England v Australia - Third Test

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

ENG: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, WR Hammond, KF Barrington, DI Gower, IT Botham, +LEG Ames, FJ Titmus, H Larwood, FS Trueman, AV Bedser.
AUS: WM Woodfull, WM Lawry, DG Bradman, AR Border, SJ McCabe, KR Miller, +IA Healy, *R Benaud, AK Davidson, RR Lindwall, TM Alderman.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: RS Dunne (NZL) & D Sang Hue (WI)
Toss: England

After an even contest at Lord's, both sides named unchanged XIs at Trent Bridge, and for the third time in three Tests Richie Benaud called incorrectly at the toss, allowing England to bat first once again. On a placid wicket, the hosts dominated a rain hit opening two days, racking up a first innings score of 475, their highest ever against Australia, with Hammond's first century of the series the highlight.

Hammond got to work after some early swing with the new ball had accounted for both openers, and he was unfortunate to be dismissed for 104, with umpire Steve Dunne adjudging him caught behind off Alderman when there seemed to be daylight between bat and ball. An increasingly fluent David Gower contributed 84, but with the outfield slow and Benaud employing some tight fields, England's scoring rate remained in check as the runs accumulated. Benaud himself bowled very well, but with the umpires not on his side, Ames (71) and Titmus (an ATG best 77*) were able to compile a national record partnership of 104 for the seventh wicket, and Larwood spanked 35 useful runs from number nine before Miller cleaned up the innings to finish with his second consecutive four-for.

If the opening two days had belonged to England, days three and four were dominated by Australia as Woodfull and Lawry became just the fifth pair in ATG history to bat unparted through an entire day's play. After surviving a hostile new ball assault from Trueman and Larwood, the two Bills eventually amassed 287 together for the first wicket, by far an Australian record and the sixth highest opening stand ever in ATG Tests. Woodfull eventually fell to the deserving Larwood for 113, but Lawry went on to post an imposing 182 before being bowled by Botham after more than eight hours at the crease, an innings that made one wonder why he had been away from the Australian team for so long.

Botham also removed Bradman for 36 but really did not bowl well at all, Larwood and the metronomic Bedser being the only English bowlers to emerge with any real credit, and although wickets fell at regular intervals once the opening stand had been broken, Allan Border stood firm as the tourists nudged their way into the lead. Lindwall was felled by Larwood late on the fourth evening and would not bowl in England's second innings, but last man Terry Alderman clung on for the best part of an hour until Titmus trapped him in front, leaving Border agonizingly stranded on 99*, the first player to suffer such a fate in ATG Tests.

Nonetheless, Australia had trumped England's efforts in the first innings with the highest total by either side in all Ashes Tests, and a total of 523 gave the Aussies a lead of 48 going into the final day's play. A draw now looked the only option, but with the wicket now starting to become untruthful in its bounce, the nerves of the home fans began to fray as the tourists' bowlers (minus Lindwall) got stuck in. Benaud removed England's top three with just 69 on the board, including Hammond for 17 with a simply unplayable turning delivery, and from a relatively comfortable position of 60-2 at lunch, England slumped to an alarming 113-7 by tea, with only Les Ames standing between Australia and the most unlikely of victories.

Fortunately for England though, Messrs Larwood, Trueman and Bedser gave Ames (26* in two hours) enough support to see them through to safety, and although England had been bowled out in less than a day for a paltry 141, Australia's target of 94 off 10 overs was never going to be threatened. Bedser was able to strike two psychological blows in that time, dismissing Lawry for 9 and Bradman for a duck, but Trueman's miserable match was concluded when Hutton withdrew him from the attack after he bowled his second beamer of the game, and his place in the team ahead of the fourth Test must now be in doubt, despite the fact that his own Headingley will be the venue. Whatever the selections, England's task is now clear; they must win the final two Tests in order to regain the Ashes, an order that, at the moment, seems to be as tall as they get.

Scores
ENG 1st Inns 475 (Hammond 104, Gower 84, Titmus 77*, Ames 71, Botham 48; Miller 4-77)
AUS 1st Inns 523 (Lawry 182, Woodfull 113, Border 99*; Bedser 4-83)
ENG 2nd Inns 141 (Benaud 5-73)
AUS 2nd Inns 25-2

MATCH DRAWN


Man of the Match: WM Lawry