jack Russell, wicket-keeper of 31 Tests, will join the England team on Friday as a reinforcement for the rest of the tour. Stewart`s broken right forefinger will keep him out of action for three weeks, and injury to Test keeper Steve Rhodes would leave England in dangerous plight with the Sydney Test starting on Sunday. Russell, 31, played in three Tests on the last Ashes tour of Aus- tralia in 1990-91 and returned with the England ``A`` team in 1992-93. There is conjecture that another reinforcement could be sought for the limited-over internationals - with two mentioned being Lancashire`s chirpy left-hand batsman Neil Fairbrother and Warwickshire all-rounder Dermot Reeve. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au) ====> Day 4, 28 Dec 94 Shane Warne remained in the shadows while England sizzled on the power points applied by Australia`s pacemen, Damien Fleming and Craig McDermott, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. With two devilish outswingers in his first nine deliveries, Fleming (2-24) dismissed Graham Gooch (2) and Graeme Hick (2) to leave England devastated and demoralised, yet again. McDermott (2-32) contributed with the wickets of Graham Thorpe (9) and Michael Atherton (25), ruled out contentiously by umpire Steve Bucknor to a leg-side catch, and led Australia - and Flem- ing - at a charge up the ramp last night. England needed 388 in eight hours for victory when they began their second innings immediately after tea and at the close were 4-79. Mike Gatting (23 not out) and Steve Rhodes (13 not out) resume the agony of England`s innings this morning. ``It`s a better feeling that my hat-trick in Rawalpindi,`` Flem- ing said last night. ``There weren`t many people at the match against Pakistan and it was going to be a draw regardless. The hat-trick was nice, but this match is alive and we have a chance of winning. It definitely means a lot more to me.`` The delivery which sent Gooch trudging back was a good one, the veteran tempted and unable to withdraw his bat sufficiently, but the one to Hick was a great ball. Pitching on middle stump, it moved late and clipped the top of off stump. In England`s first innings Fleming saw his Test career fading before his eyes as he failed to control the line of outswingers and inswingers alike. >From 11 overs, he finished with an unimposing 0-30. ``I wasn`t myself,`` he said. ``I didn`t bowl with a lot of variety, didn`t use my head. I thought I`d back myself more this innings, which I will continue to do tomorrow. I don`t know if there is anywhere in the world that can match the MCG, really. Coming from here means more to me, but the atmosphere has been great over the past four days.`` McDermott may be regarded as a champion, but sometimes his behaviour leaves one despairing. England`s captain Atherton fol- lowed a leg-side delivery as if to leg glance and umpire Bucknor ruled the opener caught at the wicket by the lunging Healy. McDermott`s jubilation was understandable. His mocking applause for Atherton as he trudged off shaking his head was unacceptable. Television replays from a dozen different angles provide a per- spective an umpire can never have, but it seemed Atherton was luckless again, Bucknor having given him out lbw well down the pitch in the first innings. On a wearing, awkward, if not dangerous, pitch when England need- ed the kind of obduracy Thorpe offered for 4 1/2 hours in Bris- bane, the left-hander lashed out in a furious cover drive at McDermott for the catch to Healy. England coach Keith Fletcher considered it ``a fairly rash shot, not brilliant, but if you don`t play a shot, you don`t get a run.`` Warne entered the attack immediately after drinks and the last ball of his opening over scuttled through ankle-high, only for Gatting to dig it out with a bat that resembled a shovel. Warne`s smile of glee was positively evil. Today he will be back in the limelight again. Umpire Bucknor will feature prominently in Atherton`s report this evening, Fletcher indicating what he thought of some of the deci- sions by declaring: ``We`ve not had the best of fortune. It`s not making excuses, but I don`t think we have had too much of the rub of the green in this game. You can make your mind up which way. It has been a major factor in my opinion.`` Fletcher was asked what England could do to transform the posi- tion, and he did not hesitate for an instant. ``First thing we`ve got to do is play the leg-spinner a lot better,`` he said. ``What`s he got - 17 wickets in three digs? If you took Shane Warne out of the Australian side then it would be a tight series.`` Asked if England would win with Warne in their ranks, Fletcher replied: ``I think we`d stand a fair chance.`` Watched by his mother, Lesley, David Boon`s six-hour 131 was his 20th century in 94 Tests. He has now amassed 6,916 runs at 46.41, only the second batsman, after Mark Taylor, to hit a century in each of Australia`s six Test centres. Boon put behind him Ken Barrington`s 6,806 runs and Dilip Vengsarkar`s 6,868, making Len Hutton`s 6,971 his next objective. