Trott keeps England on target to retain the urn

England 5 for 444 (Trott 141*, Cook 82, Prior 75*, Strauss 69, Pietersen 51, Siddle 3-58) lead Australia 98 by 346 runs

 On a day when Ricky Ponting lost his cool with the umpires, Jonathan Trott was a picture of composure as his second century of the series kept England on target to retain the Ashes. Led by an aggressive Peter Siddle in front of his home crowd, the Australian fast men tried to drag their team back into the contest but after their first-innings 98, the hosts needed a miraculous day, not a solid one.

Trott was the anchor for England, with support from Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior, and by the close of play their advantage had grown to 346 runs, already an ample lead that will grow on day three. Trott went to stumps on 141 and Prior had 75, and Australia's inability to break through in the final session sapped any energy they might have drawn from Siddle's early strikes.

Three days of rain might be feasible in Brisbane, given the recent weather in the north, but it won't happen in Melbourne, and Australia's batsmen must find remarkable resolve in the second innings if England are to be denied victory and the urn is to remain up for grabs at the SCG. And judging by Ponting's outburst, levelheadedness is not widespread in the team right now.

He was convinced the review of a not-out caught-behind decision against Kevin Pietersen showed a deflection on Hot Spot, but it was a misguided thought as the ball had passed much higher on the bat. After the third umpire correctly backed Aleem Dar's on-field decision to reprieve Pietersen on 49, Ponting heatedly argued with Dar, Pietersen and the other umpire Tony Hill. 

It was an ugly incident that took the attention away from a solid 92-run partnership between Trott and Pietersen, which ended soon afterwards when Pietersen was plumb lbw to Siddle for 51. What followed was an eventful mini-session as the out-of-form Paul Collingwood (8) and Ian Bell (1) both hooked short balls from Mitchell Johnson to Siddle at fine leg, before Prior had a lucky escape on 5.

Just before tea, Johnson won a caught-behind decision from Dar, and Prior was walking off when he was called back by Dar, who had a nagging doubt about whether Johnson had overstepped. A quick consultation with the third official showed Johnson had indeed delivered a no-ball; Prior was reprieved, the Australians were frustrated, and the Prior-Trott partnership was allowed to bulge to 158 by stumps.

India reduced to 136-9 by South Africa quicks

CENTURION: South Africa's fast bowlers made up for lost time as they ripped through the Indian batting line-up on a rain-shortened first day of the first Test at SuperSport Park on Thursday. 

Scorecard 

Morne Morkel took four wickets and Dale Steyn three as India crashed to 136 for nine after being sent in on a green, damp pitch. 

Only Sachin Tendulkar, who made an elegant 36 off 34 balls, looked at ease as Steyn and Morkel confirmed their credentials as the world's most lethal new ball pair as they scythed through the side ranked number one in Test cricket. 

Steyn started the slide early when he had Virender Sehwag caught at third man for nought. He followed up with two superb, full, late-swinging deliveries to get rid of VVS Laxman and Tendulkar after the pair had mounted a mini-recovery after India had slumped to 27 for three. 

Laxman and Tendulkar put on 39 before Laxman and Tendulkar fell in successive overs from Steyn, sandwiched by the wicket of Suresh Raini, who lasted only three balls before edging Jacques Kallis to third slip. 

The tall Morkel took four for 20 in 12.1 hostile overs, including the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid in successive overs. He also dismissed tailenders Ishant Sharma and Sree Sreesanth before bad light ended play. Dravid was his 100th victim in his 29th Test. 

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hitting out as he was forced to bat with the tail, finished the day on 33 not out. 

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Dravid becomes third highest Test run-getter

CENTURION: Rahul Dravid on Thursday overtook former West Indian captain Brain Lara as the third highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket when he reached 11 in the first of the three-match series against South Africa. 

Coming into the match needing 11 runs to surpass Lara's 11,953 in the all-time run-getter's list, Dravid reached the milestone with a double, clipping Dale Steyn off the back foot towards the square-leg region at the SuperSport Park. 

Dravid, who has an average of 53.31 before this Test, achieved the feat in his 148th match. 

His teammate and Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart with 14,3666 runs from 175 Tests, followed by Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who till date has scored 12,332 runs from 151 matches. 

Dravid is also just one short of becoming the first cricketer to take 200 catches in Test.

