1997 ASHES REVIEW ALL SIX TESTS
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00:00As at Brisbane two and a half years ago, Mark Taylor won the toss and batted.
00:06It was an important moment for Darren Goff, who was given the new ball.
00:09It was a bit of nerves, a bit of pressure really, because everybody said in the past
00:13the first ball in an Ashes series is important.
00:16And I can remember Daffy in Australia, the series, went for four first balls.
00:20So in my mind, it was in the paper in the morning, saying it's very important, that first ball.
00:24So others took the ball to me and said, I want you to bowl the first ball.
00:29He said, try and make it a good one.
00:31So I was a bit nervous at the end of my mark.
00:33I mean, I just ran in and it ended up being a good delivery and nearly got a wicket with it.
00:37So I mean, that relaxed everybody and me personally as well.
00:40Two big LBW shouts soon brought the crowd to life.
00:45Wills, Peter Willey, the umpire, he's a good lad, he's a good umpire.
00:50And he said, they were very close, but they were both very good decisions.
00:53The second one close, he nearly gave the second one, he said, but he was just outside.
00:57So I mean, we had a little chuckle about it, but I got him eventually.
01:00We won what swung back into him and I was very relieved to get the first wicket in the Ashes series.
01:14We studied them pretty carefully.
01:15Obviously, we know a lot of their players anyway.
01:17But it was one of those mornings, actually, where a lot of our dismissals went to plan.
01:21And it very rarely works like that.
01:22Any captain will tell you that.
01:25But it was just one of those mornings where every dismissal seemed to work according to plan.
01:28And obviously, it's gratifying when that happens.
01:30I think the ball that pleased me most was obviously the Mike Waugh.
01:33To dismiss Mike Waugh, who was a class batsman.
01:44Goff's next ball again hit the mark, but his joy was cut short by the umpire's call.
01:49Oh, he's done it again, but it's an head ball.
01:52Yeah, I just tried to get on with it.
01:54It was a big mistake.
01:55I knew that.
01:56I was disappointed.
01:57I knew all the crowd were disappointed.
01:59But I kind of, I know it sounds silly, but I often do visualise the odd time, what's going to happen the next ball.
02:05And I did say to myself, right, same ball and I'm going to get a wicket.
02:09I just had a feeling it was going to happen.
02:11And it did.
02:17Well done.
02:18Well done.
02:19Straight after not getting a wicket from the no ball, he's taken one with a brilliant diving catch.
02:27That is very, very good cricket.
02:33Beautiful delivery.
02:36And he's got it.
02:37Steve Button, the man who just took his time before raising the finger to signal the dismissal of Steve Waugh.
02:45That was another very, very fine delivery.
02:47Andy Carrick this time.
02:48Well, we were going to bat, as Mike Taylor said.
02:51He thinks both sides would have batted.
02:53And yeah, that's about right.
02:54The ball swung that morning.
02:56I don't think there was any problem with the pitch at all.
02:58In fact, there wasn't.
02:59But the ball swung and our ball has got it in the right areas.
03:02From then on, for the rest of the game, there was very minimal swing.
03:07Probably the atmosphere changed.
03:09We don't know.
03:10Nobody knows.
03:11Different cricket ball.
03:12You just don't know that.
03:14But on that morning and that afternoon, it swung and we got it right.
03:19That's edged away.
03:20Simple catch for Mark Elam in the gully.
03:23Now, that's Devin Malcolm at his best.
03:26We talked about the weakness of Michael Bevan against the rising ball.
03:37And that's out.
03:38A treat to be a judge, Buston, as the eighth wicket goes down.
03:43Australia's first innings, 54 for 8.
03:47First morning of a Test match, an Ashes series,
03:49and the side opposition are 54 for 8,
03:51half an hour before lunch.
03:52Extraordinary, really.
03:55And it was all a bit of a surreal atmosphere out there.
03:58When we had them seven down, we thought,
04:00we're going to get them here before lunch.
04:01I think a bit of extra luck and we would have done.
04:03Shane Warne had a couple of misses,
04:05but he actually played quite well.
04:07He played positive and when you're in that position,
04:10he came out with the right attitude.
04:12It's him or the ball, the kind of thing.
04:14If it's up, it's off.
04:15And he played quite well and got 40 odds.
04:17It was good innings, really.
04:19All we had to do at lunchtime was just to stress
04:21that we're two tail-enders and not to get impatient.
04:24Just get the ball in the right areas.
04:26Obviously, Shane Warne was going to come out,
04:29play in the back.
04:30People just had to stay disciplined and composed.
04:33In the air.
04:34In the air.
04:35Oh, it's stuck.
04:36I'm not sure if it went smack into the palms,
04:39but Butcher's caught him again.
04:43That's in the air.
04:45That's to Devin Malcolm.
04:47And that is out.
04:51It's a fifth wicket for Andy Caddick.
04:54So, Australia 118 all out,
04:56but England were soon in trouble themselves.
04:59This has gone out for two.
05:03And that was a beauty from McGrath.
05:05Absolute frack.
05:11Oh, that sounds as though there might be something there,
05:14but Steve Buckner doesn't need to offer his opinion
05:17because the batsman's on his way.
05:24That is good night, Nurse.
05:26And that is Gillespie at his best.
05:29I think every fast bowler has a right to get something out of the pitch.
05:32And if you're 6'5 or 6'6 and you find the edge
05:35and somebody nicks it and you're good delivery, fine.
05:38But what we need, then, is a partnership.
05:40We got it.
05:41We got a magnificent partnership.
05:42That's some of the best batting,
05:44whether you're Australian or English.
05:46You've got to admire the way that Thorpe and Assane played.
05:49You know, it's high-quality batsmanship as a pair.
05:52One got 200, one got a big 100,
05:54so that put us very firmly in the driving seat.
05:59That's well turned away.
06:00That's 50 for Graham Thorpe.
06:03Coming at another very handy time indeed for England.
06:10But when he doesn't drop it,
06:12Nasser Assane's one of the best players of the spin in the country.
06:20Oh, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
06:23Again, the secret of that shot is how long he waited.
06:30That's well placed.
06:32Sweat powerfully and fine.
06:38That's a great shot.
06:45That's well placed.
06:46That's through the gap at mid-wicket.
06:49That's going to run all the way to the boundary for Graham Thorpe
06:51and brings him his fifth Test Match 100,
06:54his third against Australia,
06:57and a very emphatic knock it has been to.
07:03That's a wonderful stroke.
07:05Just the way to bring up 100,
07:07and what a good century it is.
07:09I was 80-odd now overnight,
07:10so my first thought was get to 100,
07:12but I'd had various phone calls from Gooch
07:14and speaking to Athers and Bumble
07:16about how people in that dressing room gatting and stuff
07:18had played against them quite a few times,
07:20and the Australians tend to come back at you
07:22if you give them a sniff.
07:23For once, we were ahead,
07:25and we were determined not to give them anything back.
07:28Well, two fantastic innings from Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe.
07:33Nasser's 207 was a great innings, I thought.
