Australia v England - Third Test

The Adelaide Oval

Australia: WM Woodfull, WM Lawry, DG Bradman, AR Border, SR Waugh, KR Miller, +IA Healy, *R Benaud, AK Davidson, RR Lindwall, DK Lillee.
England: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, MC Cowdrey, DI Gower, +AJ Stewart, IT Botham, TE Bailey, JC Laker, JA Snow, DL Underwood, JB Statham.

Debuts: TE Bailey (ENG)
Umpires: Khizer Hayat (PAK) & CJ Mitchley (SAF)
Toss: England

Whilst Australia fielded the same XI for the third match in succession, England's win in the tour match here had been a Pyrrhic victory; Dexter, Ames and Bedser all now joined Trueman on the sidelines with injury, and with only twelve fit players from which to choose England's selectors sent SOS calls to Ken Barrington and Harold Larwood, both of whom will link up with the squad in Melbourne. Hutton managed to win his third toss out of three to allow the tourists some momentary respite, but after electing to have first use of a dry and slightly dusty surface, similar to the one used against South Australia, his patched-up side once again batted very poorly and were bowled out for 232 on the first day.

Benaud had England in a spin on the first day

Hutton himself went for a duck, but the rest of the top six all made starts only to get themselves out, Hobbs alone able to claim that he had been dismissed by a good ball after having registered his first fifty of the series. Benaud did most of the damage, tossing the ball up and claiming figures of 5-84 as England's batsmen gave the Australians catching practice, and Australia's response was to open up with a 144 run opening stand from Woodfull and Lawry, their third partnership of 100 or more in ATG Tests, the other two also having come against England.

Both were eventually dismissed in the seventies before tea on day two, but Bradman played himself in after the interval, and in partnership with Border he took Australia into the lead before Snow claimed Border's wicket with the new ball shortly before stumps. Bradman's average at the Adelaide Oval, where Australia have never lost, stood at a staggering 160.67 coming into this game, and on the third morning he looked nailed on for what would have been his sixth hundred on the ground. However, Botham stunned the crowd by ending the Don's innings on 88, and before the applause had died down Miller was also making his way back to the pavilion, bowled by Underwood for 0.

Steve Waugh ground England down in the Adelaide heat

Australia were still in a very strong position at 305-5 though, and Steve Waugh now set about taking the game away from England completely. First he put on 136 for the sixth wicket with Healy, who batted very well for his 69, and having reached his first ever hundred he and a free-swinging Lindwall then piled on an undefeated 98 for the ninth wicket before Benaud finally declared on the fourth morning. Australia had racked up an Ashes record total of 601-8, with Waugh's share amounting to 161* after seven and a half hours at the crease, and England's tired attack were all but waving the white flag in surrender.

England thus began their second innings with a deficit of 369 runs (it had only been 360 in Perth), and following more than two days in the field it would have been understandable, though not excusable, if the tourists had subsided against a fresh Australian attack. However, England began their reply brightly, and by tea the scoreboard read 144-2, Hutton having made an attacking 56 and with Cowdrey and Gower seemingly set for a substantial partnership in the evening session. England's third wicket pair added eleven more runs after the break, but with the score on 155-2 Cowdrey, on 41, clipped Lindwall straight to Benaud at short midwicket, and a catastrophic collapse had begun.

Keith Miller claimed five wickets as
England imploded on the fourth evening

Gower was bowled by Lillee in the next over, then Lindwall did for both Stewart and Botham before Miller ran through the tail as a litany of injudicious strokes flashed a succession of catches into gleefully waiting Australian hands. The last eight wickets fell for just 47 runs as the innings crumbled to a sorry 202 all out, and England had lost by an innings and 167 runs inside four days, their heaviest ever defeat in 64 ATG Tests. More changes to what is already an unstable team are now inevitable after such an inept performance, and after having lost the first Test Australia now lead the series 2-1, and they only need to avoid defeat in the fourth Test in Melbourne to retain the Ashes.

