The first day of Autumn did not allow for any cricket to be played in the second Twenty20 match between England and Australia. Consistent bad weather in Manchester meant bowling conditions were assessed as not being safe.
The match was abandoned at 8pm without a ball being bowled. The first Twenty20 match was called off due to bad weather with Australia on 145/4 and England on 4/2 (3 of which were extras).
Both Twenty20 matches in Manchester therefore ended with no result. The first of seven ODI matches starts Friday 4 September at the Oval, so get your tickets now!
(September 02, 2009)
England Reclaim Ashes
England has won the Ashes 2-1 after beating Australia in the 5th and final Test at the Oval Cricket Ground.
Due to a disastrous first innings score of 160 all out, Australia had to bat for more than 2 days or chase down a world record 545 if they were to have any hope of retaining the Ashes.
England needed only 4 days to beat Australia and bowled them out for 348 in their second innings, a comfortable win by 197 runs. Man of the match Broad took 37/5 in the first innings contributing 37 runs with the bat and 71/1 and 29 runs in the second innings.
The man of the series award is shared between Michael Clark and Strauss. The win for England drops Australia to 4th place in Test rankings, still one place ahead of England.
(August 25, 2009)
The Ashes Conclusion: 5th and Final Test, Day 1
The battle for Ashes glory has entered its final stage. The Oval plays host to
what will go down in history as one of the closest competitive Ashes series. Do
not miss this momentous match, get your tickets for the Ashes today!
England won the toss and chose to bat on a dusty pitch that does not offer the
bowlers many options. Cook was the first to go for 10, but Strauss (55) and Bell
(77) recouped to build a solid foundation. Flintoff, who is ending his Test
match career with this match, made a disappointing 7. England fans can take
heart with the first day's score of 307, but will surely be frustrated with the
score costing a whopping 8 wickets. The core problem for England was that no
batsman assumed the anchor role to form the cohesiveness the middle order and
tail needed. Siddle was the pick of the Australian bowlers with his figures of
63/4, but the Aussie bowlers should have been tidier as no less than 36 runs
were given away through extras including 17 no balls.
The second day will prove just as exciting as England will
be focusing on restricting Ponting's side to as little as possible.
(August 21, 2009)
4th Ashes Test: Australian Comeback!
Australia has drawn level with England in this thrilling
Ashes series. Only 1 match remains which will decide who retains the Ashes, so
get your ticket for the Oval now!
England was never in the match since their disastrous first innings total of
102. Australia did enough in their only innings of the match with 445, North top
scoring with 110, followed by Clarke (93) and Ponting (78). Broad raked in the
most wickets with 92/6. The task Australia set for England was too much to ask
and England fell short, losing by an innings and 80 runs.
An attacking effort by Swann (62) and Broad (61) was not enough to force the
Australians to bat a second innings and it was game over on day 3.
(August 11, 2009)
4th Ashes Test: Day 1
Both teams have all to play for in the fourth test in
Leeds. Australia is in a must win situation if they want any chance of retaining
their number 1 spot in Test cricket. Should Australia lose or draw the series,
South Africa will take over the number one spot and Australia may drop to as low
as fourth. Great news for fans is that the weather forecast is positive
with little chance of rain.
England won the toss once more and chose to bat, a
decision they would regret within minutes. At lunch and after only 24 overs
England suddenly found themselves struggling on 72/6. Even worse for England,
there would be no tail-end recovery with the only double figures coming from
Cook (30) and Prior (37*).
The rest of the first innings score read: Four ducks, one
1, three 3s and one 8. England were all out for 102 from 34 overs, Siddle taking
21/5. Australia started a bit shaky by losing Katich early for 0, but a second
wicket partnership between Ponting and Watson amassed more than the entire
England innings. Australia ended the first day on 196/4 and will fancy their
chances of drawing level in the series. England will only be able to wonder what
big impact the batting power of Pietersen and Flintoff's versatility would have
had in the match.
(August 10, 2009)
3rd Ashes Test: Match Drawn
A rain delayed start at Edgbaston made a draw in the 3rd Ashes Test virtually
inevitable. At the end of the first day Australia were able to reach 126/1 with
only 30 overs being bowled.
Ending on a below par 263 all out, Watson was the top scorer with 62 runs.