07:35Thorpe as well, because we were on the tightrope of 50-3.
07:41The gap very much open.
07:44Thorpe finally fell for 137,
07:46and John Crawley quickly followed for one,
07:49but Hussain pressed on to 200.
07:54Almost as though he was waiting for it.
07:56Really, that spurred me on when John was out.
07:58He realised when we were back in it,
08:00he could see them having a sniff.
08:02A second new ball had come up,
08:04and that was a bit more of a contest.
08:06I was just determined not to give it away.
08:08It's such a big match.
08:09The whole country was behind us.
08:11The crowd was phenomenal.
08:13It was just so important that I wasn't going to play a loose shot
08:16and let all those people down, really, and let the team down.
08:19Takes Hussain on to 196.
08:24200!
08:26200 up for Nasser Hussain.
08:30It's the first time I've probably walked off completely happy
08:33with the way I played.
08:34Disappointed to get out to Shane Mourne,
08:36but just pleased to, you know, first time saying,
08:39well, you can't really have a go at yourself there.
08:41That was a pretty good innings.
08:43When Hussain went for 207,
08:45Mark Elam, with an unbeaten 53,
08:48helped England to a lead of 360,
08:51but Mark Taylor courageously led a fight back,
08:53with Matthew Elliott put on 133 for the first wicket.
08:57Absolute gold dust to Mark Taylor.
09:01It's a beauty.
09:04An absolute beauty.
09:07Good footwork, nice timing, good placement,
09:10and that's much more.
09:14Oh, brilliantly bowled. That one has turned.
09:17Croft bowled Elliott for 60,
09:19but Greg Blewett's arrival only increased the run rate.
09:26Clipped beautifully over the top.
09:29Effortlessly, it seems, and it's carried all the way.
09:32And Taylor, whose place in the side had been under threat
09:35and the subject of much debate at the start of the tour,
09:38moved to a magnificent 100.
09:46It's a lot of things I admire over the years in Test Match Cricket
09:50and a lot of things I've enjoyed.
09:53But that is one of the best.
09:56And then when Australia played well,
09:58and again, good players of every right too,
10:00we did everything we could.
10:02We may have bowled a little bit too straight at them,
10:04but nevertheless they played well.
10:06But it was always in our minds that we've got a good lead
10:09and we've an opportunity the second morning,
10:12when they were one wicket down,
10:13to get at them again, which we did.
10:17He's done it again. Much of beauty.
10:19I don't think I've ever seen Greg Blewett
10:21play better than he's done this morning.
10:23The wicket had flattened out. It was a very good wicket.
10:25And if somebody got in,
10:27they couldn't get in the beginnings like Mike Taylor did,
10:31like Blewett, like Thorpey, like Nasser.
10:34If you got in, you could go on and make a big score,
10:36a fast scoring ground.
10:38But soon after, Blewett had become the first player to score a century
10:42After his first three Ashes tests, Croft deceived Taylor.
10:46That's worked.
10:50And for once, that little tuck away on the onside,
10:53this time against the spin,
10:55for Mark Taylor.
10:59Then with Australia only six runs in arrears,
11:02Blewett was taken at silly point.
11:04354 for three.
11:07Eventually Steve Buck noticed,
11:09having pondered his decision, and raises the finger.
11:11After the Saturday, when they batted all day,
11:13they were talking about winning the game.
11:15And then the morning, they had another good session.
11:17And the boys had to lift themselves after lunch,
11:20and I got given the ball, and I responded with three wickets.
11:23And that pleased me more than the first innings, really,
11:26because that set up the victory.
11:28I think Darren Goff's spell after lunch,
11:31Devin Malcolm bowled a really quick spell after lunch on the fourth down,
11:34and Goffy came in, got Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, and one other out.
11:38And I think that was the key spell for us.
11:41That's out.
11:43Unless you're going to touch on that,
11:45that was absolutely plumb, I reckon.
11:48Ian Healy and Shane Warne took Australia to a lead of 100,
11:51and Atherton turned to his all-rounder Elam,
11:54yet to take a wicket in the match.
11:56He's on for Crawley.
11:58The weather had just got a little bit overcast.
12:00I felt that it might swing the ball.
12:02It had been a fresh conditions all day.
12:04I'd crofted by a lot of overs,
12:06so I felt Mark Elam fresh,
12:08the ability to swing the ball in those conditions was the right ball.
12:10Healy has not a great habit of throwing in the odd tie in his first over,
12:14which he knows.
12:16But after his first over,
12:18he generally gets to grips with it and tidies it up,
12:22and obviously he got three quick wickets
12:24and finished off the tail for us.
12:27And there's another one.
12:29The medium pace of Mark Elam has picked two in the one over.
12:32The lead is 117, and that's not enough.
12:37And he's gone.
12:40After we'd finished bowling,
12:42it was right, you've now got to finish the job.
12:45Relax, you're under no pressure,
12:47just go out and play. That was us.
12:49Have a cup of tea.
12:51There was no real plan to take the game to them
12:54and to be adventurous, if you like.
12:56But I thought we played very positive cricket.
12:58Shot selection was excellent.
13:00Well, we wanted to play positively.
13:02I think that's the best way to go about chasing a small target.
13:06And then the crowd kind of inspired a bit of adrenaline as well.
13:10And it was nice to finish the game on that fourth evening
13:13with a full house in.
13:15That last hour was euphoria, if you like.
13:17We were very, very pleased with the way that it was going.
13:20And you speak to Michael Atherton and the other batsmen,
13:23Alex Stewart was around,
13:25they said that the lift that the crowd gave them,
13:28you were going for your shots, and again they played well.
13:32The result was important,
13:34but I think more important was the way in which we played.
13:36We played positively, aggressively,
13:38played as a cohesive unit, caught our catches,
13:41did everything right.
13:43And that's what we've got to do for the rest of the series,
13:45a long way to go.
13:47But if we can do that in the rest of the series, we'll compete.
13:49And England have won by nine.
13:51We could say they've won within four days.
13:55Full rifle for the injured Jason Gillespie
13:57was the only change to either side for the second test at Lourdes.
14:01Glenn McGrath took the opportunity to discuss
14:03his disappointing first test performance
14:05with the legendary Dennis Lilley.
14:08He told me he thought I lacked a bit of energy,
14:10which I put it down to.
14:12I was running in too hard,
14:14and then getting to the crease too early,
14:16so I had to basically slow down.
14:18I wasn't really going through the crease,
14:20which in turn I guess looked like I didn't have much energy.
14:22Day one was a washout,
14:24and Mark Taylor had no hesitation in deciding to bowl
14:26in overcast conditions on a pitch
14:28that had a crazy paving look about it.
14:31I thought it was a poor pitch.
14:33Too much uneven bounce,
14:35too cracked at the start of a test match.
14:37Obviously it was an unsatisfactory game,
14:39really, because of the amount of time we lost to rain.
14:42The game situation, the way it was,
14:44the first day and a half had been washed out,
14:46so I was looking forward to just getting out there and bowling.
