BBC Sport

 

England's four bowlers and their opening batsmen all impressed on day two of the second Ashes warm-up match against South Australia in Adelaide.

The hosts resumed 262 behind on 26-0 but never threatened to get close to England's total on a gloomy, overcast day which helped the seam bowlers.

Stuart Broad struck first, before James Anderson (3-62), Steven Finn (2-47) and Graeme Swann (4-68) got stuck in.

SA were all out for 221, before England reached 94-0 in their second innings.

And it came as further encouragement to the tourists that despite the difficult conditions Alastair Cook was able to get to stumps unscathed on 37, even though he was somewhat eclipsed by an authoritative 56 by skipper Andrew Strauss that featured three sixes.

Cook had his role questioned by former Australia captain Ian Chappell on Thursday and has not had a good year generally, but will have every chance to reach his first half-century of the tour on Saturday.

He was beginning to show some much-improved footwork when an extended final session came to a close.

The performance of England's first-choice bowling quartet earlier in the day may ensure they are rewarded with a trip straight to Queensland after this match to prepare for the first Test on 25 November.

They would thus avoid the final warm-up in chilly Tasmania and be able to spend longer acclimatising to the sub-tropical conditions they can expect in Brisbane.

And Anderson appeared to approve of that plan, saying: "I think I'd be fine going into that Test without playing at Hobart. It gives us a nice break going into that first Test.

"I've bowled some reasonably long spells in the last couple of games, so I've got some decent overs under my belt."

SA openers James Smith and Daniel Harris had to contend with heavy cloud cover and fresh bowlers when play began after a delayed start.

England were soon in business when Broad removed Smith, driving and edging a ball that swung away a fraction, before Anderson quickly sent Harris on his way, the batsman hitting a leg-stump half-volley straight to Jonathan Trott at square-leg.

Captain Michael Klinger and Ashes hopeful Callum Ferguson had to rebuild, and Ferguson, a success in the one-day series in England 14 months ago before injury hit, played positively, if a little loosely.

Staying slightly leg-side to England's pace, he got away with aerial fours either side of gully off Anderson and then Broad, and continued to attack.

But he aimed an ambitious pull at Anderson's replacement Finn and was undone by extra bounce and a tight off-stump line, splicing a simple catch to Broad at mid-on for 35.

Klinger and Aiden Blizzard shared a stand of 57 either side of lunch, before Anderson picked up Klinger (38), cutting straight to Kevin Pietersen at gully.

Anderson saved his best delivery for new batsman Graham Manou, who got one that kicked from short of a length and was edged to Strauss at slip.

England continued to chip away and saw Blizzard, SA's top scorer with 49, depart when picking out Anderson on the deep-square boundary as he failed to control a sweep shot off Swann.

With the lower order exposed, Swann and Finn struck once more each before tea, before Swann removed the two tail-enders, Aaron O'Brien remaining unbeaten on 43.

But England are not getting carried away by their decent bowling form.

Anderson said: "As bowlers, we've gone through some bad spells. I didn't bowl great in the middle of my spells today, or as well as I would have liked.

"I'm sure the other bowlers have had similar feelings. Although we're getting the wickets, we're still striving to improve. We can get even better before that first Test comes round."

BBC Sport

 

England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook hit centuries as their Ashes warm-up game against South Australia ended in a draw in Adelaide.

Skipper Strauss made 102, his second hundred of the tour, and Cook answered questions about his form with 111 not out as the pair shared a stand of 181.

Rain washed out the afternoon session before England declared on 240-1.

Paceman Jimmy Anderson then picked up two wickets before bad light ended play early with South Australia on 48-2.

Although England were unable to repeat the win over Western Australia, there were still plenty of positives to take out of the game, most notably the return to form of Cook.

And with one match to go, against Australia A, before the start of the Ashes series, Jonathan Trott is the only top-six batsman without at least a half century to his name.

