Australia on brink of Ashes whitewash over England
SYDNEY, Jan 04, 2014: Australia were closing in on a 5-0 Ashes sweep
after demolishing England's batting and pushing their lead to 311 runs
after just two days of the final Sydney Ashes Test on Saturday. The
relentless Australians blasted out the hapless tourists for 155 --the
fifth time England had been dismissed for less than 200 in the series --
and set their sights on batting them out of the game with three days to
play.
At second day stumps Australia were 140 for four with Chris Rogers
compiling his fourth half-century in five innings on 73 and George
Bailey not out 20. The home side in the process lost the wickets of
David Warner (16), Shane Watson (9), skipper Michael Clarke (6) and
Steve Smith (7) as England tried to restrict Australia's mushrooming
lead on a flattening Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.
Australia's pace trio of Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson and Peter
Siddle earlier took three wickets apiece as England narrowly avoided the
follow-on in response to Australia's first innings score of 326.
The tourists never recovered from a disastrous morning session when
they crashed to 23 for five despite the efforts of young guns Ben
Stokes, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow to repel the hostile home
attack. Stokes eked out a dogged 47 off 101 balls after his six-wicket
haul in the Australian first innings.
But he showed an error of judgement that cost his wicket when he
offered no shot and was bowled off-stump by Siddle just three short of
his half-century. It was Siddle's second wicket of his 12th over after
having wicketkeeper Bairstow caught by Bailey, purposefully positioned
at short mid-on, for 18, ending a 49-run stand with Stokes. Debutant
Ballance earlier went in the second over after lunch for 18, caught
behind off spinner Nathan Lyon. Ballance showed plenty of fight coming
to wicket with his team in dire trouble at 17-4. He took a Mitchell
Johnson bouncer flush on the helmet and needed replacement headgear.
Stuart Broad finished with an unbeaten 30 off 22 balls.
England suffered yet another demoralising top-order collapse in the
morning session against the dominant Australians. At one stage the
beleaguered tourists looked in danger of falling short of their record
low score of 45 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, set in 1887, but
Zimbabwe-born Ballance and Stokes helped stop the rot to leave England
61-5 at lunch. Alastair Cook (7) was out to the second ball of the day
when the skipper was trapped leg before wicket by Harris without
offering a shot.
Ian Bell was dropped by Watson off the next ball but nightwatchman
Anderson, who needed treatment after taking a jarring blow on his right
bowling hand fending off a rearing Johnson delivery, did not last long.
He edged Johnson to Clarke at second slip for seven, leaving the
tourists 14-3 in the 10th over. Johnson now has 34 wickets for the
series as he bids to become only the fourth Australian bowler to take 40
wickets or more in an Ashes series along with Terry Alderman (twice),
Rodney Hogg and Shane Warne.
The Australians, looking to claim only the third 5-0 series whitewash
in Ashes history, followed up with the wicket of Kevin Pietersen (3),
snapped up in the slips by Watson off Harris, to leave the tourists
17-4.
Bell was then out for two, caught behind by Brad Haddin off Siddle to
make it 23-5.
Australia - 1st innings 326
England - 1st innings
Alastair Cook lbw b Harris 7
Michael Carberryc Lyon b Johnson 0
James Andersonc Clarke b Johnson 7
Ian Bellc Haddin b Siddle 2
Kevin Pietersenc Watson b Harris 3
Gary Ballancec Haddin b Lyon 18
Ben Stokes b Siddle 47
Jonny Bairstow c Bailey b Siddle 18
Scott Borthwick c Smith b Harris 1
Stuart Broad not out 30
Boyd Rankin b Johnson 13
Extras (lb1, w5, nb3) 9
Total (all out; 58.5 overs) 155
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Carberry), 2-8 (Cook), 3-14 (Anderson), 4-17
(Pietersen), 5-23 (Bell), 6-62 (Ballance), 7-111
(Bairstow), 8-112 (Stokes), 9-125 (Borthwick), 10-155 (Rankin).
Bowling: Harris 14-5-36-3, Johnson 13.5-3-33-3, Siddle 13-4-23-3, Watson
3-1-5-0, Lyon 15-3-57-1.
Australia - 2nd innings
Chris Rogers not out 73
David Warner lbw b Anderson 16
Shane Watson c Bairstow b Anderson 9
Michael Clarke c Bairstow b Broad 6
Steve Smithc Cook b Stokes 7
George Bailey not out 20
Extras (lb9) 9
Total (4 wickets; 30 overs) 140
Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Warner), 2-47 (Watson), 3-72 (Clarke), 4-91
(Smith) Bowling: Anderson 10-4-36-2, Broad 7-1-26-1, Rankin 6-0-25-0,
Stokes 5-0-36-1, Borthwick 2-0-8-0.
Toss: England Crowd: 43,579 Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Marais Erasmus
(RSA) TV umpire: Tony Hill (NZL)
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