14:49We thought the only way to win the game
14:51was to get out there and knock them over early,
14:53and that's what we tried to do.
14:56That was a good ball from McGrath.
14:58Whatever it was Taylor suggested to him
15:01seems to have worked,
15:03but it's also produced four runs for Mark Butcher.
15:06Everyone's made out the wicket.
15:08There was a lot in the wicket,
15:10but I don't really think it changed for the whole match.
15:13It was just...
15:15They said there's a slope on the wicket,
15:17so maybe that's where I got my assistance from,
15:19where just occasionally I would hit the seam
15:21and come down the slope,
15:23and the other one would just carry on through.
15:25That is a very fine catch. It went low.
15:28Just carried.
15:30England's captain on his way.
15:32England 12 for 2.
15:34We've proved over a year and a half, two years now,
15:37that we've scored consistent runs
15:39against the best sides in the world.
15:41That morning just happened to be
15:43a top-quality bowler on top of his game,
15:45exploiting some helpful conditions,
15:47and low scores occasionally happen in cricket.
15:50I think it was just the day that everything was right,
15:52had a lot of rhythm.
15:54I was happy with the way the ball was coming out.
15:56Like I was saying, the odd one was coming back off the seam,
15:59and the other odd one was holding its line,
16:01so as long as you bowled the right length,
16:03I was patient.
16:05It was a little bit there, and that's all I tried to do.
16:07Did that carry?
16:09It looked to me as though Ian Healey
16:11got the gloves under the ball all right.
16:13Ian Healey was unsure if the ball had carried
16:16and sportingly withdrew his appeal,
16:18but England's reprieve was short-lived.
16:22That's out.
16:24Graham Thorpe just prodding forward,
16:27inside edge onto the pads.
16:29Another very simple chance to short leg.
16:32I guess similar to the way Atherton got out
16:35was Crawley, caught behind.
16:38Fifth one, which was a big one, was Hussein, LBW.
16:42It's always good to get the fifth wicket.
16:44To Nasser Hussein.
16:46And a big shot there, and that's out.
16:49And a big shot there, and that's out.
16:51First ball after that interval.
16:53They spent 17 minutes off the field for rain.
16:56Back comes McGrath, well pitched up.
16:59Sixth one was Croft.
17:01A little bit probably short,
17:03but it just held its line away from him,
17:05got the edge, caught behind.
17:07Certainly if he saw some width,
17:09Croft was going to swish the bat at it.
17:11Goffey sort of smacked me around a bit beforehand
17:13and then bowled the shell one, hit it straight up,
17:15and he was running around and caught it.
17:17One of those innings where wickets fell consistently
17:20and just everything was happening.
17:22You get on those rolls where you just take wicket after wicket.
17:25It was amazing.
17:29He's given it. That's wrapped it up.
17:32Glenn McGrath, two short, one up,
17:34and that was good enough for Andy Caddick.
17:37So Glenn McGrath has his eighth wicket,
17:39and those are magnificent figures.
17:41Eight for 38.
17:45I think we felt that we could go out and get wickets in equal measure.
17:49Obviously defending 77, it's hard work,
17:52but we felt we could knock over the Australians for 150, 200
17:55and get right back in the game.
17:57Ball's in!
17:59John Crawley had to deputise for Alex Stewart,
18:02who was suffering from back spasms,
18:04and after a good start,
18:06it was England's fielding that let them down.
18:09Well, unbelievably...
18:12Yeah, we dropped some catches, which is disappointing
18:15because the last year our catching has been at the top draw.
18:19So we dropped a few catches in that session,
18:21but we still could have had Australia in some trouble.
18:24This is not a good period at all for England.
18:28Matthew Elliott profited from England's generosity
18:31to register his maiden Test century,
18:33as Australia chased quick runs on the fourth afternoon.
18:37I was pretty lucky early, I had a few chances,
18:40but then when we came out that night,
18:42we just had to score runs quickly
18:44and I had a bit of a licence to go for them.
18:46So I suppose it was the perfect situation.
18:48I had everything to gain, nothing to lose.
18:50That's well played. That's found the gap beautifully.
18:54Very firm push, but timed to perfection.
18:59That's another fluent stroke before.
19:02Beautiful shot, and there is probably a good reason for this.
19:07Elliott will have been told by Taylor
19:09that he only has this length of time.
19:20I think we can say that the word has gone out
19:23that Matthew, you need to get him tonight.
19:28Ah, great shot.
19:32Goes to 99 with a glorious straight drive.
19:35He's nowhere near the pitch of it,
19:37but if I may take the liberty, Geoffrey, who cares?
19:40Getting to 99 and then I was worried about scoring 100,
19:44and then I suppose the most important one was the push to mid-off
19:48and just to get through for the single.
19:50To score 100, I think, was probably the hardest shot I played
19:53for the whole innings, I suppose.
19:55But with so many rain interruptions,
19:57only 102 overs have been bowled by Sunday evening,
20:00so Taylor's declaration overnight, 136 ahead,
20:04left England with the task of batting out the final day
20:07to save the game.
20:09For Mark Butcher, it was a pressure innings.
20:12Basically, it was just going to try to see off the new ball,
20:15try and make sure they didn't make inroads into us early on,
20:18and that was basically all I was thinking.
20:20The pitch probably did flat out a little bit.
20:22England batted with a lot more patience
20:24and, you know, stuck it out, stuck the hard yards out.
20:27If we'd taken that first catch,
20:29we were right on our way and anything could have happened.
20:32It was just one of those days where they held us out long enough
20:35and the longer they batted, the less pressure they were under.
20:38Test of character.
20:40After three low scores, people clamouring about his technique
20:43and his batting, you know,
20:45to come through that was a test of character for him,
20:48one that he came through with flying colours.
20:50I remember before, I think it might have been before lunchtime,
20:53I played a drive off the back foot off Paul Rifle,
20:55which is the first time I'd middled a ball for about a month,
20:58and that sort of felt really good.
21:00So, yeah, I remember that.
21:02I've not batted with him that much. I don't really know his game.
21:05When you bat with somebody a long time, you tend to know their game,
21:08and I'll get to know Butch's game a lot better as we play together more.
21:12But I think the key was that it was a struggle early on for him and me.
21:16And, you know, I've played 60, 70 test matches,
21:19so it's not easy conditions to bat in.
21:21And for a guy in his second test, all you can do is stick in there.
21:24When the ball gets old, as the balls tire a little bit,
21:27conditions get easier and he's stuck in there.
21:29Obviously fortunate to get away with a missed chance,
21:32but stuck in there and gradually found his fluency.
21:34I got to 50 and I started to relax a little bit
21:37and started looking like I was playing a little bit better.
21:40And so, yeah, I suppose from there on in it was good, yeah.
21:43If we'd have batted reasonably well on that last day,
21:45we're going to save the game. Runs are always in the equation.
21:48It would have had to have been either a dreadful performance by us
21:51or an excellent performance by one of the Australian bowlers
21:53for them to win that game.
21:55We played pretty comfortably.
21:57Never really looked in danger of losing the match.
