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| England v Australia, NatWest Challenge, The Oval Gilchrist's ton takes Australia home in style The Bulletin by Jenny Thompson July 12, 2005 Australia 229 for 2 (Gilchrist 121*) defeated England 228 for 7 (Pietersen 74, Solanki 53*) by eight wickets Live scorecard and ball-by-ball Adam Gilchrist drives as he strikes an unbeaten, match-winning 121 © Getty Images Adam Gilchrist led the charge with a fantastic unbeaten century as Australia romped to the NatWest Challenge title in a thoroughly one-sided match at The Oval. Gilchrist's sublime 121 took Australia to an eight-wicket victory, with a whopping 15.1 overs to spare. Kevin Pietersen hit 74 for England to rescue them from 93 for 6 and the Supersub Vikram Solanki added an unbeaten 53, but England's total of 228 for 7 was never going to be enough on a belter of a pitch at the Oval. England were thoroughly outplayed by the visitors, but they were playing with one hand behind their back, too, from the moment they lost the toss, and so lost any advantage that could be gained from the Supersub. Solanki was drafted in to rescue them from 93 for 6, but this was a massive gamble as it meant sacrificing the pace bowler Simon Jones en route. Solanki answered the call but, with a seriously depleted bowling attack, England were always going to struggle. But, regardless of the not-so-super sub ruling, Australia's bowlers were just too good for England. Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath were on the button from the off, before Jason Gillespie bounced back to form, taking 3 for 44 from his ten overs. Then came Adam Gilchrist and his single-handed devastation of England's attack. Once he got going, nothing could stop him on the way to his 11th one-day hundred. Gilchrist hit runs all around the park, off all types of bowling: pace, medium and spin, and his knock included 17 fours and two sixes. He and Matthew Hayden dominated from the outset, putting on 91 for the first wicket. Hayden muscled his way to 31 from 47 balls, before Ricky Ponting added a rapid 43 from 44: Australia, it seemed, couldn't wait to finish this match, pick up the trophy, and head towards the first Test. Hayden eventually fell to Darren Gough who had been brought back for a second spell. But Gough's wicket came at a price - his four overs cost 37. This could be his last international match. Steve Harmison was also expensive, his 9.5 overs went for 81. In fact, only Andrew Flintoff escaped serious punishment: his nine overs cost 34. It was another important match for Ponting, too, who gained some more vital time at the crease ahead of the Tests, to add to his century at the Lord's on Sunday: he is peaking at just the right time. And so is Gillespie: a poor series for him got worse when he dropped a catch early on, but when he came on to bowl, he showed steely determination and ended up the pick of the attack. England's day got off to a bad start when Lee struck early to dismiss Marcus Trescothick for a duck. McGrath was bowling well from the other end, too: he planted four perfectly pitched maidens to tie them up at one end - and his fifth over should have been a wicket maiden, with Michael Vaughan nearly chopping on and then offering a dolly to fine-leg, but he was dropped by Gillespie. Adam Gilchrist then fluffed a chance off Andrew Strauss - a difficult, over-the-head effort - and England drew a deep breath. They were soon in the mire, though, in the face of some hostile Australian bowling. Kevin Pietersen clubs a huge six on his way to 74 © Getty Images As the pressure began to tell, Ponting ran Vaughan out in the 13th over. Strauss was the next to fall, for 36, when he prodded an outside-edge through to Adam Gilchrist off Mike Kasprowicz. Flintoff went the same way after making just 5 (74 for 4) and Australia were turning the screw. Gillespie then came on and induced Paul Collingwood to hole out to Andrew Symonds for 9 before removing Geraint Jones for just 1, after Mike Kasprowicz held on to a good catch at third man. At 93 for 6, England were struggling, and Vaughan pushed the panic button, bringing in Solanki. Pietersen and Solanki both played powerfully and lifted the run-rate with a series of crashing fours. Pietersen, as ever, relied on his eye and chose to pummel shots through the leg-side. He was steady at first, playing a sensible, assured game, something which the England Test selectors, who meet tomorrow, will be taking note of. His Test case is gathering momentum. He moved through the gears with aplomb, and the highlight was a six off Michael Clarke over long-on, which Kasprowicz grabbed over his head, but he was already over the rope. Pietersen was finally undone by a slower ball from Gillespie, but not before he had played England back into the game (186 for 7). Ashley Giles, who made 25 not out, then joined Solanki and they posted 80 runs from the last ten overs. But it was too little, too late and England knew it. Australia are back to their best and they will take vital psychological points away from this match - as well as the silverware. Jenny Thompson is assistant editor of Cricinfo © Cricinfo |
| QUOTE (Boy Wonder @ Jul 13 2005, 03:14 PM) |
| they will win the ashes. |
| QUOTE (Fez @ Jul 13 2005, 11:12 PM) |
| I like that idea, I say they start recruiting in Takapuna |
| QUOTE (Boy Wonder @ Jul 13 2005, 10:59 PM) |
| Even if we boycott the tour, NZ cricket will still have to pay a very large fine and most of this fine will end up going back to Mugabe. Today on radio I heard somone suggest we don't boycott the tour, but send over a bunch of the biggest drunks we can find, call them the NZ cricket team and let them create havoc. That means we would be boycotting the tour in a way, but we wouldnt get fined. |
| QUOTE (Sardonic @ Jul 13 2005, 03:17 PM) |
| we will see |
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Leicestershire 217 Australians 320/3 (71.5 ov) Australians lead by 103 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings Australians RR: 4.45 Full Scorecard Hours of Play: 10.45am start, Lunch 12.45pm-1.25pm, Tea 3.25pm-3.45pm, Close 5.45pm All times BST (GMT +0100) Batsmen: R B 4s 6s S/R RT Ponting 69 115 6 0 60.00 not out DR Martyn 41 61 3 0 67.21 not out Bowlers: O M R W Econ DD Masters 13.5 0 63 0 4.55 (0nb, 0w) JJ Krejza 11 0 54 0 4.91 (0nb, 0w) Current Partnership: 75 runs |
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Australians 1st innings R M B 4 6 JL Langer c sub b Maunders 115 205 169 15 0 ML Hayden c New b Maunders 75 91 68 12 1 MJ Clarke lbw b Maunders 9 23 19 1 0 *RT Ponting b Gibson 119 243 172 9 2 DR Martyn not out 154 280 208 14 0 SM Katich b Masters 4 3 4 0 0 +AC Gilchrist b Broad 26 41 35 3 0 B Lee c Robinson b Broad 6 13 12 1 0 JN Gillespie not out 49 60 65 8 0 Extras (b 15, lb 8, nb 2) 25 Total (7 wickets, 125 overs) 582 To Bat: MS Kasprowicz, SCG MacGill. FoW: 1-131 (Hayden), 2-159 (Clarke), 3-245 (Langer), 4-446 (Ponting), 5-451 (Katich), 6-495 (Gilchrist), 7-509 (Lee). |