Score Summary
ENG 1st Inns 232 (Hobbs 64, Botham 44; Benaud 5-84)
AUS 1st Inns 601-8 dec. (Waugh 161*, Bradman 88, Lawry 73, Woodfull 72, Healy 69, Lindwall 60*, Border 43; Snow 4-128)
ENG 2nd Inns 202 (Hutton 56, Cowdrey 41; Miller 5-54)

AUSTRALIA WON BY AN INNINGS & 167 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play

Day 1 - Australia 1st innings 8-0 (Woodfull 2*, Lawry 6*; 4 ov)
Day 2 - Australia 1st innings 260-3 (Bradman 60*, Waugh 7*; 94 ov)
Day 3 - Australia 1st innings 565-8 (Waugh 147*, Lindwall 40*; 184 ov)
Day 4 - England 2nd innings 202 (59.2 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ This was England's heaviest ever defeat
▪ Australia's 601-8 dec. is the highest total by either side in Ashes Tests
▪ Bradman became the first player to reach 7000 career runs
▪ Lindwall passed 1000 career runs

▪ Lindwall's 60* is the highest innings made by a number ten batsman
▪ Waugh scored his first hundred in his 17th Test

Man of the Match: SR Waugh

Australia v England - Tour Match

South Australia XI v England XI
Adelaide Oval
4 Day Game
Umpires: GA Hele & GE Borwick
Toss: South Australia XI

SA XI: LE Favell, GS Blewett, C Hill, *IM Chappell, DW Hookes, G Giffen, +BN Jarman, NJN Hawke, AA Mallett, RM Hogg, TW Wall.
ENG XI: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, ER Dexter, MC Cowdrey, AJ Stewart, TE Bailey, +LEG Ames, JC Laker, JA Snow, DL Underwood, AV Bedser.

England had not enjoyed their time on the west coast, losing their lead in the Test series under a mountain of Australian runs, but their suffering bowlers were given an immediate opportunity to redeem themselves when South Australian captain Ian Chappell won the toss and elected to bat first in Adelaide. The pitch prepared for this tour game was dry and dusty and expected to favour the spinners come the final day, but it was England's seam attack that revelled in cloudy conditions on the first day, and when rain forced an early close the hosts had been reduced to 135-8, with Giffen's 43 the only innings of substance.

Bedser found a great deal of
movement on the first morning

With Trueman still unfit and Willis and Botham both rested, Alec Bedser took centre stage on his first appearance of the tour, and by dismissing three of the top four in an excellent opening spell he will have done his chances of making the Test XI no harm at all. South Australia were eventually all out for just 141 early on the second morning, and in stark contrast to their hosts, Hobbs and Hutton had no trouble with either the pitch or the bowling as they constructed England's best partnership of the tour thus far. It was an especially important innings for Hobbs, who has struggled for form of late, and his hundred here would have come as a great relief to all those concerned with the welfare of the touring party.

Hobbs contributed 114 to an opening stand that was eventually worth 227, and Hutton went on to complete a magnificent 152 before being bowled by Wall on the third morning. He could have made many more, but there was also the need to give those below him in the order some match practice, and although Dexter and Stewart both failed, the likes of Bailey, Cowdrey and Ames all spent useful time at the crease. Hutton's declaration at 394-5 gave England a lead of 253, and by stumps on day three South Australia had slumped painfully to 61-5 as Underwood and Laker exerted an iron grip on proceedings. It got no better for the hosts on the final day, and although a dogged last wicket stand of 21 between Hawke and Wall took the game past lunch, England wrapped up a comfortable innings victory soon thereafter, a victory that will restore some much needed momentum ahead of the third Test.

Hobbs' hundred was his first
score of over fifty on the tour

Score Summary
SA XI 1st Inns 141 (Giffen 43; Bedser 4-32)
ENG XI 1st Inns 394-5 dec. (Hutton 152, Hobbs 114)
SA XI 2nd Inns 105

ENGLAND XI WON BY AN INNINGS & 148 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of Play

Day 1 - South Australia XI 1st innings 135-8 (Mallett 8*, Hogg 3*; 70.4 ov)
Day 2 - England XI 1st innings 251-1 (Hutton 124*, Bailey 4*; 84 ov)
Day 3 - South Australia XI 2nd innings 61-5 (Giffen 0*; 39 ov)
Day 4 - South Australia XI 2nd innings 105 (68 ov) - end of match

Australia v England - Second Test

The WACA Ground, Perth

Australia: WM Woodfull, WM Lawry, DG Bradman, AR Border, SR Waugh, KR Miller, +IA Healy, *R Benaud, AK Davidson, RR Lindwall, DK Lillee.
England: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, ER Dexter, DI Gower, MC Cowdrey, IT Botham, +LEG Ames, JA Snow, DL Underwood, JB Statham, RGD Willis.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: LH Barker (WI) & CJ Mitchley (SAF)
Toss: England

Despite their defeat in the first Test, Australia retained faith in the same XI that played in Brisbane, whilst England entered this game without Fred Trueman, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. Better news for England came when Hutton called correctly again at the toss, and the tourists were able to bat first on what looked a belter of a strip at the WACA.