21:59I think it was just a feeling of a job well done, you know,
22:01because we'd been sat in the dressing room for the best part of five days.
22:04And, you know, when that sort of thing happens to a team,
22:07you know, people can be lethargic,
22:09even if you're trying really hard to get yourself fired up.
22:11But, you know, sometimes it's difficult to get the adrenaline going again.
22:14So I think it was more a case of, you know, well done,
22:16we've shown that we can fight back from being down
22:19and, you know, looking forward to the next test match.
22:22As the players waited to commence battle in the third test at Old Trafford,
22:25the question on everyone's lips was whether Mark Taylor
22:28had been right in choosing to bat first.
22:32I mean, the wicket was green, a little damp.
22:34A few eyebrows were raised when Mark Taylor decided to bat.
22:37But it was a brave decision, obviously,
22:39the right decision as the game turned out.
22:41And I thought we bowled pretty well.
22:43Dean Headley obviously was a pick, bowling at the left-handers.
22:46He cleaned them up both first and second innings.
22:48And he bowled some very good deliveries.
22:50I was quite nervous.
22:51Basically, I'd played in a couple of one days beforehand.
22:54So I was used to a big crowd.
22:56It was just, you know, making test debut and getting off to a good start.
22:59And, you know, first few overs I was nervous,
23:02took a wicket and then that helped me settle in.
23:04He came in, he hit the captain of Australia on the head in his first over.
23:08He copped a wicket, was it second or third over of his opening spell.
23:12And it settled him down very well.
23:14Athers had just told me to sort of, like, try and square them up.
23:17And so that's what I tried to do to all the left-handers.
23:20As it happened, it worked.
23:21You know, whether I get a left-hander again in my career, I don't know.
23:24But I think I used them all up in that game.
23:35Elliot's dismissal left Australia at 85 for four.
23:38And he was soon followed by Michael Bevan.
23:44I suppose Bevan's was a bit of a beauty.
23:46First up, you know, that turned him round.
23:50And that was probably the best ball of the ball.
23:52We did what we planned to do.
23:54We saw the wicket and decided we were going to bowl first.
23:56Obviously we wanted to make early inroads and we did that as well.
23:59You know, and probably had a decision gone our way with Steve Waugh
24:03when he got hit on the pad with a full-toss first ball.
24:06The day probably would have ended up ideally, you know,
24:09just as we'd wanted it to.
24:10But it wasn't to be and he played really well.
24:12I mean, both of them played exceptionally well.
24:14But first innings where the ball did seem about, again, he's another one.
24:17He played and missed, but he was always in control.
24:19And he said he had to have a bit of luck.
24:21He could have nicked a couple, but he didn't.
24:23And to get 200s on that wicket, especially the first one,
24:26was a magnificent effort.
24:27And again, he thoroughly deserves his number one rating in the ratings.
24:31I think Steve Waugh's game plan is, you know,
24:35is mentally as hard as anybody who's probably played the game, you know.
24:40If he gets in, he doesn't give you a chance.
24:42I mean, there are players around the world
24:44that probably play more of a big array of shots.
24:48You know, he just seems to be happy to grind you into the ground,
24:51not score slowly, just back to his strengths,
24:54draw you into what he wants you to do and do it that way.
24:58Waugh's 13th Test 100 put Australia in a strong overnight position of 224 for 7.
25:05But England fought back on the second morning.
25:09Oh, that's got him. That's all over now.
25:13Just a fraction slow in coming forward, Steve Waugh.
25:17But that's a very useful delivery from Darren Goff.
25:23That is out.
25:24So straight away, Dean Headley picks up the wicket.
25:27He nearly got the ball before.
25:29230 all out was a fair effort.
25:31Could have been 200, but 230 was acceptable.
25:35But unfortunately, when it came to our turn of bat in our first innings,
25:39we didn't do ourselves justice.
25:41Although for a while, England looked set for a lead.
25:43A Stuart and Butcher put on 66 for the second wicket.
25:48He's a top player.
25:49You know, that's why he's been picked for England.
25:51He's done well for Surrey and did well on the England A Tour this winter.
25:54Admittedly, the first two Test matches he's played on,
25:56they're not your normal Test wickets.
25:58They're seen everywhere.
25:59And against a new ball,
26:00the ball's going to go past the outside edge quite regularly.
26:03And the good thing was Butch.
26:04He's got a strong mind.
26:05He's a good player.
26:06And it didn't unsettle him at all.
26:08And eventually when we came to play on a reasonably good wicket
26:11against a quicker ball,
26:12as he showed what a class player he is.
26:14I felt anything sort of 300 plus would have been a good effort.
26:17And at 80 for one or whatever it may have been,
26:19with myself and Butch batting, we were going along okay.
26:22Unfortunately, I got out.
26:24And we then lost three wickets pretty quickly after.
26:31That's a good shot.
26:33Drifted out into the rough.
26:35Butcher moved to his second successive Test 50.
26:38But then the floodgates opened.
26:42Oh, well.
26:44What a piece of work from Healy.
26:47It looked through the naked eye as though he's got him by a fraction.
26:55Go on!
26:56The tail is shouting.
26:57They all are.
26:58And so is umpire Venkat.
27:01Thorpe is, if I say, reluctant to go.
27:04Then that would be to understate the position.
27:10Oh, Brintley bowls.
27:11Warney came into his own with men round the back bowling well,
27:14spinning it, bowling accurately.
27:16And it made the job very hard for the rest of the guys.
27:18That could be it.
27:19Everyone celebrating.
27:24Again, you see, eventually you're going to go.
27:31Yeah!
27:32Well, it's been taken.
27:33And Andy Carrick is out.
27:36Well, a poor start for England.
27:40Oh, that's all over.
27:41McGrath completed the route by yorking Headley.
27:44But there was no doubt who was the man of the moment.
27:50Terrific performance by Shane Warne.
27:54We just decided to run up and try and hit the lengths
27:57and try and take some early wickets.
27:59And it happened.
28:02And it's got in.
28:03Mark Taylor's gone.
28:04Second ball.
28:06Brilliant delivery.
28:07I watched it on the TV.
28:08And where it pitched, it pitched kind of like leg stump.
28:10So it was...
28:12The ball was obscured by Mark Taylor's body a little bit
28:14when it came out.
28:15That's how good a ball it was.
28:16So, yeah, I was pleased it went in.
28:17Blew it.
28:18Edge cropped a slip.
28:19And Hussain claimed the catch.
28:21Although TV replays suggested it might not have carried.
28:24That's the outside edge that I take cropped bowls for.
28:30Headley then claimed Elliot for the second time in the match.
28:35Butcher.
28:36We said in this innings that we had to get the ball a bit further up.
28:39And so that just went away from him and drew him into the shot.
28:43But Mark and Steve Waugh added 92 for the fourth wicket
28:47as Australia forged ahead once more.
28:50Certainly wasn't hurried that time.
28:52Just laid back.
28:54That's found the gap very nicely indeed.
29:00Well, Steve Waugh trying to emulate Mark.
