EDGBASTON (Australia won toss): No result. England 3pts, Australia 3
AUSTRALIA have long been the envy of the rest of the world for their depth of talent and they will not be short of potential replacements if batsmen are blighted by injury during the Ashes. Three times against England in the NatWest Series their leading scorer has been a player due to leave the tour at the end of the one-day leg.
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Andrew Symonds followed his 73 in the previous meeting at the Riverside with an equally important 74 at Edgbaston last night. Earlier, in Bristol, Mike Hussey’s 84 helped to rebuild an ailing innings and his well-constructed effort would have been made in a winning cause but for an even more effective response from Kevin Pietersen.
Whether Hussey and Symonds had done enough this time will never be known. Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss faced three overs before a lengthy rain break, but four fours in the first over after the resumption, off Glenn McGrath no less, suggested that a reworked target of 200 from 33 overs stood well within range.
The game will be remembered, if at all, for the ugly confrontation between Matthew Hayden on one side and Simon Jones and Paul Collingwood on the other. Michael Vaughan, the returning England captain, emphasised the importance of the contest, a dress rehearsal for the final at Lord’s on Saturday, and that incident showed that his team is nothing if not committed.
Looking farther ahead, Australia will feel satisfied with the back-up potentially available. By no coincidence, Hussey accompanied Symonds in what had the makings of a decisive recovery partnership after England, at full strength, restricted Australia to 123 for four in the 28th over on a two-paced pitch. They added 101 in 15 overs before their first misunderstanding resulted in the departure of Symonds, to much relief in the field.
Hussey, the most acquisitive of batsmen, is due to return to Durham at the end of the NatWest Challenge. He is handily placed for a call should a mishap befall one of the Australia top order, especially as there is no cover in the present squad for the opening pair. In any other team, of course, he would be a fixture.
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Symonds, since completing a two-match suspension, has produced some of his best cricket with bat and ball. Gloucestershire would like to have signed him as a second overseas player for the final months of the season but, according to Tom Richardson, the chief executive, it is not to be; Symonds is likely to join another county instead.
His run-out proved to be a turning point. Hussey swept, ran and turned determined to complete a second. As Collingwood shaped to throw, however, Symonds stayed rooted at the striker’s end. Hussey failed to make his ground despite a full-length swallow dive and promptly walked off, only to return when replays showed that he had not crossed with his partner.
To judge from his initial glare, Symonds was less than impressed, but his expression darkened further still when his own fate was revealed. Hussey subsequently looked like a man who wanted to offer confession and England claimed five wickets in 37 balls just when a near-300 target seemed likely.
Stephen Harmison was the best of the bowlers, having been called into the attack after two expensive overs by Darren Gough. Jones was more effective with the new ball, removing both openers, while Andrew Flintoff again provided little to hit after the first 15 overs. Ashley Giles produced a little turn but Gough was flattered by late wickets; only once in his 153 one-day internationals has he been more costly.
All of the Australia top four made starts before getting out. Adam Gilchrist fell for the second time in succession to a bowler going round the wicket and Ricky Ponting, showing a heavy leg-side bias, was again some way from his fluent best. Damien Martyn, in contrast, looked every bit the accomplished batsman he has been for several years until the ugly stroke that brought his downfall. Television replays confirmed that Pietersen had taken the catch cleanly at third man, although Martyn was not convinced initially.
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Nothing in the formative stages of the partnership between Symonds and Hussey hinted at the comical way it would end. They ran singles sharply and effectively, challenging the discipline of the bowlers with their left-right combination. Symonds was quick to attack Vaughan’s spin, however, and added a second six when Flintoff dropped short. A crowd unusually hostile towards Australia became quieter and quieter, only to stir again.
FINAL SCOREBOARD FROM EDGBASTON
Australia won the toss
AUSTRALIA
† A C Gilchrist c G O Jones b S P Jones 19
(18 balls, 2 fours)
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M L Hayden lbw b S P Jones 14
(24 balls, 3 fours)
*R T Ponting c G O Jones b Flintoff 34
(40 balls, 4 fours)
D R Martyn c Pietersen b Harmison 36
(65 balls, 4 fours)
A Symonds run out (Collingwood) 74
(75 balls, 2 sixes, 6 fours)
M E K Hussey c G O Jones b Harmison 45
(42 balls, 4 fours)
M J Clarke c G O Jones b Gough 3
(6 balls)
G B Hogg c G O Jones b Gough 2
(6 balls)
B Lee not out 21
(18 balls, 3 fours)
J N Gillespie c Pietersen b Gough 1
(2 balls)
G D McGrath not out 2
(5 balls)
Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 4, nb 1) 10
Total (9 wkts, 50 overs, 219min) 261
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34 (5.2; Hayden 14); 2-46 (9.1; Ponting 10); 3-95 (21.1; Martyn 24); 4-123 (27.5; Symonds 15); 5-224 (42.5; Hussey 37); 6-234 (44.3; Hussey 44); 7-236 (45.1; Hogg 1); 8-242 (47.0; Lee 5); 9-254 (48.5; Lee 16).
BOWLING: Gough 9-0-70-3 (nb 1; 10 fours; 2-0-23-0, 3-0-14-0, 1-0-12-0, 3-0-21-3); S P Jones 10-2-53-2 (w 1; 8 fours; 6-2-18-2, 4-0-35-0); Harmison 10-1-38-2 (w 1; 5 fours; 5-0-27-0, 3-0-3-1, 2-1-8-1); Flintoff 10-0-38-1 (1 six; 6-0-14-1, 2-0-16-0, 2-0-8-0); Giles 10-1-44-0 (w 2; 2 fours; 8-1-36-0, 2-0-8-0); Vaughan 1-0-13-0 (1 six, 1 four).
SCORING NOTES: Score after 15 overs: 81 for 2.
ENGLAND
M E Trescothick not out 11
(19 balls, 1 four)
A J Strauss c Gillespie b McGrath 25
(18 balls, 5 fours)
*M P Vaughan not out 0
(0 balls)
Extras (nb 1) 1
Total (1 wkt, 6 overs, 26min) 37
P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, K P Pietersen, † G O Jones, A F Giles, D Gough, S J Harmison and S P Jones did not bat.
FALL OF WICKET: 1-37 (6.0; Trescothick 11).
BOWLING: Lee 3-0-13-0 (1 four; 2-0-6-0/rain/1-0-7-0); McGrath 3-0-24-1 (5 fours; 1-0-2-0/rain/2-0-22-1).
SCORING NOTES: Bad light and an impending thunderstorm halted play at 6.58pm - England 8-0 (3 overs, 13min; Trescothick 6, Strauss 2). Play restarted at 8.40pm. Target revised to 200 off 33 overs with fielding restrictions for 9 overs. Rain stopped play at 8.52pm - England 37-1 (6 overs, 25min; Trescothick 11, Vaughan 0). Match abandoned (no result) at 9.30pm.
Umpires: B F Bowden (New Zealand, 78th LOI) and D R Shepherd (169th).
Replay umpire: J W Lloyds.
Fourth umpire: N J Llong.
Referee: J J Crowe (New Zealand, 24th).
Compiled by Bill Frindall
FIXTURES: Tomorrow: Australia v Bangladesh (Canterbury). Saturday: Final: England v Australia (Lord’s).