Anderson had the best bowling figures of the first innings by taking 5 wickets.
England's response of 376 (Strauss 69, Flintoff 74) brought their first innings
lead to 113 at which point they would have fancied their chances of brining a
result to the match.
It was however not to be as Australia's middle order batted through the last day
thanks to a unbeaten 103 from Clarke.
(August 09, 2009)
2nd Ashes Test: England Wins Despite Fightback
England set up an interesting Ashes series with a superb
win in the second Test match in Lord's. A first innings total of 425 that
included 161 from captain Andrew Strauss put England in a commanding position.
Australia were all out for 215 in their first innings with Anderson claiming
55/4. England stretched their lead and declared on 311/6, leaving Australia to
require a record score of 522 to win. Clarke (136), Haddin (80) and Johnson (63)
had England worried as Australia closed in on the target, but an excellent 5
wicket spell from Flintoff was too good for the tail enders.
Australia was all out for 406 and England won by 115 runs, bringing an end to a
75 year win-less streak at Lord's.
(August 09, 2009)
Ashes News: First Test Drawn
Only three innings were played before the match was called a draw on what was always going to be a good batting surface in Cardiff.
Had England been offered a draw earlier in their second innings, they would have accepted without a second thought. Pietersen, Collingwood and Prior all contributed with 50s in the first innings and set up what looked to be a solid score of 435.
Australia however replied with a massive 674 for 6, with only 3 of the 7 batsmen not scoring a hundred. England had to bat the match out for a draw and managed to pull it off with a thrilling escape. Collingwood top scored in the second innings with a very patient 74 off 245 balls
. (July 28, 2009)
England vs. Australia Day 1
What some people view as the World Cup Final of Test
Matches is underway. And what a first day to start this much anticipated battle
for the Ashes.
A sunny Cardiff made for the perfect start to the match with England electing to
bat after winning the toss. The first session belonged to Australia by
restricting England to 90/3 in 25 overs. It was thanks to a 138 run partnership
between Collingwood (64) and Pietersen (69) that swung the innings back in
England's favour. Despite losing a few late wickets at the end of Day 1, England
ended on a solid 336/7.
(July 09, 2009)
England v Australia, The Ashes Tickets 2009
England have named their 16 man squad for their Pre-Ashes
training camp.
Squad: A Strauss (captain), J Anderson, I Bell, R Bopara, T Bresnan, S Broad, P
Collingwood, A Cook, A Flintoff, G Onions, M Panesar, K Pietersen, M Prior
(wkt), A Rashid, R Sidebottom, G Swann
(June 22nd, 2009)
Early Exit Prompts Practice!
Much to the jubilation of all the Twenty20 World Cup teams,
Australia has been knocked out of the tournament after only 2 matches. The
premature exit will provide the Aussies with more preparation time for the Ashes
on 8 July. England meanwhile has made it to the Super Eights round of the 20/20
World Cup which will keep the key players match fit. However, Kevin Pietersen
has been diagnosed with a back injury which is affecting his achilles. The
injury best heals with a few months’ rest, but Pietersen will instead be playing
in the Ashes by means of pain-killing injections.
(June 7, 2009)
England Wins ODI Series
A solid top order performance from England resulted in their
highest ODI score against the West Indies. Strauss (52), Bopara (49), Prior (87)
and Shah (75) were the main contributers of a huge total of 328/7 after being
sent in to bat.
In reply the West Indies lost Gayle early for 11 and was struggling on 99/4
in the 23rd over. A good middle order performance had West Indies reach a decent
score of 270, but it was still 58 runs short of the required total.
West Indies has a lot of work to do after losing both the Test series and
ODI series in England without a single win, while England will look to take the
momentum with them to the Ashes.
(May 27, 2009)
Bangalore Makes Final
In a surprising turnaround of last year's IPL results, Royal
Challengers Bangalore will face the Deccan Chargers in the final.
Bangalore, won the toss and sent Chennai in to bat, restricted the super
Kings to 146/5 from their 20 overs. Patel (36) and Hayden (26) started strong,
but the run rate never recovered once Kallis and Vinay Kumar removed both
openers.