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The Ashes 2010: England run riot against Australia to win second Test

It was only a morning, but it was one of the great mornings for England cricket in modern times. No weather to save Australia. In winning the second Test overwhelmingly, by an innings and 71 runs, they have achieved what no England side has managed for 24 years and won a Test in Australia while the Ashes were still at stake.

This represents a hammer blow to Australia, who must now win two of the final three Tests if they are to regain the Ashes, a prospect not helped by the news that their opener Simon Katich will miss the remaining matches with an Achilles injury.

There were tense final moments as England, a bowler down because of the injury to Stuart Broad which has also finished his involvement in the series, sought the final wicket with the two Australian tailenders at the crease. To gasps from the crowd and players, balls beat the bat.

Finally, at 11.27am precisely, almost an hour and a half into the day, Graeme Swann spun an off-break through the gate left by Peter Siddle to hit off stump and spark celebrations.

Swann had taken the last three wickets to finish with five for 91 and confirm his status as the leading spinner in world cricket. It was Swann who took the final wicket at The Oval when the Ashes were won last year. Only Marcus North, for almost an hour, offered resistance as Mike Hussey went to Steve Finn and the new ball for 52, and the tail folded. In 17 overs England took six for 64.

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Pietersen hits double century; England 551-4

Kevin Pietersen passed the double hundred mark for the second time in his Test career as England reached 551—4 at tea on Sunday on the third day of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, taking a commanding 306—run, first innings lead over Australia.

Paul Collingwood was the only batsman to be dismissed in the second session, going out lbw to Shane Watson for 40. Earlier in the day, Alastair Cook was dismissed for 148, caught by Brad Haddin off Ryan Harris.

Pietersen was 213 not out at the break, while Ian Bell had 41.

England, following its 517—1 declared in the second innings of the first Ashes Test at Brisbane, has now passed 500 in consecutive innings for the first time against Australia.

Despite a sore hamstring, Pietersen reached his double century with a quick single to mid off and then punched the air and saluted the England fans on the hill at the Adelaide Oval.

The South African—born batsman, who came to the wicket before tea on Saturday afternoon, had gone 27 Test innings without making a hundred, dating back to March 2009.

Australia finally managed to dismiss Cook for 148 when he inside—edged Ryan Harris behind to Brad Haddin. That ended Cook’s run of 1,057 minutes without losing his wicket, going back to his second innings of 235 not out in Brisbane.

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India crush New Zealand by 9 wickets, clinch series

Gautam Gambhir celebrates his century

Indian team led by Gautam Gambhir displayed a splendid performance and managed to beat New Zealand  in a 9-wicket win in the third ODI and seal the five-match ODI series 3-0 at Vadodara today.

Earlier, James Franklin led New Zealand's revival with a fighting unbeaten half-century as the visitors recovered from a poor start to post 224 for 9.

Down 0-2 and faced with a must-win situation, the visitors made a shocking start by losing their openers within the first five overs and were struggling at 106 for seven before Franklin (72 not out) and Nathan McCullum repaired the innings with a stand of 94.

The left-handed Franklin batted sensibly after coming in at 49 for 4 in the 16th over even as continued to tumble from the the other end.

He top-scored for the Black Caps with the help of five fours and one six in 108 balls while McCullum made 43 in 53 balls with four fours.

Their eighth-wicket stand off 107 balls took the score to 200 after the Kiwis had lost half their side for 77.
Apart from the eighth wicket pair, only opener Martin Guptill (12) and Scott Styris (22) reached the double figures in a largely uninspiring display put up by the Kiwis after they were asked to bat first by the hosts.
For India, Zaheer Khan (2/31), Yusuf Pathan (2/37 and R Ashwin (2/49) shared six wickets among them while Munaf Patel chipped in with one scalp.

The pitch for the match was a major surprise at a venue that normally provides flat tracks. There was a lot of bounce for the pace bowlers and bounce and turn for the spinners.

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Ashes: Cook puts England in charge against Australia

Alastair Cook hit an unbeaten 136 as England built a 72-run lead on day two of the second Test against Australia.

After his 235 not out in the first Test, Cook took his series aggregate to 438 with a chanceless knock as England reached 317-2 at the close.

The tourists made a bad start to the day when Andrew Strauss was bowled by Doug Bollinger playing no stroke.

But Jonathan Trott (78) and Kevin Pietersen (85 not out) helped Cook put them in a commanding position.
Once again, Australia's bowling attack was found wanting, with the seamers struggling to maintain a disciplined line and length and spinner Xavier Doherty unable to justify the shown in him by the selectors.

