LONDON, Aug 23: England regained the Ashes with a sweeping 197-run victory over Australia in the fifth Test at the Oval on Sunday despite a battling century from Michael Hussey that threatened to take the game into a fifth day.
A capacity crowd basking happily on a sun-baked evening erupted in scenes reminiscent of the corresponding test four years ago when a draw was enough to bring the Ashes back after 16 years.
Australia, who needed at least a draw to retain the Ashes they won back by crushing England 5-0 in 2006-7, were dismissed for 348 in their second innings after being set a record 546 for victory. The series had been tied 1-1 after Australia won the fourth test at Headingley within three days. Only Hussey defied the England attack for any length of time, scoring his 10th century. He was the last man out, caught at short-leg by Alastair Cook for 121 in five and half hours at the crease.
Earlier Andrew Flintoff produced one last moment of show-stealing brilliance as England’s cricketers prepared to celebrate the recapturing of the Ashes, after winning a battle of wills on the fourth afternoon of an excruciatingly absorbing Test match. By tea Australia had slipped from a threatening 217 for 2 to 265 for 5 in their final innings, the key moment coming when Flintoff ran out Ricky Ponting for 66 with a spectacular direct hit from mid-on.
Flintoff, now in his final Test, has not been the tub-thumping batsman of old in this series, while his bowling - though thunderous at Lord's - has faded cruelly as the concerns about his right knee have mounted. But as a presence, and as a man who can make things happen on a cricket field, his spell has scarcely diminished. In a moment that is sure to be replayed for years on end, he gathered a firm clip from Mike Hussey, steadied himself as Ponting hesitated fatally, then unleashed a fast, flat, unerring swing of the arm that plucked out the off stump with Ponting a foot short.
Five balls later, their batsman of the series, Michael Clarke ran himself out for a duck after a clip off the pads ricocheted to Andrew Strauss at leg slip, and Australia had not remotely recovered their poise when Marcus North dragged his back foot out of the crease as he shouldered arms to a big ripper from Graeme Swann, and Matt Prior - almost as an afterthought - flicked off the bails with wide-eyed glee. Their target of 546 had become a distant figment of their imagination, and their only remaining incentive is to grind out the final four sessions of the series. England's progress had not seemed so inevitable for the two-and-a-half hours that Ponting and Hussey had been together. After overcoming the loss of both openers in the space of four balls in the first half-hour of the day, the pair played with calm aplomb on a still-untrustworthy surface, to neuter the threat posed by Swann and Stuart Broad, England's likeliest source of breakthroughs, and force Strauss to rotate his options, with Steve Harmison finally being called upon for a spell, having sent down just nine overs so far in the match. After the ease with which Australia's openers had pushed along at four runs an over on the third evening of the match, England's day of destiny dawned with more than just a frisson of anxiety in the air. But Swann claimed the initial breakthrough at the end of his second over, tweaking a succession of sharply spinning offbreaks past Simon Katich's edge, before nailing him plumb lbw with the arm-ball. Swann bounced for joy in the middle of the pitch as a massive roar of relief and ecstasy erupted from the stands, but almost immediately the fervour morphed into a respectful standing ovation for the incoming Ponting, in his 136th Test and almost certainly his last in England after four memorable Ashes tours.
Brief Score: England 332 & 373/9d Australia 160 & 348 (102.2 ov) (Agencies)
A capacity crowd basking happily on a sun-baked evening erupted in scenes reminiscent of the corresponding test four years ago when a draw was enough to bring the Ashes back after 16 years.
Australia, who needed at least a draw to retain the Ashes they won back by crushing England 5-0 in 2006-7, were dismissed for 348 in their second innings after being set a record 546 for victory. The series had been tied 1-1 after Australia won the fourth test at Headingley within three days. Only Hussey defied the England attack for any length of time, scoring his 10th century. He was the last man out, caught at short-leg by Alastair Cook for 121 in five and half hours at the crease.
Earlier Andrew Flintoff produced one last moment of show-stealing brilliance as England’s cricketers prepared to celebrate the recapturing of the Ashes, after winning a battle of wills on the fourth afternoon of an excruciatingly absorbing Test match. By tea Australia had slipped from a threatening 217 for 2 to 265 for 5 in their final innings, the key moment coming when Flintoff ran out Ricky Ponting for 66 with a spectacular direct hit from mid-on.
Flintoff, now in his final Test, has not been the tub-thumping batsman of old in this series, while his bowling - though thunderous at Lord's - has faded cruelly as the concerns about his right knee have mounted. But as a presence, and as a man who can make things happen on a cricket field, his spell has scarcely diminished. In a moment that is sure to be replayed for years on end, he gathered a firm clip from Mike Hussey, steadied himself as Ponting hesitated fatally, then unleashed a fast, flat, unerring swing of the arm that plucked out the off stump with Ponting a foot short.
Five balls later, their batsman of the series, Michael Clarke ran himself out for a duck after a clip off the pads ricocheted to Andrew Strauss at leg slip, and Australia had not remotely recovered their poise when Marcus North dragged his back foot out of the crease as he shouldered arms to a big ripper from Graeme Swann, and Matt Prior - almost as an afterthought - flicked off the bails with wide-eyed glee. Their target of 546 had become a distant figment of their imagination, and their only remaining incentive is to grind out the final four sessions of the series. England's progress had not seemed so inevitable for the two-and-a-half hours that Ponting and Hussey had been together. After overcoming the loss of both openers in the space of four balls in the first half-hour of the day, the pair played with calm aplomb on a still-untrustworthy surface, to neuter the threat posed by Swann and Stuart Broad, England's likeliest source of breakthroughs, and force Strauss to rotate his options, with Steve Harmison finally being called upon for a spell, having sent down just nine overs so far in the match. After the ease with which Australia's openers had pushed along at four runs an over on the third evening of the match, England's day of destiny dawned with more than just a frisson of anxiety in the air. But Swann claimed the initial breakthrough at the end of his second over, tweaking a succession of sharply spinning offbreaks past Simon Katich's edge, before nailing him plumb lbw with the arm-ball. Swann bounced for joy in the middle of the pitch as a massive roar of relief and ecstasy erupted from the stands, but almost immediately the fervour morphed into a respectful standing ovation for the incoming Ponting, in his 136th Test and almost certainly his last in England after four memorable Ashes tours.
Brief Score: England 332 & 373/9d Australia 160 & 348 (102.2 ov) (Agencies)
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