The Royal Challengers lost a couple of early wickets, but Pandy (48 from 35)
and Dravid (44 from 39) chased down the target with little incident. Koli and
Taylor hit the winning runs with 4 wickets and 7 balls remaining and secured an
IPL final against the Deccan Chargers.
(May 24, 2009)
Deccan Chargers Through To IPL Final
The Deccan Chargers have upset tournament leaders Delhi
Daredevils in a match that was dominated by an incredible innings from captain
Adam Gilchrist.
Delhi had one of the worst starts to their innings by losing both Gambhir
and Warner in the first over before troubling the scoreboard. Dilshan's 65 led
the Daredevils to recovery, but they never had the big overs to post the huge
total they needed to defend.
When Deccan was sent in to bat, Delhi could not have prepared for the
onslaught that Gilchrist had in store. It served as no deterrent when Gibbs was
bowled by Nehra in the second over; Gilchrist went on to blast his way to 85
from only 35 deliveries before being caught by Nannes off Mishra.
The Deccan Chargers won by 6 wickets with more than 2 overs remaining and
will face the winner of the semi final match between Chennai and Bangalore.
(May 23, 2009)
IPL Semi Final Time
Royal Challengers Bangalore's win over the Deccan Chargers was
their third consecutive win and put them safely into the IPL semi finals.
Bangalore will face the Chennai Super Kings, while Deccan will be up against
table leaders Delhi Daredevils. Deccan just managed to make the semi final after
the loss, thanks to a better net run rate than Kings XI Punjab.
Bangalore's win was thanks to an incredible century from Pandey, scoring 114
not out from only 73 balls. The target of 171 proved too much for Deccan who
fell 12 runs short. Gibbs top scored with 60 of 43 deliveries.
(May 22, 2009)
Bangalore Back In Semi's Race
Kallis hit a solid 58 at just under a run a ball to secure an
important win for Bangalore against league leaders Delhi Daredevils.
The win places Bangalore in fourth place in what is proving to be a tough
race to the semis. Man of the match Kallis also bowled a superb spell, taking 1
wicket for only 17 runs from his 4 overs.
Delhi posted a total of 134 which was always going to be tough to defend.
The Daredevils remain top of the table with 9 wins from 13 matches.
(May 20, 2009)
England Wraps Up Series
The West Indies were bowled out twice before reaching the first
innings target of 570 set by England on day 1. Requiring 259 in the second
innings to only draw level with England, West Indies were all out after 44 overs
on day 5.
England's thumping of the West Indies could have been much sooner had it not
been for the 2nd day which was a complete wash out. Anderson was man of the
match after taking 9 wickets in the test. Bopara was named man of the series due
to scoring a hundred in both tests.
(May 19, 2009)
Flintoff Not Optimistic For Twenty20 World Cup
Andrew Flintoff has not yet fully recovered from his surgery and
might very well miss the World Twenty20 next month. Flintoff will most likely
not be match fit as the World Cup draws closer.
Collingwood, captain of the England Twenty20 squad, was still positive that his
versatile squad can still perform without Flintoff. The next few weeks will tell
whether Flintoff recovers in time, although there is also the possibility of
joining the squad at a later stage in the tournament.
(May 16, 2009)
Rajasthan Wins Thriller
Rajasthan won an important match against the Mumbai Indians in
Durban. The win puts the Royals in third spot in the points table as the IPL
semis draw closer. The match was never certain until the last ball was bowled,
constantly surprising and taunting the opposition. Rajasthan won the toss and
decided to bat. A quick 51 from Quiney and 42 from Jadeja saw the Royals reach
145, by no means an impossible target at a required rate of 7.25 runs per over.
Mumbai consistently lost wickets until Tendulkar (40) and Nayar (35) gave
Warne something to worry about. At the end of the 18th over, Mumbai needed just
14 off the final 12 deliveries and had 4 wickets in hand. Botha was sent in to
bowl and went for 10 runs, including a 6, a wide and crucially the run out of
Nayar. Patel was sent in to bowl the final over with only 4 needed off 6 and 3
wickets remaining.
First ball was a dot ball. Second ball Kulkarni out LBW. Third ball Nanda
run out. One wicket left, 4 required off 3 balls. Fourth ball, one run. Fifth
ball, Malinga is run out and Rajasthan win by 2 runs.
(May 15, 2009)
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