Australia beat England in first Twenty20

Australia won by 13 runs

International Twenty20 Series, First International Twenty20, Wednesday 29 January 2014 at Hobart

Australia won the toss and decided to bat Australia Innings 213 for 4 (20.0 overs) England Innings 200 for 9 (20.0 overs)

Australia whitewash England in Ashes series

Australia win the fifth test against England in Ashes series

Fifth Test, Sydney (day three)
Australia (326 & 276) beat England (155 & 166) by 281 runs

England folded in dismal fashion to lose the fifth Test within three days and with it the Ashes series 5-0 to end their miserable winter in entirely appropriate fashion.

Australia looking for whitewash over England

5th Ashes test Day 2 Fifth Test, Sydney (day two)

Australia 326 & 140-4 & England 155

England plumbed new depths even for this bleak Ashes tour as they staggered to 23-5 and then 155 all out before Australia's batsmen built an intimidating lead in the fifth Test

Fifth Ashes test Day 1

Steve Smith and Brad Haddin punish England Australia                                  England 326 all out (76.0 overs)           8 for 1 (6.0 overs) Steve Smith's second century in three matches and yet another brilliant Brad Haddin counter-attack punished a weary England as the first day of the fifth Test followed a familiar script.

Ashes England won the toss and chose to bowl first

5th Test: England elect to bowl

 SYDNEY: England won the toss and chose to bowl on the opening day of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

fifth Ashes test at Sydney

Michael Clarke expects pace-friendly wicket for 5th test in Sydney

 

Sydney:  Australia captain Michael Clarke says he's never seen more grass on a Sydney Cricket Ground pitch and predicts it will suit a pace bowling attack as the home side attempts to complete a 5-0 Ashes sweep over England.

Andy Flower wants to continue

Andy Flower wants to continue as England Coach 

Andy Flower says he is "motivated" to continue as England team director and backed Alastair Cook to remain as captain despite a poor Ashes campaign. 

Australia win fourth Ashes by eigth wicket

Australia win fourth Ashes by eigth wicket 

 

Australia cruised to an eight-wicket win over demoralised England with more than a day to spare on Sunday to claim a 4-0 series lead and stand on the cusp of an Ashes whitewash.

England bowled Australia out for 204 in 4th Ashes

England bowled Australia out for 204 in 4th Ashes

MELBOURNE: England bowled Australia out for 204 before lunch on the third day of the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday to take a 51-run lead.

Fourth Ashes Test Australia elect to bowl against England

Fourth Ashes Test Australia elect to bowl against England

In Summary

• England 135-3 at tea - Pietersen 20/Bell 11
• Last wkt: Root out for 24 - Eng 106-3
• Carberry out for 38 and Cook 27
• Bairstow in for Prior; Panesar for Swann
• Unchanged Australia won toss (lead 3-0)

Kevin Pietersen will not stop attacking ,ashes 13-14

Kevin Pietersen will not stop attacking ,ashes 13-14

Kevin Pietersen insists he will not change his risk-taking batting style, despite a run of failures resulting in Geoffrey Boycott branding him a "mug".

England's leading batsman by Test average and reputation, 33-year-old Pietersen has struggled badly on this disastrous tour so far, scoring only 165 runs in his six innings.

On five occasions he has been caught on the leg side playing attacking shots, but with the Ashes already lost he says he will play the same way in Melbourne's Boxing Day Test.

Pietersen said: "I don't think I've helped myself. But that's the way I play. I don't know how many articles have been written about the fact that I've got myself out, but I'm there to dominate, I'm there to take risks.
"If I see a ball to hit for six or a ball to hit for four, there's something in my body that tells me to hit it. I'm not the kind of guy who can think about knocking the ball down the ground."
As England were beaten by 150 runs in the third Test in Perth to go 3-0 down in the five Test series, Pietersen was caught on the long-on boundary trying to clear Ryan Harris, who had just been placed there for precisely that shot.
With England fighting to save the Test and Ashes it led many to bemoan the attitude of their star batsman, who had earlier passed 8,000 Test runs in his 102nd Test.
Pietersen told BBC Sport: "The other day was a mistake. Clearly I've made a few mistakes - and that's been highlighted - but I won't change the way I play for anybody because I think I've been pretty successful.

"It's not a case of can't, it's just there's something in me that says if there's a ball to hit then you've got to hit it. And it works.