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. ====> Day 4, more And so England`s troubles continue. Betrayed by its officials, frustrated by myopic counties, handicapped by an ineffective structure, English cricket again faces overwhelming defeat at the hands of its most ancient enemy. No longer can England indulge themselves in idle talk of wheels turning. No such turning is in sight. Instead, England must act ruthlessly to improve their own game so that a team can be put into the field fit enough, talented enough, skilful, young and disciplined enough to give these opponents a hard fight - not this time, perhaps, but next time, or the time after. And England must stop searching for answers where there are none, and realise there is no easy way to close this gap. Maybe England should study military history. There is a reason Roman legions were feared. They were drilled, proud and led by superb strategists. And, critically, they had history, a tradi- tion and examples to follow. These England players have no such luxuries because they grew up in times of turmoil, with the dis- tractions of rebel tours and the destructions of sensationalist newspapers. Just as Mike Atherton has had no captain from whose wisdom and tactics he could learn, so the younger batsmen have not begun their careers in settled and confident teams learning from the experienced players around them. It is the task of Atherton`s team to inspire the youngsters in their country. Alas, England`s play fell far short of the standard needed to inspire anyone, let alone questioning youth. Two moments during yesterday`s gruelling exchanges revealed the parlous state of English morale. On both occasions Phil Tufnell was bowling in the current fashion, over the wicket and into the rough, an approach to which there is no satisfactory answer now that the reverse sweep has been deemed irresponsible. Steve Waugh was batting and, like his colleagues, he was tootling along at his own pace. Searching for a single, he nibbled a stroke through slip, and area thinly populated when England have the ball in their hands. Waugh duly scampered off for a precious run. But there was no such urgency in the England camp, and no move- ment either. Steve Rhodes reckoned he`d chased enough balls for summer and stayed put. Graham Thorpe was squatting at silly point, a post he felt disinclined to abandon. Either he`s nursing an injury or he`s lazy. Graeme Hick was at fine leg and did not regard the off side as part of his patrol. Eventually Hick chased after the tickle as the batsmen ran a second. His fierce return spoke volumes for his opinion on the matter. All three should have sprinted after the ball. It`s hard to imagine a Roman centurion leaving the dirty work to a comrade. Much the same occurred minutes later, Waugh tucking off his pads towards Devon Malcom at deep square leg. The batsmen sprinted and still the fieldsmen stood. No one moved. Realising the inactivity before him, Malcolm charged, collected, hurled and glared at his teammates located in the region fore and aft of the umpire, Hick and Thorpe. Teams cannot afford idleness of this sort, and it was no surprise to see Hick beaten as soon as he took guard, his feet failing to move. If the brain goes, the body goes with it. Admittedly Dam- ien Fleming found a clinker for him during an opening spell that gladdened Victorian hearts. It came as no surprise either, to see Thorpe hooking loosely ear- ly in his innings and losing his wicket as he drove without mov- ing his feet, giving Craig McDermott a deserved wicket. If Thorpe and Hick are to be the pillars upon which this English team is built they must demand more of themselves. Nor did the rest of England`s cricket have much to commend it. Overs were bowled at a deplorable rate, and the team was roundly barracked by the paying customers. Admittedly, it was a stinker of a day, but England meandered around as might a convict on his way to the scaffold. Maybe a pardon would arrive in the nick of time. Maybe it would rain. Rather than resorting to such devices England should work on their own game and could begin by pitching to a fuller length and improving their out-cricket. Graham Gooch had a patchy day in the field. A player must be at his sharpest if he is to survive the blinding light, hard pitches and ferocious competition to be found in Australia. He must also be fit. Michael Slater and Michael Bevan are the swiftest and fittest members of this Australian team. Is John Crawley a match for them? Until he is, England`s prospects are gloomy. Thanks :: Peter Roebuck, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au) ====> Day 5, 29 Dec 94 Shane Warne took the first hat-trick by an Australian in an Ashes Test in more than 90 years yesterday, then burned the little finger on his priceless right hand with a sponsor`s product. Fac- ing a media gathering large enough to cover a coronation, Warne was having a stealthy smoke when he seized the cigarette by the burning end. Warne (6-64 and 3-16) did no major harm to himself, but with man-of-the-match Craig McDermott (3-72 and 5-42), he effectively created an inferno of England`s Ashes ambitions in Australia`s 295-run win in the second Test with five hours to spare at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Warne came to his press conference with shirt-tails flapping, wearing white lip salve and gold necklace and the diamond ear- stud he won from Nicky Oppenheimer in a golf match in South Afri- ca this year. He recounted the hat-trick again and again. A team-man first and foremost, modesty remains his greatest virtue. ``I was just trying to tie up an end and I got a bit lucky with the three wickets,`` he said. ``At the end I just wanted to get back into the shed and have a beer.