England will hope to bat long into day three to build a commanding lead but will be mindful that the match is following a similar course to the opening Test in which Australia held a 221-run advantage on first innings but were unable to force a victory.

With the new ball only three overs old, the home side need early wickets on the third morning. On the evidence of the series so far, however, it will need something special to dislodge Cook, who has batted for over 1,000 minutes since his last dismissal.

What marked the 25-year-old's innings out as something truly special at the Adelaide Oval was the way he avoided giving the bowlers even a glimmer of hope.

After Strauss went for one, Trott should have been out before reaching double figures and Pietersen - perhaps forgivably after sitting padded up for a combined total of almost 10 hours in the two matches - took time to settle.

But Cook played to his strengths, flicking confidently through mid-wicket when the balls was on the stumps, despatching anything short and wide past point and anything over-pitched through the covers, while remaining watchful at all times in defence.

It was a testament to his maturity that he was not discomfited by the shock departure of Strauss - the England skipper guilty of an appalling error of judgment as he chose not to play a straight ball from Bollinger which clipped the top of the stumps.

The Ashes 2010: Jimmy Anderson takes four as England skittle Australia

England defied the Adelaide traditions by losing the toss but then bowling Australia out for just 245 to take the upper hand in the second Ashes Test.

A remarkable opening to the day saw the hosts crash to two for three before Shane Watson and Michael Hussey rebuilt with a stand of 94. Brad Haddin added a half-century but the lower order crumbled. James Anderson led the way with four wickets for 51 before England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook reached the close without alarm.

Expectations were high for a huge first-innings score at this ground synonymous with 500-plus totals over the first three days. Instead, England struck with the fourth ball of the match.

Anderson appealed for lbw against Watson and in the confusion Watson called Simon Katich through for a single - and Jonathan Trott pounced for a direct hit from square-leg to run the left-hander out, without facing a ball.

The Australian captain Ricky Ponting strode out, and trooped back off, in little more than a minute. Anderson, England's outstanding bowler and deserving of better figures in the drawn first Test in Brisbane, got an outswinger in the perfect spot to any new batsman. Ponting pushed out and edged low to second slip, where Graeme Swann took a neat catch away to his left. It was Ponting's fifth golden duck in his 150th Test, and a major shock to this sell-out crowd.

In his next over, Anderson struck again - an out-of-form Michael Clarke edging an attempted drive to Swann.

Watson survived a DRS review for a front-foot lbw as simulation showed the ball was going over the top of leg-stump, vindicating umpire Tony Hill. England would have had a fourth wicket anyway had Anderson managed to hold on to a one-handed return catch to his left when Hussey chipped a drive back - on three and with the team total still only 12.

The left-hander, who made 195 at the Gabba, also edged Anderson just short of Swann soon afterwards.

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England dominate draw at Gabba

Shell-shocked Australia must find a way to regroup ahead of Friday's second Ashes Test in Adelaide after their bowlers were embarrassed in the drawn first Test.

The merciless England had declared after lunch on Monday at 1-517 from 152 overs at the Gabba, their highest second-innings total in a Test match in Australia.

Set 297 to win from 41 overs, Australia eased their way to 1-107 from 26 overs before both captains agreed to end the match 15 overs early on a flat batting wicket.

 

Ricky Ponting was unbeaten on 51 with Shane Watson on 41 after Simon Katich was out for four.
England opener Alastair Cook had finished unbeaten on 235, his highest Test score, and Jonathan Trott hit 135 not out.

The Cook-Trott stand of 329 is the best partnership for England for any wicket in Australia, beating the 323 by Jack Hobbs and Wilfred Rhodes at the MCG in 1911-12.

Australia left-armer Mitchell Johnson's Test spot will come under review after his figures of 0-170, with Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris contenders to take the strike bowler's place.

It was Johnson's first wicket-less Test in the 39-match career of the 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year.
In his past five Tests, Johnson has taken 11 wickets at the inflated average of 58.90.
As both teams head to Adelaide on Tuesday, Australia are under pressure to find a winning formula and achieve victory in the five-match series to regain the urn.

Cook becomes only the fourth England batsman to score a double hundred in a Test in Australia.
Vice-captain Cook hit 27 fours and batted for 10-and-a-half hours, proving a point after coming to Australia with a Test average under 30 in 10 previous Ashes contests.

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