|
Ashes 2002/3 | Australia v England 4th Test | Melbourne
Australia
v England M.C.G Melbourne, 26 - 30th December 2002
Result: Australia
Won by 5 wickets
Umpires
: R Tiffin (ZI) and D Orchard (SA)
Match
Reports : Day
1; Day
2; Day
3 - Day
5 - Scorecard
Toss:
Australia
Hayden
fell to Andy Caddick on the very first ball of the
fifth day, the wicket heralded new hope for England.
 With
Hayden's dismissal, Ricky Ponting came to the middle
with one thing in mind, to hit the runs required as
quickly as possible and not get bogged down by the
occasion.
Free
admission to the ground today guaranteed a 18 thousand
crowd would turn up at the MCG, most of them tourists
supporting the England cause.
The
50 came up on the second ball of the 11th over and
Australia were cruising but with the score on 58,
Ponting fell to a catch behind by Foster off Harmison
for 30 (35 balls). His knock included three boundaries
and one six off Andy Caddick.
Steve
Harmison is improving every time he goes out to bowl
and is obviously benefiting from his Test experiences
in Australia. Bowling with 3 times more heart and
determination than England's 'so called' number one
batsman Andy Caddick, Harmison had all the Australian
batsmen in trouble.
Three
wickets fell in the first hour, two to Harmison in
one over which included the scalps of Ponting and
then Martyn. With the confidence now high, Harmison
then should have had Steve Waugh caught behind after
the Australian captain edged to Foster but incredibly,
Foster and the slip cordon never appealed until they
saw the replay on the big screen that Waugh had clearly
hit the ball.
The
very next delivery saw Waugh hole out to Hussain at
Mid-on and while the captain stuck his finger in the
air, he noticed that the umpire (Orchard) had called
a no-ball. Steve Waugh on his way back to the pavilion
was called back to the middle.
Steve
Waugh fell to Caddick with only 21 runs required,
Waugh caught by Butcher at second slip. Three balls
later, Langer was adjudged leg-before by umpire Tippin
but the ball clearly pitched outside the line, yet
another poor decision.
The
tension in the first session was electric and possibly
the most atmospheric of the series to date. The question
remains unanswered - why has it taken until the second
innings of the fourth test for England to show any
character in their play?
It
was left to Adam Gilchrist to strike the winning boundary
and take Australia to a 5 wicket victory and set up
the chance to take the series 5-0 in Sydney for the
first time since 1922.
Back
to Ashes 2002/3 Home
334notout.com blog: Deep Fine Leg - Latest Posts
| 