Essex left-hander Cook was content to play second fiddle to the more aggressive Strauss during his 162-ball innings, but still hit a six and 18 fours.

The bowling, however, was certainly not the most threatening the England pair have faced during their careers, with the state side were hampered by the absence of seamer Jake Haberfield, who suffered a leg injury on the second day.

Resuming on 94-0, the tourists were looking to press on during the morning and Strauss, having hit three sixes during the final session on day two, added a fourth with a slog-sweep off Aaron O'Brien to bring up his century.

The left-arm spinner gained a measure of revenge when the England captain attempted another big hit and was bowled, but it proved to be South Australia's sole success as Cook and Trott added a further 59 in 12 overs before the declaration was made.

Cook brought up his hundred with a top-edged pull over the wicketkeeper's head, one of very few false shots during his innings, while Trott looked typically solid in his unbeaten 20.

Trailing by 307, South Australia successfully negotiated the 10 minutes of play left before lunch and the players were then kept off the field as the predicted rain took 25 overs out of the day's play.

When the action resumed, England's fielding was a mixed bag with Paul Collingwood and Trott both dropping catches, before redeeming themselves.

Daniel Harris was the beneficiary as Collingwood failed to hang onto a diving chance at third slip and Trott put down a relatively simple catch at square leg.

But Collingwood atoned by taking the catch to send James Smith on his way for nine and Trott gave Anderson his second success when he pulled in a superb one-handed effort at mid-wicket to remove Michael Klinger for eight.

Australia Test hopeful Callum Ferguson had little chance to press his claims in the fading light, reaching 11 not out before the match came to an end, with the fortunate Harris unbeaten on 18.

BBC Sport

 

Chris Tremlett took 4-54 as England dismissed Australia A for 230 in their final warm-up match before the Ashes.

With England's Test attack all rested, a shadow strike force made short work of Australia's young contenders for international honours in Hobart.

Ajmal Shahzad took 3-57 and Tim Bresnan 2-65, though the hosts staged a recovery from 66-5, thanks to Steve O'Keefe (66) and Steve Smith (59).

Andrew Strauss fell for 10 as England replied with 22-1 at the close.

The tourists resisted the temptation to give Eoin Morgan and Steven Davies opportunities in the middle, naming the same top seven which played in the previous games in Perth and Adelaide.

And after winning the toss on a cloudy morning and with a greenish wicket at his disposal, Strauss was content to bowl first, with a fresh seam attack keen to make an impression.

Tremlett struck in the third over when Phillip Hughes fended uncertainly at a spicy delivery just back of a length which flicked his outside edge before being safely pouched by Strauss at slip.

Ed Cowan and Usman Khawaja, the latter named in Australia's 17-man Ashes squad, weathered a searching examination from Tremlett and Shahzad before the latter picked up his first wicket.

Khawaja (13) belatedly went to defend a fullish ball just outside off stump and nicked to Matt Prior, before Tim Bresnan picked up the highly-rated Callum Ferguson for seven, courtesy of another Prior catch.

With the seamers continuing to pose problems with lateral movement, it was nevertheless a Bresnan long-hop which produced the next wicket as Cowan, having worked hard to reach 31, pulled the ball towards Panesar at square-leg who threw himself to his right to claim a spectacular catch.

Skipper Cameron White was then bowled by Tremlett for five, and lunch was taken at 75-5.

Australia A enjoyed their most fruitful period of the day immediately after the interval, Smith adding 62 with Tim Paine (27) and then a further 59 with O'Keefe.

It was another reminder for England that wickets are always harder to come by in Australia when the Kookaburra ball goes soft - and the first breakthrough after lunch was a fortuitous one, when Paine was caught down the leg-side off Tremlett.

Smith and O'Keefe, primarily in the side for their spin-bowling expertise, struck 11 boundaries and three sixes between them with England continuing to set attacking fields.