`` With England resuming yesterday at 4-79, Mark Taylor immediately used fast-man McDermott from the Members` end and Warne from the Great Southern Stand end. McDermott accounted for Mike Gatting (25) with a delivery which flared up sharply from just short of a length, then slanted an inswinger in at Steve Rhodes (16) to force the catch at second slip. At 11:44 am, Warne began his fateful 13th over, still intent on restricting England`s batsmen and starving them of runs, acting as the supporting cast for McDermott. In the following five minutes, the leg-spinner was to dismiss Phillip DeFreitas (0), Darren Gough (0) and Devon Malcolm (0) to join Fred ``The Demon`` Spofforth (1878-79) and Hugh Trumble (1901-02 and 1903-04) as the third Australian to gain a Test hat-trick against England. Strangely, all were taken in Melbourne. The rare achievement has occurred only 21 times in Test history, the most recent by team- mate Damien Fleming on debut in the Rawalpindi Test against Pak- istan. Warne said of DeFreitas`s dismissal: ``I bowled a leg-spinner at him, not trying to turn it too much. Maybe he should have come forward. It turned a little bit. He played back and it kept a bit low for the lbw.`` On Gough: ``I wanted him to push forward. I tried for over-spin on the leggie and [Ian Healy] took a great catch.`` Malcolm walked to the wicket, shaking his head incredulously, clad in white armour, helmet in place even for the spinner, six vulture-like fieldsmen within three metres of him. Calmly, Warne spoke to Fleming and inquired what the paceman did in Pakistan for his hat-trick. Fleming told him: ``I closed my eyes and bowled my stock ball, an outswinger.`` In Australia`s 184-run Brisbane Test win, Warne faced a similar situation, delivering a wrong`un to Phil Tufnell which almost gained him a hat-trick. ``At the Gabba, I thought about the last ball they`d think I`d bowl,`` he recounted. ``I tried a wrong`un and it didn`t work. I closed my eyes and picture a leg-spinner and bowled it, a leg- spinner with some over-spin. It kicked a bit for the bat-pad and Boony took a great catch.`` David Boon is one of the game`s bravest and best short-leg fieldsmen and he hurled himself to short square leg for the low right-handed catch, tossing the ball away in jubilation as umpire Steve Randell confirmed the catch with colleague Steve Bucknor. Warne went on: ``It was the quickest I`ve ever run to get down to Boony. I think I stuck my tongue in his ear.`` As the hat-trick occurred with the last three balls of the over, Warne did not have the opportunity to dismiss last man Tufnell (0), McDermott claiming his scalp six minutes later for Healy`s fifth catch of the innings. With 20 wickets in two Tests, Warne was asked if he considered Jim Laker`s Ashes feat of 46 wickets in 1956 an accessible record. Warne said he doubted it, but it would remain a new hor- izon. Of his spin-speed working relationship with McDermott, Warne said: ``We don`t talk much; we feel and sense what`s happening. I generally know what Craig`s trying to do and he can see if I have a particular batsman in trouble. We`ve worked really well togeth- er in these last two Tests. That`s what the captain`s after.`` Warne is an exciting player and a fascinating talker. ``I suppose I`ll wake up soon,`` he said. ``We`re going to Sydeny now. I got 12 wickets there last summer and we lost to South Africa. If you get wickets, you get wickets. If you don`t get wickets [it doesn`t matter], so long as you win. Back in the room you yell and shout and go on and have a beer. You play for your mates, but at the end of the day, winning is what it`s all about. It`s a great team to be in and when you walk out on the park you`re pretty confident about knocking any team over.`` McDermott said: ``It felt good, the ball swung both ways, and, hopefully, with 16 wickets in two Tests I can keep rolling along. We`ve had a lot of cricket already this summer, but I don`t think I could start the next test match feeling in any better condi- tion, apart from maybe later tonight.`` Stub end: health fiend McDermott revealed that he and Warne rare- ly room together as he cannot tolerate the spinner`s smoking. Warne laughed: ``He makes me smoke in the corridor.`` Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. ====> Day 5, more England batsman Alec Stewart repelled Australia for almost an hour in the second Test yesterday following a plea from his cap- tain to bat with a broken finger. ``I don`t like to see us lie down and die,`` skipper Michael Ath- erton said of his deputy`s brave and ultimately vain bid to thwart Australia`s 295-run win. ``We`ve got to show a bit of fight. Surrednering with a man still in the shed, not batting, is not the right way to go about playing Test cricket. Alec was quite happy to bat. I wanted him to bat so he had the injec- tion.