There was rain around though - indeed, there were interruptions to all three sessions on the first day - and Hutton went early, but England were on the road to recovery at 62-1 when all hell broke loose early in the afternoon. Hobbs (26) was caught at slip off Lillee in the first over after lunch, and from the first ball of Davidson's next over Dexter edged one through to Healy, although it was unclear whether the ball actually carried. Dexter didn't want to go, but after both umpires had discussed the matter he was sent on his way and then, just two balls later, Cowdrey was yorked for a duck and England had lost three wickets for no runs in the space of four balls.

Healy's disputed catch to dismiss Dexter
was a key turning point on the first day

It had been a dreadful ten minutes for the tourists and they never really recovered. Ames once again batted well with the tail to drag the score past 200 on the second day, but it had been a very poor performance from England, and after Lawry went for 10 Woodfull and Bradman showed the capacity crowd just how to bat on this surface. Their partnership was worth 174* by the close on day two, with Woodfull repaying the selectors' faith in him by notching his first century since the last Ashes series, some 14 Tests ago, and day three belonged completely to Australia as Woodfull and Bradman batted their way into the record books.

England's toiling attack failed to create a single chance on a long, hot third day that saw Australia's second wicket pair go past Headley and Weekes' previous record partnership of 455*, and both partners had reached double centuries by the time stumps were drawn, with the scoreboard reading an incredible 508-1. It was as dominant a display of batting as you could wish to see, and following as it did the 303 run partnership constructed by Geoff Marsh and Damien Martyn in the tour match here, England's bowling attack looked a tired and ragged unit come the day's end. Woodfull and Bradman had extended their partnership to a staggering 532* when Richie Benaud finally declared on the fourth morning, and a total of 565-1 gave Australia a lead of 360 with over five sessions of play remaining.

Woodfull (268*) and Bradman (276*) rewrote the record
books with their mammoth second wicket partnership

England's second innings began disastrously when Hobbs was run out for 4 by Davidson from the last ball before lunch, and Australia spent the rest of the day chipping away at the tourists' middle order. Dexter made a promising 61, but it was not enough and England entered the final day on 205-4, still 155 behind and perhaps relying on the predicted thunderstorms if they were to salvage the draw. After the early dismissals of Botham for 45 and Ames for 5, Colin Cowdrey proved to be England's main non-meteorological hope, and with Snow and then Underwood showing admirable resilience, the tourists maintained their chance for a draw right up until the tea interval.

Cowdrey completed a most worthy century, but from the last ball before tea umpire Mitchley upheld an lbw appeal from Lillee with the ball quite clearly going down the leg side, and a phlegmatic Cowdrey had to go. England were now 324-8 with 36 possible overs remaining, and although the thunder was rumbling the rains never came. A spirited last wicket stand between Underwood and Willis took England into the lead, but Australia were eventually set a token five runs to square the series, a target that was reached in just five balls. Australia's response to their defeat in the first Test had been nothing short of emphatic, and although England can justifiably feel aggrieved with some of the umpiring decisions here, they were in truth outplayed and need to regroup quickly ahead of the third Test in Adelaide.

Colin Cowdrey was left to contemplate what might have been...

