England v Australia, 4th Test, Trent Bridge
England v Australia, 4th Test, Trent Bridge, The Ashes, 2005
Lawrence Booth
15-Apr-2006
At Nottingham, August 25, 26, 27, 28. England won by three wickets. Toss: England.
Test debut: S. W. Tait.
The law of averages demanded a dull draw after the showstoppers at Edgbaston and
Old Trafford, but this was a series in which the usual laws did not apply. By the time
Giles and Hoggard scampered the winning runs on a sun-kissed Sunday, both teams
- both nations - had been put through the wringer once more.
But now England were ahead, a point not lost on the home supporters. "What's the
score, Glenn McGrath, what's the score?" they chanted at the 5-0 predictor on the
Australian balcony. He responded with another forecast, holding up two fingers on each
hand, but the gesture seemed poignant. Not only was a
2-2 draw the best Australia could still hope for; McGrath
himself had now missed two Tests in the series, both lost.
This time, it was down to wear and tear to his right elbow.
In his absence, and with Gillespie no longer trusted,
Australia recalled Michael Kasprowicz and awarded a first
cap to Shaun Tait, a 22-year-old speed merchant from
South Australia whose slingy action prompted English observers to draw uneasy
comparisons with Jeff Thomson.
England were unchanged for the fourth Test in a row, and their air of solidity was
reinforced when Australia lost a crucial toss on a benign pitch. Ponting then watched
in dismay as his bowlers made a mockery of what their coach John Buchanan described
as a "zero-tolerance policy" on no-balls, overstepping 18 times in the 27 overs before
lunch, which England took at 129 for one. The sole casualty was Strauss, who swept
Warne to slip via his right boot - the only foot the openers put wrong all morning.
Rain permitted only 20 deliveries (including another no-ball) between lunch and tea,
after which Trescothick's fluent 65 was ended by a full inswinger from Tait, who
quickly added a tentative-looking Bell, caught behind: Gilchrist's 300th Test dismissal.
Vaughan repaired the damage, but he nibbled outside off stump to give Ponting his
first Test wicket of the 21st century and, at 213 for four, England were in danger of
conceding the initiative.
Pietersen went early next morning, but the game turned on a partnership between
Flintoff and Geraint Jones that was a study in contrasts: the lumbering giant and the
nifty urchin; the bully and the pickpocket; the front-foot driver and the back-foot cutter.
What they shared was urgency, and they added 177 at high speed. Australia were
convinced Jones had edged Lee on 34 first ball after lunch, but otherwise it was oneway
traffic travelling in fifth gear. When Flintoff tucked Warne to leg for a single to
complete his fifth Test hundred, from only 121 balls, Trent Bridge erupted. Moments
later, he aimed across the line against Tait and the fun was over, but the stand had
deflated the Australians and ushered England to a third successive first-innings score
of 400 for the first time in nearly 19 years of Ashes cricket. Jones fell 15 runs short
of three figures, and Australia were left with a session on the second evening in which
to chip away at England's 477.
Instead, the breaches came from the bowlers. Hoggard located his away-swinger for
the first time in the series in an 11-over burst of three for 32, and Harmison undid
Clarke in the last over of the day, as he had at Edgbaston. Both Ponting and Martyn
were given out lbw to balls they had edged, but the nicks were imperceptible to the
naked eye and could not detract from the truth: Australia were being outplayed again.
The sense that the force was with England was confirmed on the third morning, when
Strauss dived full stretch at second slip to hold on to Gilchrist's edge, before Simon
Jones, hostile and incisive, cleaned up to take five for 44. Not even Lee's hard-hit 47
could prevent Australia from following on for the first time since Karachi in 1988-89.
Still, at 155 for two second time round, they were progressing smoothly. Then Martyn
called Ponting for a single, only to see his captain beaten by a direct hit from the
covers. Ponting's fury at losing his wicket at a crucial stage was compounded by the
identity of the fielder: Gary Pratt, a 23-year-old batsman who had not played a firstclass
game for Durham all summer, was substituting for Simon Jones, who had limped
off with an ankle injury. Pratt's presence on the field was thus legitimate, but the
Australians had objected to England's constant use of substitutes, apparently to rest
their bowlers, and Ponting vented his feelings towards the England balcony on his way
to the pavilion. The outburst would cost him 75% of his match fee. More immediately, his side's momentum was checked. When Martyn feathered Flintoff two overs later,
Australia were still 98 behind with six wickets left.
What followed was the most attritional passage of batting in the series yet, as Clarke
and Katich added 100 - only Australia's second century stand in four games - in 48
overs to wipe out England's lead. But Hoggard persuaded Clarke to nibble at the second
new ball just before lunch on the fourth day, before becoming the first seamer to win
an lbw appeal against Gilchrist in his 72 Tests. Harmison mopped up with three wickets,
including Katich, who was furious when his 262-minute vigil was ended by a poor
lbw decision from Aleem Dar. His all-too-obvious displeasure (he conducted his
argument with spectators) earned him a 50% fine, and England were eventually left
needing an awkward 129.
At 32 without loss after five overs, they were coasting. But cricket has never had a
scene-stealer - not even Ian Botham - who could match Warne. He removed Trescothick
and Vaughan with the opening deliveries of his first two overs, then snared Strauss at
leg slip in his fifth to make it 57 for three. When Bell hooked Lee to long leg without
addition, the talk was of Australian revenge for Headingley 1981. As on the Sunday
morning at Edgbaston and Monday afternoon at Old Trafford, news from Trent Bridge
began to savage the peace of a warm August English Sunday. Then Pietersen and
Flintoff, against type, calmed everyone's nerves by adding 46, but Lee had Pietersen
caught behind with the first ball of a new spell and in his next over bowled an
incredulous Flintoff with a beauty that proved Australia could produce reverse swing,
to tremendous effect. With 13 still needed, Geraint Jones spooned Warne to deep extra
cover. England were down to the bowlers.
The anxiety was not confined to the spectators. As Hoggard trooped to the crease,
Giles provided a cheerless assessment of Lee's bowling: "He's reversing it at 95 miles
an hour." Somehow, though, the runs came in dribs and drabs: Giles kept out Warne,
Hoggard handled Lee. Catharsis arrived when Hoggard drove a Lee full toss to the
cover fence to take England within four runs of their target, and victory was secured
in the next over when Giles clipped Warne through midwicket.
With more support for Lee and Warne - Kasprowicz and Tait bowled six wicketless
overs for 43 between them - Australia might have won. Instead, it was England who
celebrated a result which ensured that, for the first time in nine Ashes series, they would
not be on the losing side. Could they now take the one last step towards the Ashes?
Man of the Match: A. Flintoff.