After some imaginative hitting on both sides of the wicket off Bresnan and a couple of close lbw escapes against Panesar the two right-handers took Australia A to 166-6 at tea before Smith was bowled off the inside edge by Shahzad.

The Yorkshire paceman also shifted Clint McKay swiftly, but O'Keefe continued to blaze away with the tail before presenting Tremlett with his final wicket.

England only had seven overs of batting before stumps, but despite playing without any great concerns they were unable to go into the second day unscathed.

A thick edge from Strauss was picked up by O'Keefe, fielding in the gully, to give Mark Cameron a morale-boosting wicket, but Alastair Cook remained on 10 not out at stumps, with night-watchman Panesar on two.

BBC Sport

 

Ian Bell hit a terrific 118 in an unbeaten partnership with Paul Collingwood (74) worth 198 as England enjoyed another good day in Australia.

Replying to Australia A's 230, England reached 335-5 and have two days left to push for a win in the final warm-up match before the Ashes series starts.

They were in a bit of trouble when Kevin Pietersen fell for five to leave the score on 137-5 in chilly Hobart.

But Bell and Collingwood engineered a strong recovery in the final session.

The most fluent of the pair, indeed of the whole England batting line-up, was Warwickshire man Bell, 28, who is appearing in his fourth Ashes series having failed to make a big impression in any of his previous three.

He came down the wicket to hit Steve Smith for consecutive fours as he moved smoothly into the 90s before majestically cracking the leg-spinner through the covers to bring up his 32nd first-class century.

While Collingwood took on quieter, accumulative role, Bell played the more authoritative role and more of the strike. He had faced 158 balls when stumps came, hitting 15 fours and one six, and then said he was in the mood for more.

"I really enjoyed it, it seemed to be quite fluent and it was nice to go out there and hit the ball out of the middle of the bat," he told BBC Sport.

"It was nice to take the form from the nets out to the middle and hopefully I can make it a big hundred.

"There are always areas the guys can improve on but we have two days more preparation to do that. The dressing room is happy but always striving for more."

Bell, who has been shuffled up and down the order during his international career, said he was happy to bat at six.

"Playing against spin bowling, which is what you tend to get first up batting at six, is a strength of mine. It seems to be working at the minute and if that's helping the England team move forward I'm happy to do the job."

England began day two against Australia A on 22-1 with Alastair Cook and night-watchman Monty Panesar batting together.

Panesar got to 13 before falling to Clint McKay, leaving Cook and Trott to negotiate a showery period either side of lunch. Despite the interruptions, Cook was showing some nice form in particular.

Among his seven fours was a chip over midwicket, having come down the pitch to the other spinner, Steve O'Keefe.

An attempted repeat soon afterwards brought his downfall, however, when he mistimed his shot and was well-caught by McKay at deep mid-on.

Trott appeared destined to add a half-century of his own, but remains the only member of England's top six without one on this tour.

A badly executed pull off Mark Cameron lobbed up to mid-off, and was an uncanny replay of his embarrassing dismissal against South Australia last week. Cameron had overstepped, but the no-ball was not picked up by the umpire.

Pietersen then went cheaply, in mystifying circumstances, when he accounted for no turn at all from O'Keefe and was clean bowled as he missed with his defensive prod.

The right-hander's past failings against slow left-armers have been well documented and this was another prime example.

Three England wickets had gone down for the addition of 13 runs at that point, leaving Collingwood and Bell with much to do.

Bell needed little time to settle, and Collingwood, after starting in scratchy fashion, also played some pleasing shots, including a pulled six off Smith.

BBC Sport

 

Ian Bell hit a majestic 192 before England were all out for 523 on day three of the final warm-up match ahead of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.

Bell, 121 overnight, batted for six hours in all before Australia A reached 128-3 in their second innings, still trailing by 165 with a day to go.

Tim Bresnan, who hit 36 in a stand of 80 with Bell for the ninth wicket, first removed Ed Cowan for 33.