"On the good days, at Adelaide on the last trip down here, I scored 227. On nought, the first ball I hit from Doherty landed just over point's hands, yet everyone says it's one of the greatest innings I've ever played. You take the rough with the smooth. That is what happens.
Pietersen insisted he did not view the shot he got out to in Perth as a risk.
"I should have hit it for six," he said. "As long as I play, I'm going to try to hit sixes."
Pietersen also brushed off the controversy over Graeme Swann's comments following the spinner's retirement, which some misinterpreted as a criticism of the South African-born batsman.
He also insisted that, at just a year younger than the departed Swann, he had no plans of his own to end his international career.
Swann has denied that he was referring to any of his team-mates when he claimed that some cricketers had their heads up their own backsides.

“I'm fully committed to do my best to help us win in Melbourne and help us win in Sydney”Kevin Pietersen

Pietersen said: "I have heard bits and pieces, but my family arrived on Monday and I haven't seen my little boy for two months, so my interest levels in what the media were talking about were less than zero.

"It's fairly weird. In every press conference I do, people ask how long I'm going to play for. I'm fully committed to do my best to help us win in Melbourne and help us win in Sydney.
"The dressing room isn't happy about the results at all. We set higher standards than we have produced on this trip so far.
"With the Ashes now gone, we can hopefully sort ourselves out, reinvent ourselves, do something positive and finish the tour off positively.
"I know a lot of fans come over for the Melbourne and Sydney Test matches. We owe it to everyone and those guys who spend a lot of money coming to watch us to produce something."

Graeme Swann quits international cricket in Ashes 13-14

Graeme Swann quits international cricket in Ashes 13-14

 

MELBOURNE: England spinner Graeme Swann announced on Sunday that he is retiring from international and first-class cricket with immediate effect in a shock announcement midway through the Ashes tour.

"After a great deal of consideration I have decided to call it a day on my international and first-class career," Swann, 34, said in a statement.

"This decision has been very difficult seeing as the England team has been my family for seven years now, but I feel that now is the right time to step down."

Off-spinner Swann, a popular character in the England team, has been under pressure to keep his place in the squad after taking seven wickets at an average of 80.00 in the three Ashes Tests in Australia.

Swann is widely regarded as world cricket's premier spinner, with 255 wickets in 60 Tests at 29.96 since his Test debut in 2008. He is the sixth-leading Test wicket taker of all time for England.

Swann's shock decision comes a week after England lost the Ashes to Australia following a heavy defeat in the Perth Test to give the home side an unassailable 3-0 series lead with two Tests to play.

His abrupt retirement call means he will be unavailable for the fourth Test, starting in Melbourne on Thursday, and further unsettles the England team following the departure of batsman Jonathan Trott with a stress-related illness earlier in the tour.

"With two games to go in Australia and then a fiercely competitive summer against Sri Lanka and India I feel that it is a great time for someone else to strap themselves in and hopefully enjoy the ride as much as I have," Swann said.

"I'd like to thank all my England teammates for their non-stop support and camaraderie and of course wish Andy Flower and Alastair Cook all the success in the world for the future.

"First and foremost I am a fervent England fan at heart." England team director Andy Flower said: "Graeme Swann has made an outstanding contribution to the England cricket team in all formats throughout an incredibly successful career, and I would like to congratulate him on all that he has achieved.

"His commitment, competitive spirit and sense of humour have been recognised and admired by teammates and supporters alike, and he has played a big part in England's success over the last five years.

"The dressing room will be a very different place without Graeme's unique personality and I would like to wish him all the very best for the future."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted: "Too soon IMO for Graeme Swann 2 retire but it's been a absolute pleasure watching him perform for many years. Finger spin out of the top draw.

"Of all the England players over the last 20 yrs he is the one the team (will) miss the most ... Spinners of his quality are a rare breed."

Steven Finn and Joe Root support Andy Flower

Steven Finn and Joe Root support Andy Flower

England seamer Steven Finn says it would be "a great loss" if Andy Flower left his position as England coach.

Flower will not comment on his future beyond the end of the Ashes series, which England lost to Australia with two Tests still to play.

"He's been fantastic for the group," Finn told BBC Radio 5 live.