`` With his right forefinger broken for the second occasion on tour and out of the third Test, beginning in Sydney on Sunday, Stewart made an unbeaten eight runs as Craig McDermott (5-42) and hat- trick hero Shane Warne (3-16) capitalised on the early inroads by Damien Fleming (2-24). They closed down England`s second innings for a paltry 92 runs, claiming the last six wickets for just 11 runs, to take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series just before mid- day. There was no shred of complacency at Australian captain Mark Taylor`s post-Test conference, repeating his policy to the team at the start of the series. ``I said we wanted to win three Tests, and we`ve won two,`` Taylor said. ``We`ll go to Sydeny ex- actly how we`ve approached these two Tests, trying to win. I don`t like going into games trying to draw them. It`s a dangerous way to play.`` Atherton stood examining a print commemorating 100 years of Test cricket between Australia and England while Warne and McDermott discussed the match. For all the world he carried the burden of England`s cricket. ``We got walloped in the first two Tests,`` he admitted. ``The New Year starts in Sydney. It`s up to us to make sure that 1995 is a good one. We`ve got some good players [but] we`re not play- ing especially well at the moment. We need to pull up our socks and show some commitment and guts, and come out fighting. But, two-down, it`s hard to see us coming back and taking the Ashes home. Nevertheless, it`s mathematically possible so there is still a glimmer of hope. What we need to do is get some runs on the board in Sydney, reverse the pressure, and you never know.`` As an indication of England`s batting woes, the side has passed 250 only once in four Test innings, the best being 323 in the second innings in Brisbane where Australia won by 184 runs. Taylor was forthright in his comments about the umpiring by Steve Randell and Steve Bucknor, and most favourable. ``The thing I liked about the umpiring here was that it was positive,`` Taylor said. ``I read some of the newspapers and I was disappointed with some of the articles. I thought they were slightly unfair. When the umpires thought the batsmen were out, they gave them out. There`s too much in test cricket where umpires are looking for too much doubt. People said my lbw in the first innings was not out. I felt out and was given out, and I was happy with the umpiring throughout the game.`` Atherton added: ``I don`t like questioning decisions. The umpires are there to make a decision. If they give it out, it`s out, and that`s the end of the matter.`` The Australians celebrated for a good number of reasons last night. Quite apart from a splendid victory after being put in on a moist pitch and Warne`s hat-trick, it was century-maker David Boon`s 34th birthday. Warne said: ``It`s a great birthday present for Babs and an even better present for me.`` Mark Taylor`s last words on miracle man Warne were: ``Shane is like the West Indian bowlers - once he gets on top, he really gets all over you.`` In this frame of mind how Australia would wish to be flying to the West Indies for the Frank Worrell Trophy series now rather than in March. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. ====> Day 5, more One of the tragedies of England cricket is its bowlers - they never get a chance to bowl to their own batsmen. Their bowling statistics would be much richer if they did. The quickmen can bowl badly - like Craig McDermott admits he did after tea on the fourth day, and grab two wickets. You can slide a ball a metre wide of off stump and careering still further away - and an England batsman will edge it for you. Graham Thorpe did. You can bowl a ball down legside and an England batsman will somehow manage to tickle it to the keeper. Mike Atherton did. You can bowl a knee-high full toss first ball of the morning while the bones are still creaky and the muscles yet to wake up. It got McDermott a wicket and Graham Gooch a heartache. You can even do it with the second ball of the day. Just bowl one short and wide enough for a sensible batsman to ignore it. An England batsman will be so threatened and tense he will opt to play it but wish to God he hadn`t. An edge to slip. Mike Gat- ting did that. Take the new ball, deliver an outswinger outside off stump. A good player would never indulge himself in such an obvious bait. An England batsman will be so befuddled he`ll want to play it, have second thoughts, have no thoughts at all and edge it. Gooch did. If you are a spinner just roll your arm over and an England bats- man will charge down the pitch like a fool, and actually try to kick it away, and miss. Phil DeFreitas did that. As a bonus you get to bowl to Devon Malcolm and Phil Tufnell. They, poor souls, are gimmies. They are the punch lines in a tail of woe. But it gets worse. Just look what happens when the tormented En- glish bowlers are at work. Atherton has never heard of the words ``aggression`` and ``third slip``. Any shot in the direction of Tufnell is worth two - who cares that it was just a defenisve push? Gooch is an old man who cannot bend down and you only have to look at his batting stance for proof. Gatting is no anorexic. Graeme Hick is their best catcher. His success rate this Test ran at a miserable 33 per cent. _Wisden_ should count England wickets as just a half. Shane Warne is only half-way through his hat-trick. We have counsel, too, for the Australians. Not all is right with the team and any victory jigs must be tempered with the knowledge that it was only a triumph over England. Zimbabwe can do that whenever they want, no problems. Thanks :: Patrick Smith, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au)