England came back strongly on the second day of the fifth and the final Ashes test match by getting rid of the Aussies for 160 and then ending the day 220 runs in front and with seven wickets in hand. With only two of the five days being played so far, a result looks inevitable on a pitch which turning and had enough bite to see 15 wickets fall on the day.
Resuming their overnight total of 307/8, the English side did not last too long and the last two wickets fell for the addition of 25 runs only. Peter Siddle failed to add to his overnight tally of four wickets, but Ben Hilfenhaus bagged three, including overnight batsman Stuart Broad, who added a valuable 37.
However, Broad’s deeds for the day did not end with the bat in his hand. He found the swing and movement at the right time to propel the Aussie batsmen to their end, as the tourists wasted a very good start provided by Shane Watson and Simon Katich.
The pair saw the Aussies to lunch at 61/0, with Watson surviving some really close shouts for lbw throughout the first session. He was lucky on at least one occasion, but like Ian Bell in the English innings, he fought really well to remain unbeaten at lunch.
It was the post-lunch session that saw Broad run through the Australian line-up. Watson was trapped right in front of the wicket, lbw, for 34, while Ricky Ponting chopped one onto the stump from the same bowler for 8. Off Broad’s very next over, Michael Hussey continued with his bad form and was fished out lbw by the bowler for a duck, while Michael Clarke went for a lavish drive, but only found an edge to the debutant Trott at short covers. From a rather strong 73/0, the Aussies had capitulated to 93/4. But this was not all, as, by this time, the ball had begun to turn, bite and spit and Graeme Swann entered the fray.
Swann ran through the tail after he had had scalped Katich for a half century, and despite Siddle’s unbeaten 26, the Aussies managed only 160 to give England a lead of 162. Broad had five wickets to his name, while Swann bagged four.
The second time around, Strauss ended the day with an unbeaten 32, but again lacked the support at the other end. Alastair Cook was claimed by North for 9, and then Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood departed soon after off Johnson for 4 and 1 respectively. Trot Johnson ended the day on eight not-out as England ended the day at 58/3 in 28 overs.
With the track behaving the way it is, a target of even 300 may not be an easy one, but England will do well to get to much more than that to ensure that the Aussies have no chance whatsoever.