He then got rid of Test hopefuls Usman Khawaja (0) and Callum Ferguson (10).

On a sunny day in Hobart, in contrast to the showery, chilly conditions that had greeted the players for the first half of the match, Bell continued where he had left off on Thursday with some sparkling strokeplay.

His 275-ball innings included 22 fours and a six, expert timing and placement and just the occasional error as he tired late on.

He dominated a sixth-wicket stand of 240 with Collingwood (89), the latter adding just 15 to his overnight 74.

Collingwood was struck on the helmet by a Clint McKay bouncer and two balls later an unbalanced, front-footed pull ended only in an edge behind.

After a breezy 27, Matt Prior also went in disappointing fashion when he aimed a big hit over mid-on at Steve Smith and miscued the shot, hitting slightly against the spin, to be caught at point.

On the verge of a maiden double-hundred for his country, Bell picked out short extra-cover with a drive off Smith. It was belated and minor revenge for the leg-spinner who had been severely punished by Bell on day two.

England's tailenders took their cue to inflict further damage - pressing on past 500, with a barrage of shots including a straight six from Ajmal Shahzad.

It was then the turn of England's bowlers to work out a way past the Australia A upper order.

The hosts got to 16-0 at tea, and Cowan, together with Phillip Hughes, added a further 50 in the final session.

But, with England's four bowlers for the Test match already acclimatising to Brisbane conditions, Bresnan picked up the mantle for the second string.

Bowling from around the wicket, the Yorkshireman had Cowan bottom-edging a pull onto his stumps, before Khawaja got a first-baller, failing to get forward to a ball on a good length just shaping away and edging to Prior.

When a quick delivery at Ferguson kept low and scuttled through the right-hander's defences, Australia A were 84-3.

They recovered a little with an unbroken stand of 44 between Hughes (58) and skipper Cameron White (22).

Bresnan, 25, who has played five Tests and is a regular in the limited-overs team, said it was important for those on the fringes of Ashes selection to remain focused.

"We'll be working very hard. We're not saying the final XI is picked yet. It's going to be a tough winter for all concerned, and I think it's going to be a massive squad effort to win this Ashes.

"Andy [Flower, the coach] said the other day he'll be very surprised if the same XI plays all five games.

"I will too - whether that be injury or form or anything else. You never know what can happen.

"We've been pushed to our limits, getting us ready for whatever can happen."

Hughes, who some observers felt should have been named in Australia's Ashes squad of 17, was impressed with Bresnan.

"I thought he bowled really well. He bashed the wicket away all day and he was very consistent with his lines."

A pitch which started the match full of green tinges and providing plenty of help for the seamers appeared to flatten out for a couple of days.

But as Australia A began to lose second-innings wickets, variable bounce was becoming a factor.

"One shot, and a couple of others kept very low," added Hughes.

"But Bresnan still bowled straight. I thought [Chris] Tremlett bowled quite good lines as well."

Looking ahead to Brisbane and beyond, Hughes added: "England are going to be fired up and aren't going to back down, with momentum behind them.

"It's going to be a great contest for the Australian batsmen. The way England are playing, there is no doubt they are going to be confident."

BBC Sport

 

England secured a dominant 10-wicket win against Australia A in their final warm-up match ahead of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane on Thursday.

Resuming on 128-3 in Hobart, the hosts were quickly in trouble as Chris Tremlett took three early wickets.

Cameron White hit 111 but when he fell to Monty Panesar (3-63), Australian hopes were effectively over.

Tim Bresnan's fourth wicket wrapped up the innings before the England openers knocked off the nine runs required.

Ian Bell's terrific 192 was ultimately the key innings in Tasmania, but with Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Paul Collingwood all looking in good touch, coach Andy Flower will be content with his side's batting preparations.

The bowling quartet of Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Steven Finn and Graeme Swann may have enjoyed the luxury of a week in Queensland to hone their skills but the back-up attack's display in this game will have sent a timely reminder that team selection should not be taken for granted.

