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| November 30, 2002 | Saturday | Ramazan 24, 1423 |
Australia in control as England collapse in crucial third Test
PERTH (Australia), Nov 29: England’s hopes of saving the Ashes were left in tatters Friday after Steve Waugh’s Australians ruthlessly and predictably seized control of the third Test.
Needing to win to keep the series alive after massive defeats in the first two Tests, England’s fragile batting once again self-destructed as the tourists were bowled out for 185 in less than 65 overs.
In reply, Australia raced to 126 for two at the close of the first day, leaving them just 59 runs in arrears with eight first innings wickets in hand and on course to wrap up victory inside three days.
Ricky Ponting, showing no signs of slowing up after making centuries in the first two Tests, belted six fours and a six to finish the day unbeaten on 43 with Damien Martyn not out 20.
Australia lost their openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden cheaply but refused to take the foot off the throttle as they quickly set about wiping out their deficit, scoring at just under 5.5 runs per over.
Langer was run out for 19 attempting a third run and Hayden departed for 30 caught hooking in the deep but they proved to be little more than minor hiccups for the Australians as they continued their relentless pursuit of victory.
England had begun the day well enough with a solid 47-run stand from openers Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick only for the wheels to fall off again.
The all-too-familiar collapse was not as rapid or spectacular as the falls in Brisbane and Adelaide but the steady trickle of wickets prevented them from posting a decent total on a lively WACA pitch that Ponting proved was not impossible to score runs on.
Vaughan and Trescothick both made 34 and Robert Key top scored with 47 before being dismissed on the final ball before tea but none of the other specialist batsmen made double figures.
Brett Lee celebrated his return to the Australian team after missing the first two Tests with three wickets while Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie captured two apiece and Shane Warne and Martyn one each.
The Australian pacemen exploited the extra bounce and pace in the WACA pitch but the English batsmen were still guilty of throwing away their wickets through poor shot selection.
England captain Nasser Hussain (8) fell to a wild hook shot and Vaughan and Alec Stewart (7) both went to undisciplined pull shots.
Mark Butcher was needlessly run out for nine.
Trescothick smashed seven fours, including three in one over off Gillespie, before departing with the total on 47 when he edged Lee behind, triggering a slow but steady collapse.
Waugh got rid of Butcher when he threw down the stumps with a direct hit from extra-cover after the Englishman was caught short of his ground backing up too far.
Hussain fell for eight when he was adjudged to have made contact with the ball in a wild hook off Lee that carried through to Gilchrist as England went to lunch already in trouble at 91-3.
After the re-start Vaughan was caught behind off McGrath for 34, attempting an ambitious pull, then Stewart, Craig White (2) and Tudor (0) followed in quick succession, for a combined total of nine.
Key, who forced his way into the team before the second Test with an unbeaten century against Australia A, held the innings together with a mixture of patience and aggression, belting five fours and a six over the head of Warne during his 108-ball innings.
Australia’s reply was quick and brutal, with Langer signalling his intentions by smacking the second ball of the innings to the boundary before his cameo appearance ended suddenly.
The left-hander was given out by the video umpire with the total on 31 after falling short of his ground attempting a third run when Silverwood threw the ball in from fine-leg and Stewart removed the bails.
Hayden showed some signs of discomfort after undergoing surgery for haemorrhoids.
The Queenslander hit five boundaries before he top-edged a Harmison bouncer and Tudor safely held the catch just inside the fence before Ponting and Martyn resumed control.
Scoreboard
ENGLAND (1ST INNINGS)
M.Trescothick c Gilchrist b Lee 34
M.Vaughan c Gilchrist b McGrath 34
M.Butcher run out 9
N.Hussain c Gilchrist b Lee 8
R.Key b Martyn 47
A.Stewart c Gilchrist b McGrath 7
C.White c Martyn b Lee 2
A.Tudor c Martyn b Warne 0
R.Dawson not out 19
C.Silverwood c Hayden b Gillespie 10
S.Harmison b Gillespie 6
EXTRAS (lb-2 nb-7) 9
TOTAL (all out, 64.2 overs) 185
FALL OF WKTS: 1-47 2-69 3-83 4-101 5-111 6-121 7-135 8-156 9-173 10-185
BOWLING: McGrath 17-5-30-2 (nb-2), Gillespie 17.2-8-43-2, Lee 20-1-78-3 (nb-5), Warne 9-0-32-1, Martyn 1-1-0-1
AUSTRALIA (1ST INNINGS)
J.Langer run out 19
M.Hayden c Tudor b Harmison 30
R.Ponting not out 43
D.Martyn not out 20
EXTRAS (b-4 lb-2 nb-8) 14
TOTAL (for two wickets) 126
FALL OF WKTS: 1-31 2-85
TO BAT: S.Waugh, D.Lehmann, A.Gilchrist, S.Warne, B.Lee, J.Gillespie, G.McGrath.
BOWLING: Silverwood 4-0-29-0, Tudor 8-0-51-0 (nb-6), Harmison 8-2-26-1 (nb-1) White 3-1-14-0 (nb-1)—Reuters
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