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The Ashes are ablaze once more

By Will last year, mid-July Add your comment below

Of all the results. Of all the venues. I still can’t quite grasp how England’s Nos. 10 and 11 managed to seal a draw, but seal it they did in one of the tensest, most gripping matches I’ve had the great fortune of commentating on. Once Paul Collingwood fell, I and the rest of England had given up all hope. Monty Panesar does not instill great hope in anyone. He averages under 6 in Test cricket for a very good reason, yet somehow produced the innings of his life – and bar one or two understandably nervy strokes, for the most part played incredibly straight. James Anderson, well, we almost expect it from him nowadays.

So here are the final few overs that I cobbled – apologies for any errors, but in the heat of the moment and with fingers rapidly cramping, they are almost inevitable. There’s a shed load of class from our three at the ground, too – this, explaining Ponting’s anger at England’s use of the 12th man; and this on Collingwood, the tenacious ginger.

England need to survive until 6.41pm because that’ll be too late for Australia to come back on and chase

100.1

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, tossed up on leg, back and defending

100.2

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, padded away

100.3

Hauritz to Anderson, 1 run, comes forward and smothers it, opening the face and guiding down to third man. They’ll take a single

Around the wicket

100.4

Hauritz to Panesar, no run, flighted on the off stump. Monty defends. Good ball though. Thousands and thousands cheer him as though he’s won the game for England

100.5

Hauritz to Panesar, no run, wonderful ball but well played. On the off stump and defended

100.6

Hauritz to Panesar, no run, wide of the off stump, prodigious turn and bounce
End of over 101 (1 run) England 246/9

MS Panesar 3* (24b) NM Hauritz 35-10-63-3
JM Anderson 20* (40b 3×4) PM Siddle 18-2-51-1

Right here comes North. Change of bowling. My fingers are cramping massively so bear with me, might be slightly slow

12th man runs out for England and absolutely legs it out into the middle with a word for Anderson and Panesar. A reminder: it’s now a time issue. Four overs must be bowled, but Australia have 11 minutes to bowl England out. That’s the situation. Keep 6.41pm in your mind. It’s in exactly ten minutes.

101.1

North to Anderson, 1 run, cracked in the air square of the wicket – where’s this gone? It lands safe! It’s safe, but the pair crash into eachother mid-pitch while staring at the ball

101.2

North to Panesar, FOUR, four! Panesar’s crashed him square of the wicket for four! Ponting can’t believe it. Monty can’t believe it. I certainly can’t believe it

101.3

North to Panesar, no run, defended on the front foot

101.4

North to Panesar, no run, flighted on middle, and he’s forward, defending

He is around the wicket by the way. Has been all over

101.5

North to Panesar, no run, solidly defended – very firm

101.6

North to Panesar, no run, perhaps the biggest cheer of the Test as Panesar smothers it on the front foot
End of over 102 (5 runs) England 251/9

MS Panesar 7* (29b 1×4) MJ North 6-3-14-0
JM Anderson 21* (41b 3×4) NM Hauritz 35-10-63-3

Shafayat is on the field with some gloves and questions. Ponting’s told him where to go in true Aussie style, and you can’t blame him. The physio’s on, too. Oh come on England, just suck it up and get on with it. Embarrassing. Right, they’ve bogged off so here we go. The noise is just amazing, incredible

102.1

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, blocked off the back foot. The roof’s off again! The noise is just wonderful

102.2

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, blocked once more. Cardiff erupts. Then silence.

102.3

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, blocked again on the front foot. Cardiff explodes. Cardiff goes quiet. Silent.

102.4

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, that’s well bowled but Hauritz is tensing up. Not really spinning it any more. Cardiff explodes with delight then a hushed whisper as Hauritz comes in once more

102.5

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, full toss, pushed out to the off side

102.6

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, quicker ball! Well bowled! Blocked. Cardiff explodes once more and this time it’s not followed by silence. The noisehere!
End of over 103 (maiden) England 251/9

JM Anderson 21* (47b 3×4) NM Hauritz 36-11-63-3
MS Panesar 7* (29b 1×4) MJ North 6-3-14-0

The crowd think England have done it, but they haven’t yet. It’s one more over. Possibly two.

103.1

North to Panesar, no run, comes forward and gets a bit of backspin on it as he defends. Cardiff erupts. Cardiff goes silent

103.2

North to Panesar, no run, forward onto the front foot and defends. Capital of Wales goes mad. Capital of Wales goes silent

103.3

North to Panesar, no run, left alone outside off

103.4

North to Panesar, no run, tense from North. Left alone. Too wide. Way, way too wide. Cardiff explodes

103.5

North to Panesar, no run, edged, short of slip. Soft hands from Panesar. Slowish turn

103.6

North to Panesar, no run, flighted on the off stump and Panesar survives. Cardiff is alight. The crowd are alive. Ponting is talking to the umpires and trying to work out the times
End of over 104 (maiden) England 251/9

MS Panesar 7* (35b 1×4) MJ North 7-4-14-0
JM Anderson 21* (47b 3×4) NM Hauritz 36-11-63-3

It’s 6.39pm. 6.40pm is the cut-off. We’ll have one more over. This could be the last over of the match. This is so, so, so tense. Hauritz around the wicket

104.1

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, quicker ball on leg stump, nudged to leg. Cardiff explodes, then a hushed silence

You can hear a pin drop

104.2

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, flighted on middle and defended

104.3

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, tosses this up on the middle stump and he’s forward. It prompts more emphatic, cacophonous cheer from the crowd. And then silence

104.4

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, huge turn for once but it’s too wide. It’s too wide from Hauritz

104.5

Hauritz to Anderson, no run, drifts in, darts in on middle. Blocked. Blocked.

This could be it. This is the last ball of the match in theory.

104.6

Hauritz to Anderson, 1 bye, wide of the off stump, off the pads and balloons over the slips. They run a bye. They run a bye. Ponting scratches his chin, he looks distraught. Anderson talks to the umpires. No one knows what’s going on! But they shake hands and England have drawn! It’s all over!

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2 Responses to “The Ashes are ablaze once more”

  • richo wrote:
    July 13th, 2009 at 5.58 am

    A spirited reargaurd from Englands final pair, who’d of thought that Anderson and Panesar in particular could hold out that long, Panesar looked in better nick that Pietersen :-)
    Was really disappointed with the delaying tactics by the Englishman at the end, although in saying that we had plenty of time to get em out and I thought Punters bowling choices were wrong at the end. I thought he bowled Hauritz for too long and would of liked to have seen Hifenhaus and Siddle ripping in towards the end.

    Don’t think England can take too much confidence from that performance, despite hanging on for a draw, they only just hung on and their bowlers were woeful. I hear Harmison has got a 5 for in a county match and expect to see him in the 11 at Lords.
    Australia will go to Lords (a place we’ve only lost at once in a hundred years and that was in the 1930’s) full of confidence. I suppose the upside for England is that they are still level after a fairly poor performance and they can only improve on that performance.

  • just another cricket fan wrote:
    July 13th, 2009 at 5.42 pm

    I almost thought that england had lost it, when colllingwood departed, and my word paneaser & anderson played an important innings of their life to pull off a draw.

    The ashes 2009 has truely arrived.

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