Once again, Tremlett, Bresnan and Panesar put the Australians under pressure throughout, and with injuries a common factor on lengthy Ashes tours, the two pacemen should be prepared to play some part in the Test series.

Tremlett's pace and bounce did the damage early on the final day as he collected three wickets in eight balls before lunch.

Phillip Hughes (81), who opened in the first Test of the last series in 2009, added 23 to his overnight score before he was well taken by Strauss at first slip.

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine hardly pushed his case to take over from Brad Haddin in the full Test squad when he was trapped lbw for two shortly after while Steve Smith - who has been included in the 13-man party for Brisbane - shouldered arms to his first ball.

Steve O'Keefe kept out Tremlett's hat-trick ball though and a 78-run stand with White held up England in the afternoon as the hosts fought to avoid defeat.

However when O'Keefe miscued a drive off Panesar on 27 the hosts were in trouble, despite White bringing up a well-deserved century.

On the day the Australian squad was announced, it was something of an irony that the all-rounder - who played against India as a specialist spinner two years ago - was the only man to cause the England bowlers real problems.

He eventually edged behind for 111 and when Mark Cameron fell for a duck, an innings victory seemed a possibility.

Peter George and Clint McKay just did enough to avert that particular embarrassment but Strauss and Cook still only needed nine balls to knock off the runs required and seal a hugely convincing win.

"We have the genuine belief we can do it out here," admitted Collingwood, whose 89 in England's first innings helped to silence a few of his critics.

"I'm not 100% sure we've had that in the past. But I can safely say this time round we have.

"We've prepared ourselves in the best possible way to go into Thursday's Test match.

"Winning two games gives you confidence and the belief again. But there have been some huge individual performances in the three games as well.

"It was an exceptional performance in this match especially."

England have a reputation as slow starters in recent Ashes series, particularly those in Australia, but Collingwood is unfazed by the challenge of taking on Ricky Ponting's side at the Gabba.

"The team see it as a challenge," he added. "Whenever we have come across these sorts of challenges in the past - whether it be not winning at Lord's for 70 odd years - the guys really like it.

"Brisbane is one of those places where it is obviously difficult to get a result, because Australia have been very strong.

"But that just makes it even more exciting for us. This is the ultimate; this is what we play the game for.

"We get tested, and this is the biggest challenge we can have as cricketers."

• 
  
• The Australian squad has been announced
  
• The first Test starts on the 25th in Brisbane.
  

BBC Sport

 

England begin their bid to defend the Ashes and secure a first series victory in Australia for 24 years at the Brisbane Cricket Ground on Thursday.

Their last victory at the Gabba was in 1986 when Mike Gatting led England to a seven-wicket win in a 2-1 series win.

"We're all just very keen to get amongst it now," said England captain Andrew Strauss.

The tourists have no injury concerns, while Aussie batsman Michael Clarke has been passed fit to play.

The vice-captain missed training on Monday with an ongoing back injury but did take part in net sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting confirmed: "Michael Clarke has got through his work particularly well the last couple of days and had a long, solid bat in the nets again [on Wednesday].

Australia have also chosen right-arm pace seamer Peter Siddle over left-armer Doug Bollinger, who has been struggling with a side injury.

Strauss' team have been in fine form, winning two of their three warm-up games and are in buoyant mood.

"It's been a big build-up and obviously very exciting, the prospect of representing your country in an Ashes series - and we're standing here on the edge of it," stated Strauss.

"I think we have got a good opportunity, there's no doubt about it. We've started the tour well; we're in a good place as a side.

"But at the same time we recognise this is a tough assignment - not many sides come out here and win.

"We understand the size of the challenge ahead of us. But we couldn't be in a better place mentally to take it on."

