MELBOURNE – James Anderson rated England’s perfect performance to take charge of the fourth Ashes Test Sunday as one of his greatest days in Test cricket. The tourists enjoyed a day they would never forget as they bowled out Australia for a record low 98 total at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and then cruised to 157 without loss by stumps on the first day.
England, who need to win one of the remaining two Tests to retain the Ashes, were in the driving seat to claim their second Test victory of the series with fine weather forecast over the last four days of the match. Anderson led a disciplined English bowling attack with four for 44 off 16 overs and now has 15 wickets for the series. “In an Ashes series to bowl Australia out for less than 100 and then be 150 for none at the end of play is just unheard of, really,” Anderson told a press conference on Sunday. “Today was when all those bits of luck came together and we got the nicks that we’ve missed in the past. “It was one of those days where everything came off.” Anderson and his fellow seamers, Chris Tremlett (4-26 off 11.5 overs) and Tim Bresnan (2-25 off 13 overs), relished the pitch conditions after skipper Andrew Strauss won the toss and put Australia in to bat. The Australians were never able to settle on the lively wicket with the bowlers extracting swing and movement off the pitch and they were bundled out off 42.5 overs in 195 minutes. “It’s a credit to the guys and especially Tim Bresnan, who sat out the first three Tests to come in and bowl as well as he did today,” Anderson said. “It was a great toss to win and there is always a danger when you win the toss that as a bowling unit you don’t get too carried away and expect to get wickets. “I thought we stuck at our tasks, trying to keep the pressure on all day, asking questions and putting balls in the right areas and we did it fantastically well.”
ponting’s performance in Ashes series
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, the second most prolific test batsman of all time, has struggled at the crease in the Ashes series against England. Following are details of the 36-year-old’s seven innings in the 2010-11 series after he was dismissed for 10 in the fourth test on Sunday:
FIRST TEST (Brisbane, drawn)
First innings: c Prior b Anderson 10
Ponting, who had scored 196 in the corresponding innings of the 2006-07 series, was caught by wicketkeeper Matt Prior after attempting to glance a James Anderson delivery down the leg side.
Second innings: not out 51
Ponting grabbed his 56th test half century as Australia batted out the final day of the test after England had declared on 517-1.
2nd TEST (Adelaide, Eng won
by an innings, 71 runs)
Australia were already a wicket down after Simon Katich was run out on the fourth ball of the match when Ponting went for a golden duck after getting an outside edge to an Anderson delivery that Graeme Swann swooped to catch at second slip.
2nd innings: c Collingwood b Swann 9
Playing in his 150th test, Ponting survived a thorough 21-minute examination from spinner Swann before getting a thick edge to the 19th ball he faced with Paul Collingwood taking a good catch at first slip.
3rd TEST (Perth, Aus won
by 267 runs)
1st innings: c Collingwood b Anderson 12
Ponting nicked an Anderson delivery to the slips where Collingwood made a superb one-handed catch, leaping high to his right to leave Australia 17 for two in the fifth over.
2nd innings: c Prior b Finn 1
Another attempt to glance down the leg side, this time off Steve Finn. Prior’s appeal for a catch is turned down by the umpire but a TV review showed the ball got a bit of glove and an edge.
FOURTH TEST (Melbourne, ongoing)
First innings: c Swann b Tremlett Playing with a fracture on the little finger of his left hand, Ponting pushed at a fierce delivery from Chris Tremlett and got a thick edge that Swann took well at second slip.
AVERAGES (tests/runs/average)
All tests: 152 12,343 53.66
Previous Ashes: 31 2,363 48.22
2010-11 Ashes: 4 93 15.50
