Aussies strike back

Australia has returned to its winning ways and sent a message that it is not a spent force, comfortably accounting for England by 57 runs at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, in the fifth Natwest Triangular one-day series match played overnight.

With Michael Vaughan missing with injury, stand-in captain, Marcus Trescothick sent the Australians into bat and they posted 5 for 266 off their 50 overs - the returning Andrew Symonds’ 73 off 81 balls earning him Man of the Match honours - then proceeded to strangle the life out of England’s batting lineup, restricting them to just 9 for 209.

The other new inclusion to the tourists’ side, Brett Lee, led the way with the ball, taking 2/27, Glenn McGrath and Brad Hogg both chipped in with two wickets a piece, while the Australians lifted all over the ground, displaying a confidence and enthusiasm in the field that has been sadly lacking in previous games.

A late innings flurry by Darren Gough (46 from 47 balls) could not prevent the Aussies from picking up an all-important bonus point, with the win sure to be a relief after four successive losses.

Under beautiful sunny skies, a 44-run opening stand by Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden got the Aussies off to the good start they were looking for, before 2nd gamer Chris Tremlett removed the wicketkeeper with a good ball that bounced a little more than he expected.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting arrived at the crease in desperate need of runs and despite some bright moments, could only manage 27 before helping a Stephen Harmison delivery to Ashley Giles at third man.

When Geraint Jones juggled a nick from Hayden (a subdued 39 off 56) a few balls later off Andrew Flintoff, the Australians had again suffered a mini-collapse and were 3/96 in the 22nd over.

This brought Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds together and they slowly resurrected the innings, playing responsibly and taking minimal risks. The duo worked the ball around for 4.5 runs an over until the 40th, when Symonds began to hit out, driving off-spinner Giles for an effortless straight six.

Soon he gave Harmison the same treatment and in the space of five overs, the pair added 46 runs and a total of 280 looked to be in reach. But a Trescothick direct hit destroyed those hopes; running out Symonds for 73 and in the process ending a 142-run partnership.

With the Englishmen bowling well at the death - a clever mixture of yorkers and slower balls always kept the batsmen guessing- the Australians were only able to push and prod the score up to 266, a more than competitive total but about 20 runs short of ideal.

Martyn finished unbeaten on 68 (81) and Shane Watson 11 (7), while Flintoff took two wickets and Darren Gough was impressive in conceding only 37 runs off his 9 overs.

Having just missed out on the world record one-day international score in their previous outing, England were full of confidence as they began their chase, however, they were soon put on the back foot by a brilliant opening spell of bowling from Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath.

Utilizing swing and seam and a tight line and length, the new ball pair limited England’s openers to just four runs in the first four overs, before the wickets started to tumble.

Lee’s brutal pace was making life uncomfortable for Andrew Strauss and it came as no surprise when a full delivery beat him for pace and knocked him over for just three. Not long later, McGrath had Trescothick caught behind for a 15-ball duck and when Paul Collingwood dragged the ball back onto his stumps later in the over, England were 3/6 and in complete disarray.

The newly-promoted Vikram Solanki and Andrew Flintoff steadied the ship, but they were forced to go at a very slow pace by the miserly Australian attack. Jason Gillespie was introduced to continue the pressure and it took England until the 14th over to even get the run rate above two an over.

By this stage, the required rate for victory was already at 6.5 and Australia’s total of 266 seemed a long way off.

Solanki’s defiant knock of 34 off 69 balls ended at 3/85 in the 24th over, courtesy of a wonderful catch by Ponting at mid-wicket, bringing England’s one-day batting star, Kevin Pietersen, to the crease.

Expectations of an entertaining Flintoff-Pietersen partnership were high, however Brad Hogg had other ideas, tempting the all-rounder into a slog which he only succeeded in hitting down Gillespie’s throat at long-on.

Though realistic hopes of an English victory ended there and then, Pietersen’s presence ensured no-one left the stadium. But he couldn’t replicate his heroics from last Sunday and he holed out to Mike Hussey at deep mid-wicket off Symonds for just 19 off 28 balls, leaving England in a mess at 123/6 in the 34th over.

From there it was academic, as the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals before some big hitting from Darren Gough (46* including 6x4’s) offered some late excitement for the packed Durham crowd.

It was all in vain however, as Australia eased to a commanding win and for the first time, asserted itself on the 2005 English summer.

Full scorecard available here.

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