England's frontline bowlers have been acclimatising to Brisbane's tropical conditions for the past seven days having sat out the emphatic 10-wicket win over Australia A in Hobart last week.

And the rest of the squad visited the Gabba for the first time on Tuesday afternoon, a venue where Australia have not been defeated in a Test match since a nine-wicket loss to the West Indies in 1988.

Since their victory in 1986, England have lost four out of five Test matches at Brisbane, with a solitary draw coming in 1998.

On England's last visit to the Gabba, Steve Harmison bowled one of the most famous wides in cricket history with the very first ball of the 2006/07 series, setting the tone for a triumphant 5-0 whitewash for the hosts.

The loss came 16 months after England had regained the Ashes at the Oval, a feat they repeated in 2009.

Ponting said his team is once again motivated by a desire for vengeance.

"That's a really big part of how we're playing this series," he stated. "We took in our own disappointment and made sure it hurt them as much as possible. That's what has been driving me.

"It's about that empty feeling that we've had at the Oval in two successive Ashes tours."

Meanwhile, former England batsman Mark Butcher said recollections of their nightmare tour four years ago should be a motivating factor for the team.

"I think the memories of the last tour will actually galvanise the team to be strong, stay together, be more focussed and fight harder this time round," he told BBC Sport.

The BBC Weather forecast for Brisbane suggested overhead conditions would be overcast in the Queensland capital on Thursday morning, with temperatures set to reach about 27 degrees.

Uncharacteristic summer rainfall has given the Gabba pitch a green tinge, an encouraging sign for England's triumvirate of fast bowlers hoping to

Overcast and humid conditions are ideal for swing, a factor which could tempt Strauss to go against conventional wisdom and bowl first should he win the toss, emulating Nasser Hussain's decision during the 2002/03 series.

Former captain Hussain was made to regret his decision as Matthew Hayden and Ponting hit commanding centuries in a thumping 384-run victory.

However, seamer Stuart Broad believes Strauss will not take a similar gamble should he win the decisive toss.

"To be honest there's been a lot of hype about the wicket and conditions and I think it has been purely press talk," said the Nottinghamshire man.

"Looking at the wicket today it seems a good Test match pitch, maybe not as hard as people were expecting.

"It certainly doesn't have the look that it will seam all over the place. I'd say it's a good deck to bat on. But whatever we do at the toss is all about doing that skill better than the Australians."

A consistent performance in Brisbane could see England spinner Graeme Swann oust Dale Steyn as the world's number one Test bowler, becoming the first Englishman to hold the accolade since Harmison in 2004.

The 31-year-old off-spinner is only six points behind South Africa's Steyn at the top of the standings with 864, while team-mate James Anderson is fifth on the list.

Australia will hand spinner Xavier Doherty his Test debut after dropping Nathan Hauritz from their 13-man squad, while bowler Peter Siddle will start instead of Bollinger.

Batsman Mike Hussey has been under pressure following a run of 11 months without a Test century, but the left-hander struck a timely hundred for Western Australia against Victoria last week.

The inclusion of Doherty, who turned 28 on Monday, has raised eyebrows, particularly following the suggestion that the left-armer has been specifically brought in to target Kevin Pietersen.

England's most charismatic batsman has struggled with left-arm spinners during his career, dismissed on 38 occasions in all international cricket to that form of attack.

The new Surrey signing lost his wicket to an innocuous delivery in Hobart from Australia A slow left-armer Steve O'Keefe.

Doherty's first-class record is less than impressive; in 35 matches for Tasmania he has taken 84 wickets at a cost of 48.26 per dismissal, but Ponting is confident his man can deliver.

"He's been particularly good. He's bowled a lot the last few days," he said.

"He's very excited and looking forward to the challenge over next five days. He's a pretty level-headed bloke and knows his strengths and weaknesses.

"He'll stick to those through the five days, and I'm sure he'll do well. It's exciting for all of us, and exciting for me to have a cap presentation. That's a great part of my job."