Score Summary
ENG 1st Inns 205 (Ames 70)
AUS 1st Inns 565-1 dec. (Bradman 276*, Woodfull 268*)
ENG 2nd Inns 364 (Cowdrey 101, Dexter 61, Botham 45)
AUS 2nd Inns 5-0

AUSTRALIA WON BY 10 WICKETS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards
(click to enlarge)

Close of play

Day 1 - England 1st innings 149-6 (Ames 36*, Snow 5*; 53.3 ov)
Day 2 - Australia 1st innings 207-1 (Woodfull 112*, Bradman 79*; 57 ov)
Day 3 - Australia 1st innings 508-1 (Woodfull 239*, Bradman 248*; 147 ov)
Day 4 - England 2nd innings 205-4 (Cowdrey 29*, Botham 41*; 71 ov)
Day 5 - Australia 2nd innings 5-0 (0.5 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Woodfull and Bradman's stand of 532* is the highest for any wicket in ATG history
▪ Their stand is also the longest in terms of minutes (646) and balls faced (908)
▪ Woodfull and Bradman are the sixth pair to bat unparted through an entire day's play

▪ Woodfull passed 3000 career runs during his 268*
▪ This was the first 10 wicket defeat in England's history (63 Tests)
▪ Woodfull was on the field of play for every ball of the match

Man of the Match: WM Woodfull & DG Bradman

Australia v England - Tour Match

Western Australia XI v England XI
WACA Ground, Perth
4 Day Game
Umpires: RJ Evans & TA Prue
Toss: England XI

WA XI: GM Wood, GR Marsh, TM Moody, DR Martyn, KJ Hughes, *RJ Inverarity, +TJ Zoehrer, B Yardley, WM Clark, RAL Massie, BA Reid.
ENG XI: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, ER Dexter, DI Gower, MC Cowdrey, IT Botham, +LEG Ames, FS Trueman, DL Underwood, JA Snow, RGD Willis.

After the long journey west from Brisbane, Len Hutton would have been pleased to have won the toss at the WACA, but whilst England's bowlers enjoyed the opportunity for an extra day's rest, their batsmen had to work hard for their runs over the course of the first day and a half. In all, it took them the best part of 150 overs to run up a total of 351; there were fifties from Hutton, Dexter and Botham that were in turn solid, fluent and agricultural, and the home side's bowlers would have been very pleased with their work on what was a typically hard and flat Perth wicket.

Fred Trueman bowled well at the start of Western Australia's reply, removing both Wood and Moody in an extended opening spell either side of tea on day two, but they were to be the last successes for England's bowlers until late on day three as Geoff Marsh and Damien Martyn took complete control. The partnership began relatively cautiously on a rain-shortened second evening, but as the sun came out on day three so did the strokes, and it was not until the last half hour of play that the stand was finally broken, a weary Marsh falling to Hutton's very occasional leg spin for 167.

Marsh and Martyn batted together for six and a half
hours as England's bowlers were made to toil at the WACA

The pair had added a massive 303 for the third wicket, and on the final morning Martyn completed his double century before Snow wrapped up the innings in the afternoon, his five wicket haul giving him every chance of making the starting XI for the Test here. England's attack looked very tired by the end of the innings - Botham spent much of the third day off the field and all ten outfield players were given a bowl at one stage or another - and Western Australia's total of 465 gave them a lead of 114, but with little over a session left to play, all that was left for England to do was bat out for the draw. Dexter impressed again with another score in the 80s, but Hobbs made just 26 to continue his poor run on the tour so far, and England can expect to work even harder than they did here if they are to hold on to their series lead in the upcoming second Test.

Score Summary
ENG XI 1st Inns 351 (Dexter 83, Botham 75, Hutton 69)
WA XI 1st Inns 465 (Martyn 203, Marsh 167; Snow 5-59)
ENG XI 2nd Inns 121-2 (Dexter 81*)

MATCH DRAWN


1st & 2nd innings scorecards
(click to enlarge)

Close of play

Day 1 - England XI 1st innings 233-5 (Ames 7*, Trueman 0*)
Day 2 - Western Australia XI 1st innings 109-2 (Marsh 44*, Martyn 36*)
Day 3 - Western Australia XI 1st innings 375-3 (Martyn 168*, Hughes 8*)
Day 4 - England XI 2nd innings 121-2 - end of match

Australia v England - First Test

Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Australia: WM Woodfull, WM Lawry, DG Bradman, AR Border, SR Waugh, KR Miller, +IA Healy, *R Benaud, AK Davidson, RR Lindwall, DK Lillee.
England: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, ER Dexter, DI Gower, MC Cowdrey, IT Botham, +LEG Ames, FS Trueman, DL Underwood, JB Statham, RGD Willis.