"He's always working extremely hard to make sure that we're as prepared as we can possibly be for Test matches. It would be a great loss if he goes."
Finn, who was given his Test debut by Flower on England's tour of Bangladesh in March 2010, added: "I've had a really good working relationship with him and a personal relationship."
England had won three successive Ashes series under Flower.
The 45-year-old Zimbabwean also guided the team to victory in the ICC W
orld Twenty20 competition in 2010 and led them to the top of the Test rankings a year later. But former England captain Geoffrey Boycott said the coach must decide on his future quickly so the side can plan ahead.
Batsman Joe Root has also offered his support for Flower.
"He has done a fantastic thing for English cricket over his career," said the 22-year-old. "He's been very good for my development as a player. It's been great working with him and hopefully that can continue."
Root also said the team should not look further ahead than the fourth Test in Melbourne, starting on Boxing Day.
"It's a massive game for us and we want to put a lot of things right," he said. "If we start looking too far ahead, things could slip away.

Ashes 2013-14 -England must bat through the entire final day

Ashes 2013-14: England face battle to save series in Perth

England must bat through the entire final day with just five wickets left if they are to rescue the most improbable draw from this third Test and keep the Ashes alive.

On a day that began with an all-out Australian assault on their dispirited bowlers and bottomed out with a golden duck for captain Alastair Cook, England closed on 251-5, still a mammoth 253 short of their nominal target of 504.
The impressive Ben Stokes will resume on 72 and Matt Prior seven, but their task on a badly cracked pitch would appear futile after the failure once again of too many senior players.
While Cook received a peach of a delivery from Ryan Harris to be bowled first ball and Ian Bell played well for his 60, Kevin Pietersen was caught on the boundary trying to hit Nathan Lyon into the stands.

Cook's wicket continued his miserable series, the weight of this failing team appearing heavy on his shoulders, while Pietersen is averaging 27 from his six underwhelming innings.

Once again Australia were superior in every department, and if they seal the series to win back the Ashes for the first time in seven years as now seems inevitable, it will be entirely merited.
Stuart Broad will bat only if required to save the game after sustaining heavy bruising to his right foot when being pinned lbw by Mitchell Johnson in the first innings, meaning after the not-out batsmen, only Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann and James Anderson realistically remain in Australia's way.
Michael Clarke's confident, aggressive side hit new heights on Monday morning as they dismantled England's much-decorated attack in a brutal hour of sustained hitting.
Shane Watson made a century off only 106 balls, with 11 fours and five sixes, as he smashed Swann out of the attack.
In the first 13 balls he faced from the off-spinner he cracked 37 runs as he moved from his overnight 29 to his fourth Test century in a blistering 40 balls.
England dropped one catch and let another fall between two hesitant fielders as they fell apart even more completely than they had during Sunday's hapless display.

When Bresnan did take a fine catch on the boundary he tumbled over the ropes, although he could not be blamed for either that or the farcical way in which Watson eventually fell for 106.

The number three top-edged an ugly pull only for Bell to spill the regulation catch, and when Bresnan picked up the loose ball to hurl down the stumps with Watson open-mouthed and leaden-footed mid-pitch, it was almost as much in anger as aim.
Steve Smith was caught at mid-wicket by substitute fielder Jonny Bairstow off Stokes for 15, but it only heralded the next cavalry charge as George Bailey launched into Anderson to the roaring delight of the Waca crowd.
In one over he hit an extraordinary 28 runs, including three straight sixes and two fours, to equal the world record for the most runs scored off a Test over and humiliate England still further.
In all 134 runs were added in 17 overs as Australia declared on 369-6. It was the first time in Test history that a team has been set a fourth innings target of 500-plus in three consecutive matches, and England began in the worst possible fashion.
Harris produced a ball that swung in and then moved away to clip the off bail as Cook's 100th Test brought his first ever first-ball dismissal.
Michael Carberry and Joe Root survived the first hour after lunch before the opener was trapped lbw for 31 by a full inswinging ball from Shane Watson, while Root failed with a review after being brilliantly caught behind by Brad Haddin for 19 off Mitchell Johnson.
Pietersen and Bell then took the score to 121 before Pietersen, as so many times in this series, walked straight into the trap set by Clarke and his bowler.
It was left to Stokes in only his second Test to provide the sole silver lining after Bell perished for a well-made 60 attempting to upper-cut Peter Siddle over Haddin.
His 50 came up off 69 balls with nine fours as he showed exactly the application and discipline that has too often been missing from his far more experienced team-mates.
But to expect him to salvage something from the wreckage of this England performance is both unrealistic and unfair, and at some stage on Tuesday, Australia will almost certainly once again be in possession of the famous old urn.