29:02Waugh Jr. fell to Elam for 55.
29:04And Headley notched up his sixth left-hander
29:07when Bevan lobbed to Gully.
29:11Oh, dear.
29:14Just told to give a really big effort ball every now and then.
29:17Not give a big effort ball.
29:19Just told to give a really big effort ball every now and then.
29:22Not keep bowling it.
29:23But every now and then the big effort ball up there.
29:26And it worked.
29:27Squared him up and popped it to Gully.
29:30Got the early wickets again.
29:32And then, of course, it happened again.
29:34Steve Waugh again scores another great 100
29:36and just takes the game right away from us.
29:38You can't take anything away from his performance in that match.
29:41It always takes an individual performance sometimes
29:44in test matches to make the difference between the two sides.
29:47And I think him and obviously Shane Warne in the first innings
29:50with their performances that we couldn't match.
29:53Once he gets in, you find it very difficult
29:55to see a way that you're going to get him out.
29:57Once he gets his mind working right,
29:59you can just see his brain ticking over
30:01and it's like he's not going to give you a sniff if he can help it.
30:04So, you know, he's a good player.
30:06Steve Waugh eases his way through to a second century in the match.
30:11Heels and Warne came in and played positively
30:14and started rifling Gillespie at the end,
30:17but they took the game away from us.
30:19And once they'd got sort of a 350-400 lead,
30:22it's always going to be very hard for us to win the game.
30:25Once they went past 350,
30:27it was always going to be an uphill struggle,
30:30so we'd already set our minds that we'd try and play Warne
30:33a little bit more positively in the second half.
30:36And maybe we sort of got preoccupied with thinking
30:39about how we were going to play him
30:41than just thinking about, you know, just surviving the day.
30:44So, you know, Gillespie came in, he bowled well,
30:47he didn't do anything miraculous.
30:49And so we just folded, really, which was a shame.
30:52That was close enough for Ampar Venkataragavan.
30:58That's going high in the air.
31:00Will Glenn McGrath get there?
31:02Oh, yes.
31:04Well, he's just made it.
31:06Fourth innings of the game, we were up against it.
31:09And coming aside the last day,
31:11it was down to Kripi and Markoon to try and bat all day.
31:14Unfortunately, it wasn't the case.
31:17Only John Crawley, with a brave 83,
31:20and, to a lesser extent, Elam, who faced 75 balls for nine runs,
31:24provided any resistance,
31:26as Warne continued to confound the batsmen.
31:31Oh!
31:34Well, that one really did go like a firecracker.
31:40Oh, good shot.
31:42Now, that was the genuine half-volley.
31:44John batted really well. He's a great player of spin.
31:47And he, again, went out on that morning
31:50and took to the bone a bit more.
31:54Oh, that's out. Beautifully caught.
31:57Wonderful catch by Ian Healy.
31:59The ball was going downwards into the ground.
32:01He got a glove just underneath it.
32:06Well, there you are. That's it. The short ball again.
32:09In fact, it was Glenn McGrath who mopped up with four quick wickets,
32:13including the unfortunate Crawley.
32:15Just pushing back onto his stumps.
32:23That's the reverse swing, and it made it.
32:27That's the reverse swing,
32:28and it means that Gough has to get into reverse
32:31and make his way to the pavilion.
32:33It was Warne, however, who had the final word.
32:36It's out. Warne has got a wicket this morning.
32:41Makes him three for the innings.
32:43The Australians have won, and the Test Series is squared.
32:47The Ashes battle is alive again.
32:49We've won all. Our heads are still held high.
32:53We're still confident that we can win the Series.
32:55Going to Headingley will be a big game for both sides.
32:58Whoever wins that game, if there is a result there,
33:00will have a good chance of winning the Series.
33:02We've just got to make sure that England get back to playing
33:04as we did at the start of the summer.
33:06But one all going to Headingley,
33:07both England and Australia knew the fourth Test
33:10was likely to decide the destination of the Ashes,
33:13and so it proved.
33:14Both sides made one change,
33:16Australia bringing in Ricky Ponting for Michael Bevan,
33:19whilst England preferred Gloucestershire's Mike Smith to Andy Caddick.
33:23Mark Taylor won his fourth toss in a row,
33:25and with the rain in the air,
33:27had little hesitation in putting England in.
33:30We just knew that if we had hit the line and length
33:33that we know that we can bowl,
33:35then McGrath, Rifle and Gillespie
33:37were going to be difficult on that wicket.
33:39And that's what they did, and we bowled them out 172.
33:43But England had begun well,
33:44as Butcher and Atherton put on 43 for the first wicket.
33:48Butcher was unluckily caught by Blewett at short leg,
33:51and although Stewart came and went for seven,
33:53Hussain helped Atherton guide England past 100.
33:57It was a good square drive.
33:58It was a swinging delivery of full length.
34:00Then McGrath found his edge,
34:02and Taylor took a sharp catch at slip
34:04to leave England 106 for three
34:06at the end of a rain-interrupted day.
34:09When night watchman Headley began day two
34:11with a series of fluent drives,
34:13it all went well for England,
34:15but disaster was only moments away.
34:17I had a few conversations in the bar,
34:20the previous evening,
34:22and people said, you know, can you bat?
34:24And I said, well, yeah, if I hang around for a bit,
34:26I'll get my runs, but they might be slowish.
34:29As it turned out, they came quicker than I thought.
34:31And then they changed a bowler, and I sort of chased one.
34:34You know, the important thing for us that day
34:36was to go out there and bowl line and length.
34:38On the previous day, I don't think we did that.
34:40I think we bowled too short.
34:41The ball was swinging, bowled too wide.
34:43So our focus was on just going out there,
34:45bowling line and length,
34:46and we felt that if we did that on that wicket,
34:48then we'd bowl England out, and that's the case.
34:50The boys found their line and length,
34:52and Gillespie was magnificent.
34:59Crawley's dismissal was even more freakish than Butcher's,
35:02as Blewett claimed his third catch of the innings.
35:05I think probably hit him fair and square on the boot,
35:09but whether with the naked eye
35:11you can actually see those decisions
35:13to give them straight away, I don't know.
35:15Plays it quite firmly.
35:18Well, he doesn't get his hand to it.
35:20He hits the foot and bounces up.
35:23Did that hit the floor or did that hit the right floor?
35:26He bowled well.
35:27He has the abilities.
35:28He showed it headingly, I think, in two spells,
35:30where he actually got the ball to swing
35:32like a swing bowler would do,
35:34but with the extra pace that he has anyway,
35:36which if he can do that quite a lot of the time,
35:39then he's really dangerous.
35:40I mean, Jason's bowled very well in shield cricket.
35:43He's very highly rated by all his shield players.
35:47He's a great worker of the game.
35:50He's willing to learn all the time
35:52and he's a bowler that we think is improving every week
35:55and it certainly didn't surprise us
35:57that he took the seven wickets.
35:59So 138 for three became 172 all out.
36:04Gillespie finishing with career best figures of seven for 37,
36:08but the wickets continued to tumble
36:10when Australia made their reply.
