Ever since the start of the summer, England have insisted they were not going to be bullied by Australia, and they have fully shown their intent in that regard during the course of this riveting second npower Test match.
When did an England team last treat Australian bowlers with so little respect that they battered them for 16 sixes and 71 fours? When did they stay in the faces of Australia’s batsmen so persistently? When did they last deny them an individual century in two successive Tests? Now we are seeing how the bullies of world cricket like to be bullied, and the answer is not much.
They certainly do not like being backed into a corner, and a corner is where they found themselves yesterday, chasing 282 to take a 2-0 lead going into the third Test in Manchester on Thursday. From the time that Andrew Flintoff removed Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting in one over, they looked like a batting team lacking leadership.
England must wish every Test could be played in Birmingham, where their Test record is better than any other regular home venue. The atmosphere was electric and it should be no surprise that Andrew Flintoff, the people’s hero, should rise to the occasion in front of such a partisan crowd.
Without his runs and wickets yesterday, England would surely be on the way to losing this match, for all the merit of their collective effort. The most impressive thing about his innings of 73 was not the strips he tore off Australia’s bedraggled pace attack, but his measured response to Shane Warne, who along with one fiery burst from Brett Lee kept their side in the hunt.
By staying in control, Flintoff and the tail were able to hoist England from a precarious 75 for six to 182 and ask some serious questions of what remains of Australia’s self- belief since Ricky Ponting took leave of his senses on Thursday morning and let England use the pitch at its best.
Australia set about their chase skilfully. Langer and Matthew Hayden again saw off the first spell of Steve Harmison and when Ashley Giles started nervously, Michael Vaughan turned to Flintoff for inspiration. He responded with a great over. He bounced his second ball through Langer’s defence. Then he used early reverse swing to twice nearly have Ponting leg-before, before jagging one away to have the Australia captain caught behind. It was an irresistible piece of cricket and gave Flintoff, who finished the first innings with two wickets in two balls, four wickets in nine balls.
Vaughan immediately brought Simon Jones, who had also reverse swung the ball well in the first innings, into the attack. It did not work immediately but when Jones switched to the Pavilion End he had Hayden well caught by Marcus Trescothick at slip. England, so shoddy in the field at Lord’s, needed to hold everything and soon afterwards Damien Martyn, clipping loosely into the leg side, was well held by Ian Bell at close range.
Vaughan had recalled Giles and he eventually struck twice in successive overs. First Simon Katich was held low at slip by Trescothick and then Adam Gilchrist, coming in earlier than planned because Jason Gillespie, the nightwatchman was not ready, holed out to deep mid-on. That obliged Gillespie to go out within minutes anyway and in the next over he was trapped leg-before.
England could now scent victory strongly enough to immediately claim the extra half-hour. It looked as though Michael Clarke, the last recognised batsman, and Warne would survive unscathed but then Harmison chose the last over of the day to take his first wicket of the match by yorking Clarke with a slower ball. As has been the trend in this series, wickets had tumbled in the final session, Australia losing eight in the space of 32 overs.
If much of England’s cricket has been of the kind not even seen in wild dreams, yesterday morning saw a brutal reacquaintance with what can happen when you are up against Australia. Another good session and England knew they could put the game out of Australia’s reach. But ball dominated bat in a way not seen before. The six previous sessions had produced 100 or more runs, but now England crept forward by just 70 for the loss of five wickets.
All eyes were on Warne after his wonderball to Andrew Strauss on Friday but it was Lee, with three wickets in nine balls, who sent England spinning. Inside 10 minutes he hauled his side back into the match by removing Trescothick, Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard. Vaughan was bowled neck and crop, the third time in four innings his stumps had been hit.
TV replays showed that Kevin Pietersen ought to have been adjudged caught behind off the glove first ball but umpire Billy Bowden failed to detect the contact. Perhaps the tension was getting to the umpires too because Bowden’s colleague, Rudi Koertzen, was soon to make two crucial errors. But before that happened, English spirits were revived by Pietersen slog-sweeping Warne for two sixes and helping Bell, playing his most assured innings of the series, put on 41.
Pietersen had not tried much else extravagant against Warne until he missed a sweep. The ball went through to Gilchrist via Pietersen’s thigh and midriff but Koertzen decided he had hit it. In Warne’s next over, more forgivably, Koertzen also adjudged Bell caught behind off. The snickometer suggested there was no contact.
England were 75 for six and the drama was far from over. Flintoff had only been in a few minutes when he recoiled in pain after driving Warne into the covers. He appeared to have strained his left shoulder, called for treatment, and nursed himself through the remaining 20 minutes to lunch.
Afterwards Lee produced a good ball to remove Geraint Jones, but Flintoff found sturdy support among the tail. When Giles, who had resisted for 45 minutes, was caught at slip and Harmison followed next ball, Flintoff decided to open up.
Kasprowicz must have known what was coming but was unable to stop it. Flintoff launched into him with a six over mid-on and another over midwicket as 20 came off the over. Kasprowicz was withdrawn in favour of Lee, who swallowed his pride and stuck nine men on the rope. The trouble is, they were not tall enough and in Lee’s second over Big Fred went aerial again, with two straight sixes. The 10th-wicket stand had topped 50 when Flintoff could resist a dart at Warne no longer and was bowled, but he did not seem too concerned. England were in the box seat.