Stuart Broad foot scans reveal no fracture

 

 

 

 

Ashes 2013-14: England's Stuart Broad has not fractured foot

England's Stuart Broad will not bowl again in the third Ashes Test after injuring his right foot while batting.

Broad, 27, limped off after being dismissed lbw by Mitchell Johnson as England collapsed to 251 all out, and did not take the field as Australia reached 235-3 for a lead of 369.
He went to hospital for an X-ray and scans, which were analysed in the UK but revealed no fracture.

It was announced that Broad will bat in England's second innings if required.
He will be reviewed ahead of the fourth Test, which starts in Melbourne on 26 December.
Speaking before the scan results were announced, Broad said: "Something showed up on the X-ray that was inconclusive. Whether I bat depends on the match situation.
"It's part and parcel as a bowler to get injuries so it's frustrating to get hit batting.
"The details are all gobbledygook to me. All I want to know is the treatment so I can get it fixed."
Broad was hit on the top of his right foot by a yorker from Johnson to depart for five as England, who started day three on 180-4, were all out before lunch - 134-runs adrift of Australia's first innings total.
When England went out to field, the Nottinghamshire man took part in a fitness test in the nets, before going to hospital.
At the close, he appeared on crutches while wearing a protective boot and may now be a doubt for Melbourne.
"I was desperate to get out there and bowl, so I had to try it out in the nets," said Broad, who missed the final three Tests of the 2010-11 tour down under with a stomach strain.

"Normally, with a bruise, you'll get a bit of blood to it and get going - and the pain decreases. This actually increased quite a bit.

"Even if there's a small crack there and my symptoms aren't painful, I see no reason why I can't continue to play.
"I've got 10 days until Boxing Day. I see no reason why I can't get myself back in the frame for the Melbourne Test."
Broad has been England's leading wicket-taker with 14 victims and, in his absence, Australia piled on the runs on another desperate day for the tourists.
England, who have not made more then 312 in five innings, are now likely to have to bat for at least five sessions to save the game and avoid surrendering the Ashes by going 3-0 down in the five-match series.
"We've had numerous Tests over the past four years that we've managed to save when we had no right to," said Broad.
"There is a lot of belief in that changing room that we're certainly due a score; there's a lot of guys with great Test records in there, who haven't delivered in this series so far and are desperate to.
"We know, if you keep working hard on your game, things change for you - and we're hoping it does for us in the second innings."
But Australia batsman Chris Rogers, who made 54 on day three, said the deterioration of the Waca pitch could make batting "scary" for England.
"Today was amazing, as good as we have had in the Ashes so far," said the left-hander.
"If these cracks keep widening, it's going to be very hard to bat on - and a little bit scary.

McGrath's prediction of a 5-0 whitewash by Australia

PERTH: Test great Glenn McGrath has hailed Australia's rediscovery of "bit of mongrel" in the Ashes series and said they were starting to resemble the top teams of the past.

Australia are 2-0 up in the five-match series against England and could take an unbeatable lead if they win the Perth Test starting Friday after humbling the tourists in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Since meekly losing the Ashes in England earlier this year, Australia's performances have been defined by fierce fast bowling, dogged batting and a more aggressive attitude.

McGrath said it was good to see. "Australia play best when they've got a bit of mongrel about them, when they play hard out in the middle, when they don't give an inch, when they play an aggressive brand of cricket," he said in a column for a betting website.

"It's something that has been missing for a little while and they're back there now. They are a team I'd be proud to be a part of."

McGrath, who took 563 Test wickets at 21.64, credited pacer Mitchell Johnson for "injecting Australia's psyche with a bit of confidence".

"What he must do is not get carried away and still execute his plans, but there is no reason that Mitch, alongside Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle, can't keep doing that," said McGrath.

"I've been saying for the last few months that Mitch was going to have a huge impact on this series, so I'm not surprised by the way he's played. I'm backing him again to have a big match in Perth.

"He had the English batsman jumping about on what was supposed to be a fairly docile track at Adelaide so I can't wait to see him on the speed gun at the WACA."

Ahead of the series, McGrath predicted a 5-0 whitewash of England and he is standing by his call.

"England continued to look like a rabbit in the headlights at Adelaide and I can't see a way back

England are not scared of firebrand pacer Mitchell Johnson - Andy Flower

PERTH: Coach Andy Flower insists England are not scared of firebrand pacer Mitchell Johnson and that the team's dismal record in Perth will have no bearing on the outcome of the pivotal third Ashes Test.