36:12It was a bit of a shock to the whole team, really.
36:15I thought, obviously, Gillespie did bowl well,
36:17the wicket did a bit,
36:18and as it proved that when we went out and knocked four over,
36:21eventually straight away for their innings.
36:23Thank you!
36:27The appeal has gone up, everyone is driven,
36:29and eventually the finger goes up as well.
36:32Cyril Mixley took his time.
36:36That's got in. Darren Goss strikes again.
36:39I don't think I bowled particularly well.
36:41I was struggling for rhythm,
36:43I hadn't had much bowling under my belt going into the game.
36:46I was going for a few and over
36:48and then all of a sudden I picked up the two-all boys,
36:51which I was pleased with,
36:54but obviously as a whole I didn't bowl particularly well in that game.
36:58Steve Waugh's dismissal to another catch at short leg
37:01looked to be a pivotal moment,
37:03but a drop catch in the previous over proved just as important.
37:07Elliot had made just 29.
37:09If you do drop one then, yeah, you feel pretty down,
37:12especially until the guy you've dropped gets out.
37:15As it happened, he's been pretty good at making us pay
37:18all the way through the summer.
37:20I think it's only probably the fifth or sixth hit I've had since I've been here,
37:23so a little bit nervous, yeah.
37:25Pretty focused as well, though, so a lot of the time if you're really focused
37:28you don't feel the nerves too much, so I was out there to have a good time
37:31and me and Matty were lucky enough to hang around for a while
37:34and we did have a bit of fun, yeah.
37:36It was going to be tough, you know, because of the wicket,
37:39and four for 50, yeah, we were struggling,
37:42but Elliot played very well, he had a little bit of luck early,
37:46which you need on that sort of wicket.
37:48I thought Ponting's innings were just a classy innings,
37:51that he played all his shots, he was very positive, so was Elliot,
37:54and they got us out of the knot.
37:56Had them a little bit on the ropes,
37:59and then things quite didn't go to plan,
38:02and Ponting and Elliot batted really well and dug them out of the hole.
38:05Always try and have the same sort of philosophy to go out and play positive,
38:09play my natural game as much as I can, which is to score pretty quickly anyway,
38:12so yeah, that was the sort of philosophy that me and Matty had,
38:15and we stuck with that right throughout the day
38:17and a little bit of the next day as well, so things worked well.
38:20We still had a chance to drag it back,
38:22but suddenly they raced to near our score,
38:25and then they raced past it,
38:27and we were struggling to come back from there.
38:30Ponting has been criticised in the past for his attitude,
38:33so has he made a conscious effort to change in any way?
38:36Not really, no.
38:37My attitude's been pretty much the same right throughout.
38:40I probably play with a bit of flair
38:43and try and get on with it when I get out there
38:45and play my natural game all the time.
38:47When I got dropped last year, I was batting at number three,
38:49and I was probably playing a few too many shots early on,
38:53but I got dropped and went back to shield cricket and sorted my game out,
38:56and that's where it is at the moment,
38:58so I'm feeling pretty good at the moment, yeah.
39:00Well, it was one of those match-winning partnerships, wasn't it?
39:03And to do it on that wicket, under that pressure,
39:07and they're both in their first year of Test cricket,
39:10it was a great performance.
39:11Yeah, pretty happy.
39:12I'd been first game back, basically,
39:14and the first Ashes Test I'd played in,
39:16so I was pretty happy.
39:17I'd been close a couple of times before and not quite made it there.
39:20I got 96 on debut and then 88 against the Windies last year.
39:23Once I got up close, I was really working hard to get there,
39:26and I finally got there, and it was a great feeling, yeah.
39:28Having made 127 and with a score on 318,
39:32Hunting eventually mishooked Gough high to point,
39:35but Elliot pressed on towards 200.
39:42That's short, Hunt.
39:44It has been smashed away in front of square leg.
39:47That was an authentic full shot.
39:51A beauty from Gough left Elliot one short of a deserved milestone
39:55but England still couldn't finish Australia off.
39:58It's a team game, isn't it?
39:59It's very important that...
40:01I mean, Heels has played some great knocks for us this year.
40:04It's important that Warnie gets runs for us.
40:06It's important that Paul Rifle, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath,
40:10I mean, we expect all those guys to get runs,
40:13and Glenn's got a couple of 20s this year, which has been terrific,
40:16and they've been match-winning partnerships that he's been in.
40:19Taylor's declaration, 329 runs ahead,
40:23left England demoralised and gave his bowlers five sessions
40:27to finish the job off.
40:29Again, it was McGrath who made the important early breakthrough,
40:32getting Atherton for the fifth time in eight innings.
40:36The Surrey trio of Butcher, Stewart and Thorpe all fell in the teens
40:40as Australia headed for a win inside four days
40:43and rain-affected days at that.
40:45Even a rare error from Healy being salvaged by an alert Mark Ward.
40:50But Hussein and Crawley rallied against the odds
40:53and in splendid defiance added a further 123 for the fifth wicket to the close.
40:59Hussein was the more dominant and showed great character
41:02in the face of great hostility from bowlers and fielders alike.
41:06His claimed catch of Blewett at Old Trafford not quickly forgotten.
41:11Just before the close, he reached three figures, his fifth Test century,
41:15and England held fanciful hopes of a draw
41:18as the match entered its final phase.
41:23Well, something to cheer about as far as England supporters are concerned.
41:28Shane Warne extinguished those hopes early on the fifth morning.
41:32That's got it.
41:34Straight to mid-off, Nasser Hussein.
41:36The man to administer the coup de grace was Paul Rifle,
41:39who picked up the last four wickets for six runs.
41:42The bowlers appearing to take turns to run through the England tail.
41:46I think the best thing that happened to Paul Rifle was that he had eight weeks off.
41:49I think whatever his problem was in his back or his hamstring has come good.
41:54Maybe we had a bit of luck, but Paul was selected to come over here
41:58and since being here, he's bowled beautifully for us and batted very well for us.
42:02We had to bat really till tea time, losing probably two or three wickets on the way.
42:08As it happened, it didn't work out like that.
42:11They've shown us they're pretty good at finishing off tails.
42:14They always have been. It was very disappointing.
42:16It took only one ball of the afternoon session to wrap up the match
42:20and for the first time on tour, the Australians held the series lead.
42:24Good performance by the Australians and their skipper, Mark Taylor,
42:27who's led them to yet another victory.
42:30In their hour of need, England summoned their Texaco Trophy heroes,
42:33the brothers Hollyoak.
42:35Both had acquitted themselves convincingly in the one-day arena,
42:38but could they reproduce the razzmatazz in a test match?
42:43If their selection didn't add a buzz to the England dressing room,
42:46it certainly sparked fresh interest for an expectant public.
42:50There were further changes. Butcher, Elam and Smith were all left out.
42:54Goff was injured, and so Caddick and Malcolm were recalled for a match
42:58England had to win.
43:00To no one's surprise, Australia were unchanged.
43:03Nor did the pattern of play seem about to change as the match got underway.
