Broad smiles as England close in on Ashes

Published on Friday 21 August 2009 22:45

STUART Broad put England on course for Ashes glory with a devastating afternoon spell on the second day of the npower series decider.

Broad stole retiring fellow all-rounder Andrew Flintoff's thunder at The Oval with a second five-wicket haul in as many Tests against Australia.

England struggled themselves in their second innings as 15 wickets fell in the day, closing on 58 for three, an overall advantage of 230, with the surface showing signs of deterioration.

But Broad's blitz enhanced England's chances of clinching this must-win encounter, as they seek to emulate the class of 2005 against Australia. It included a spell of four wickets for eight runs in 21 deliveries, which plunged Australia from 73 without loss to 160 all out.

Thirty overs of mayhem began at the start of an afternoon session delayed 50 minutes by lunchtime rain. The extraordinary turn of events, which also included four successes for Broad's Nottinghamshire colleague Graeme Swann, meant England batted at both ends of the day.

Openers Simon Katich and Shane Watson rode out a testing new-ball period from James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff and were well set when Broad was introduced into the attack from the Vauxhall end with the score 66 without loss.

But he struck with his sixth ball when makeshift opener Watson was trapped on the crease to be leg before wicket. It was the first time since he was introduced into the series that Watson had not passed 50 and the breakthrough brought the 23,500-capacity crowd to life.

The decibel levels then rose appreciably in 23-year-old Broad's third over, when Australia captain Ricky Ponting chopped down onto his stumps.

Broad was also acclaimed by the masses at fine leg after each of his next two overs as Michael Hussey perished misjudging the line of a delivery to become a second lbw victim and Michael Clarke was brilliantly held low down at short cover by debutant Jonathan Trott.

With Australia reeling on 93 for four, Broad had taken eight wickets in a row for England – a stretch which began in the tourists' sole innings at Headingley. That thrashing, which pegged the hosts back at 1-1 in the series, meant Australia began the finale with all the momentum.

But England, whose own faltering from 176 for two on Thursday to 332 all out appeared profligate after winning the toss, seized it back in style.

Enter off-spinner Swann, who gained a fortuitous leg-before award by umpire Asad Rauf, who failed to spot a huge inside edge from Marcus North. Similar contact with the bat accounted for opener Katich in Swann's next over, shortly after he had registered the innings' only half-century, when the ball lobbed up off the pad to short-leg.

Broad then deservedly took his personal tally to five for the innings when a full delivery squared Brad Haddin up and flattened off-stump.

Australia were still two runs short of avoiding the follow-on target when a sharp turner from Swann took the edge of Mitchell Johnson's bat and was well held by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

England departed the field for tea to a standing ovation moments later and returned to a similar fanfare to wrap things up. Another Rauf howler accounted for Stuart Clark, adjudged caught at bat-pad when he was nowhere near it.

England captain Andrew Strauss soon turned to Flintoff to wrap things up and although Peter Siddle's aggressive approach delayed the inevitable, last man Ben Hilfenhaus was cleaned up by a full delivery. In two hours and 18 minutes, Australia had lost all ten wickets for 87 runs.

So England were back out at 5:30pm with a scheduled 28 overs still remaining. There was plenty more drama to come, however, as England began their own wobble before the close.

Out-of-touch opener Alastair Cook survived until the 13th over when he became part-time spinner Marcus North's 100th first-class victim: a sharp-turning delivery taken at slip by Clarke.

A fine reflex catch by Katich at short-leg saw first-innings top scorer Ian Bell perish to Mitchell Johnson. And the same combination in the next over did for Paul Collingwood cramped up by a short ball. That meant England had lost five wickets in the day themselves. James Anderson became the first when he finally registered a Test match duck, his sequence of 54 innings brought to an end in the first full over of the morning.

Anderson had long been out on his own as the Englishman with the longest stretch before being out for nought for the first time in a Test. But his number came up to the sixth ball he faced when he was pinned lbw on the back foot by Hilfenhaus.

England, who had resumed on 307 for eight in sunny conditions, were dismissed for 332.

Anderson went with only one run added and England's first innings might have ended on 310 had Johnson clung on to a tough chance, running in from fine-leg, when Broad mistimed an attempted pull at Siddle.

Instead, Broad and No11 Steve Harmison stole 22 more runs together – until the former edged a drive at Hilfenhaus to Ponting at second slip.