Johnson terrorised the England batsmen in Brisbane and Adelaide, taking his side to the brink of reclaiming the Ashes after three consecutive series defeats.

And the left-arm quick, who has taken 17 wickets with his 150 kilometre-an-hour (93 miles-an-hour) deliveries, has been tipped to bowl even faster on his home ground, the WACA, in the match starting on Friday.

Despite a dressing room full of bruised and battered batsmen, Flower rejected claims that the players were afraid of Johnson, saying they were used to pace at the top level of the game.

"One thing I would say about playing fast bowling is that our batsmen have to display the combination of skill and determination to bat long periods against it," he said.

"Because if we do expose our lower order, they will struggle against that sort of pace. So the responsibility lies with the batsmen in that regard."

England have a dismal record in Perth, where their only win in 12 attempts came in 1978 but must find a way to halt the Australian juggernaut, for whom a victory would give them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series.

Flower is undaunted by his side's previous struggles at the WACA but he is hoping captain Alastair Cook wins the toss the team is able to bat first and post a big score on the board.

"I think past glories mean nothing in this context," Flower said on the England and Wales Cricket Board website.

"We've got a big challenge to stop the momentum of the opposition and to get ahead in the game. We had Australia 130 for six in Brisbane, but since then they've been ahead in both games."

England's second-innings 312 at Adelaide was the first time they have passed 200 in the series, with a number of batsmen, including Cook, struggling for form and Flower challenged his players to be more selective with their strokes.

"The challenge at Perth will be to assess those conditions accurately and have clarity on the risk/reward that you always have to judge when you're batting," he said.

While Adelaide offered a pitch suitable for spinners, with Monty Panesar selected alongside Graeme Swann, Perth is more of a fast-bowlers track and Flower suggested there would be changes.

"We have taken some serious hits but we do have a squad full of people who are determined to turn the ship around, and that's what we must do," he said. "We'll assess those conditions and see who will best be able to help us take 20 wickets."

Michael Clarke aims for top Test ranking

ADELAIDE: Michael Clarke says his Australia still have plenty to do if they want not only to win back the Ashes from England but also to become the world's top Test team.

Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series following a 218-run trouncing of England in the second Adelaide Test on Monday and are poised to retrieve the Ashes they lost in 2009 should they win the third Test in Perth starting on Friday.

The Australians have proved dominant on the usually pacy WACA wicket with victories against England in their last six Tests there. England's only win in Perth came in 1978.

Captain Clarke urged his players to keep grounded as they look for one more victory to seal the series in the remaining three Tests in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

"I think we have to be realistic. That's our second Test win the past 12 months and that is not acceptable as an Australian Test team so our feet are certainly well and truly cemented on the ground," he said.

"There's a lot of work for us to do to get back to being the number one team in the world and that's our goal."

Australia are currently ranked fifth on the International Cricket Council rankings behind number one South Africa, with England third, and Clarke cautioned against over-expectations in Perth.

"It's obviously exciting that we're going to a ground that we feel so comfortable playing at," he said.

"But in saying that I have also experienced some defeats in my career in Perth so I'm more concerned about making sure we play the same brand of cricket that we have played so far in this series.

"I don't think it matters the conditions we play in, if we continue to play the brand that we have played.

"The positive is, we know the conditions and guys like Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle love bowling when there is a bit more pace and bounce, but I think the main focus is making sure we play the same brand and we're as well prepared as we were for this Test."

Clarke described Johnson, who has been man-of-the-match in both Test wins, as having the "X-factor".

Johnson took seven for 40 to destroy England in the first innings and has taken 17 wickets in the series at 12.70.

"He has always been an X-factor, with bat and ball. He's as good an athlete in the field as you'll see," Clarke said.

"Mitch has always had that. It's just about working out how to use him best in your team.

"Our attack right now really complements each other so it allows Mitch to be used the way I feel is best for our team.

"He's been our new-ball bowler, he's bowled first-change, he's bowled 12-over spells. Whatever's required, he can do that. He's been outstanding."

Clarke said Australia's two comprehensive wins had their origins in the last series in England in July-August, which they lost 3-0.

"In our opinion it's not a fluke that we have won the first two Test matches. It's hard work that we put in the UK and we thought we were so close but we didn't get over the line and we were disappointed not to have success in England," he said.

"So we as a team believe the work we have been putting in for a long period of time, now we're seeing some results."