43:07Taylor made it five out of five with the coin
43:10and then notched up his second century opening partnership
43:13with the series with Elliott.
43:15It was a good pitch and a big score looks certain,
43:18a score that would ensure Australia could not lose.
43:22It turned a little bit and it went off a length occasionally.
43:26All in all, it was a pretty good wicket.
43:28It was a pretty good cricket wicket. You can't complain.
43:31All of Australia's top five reached 50, but tellingly none reached 100
43:35as England battled away bravely.
43:38Taylor was defeated by a beauty from Caddick,
43:40and Ben Joliot claimed a debut wicket
43:42when Stewart dived athletically to dismiss Blewett.
43:46Nevertheless, at 302 for three overnight, Australia were well placed.
43:50We were taking session by session, but that was our goal
43:53to really snuff England's chances out, particularly on their first day.
43:57Three for 300, you can't lose a test match from there.
44:00Well, you shouldn't anyway, so that was basically the plan for Trent Bridge.
44:04But on the second morning, Australia lost momentum
44:07and a wholehearted bowling display brought England right back into the game.
44:11Yeah, I think that was the best England played in the whole series.
44:15They really bowled very well coming back from three for 300.
44:18I think they bowled about 430 on a flat wicket.
44:21They showed a lot of character, which I don't think the previous two tours
44:24in England's side would have done that.
44:26We would have gone on and got 600.
44:28So that for me was a significant change in the way England played the game.
44:38And Steve Walgers.
44:45427 all out. Good performance from England today.
44:50When Atherton and Stewart once again promoted to open the innings,
44:53raised 100 for the first wicket, an even contest was shaping up.
44:58But as so often happens, the introduction of Warne altered the balance.
45:02That's got him.
45:08Oh, he's got it.
45:12Oh, bowled in, beautifully bowled.
45:15Hussain at sixes and sevens.
45:22When Crawley became Healy's third victim, England were on the rack.
45:26But the Surrey pairing of Thorpe and Adam Holyoake revived home spirits
45:30with the second century stand of the innings.
45:38Brilliant stroke.
45:41That's the same shot he played yesterday, but he played a bit squarer this time.
45:50Almost as though Thorpe was waiting for that one.
45:52Thorpe, having survived a chance at gully, moved past 50
45:56and Holyoake pulled rifle for six.
45:59England were inside of Australia at 243 for four.
46:04That brilliant catch from Taylor ended Holyoake's composed innings of 45.
46:08And on the same score, Thorpe was taken a short leg off Warne.
46:12I think we've got probably the best bowling attack in the world at full strength.
46:16Magrara is obviously a quality bowler.
46:18Gillespie is going to go on and be a great bowler.
46:20Rifle is probably the most underrated test bowler going around.
46:23And then you've got Shane Warne.
46:25So to try and score easy runs off that attack is not a thing that's easily accomplished.
46:30And they're quality bowlers.
46:32We always feel as if we're going to bowl sides out for under 300.
46:35So if you can do that, you're going to win most test matches.
46:38Some clean hitting from Ben Holyoake and Croft took England to 290.
46:42But it took a typically stylish innings from Malcolm
46:45to get the capacity crowd chanting in full voice.
46:48There's always such a great cheer when Devin Malcolm comes to the crease.
46:52You'd think it was George Headley or Garth and Silvers.
46:55I think Dev's probably one of the few you get on the balcony and watch all the time.
46:59He's worth watching all the time, Devin, when he's batting.
47:01It's sort of death or glory with Devin all the time.
47:04It's humorous, but Devin takes his batting seriously.
47:07And he's always out there having throwdowns in the morning.
47:10So you've got to support him.
47:12To be honest, when I'm at the other end to Dev,
47:14I'm actually looking to see whether he's going to murder one straight back at me.
47:17So I'm thinking, what am I going to do if it happens?
47:20I actually went up to him and said, look, Shane Warne's coming on.
47:24You've got two balls to face. Just see if you can survive.
47:28With a lead of 114, Australia only needed a reasonable second-inning score
47:33to put England out of the match.
47:35But England again gave themselves a glimmer of hope.
47:38The catch of the series came from Crawley, as Elliot again succumbed to the hook.
47:43And when Caddick sent Steve Waugh back with the second ball of the first half,
47:47it was a chance for England to turn the game around.
47:50The catch of the series came from Crawley, as Elliot again succumbed to the hook.
47:54And when Caddick sent Steve Waugh back with the second ball of the fourth day,
47:58the lead was 285.
48:00Got him on the run on that night time.
48:02Four, maybe five down.
48:04Got Steve Waugh next day very early.
48:06I think that would have took it to five down.
48:08But then Healy came in and just played his shots and rattled up 60 quite quickly,
48:12which took the game completely away from us.
48:15We realised that was probably our only chance then to really take the game.
48:19285 effective they were, and we had to do something special then, and we didn't do it.
48:23But, you know, it was still a big ask there, you know, at that stage of the game.
48:28Then they got away, and, you know, the rest is history, really.
48:31Ian Healy's counterattack sealed England's fate.
48:35His innings of 63 from 78 balls, plus an excellent match behind the stumps,
48:40earned him the Man of the Match award.
48:42When Croft picked up the final wicket of Rifle,
48:45Australia were 450 runs ahead and four-and-a-bit sessions remained.
48:50Unbelievably, the game would not reach the final day.
48:54We had to win that game to win the Ashes.
48:57There were no hiding places, draw would not have won the Ashes.
49:00And so we said we would play session cricket, look to put your partnerships together,
49:05stay intact, lost wickets, lost the game.
49:09But what was the ask? 400 and a lot?
49:13We had to win that game to win the Ashes.
49:16A draw was no good to us.
49:18The target we had to chase, you know, was such that we were 2-1 down in the series,
49:22and to win the Ashes we really had to play positively.
49:25I think that's probably why we got bowled out in a session,
49:27and the way we got bowled out as well.
49:29People tried to play positively, realising that a draw was no good for us,
49:33and it backfired, but we had to go for it.
49:36Gillespie's figures told the story.
49:38Eight overs, three for 65, as England blazed away in vain pursuit of the unattainable.
49:44I thought the performance was unacceptable, and so did the players.
49:49Disappointed in the manner of defeat.
49:52I think after 35 overs we were seven wickets down, and it just wasn't that sort of surface.
49:57We played poorly, paid the price, and you've got to address things like that.
50:03Graham Thorpe's unbeaten innings of 82 from 93 balls
50:07was the sole bright spot, as England were dismissed in 48.5 overs for 186.
50:14Taylor took the extra half hour,
50:16and it was not long before the contest was emphatically decided.
50:20Australian celebrations could now begin in earnest.
50:24We always party after a win, yeah.
50:26We've toned down a lot, I mean, years gone by,
50:28we'd sort of celebrate after every maybe one-day win or every county win,
50:32but these days it's a serious win in the one days,
50:35and we didn't get an opportunity to do that this series,
50:37so we didn't have a party until Old Trafford,
50:40so we were short a party, so when we got a couple we really celebrated.
