Ashes 2002/3 | Australia v England 5th Test | Sydney

Australia v England Sydney Cricket Ground 2,3,4,5,6 January 2003 (5-day match)

Result: England won by 225 runs

Umpires : DL Orchard (SA) and RB Tiffin (Zim)

Match Reports :Match Reports : Day 1; Day 2; Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Steve Waugh hits 29th 100

After a shaky start, England recovered then faltered once more in a see-saw day at the SCG. The tourists ending the first day on 5 for 264 could have been so much better had the middle order lost its way.

Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie opened the bowling for Australia due to the absence of stalwart McGrath and they soon had the England opening pair in all sort of bother. Lee was particularly unplayable in his first four overs and in his opening spell accounted for Michael Vaughan without scoring. The total had reached four runs before Brett Lee tempted Vaughan into a half volley and the batsman only succeeded in nicking the ball to Adam Gilchrist.

Both Trescothick and Butcher struggled against the swinging ball and with
Bichel's introduction, another wicket fell. Trescothick, who has for the better part of this series struggled with the bat again failed when he tried
to play the ball on the up. The ball took a huge deflection and Gilchrist was on hand once again to dive in front of Martin Love, standing at first slip, to take a magnificent one handed catch. With the score on 2 for 32, it was an ominous start for England.

With that, England's luck changed for Butcher was dropped on 13 and 43 and Hussain was dropped on six when he offered MacGill a simple caught and bowled chance. All three were to prove costly mistakes and together with a substandard fielding performance England had Australia on the racks with a third wicket partnership of 166 between Butcher and Hussain.

Of the two, Hussain (75) was the first to depart, caught behind by Gilchrist (his third dismissal today) off Gillespie; it was no more than the bowler deserved after ending with figures of 1 for 48 off 21 overs. Twelve runs later, Butcher was bowled by Brett Lee for 124, his second highest Test score. After being 2 for 198, England were reeling with the loss of two quick wickets at 4 for 210.

England's cause was certainly not helped by Key when he fell for only three runs, trapped leg-before for the second time in the series by Steve Waugh.

Crawley was still there but how he survived a caught behind decision off Umpire Orchard I will never know. The ball hit Crawley's handle but the umpire decided it had hit his wrist and another lifeline was thrown to the batsman. With Key's dismissal it was left to a confident Alec Stewart (playing with chickenpox) and a nervous John Crawley to see England to the close without any further loss. Stewart made the most of a final erratic over from a tiring Brett Lee, hitting the Australian for three boundaries in the final over.

At the close England are 5 for 264 and need to post a further 150 tomorrow to be safe.

Butcher said: "It was a shame I didn't manage to see out the last four or five overs but it was a good day for me.

"It's been pretty tough for all of us and my form has not been as good as it might have been particularly after the first Test when I thought I got out of the blocks pretty well.

"It was fantastic to score runs in front of such a big crowd but it wasn't until after tea-time that I felt in any kind of form."

Australia coach John Buchanan bemoaned Australia's poor catching. Butcher was dropped twice, on 13 and 43, while Hussain was put down when just six.

"It was a pretty good wicket out there and those missed chances were pretty crucial," he said.

"It was pretty disappointing as both batsmen capitalised on those misses, but good luck to them."

He said that Jason Gillespie, who looked weary and sore by the end of the day, would be fighting fit on the second morning.

"He and Brett [Lee] will be in reasonable shape for tomorrow," he said.

Buchanan also admitted that the absence of Australia's best two bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, had had an effect.

"It would be pretty hard to say we didn't miss them," he said.

Andy Bichel fractured his left index finger while fielding on the opening day but will be able to continue. The finger will be set in a splint but will not affect his bowling and the Australian team will re access the situation at the end of the game.

Back to Ashes 2002/3 Home

334notout.com blog: Deep Fine Leg - Latest Posts