Debuts: ER Dexter (ENG)
Umpires: BL Aldridge (NZL) & LH Barker (WI)
Toss: England

The non-selection of Bill O'Reilly, leading wicket taker on Australia's recent tour of India, was a major talking point in the build up to the first Test, but all this was soon forgotten once the action got underway at a cloudy Gabba. A devastating opening burst from Lillee, including the wicket of Hobbs with the very first ball of the series, left England reeling at 6-3, and it took a 132 run stand for the sixth wicket between Hutton and the ever-reliable Ames - who was dropped by Woodfull when on just 15 - to set the tourists back onto something approaching an even keel. Hutton's century spanned five hours and was one of his most crucial innings for England, but both he and Ames perished before stumps on the first day and the new ball finished off the innings on the second morning for a disappointing 252.

Lillee got the series off to an electrifying start

Lillee had bowled with commendable ferocity to claim just the third five wicket haul of his career, but when Australia came to bat it was Fred Trueman's turn to extract some life from the wicket. He sent Bradman back to the pavilion with just 2 to his name, and although the Australians spent most of day two quietly accumulating runs to leave them reasonably well placed at 197-5 at the close, Trueman burst back into life on the third afternoon after much of the morning's play had been lost to rain.

With the new ball in his hand, Trueman produced a startling burst of 4-4 in seventeen deliveries to send the Australians hurtling from 219-5 to 244 all out, and after struggling for most of the match thus far, the tourists suddenly found themselves with an 8 run lead at the game's halfway stage. Hobbs, Hutton and Gower all managed to get themselves out when set, but England ended day three well placed at 180-3, with Dexter unbeaten on 64. His innings had mixed imperious strokeplay with good fortune in equal measure - he was dropped on 17 by Lillee and survived a supremely confident appeal for a bat/pad catch on 31, Benaud the unlucky bowler on both occasions - and on the fourth morning he continued on to within seven runs of a century on debut before Davidson trapped him lbw with one that kept a touch low.

Dexter showed flashes of brilliance on debut

Australia now had their opening after a 130 run stand between Dexter and Cowdrey, and from thereon in only Botham's rapid 44 troubled the hosts as the trend for tail-end collapses in this match continued. England lost their last five wickets for just 19 runs on the fourth afternoon as the new ball again proved a lethal weapon, and their final total of 340 set Australia a target of 349 runs to win on a pitch that was by and large still holding up nicely. Two late wickets in a rain-hit evening session - including Bradman's, bowled by Trueman for the second time in the match for 28 - dented Australia's hopes though, and an incredibly tense final day saw the game's momentum change hands at regular intervals as neither side could establish a telling advantage.

Border made a typically pugnacious 64 before being brilliantly run out by Botham, and by tea the scoreboard read 265-7. With 84 runs still required all Australia's hopes were now pinned on Ian Healy, who had played magnificently on his way to an undefeated 70, and England needed his wicket quickly. In the third over of the final session Botham obliged, producing a magnificent inswinging yorker to uproot Healy's middle stump and, roared on by a mass of travelling support, Botham then induced edges from both Davidson and Lindwall in consecutive overs and England had won an incredibly hard fought first Test. It had been a wonderful recovery by the tourists after having been 6-3 on the first morning, and the teams now head west to Perth with England leading an Ashes series for the very first time.

Ian Botham was inspirational on the final day

Score Summary
ENG 1st Inns 252 (Hutton 104, Ames 75; Lillee 5-67)
AUS 1st Inns 244 (Woodfull 53, Miller 48, Border 47; Trueman 6-47)
ENG 2nd Inns 340 (Dexter 93, Cowdrey 69, Botham 44)
AUS 2nd Inns 275 (Healy 72, Border 64; Botham 4-54)

ENGLAND WON BY 73 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards
(click to enlarge)

Close of play

Day one - England 1st innings 230-7 (Trueman 7*, Underwood 5*; 86 ov)
Day two - Australia 1st innings 197-5 (Miller 40*, Healy 7*; 64 ov)
Day three - England 2nd innings 180-3 (Dexter 64*, Cowdrey 15*; 54 ov)
Day four - Australia 2nd innings 93-3 (Border 12*, Waugh 4*; 38 ov)
Day five - Australia 2nd innings 275 (100.5 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Border passed 4000 career runs, the second Australian after Bradman to do so
▪ Benaud passed 1000 career runs
▪ Botham reached 100 career wickets with the dismissal of Healy in Australia's second innings

Man of the Match: IT Botham