50:44Then the tide turned a bit at Lodge,
50:51and then it all changed at Old Trafford when heading home.
50:54The ashes may have gone, but there was plenty at stake at the Oval for Mike Atherton,
50:58would he stay or would he go,
51:00and the returning middlesex pair of Ramprakash and Tufnell.
51:04Things started well for England when at long last Mark Taylor called wrongly
51:08and lost the toss for the first time in the series,
51:11but that's where the upturn ended for Atherton.
51:14Opting to bat first on a hard and very dry pitch,
51:17he and recalled opener Butcher had gone by 11.30,
51:20Butcher trying a pull,
51:22and then for the seventh time in ten innings,
51:25Glenn McGrath snared his man, Atherton getting an inside edge.
51:29Things perked up a bit for England after that,
51:32Stewart and Hussain taking the score to a reasonably healthy 97 for two at lunch.
51:37Well that was short and one to be hit.
51:40But once Stewart had gone, maybe a shade unluckily LBW,
51:43England folded in embarrassing fashion to 180 all out.
51:48McGrath had been tempting Hussain to drive uppishly to mid-on,
51:52and the England vice-captain, slightly overbalancing, duly obliged.
51:56Australia's strike bowler then went round the wicket to Thorpe,
52:00who went too far across his stumps.
52:03And over the stump scope, well there you are,
52:06it rolled over the wicket and across him,
52:09then round the wicket and at him.
52:11Ramprakash, undone so often in the past by his mental gremlins,
52:15was worked over by McGrath,
52:17and Holyoake's horrible misreading of Warne summed up England's shambolic display.
52:22How passive can you get?
52:24Out goes Holyoake, extraordinary bit of test cricket that.
52:30Shot.
52:33Caddick and Martin swung lustily at the end,
52:36but the paltry total, due mainly to a lack of hard graft,
52:40had coach David Lloyd fuming.
52:42McGrath ended with 7 for 76 to continue his fabulous summer,
52:46and a little English pride was only restored by Tufnell's late burst
52:51to dismiss Elliott through the drive and then Taylor.
52:55Now that was terrific.
52:58Catch it, yeah!
53:00That's out. That's out.
53:03He tried to drive it, he scooped it straight up to the button pad.
53:08The second day had England supporters thinking,
53:11if only we had toughers all summer.
53:13Five times he turned up for test duty, only to be sent back to his county,
53:18but here his control and variation earned him figures of 7 for 64,
53:24off 34.5 skilful overs, and hauled England back into the match.
53:29Mark Waugh went first,
53:31before Alex Stewart picked up three catches in contrasting styles.
53:35Blewett brought about acrobatics,
53:38Healey's required no glove work...
53:41Oh, my God!
53:43You can catch them wherever you like as long as they don't hit the ground.
53:47..whilst Debutant Young's came off the glove.
53:50What's that come off?
53:52Sean Young has walked.
53:54Phil Tufnell caused plenty of problems very quickly.
53:58Ponting was done by Tufnell's sheer spin.
54:01Straight to slip. That's beautifully balled.
54:04Andy Canick gave staunch support, getting Steve Waugh,
54:07and eventually worn, but not before the leg spinner
54:10had bashed Australia into a useful lead of 40.
54:13Great shot. Wonderful shot, straight down the ground.
54:17That's a long way over the fence.
54:19Tufnell's standing ovation was richly deserved.
54:22But again, England faltered with the bat.
54:25Atherton's indifferent summer by his high standards
54:28ended with a slice to Gully.
54:30Stewart's footwork let him down.
54:34Oh, that must be out. That must be out.
54:37And Mark Butcher's maiden Test summer
54:40ended with an awful-looking decision from Umpire Barker.
54:43Looked as though it might have been the top spinner.
54:46Saturday proved to be the final day of the Test summer
54:49as England ended the series the way they began it, with a win.
54:52That seemed miles away, though,
54:54when Hussain fell third ball of the morning
54:57to a hampered warn who was suffering an injured groin.
55:00But Thorpe and Ramprakash built steadily,
55:03the middle-sexed man quick on his feet
55:05to anything not on a perfect length,
55:07Thorpe demonstrating why he'd been
55:09England's most consistent batsman of the summer.
55:12Lovely square drive. The play set well.
55:16And their stand was worth 79
55:18when the Surrey man played away from his body at Kasparovitz.
55:22Hollyoake failed again on his home patch
55:25and when Ramprakash advanced once too often to warn
55:28in sight of his 50, the tail had no answer to Kasparovitz.
55:32It was all over in ten balls, England 163 all out,
55:36and now it was Kasparovitz's turn for the ovation
55:39from the oval crowd after taking seven for 36.
55:43So Australia needed 124 to win
55:45to repeat their 4-1 victory of 1993.
55:49The prolific Elliott went fourth ball of the innings
55:52to a misjudgment,
55:54and when Mark Taylor's last innings in England ended,
55:57he was given an appreciative send-off from the crowd.
56:00Still, 36 for 2 was no reason to panic for Australia,
56:03but then Tufnell started his trickery again on a dusty pitch
56:07so unlike previous oval ones.
56:10Mark Waugh's miserable series ended at slip,
56:13and just before tee, England had the luck they needed,
56:17blew it unfortunately for him, giving out court behind.
56:2150 for 4 at tee then, 74 needed to win.
56:29Then Caddick got the barnacle Steve Waugh with an extra yard of pace,
56:33and England knew they had a real chance.
56:36Healy, who's had such a magnificent series,
56:38counter-attacked in his typically pugnacious fashion,
56:41and at 88 for 5, Australia were slight favourites once again.
56:46Then Tufnell turned one through Ponting,
56:49Caddick kept his nerve to dismiss Healy,
56:51and at 92 for 7, the pendulum had swung England's way.
56:56Got it! Caught it!
56:59Courtenbaugh, Healy has driven,
57:02didn't quite get it off the middle of the bat,
57:04Caddick has got a hand to it,
57:06it's bobbled around, and England are right on top here.
57:10Waugh emerged with a runner, Tufnell offered the bait,
57:13Martin kept his eye on the ball.
57:16That should be out, Peter Martin's under it,
57:18he's got a good pair of hands, he'll judge it nicely and gets it.
57:24All the way, Atherton had his hand firmly on the tiller,
57:27moving Holyoake to a short extra cover for Kasparovic's prod,
57:31and it worked, 99 for 9,
57:34and it was asking a lot for McGrath, Australia's man of the series,
57:37and the debutant young to garner the 25 needed.
57:41The Gloucestershire man had the satisfaction
57:43of scoring his first runs in Test cricket,
57:46but McGrath's miscue to mid-off gave Tufnell 11 wickets in the match,
57:50and England a thrilling 19-run victory.
57:55England win the Test match.
57:58Great joy for Michael Atherton.
58:03There is a life afterwards for England.
58:07Canning gave everything in taking 5 for 42,
58:10England had the satisfaction of a second Test win,
58:13but to Australia the true spoils, the Ashes once again.