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| August 28, 2005 | Sunday | Rajab 22, 1426 |
Langer leads Australian resistance after follow-on
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AUSTRALIA were 222 for four when play was suspended because of bad light with Michael Clarke (39) and Simon Katich (24) at the crease.
NOTTINGHAM, Aug 27: Justin Langer kept England at bay with a defiant 50 as Australia followed-on for the first time in 17 years, at Trent Bridge on Saturday. At tea, on the third day of the fourth Ashes Test, Australia were 115 for one, still 144 runs behind England’s first innings 477 after being bowled out for 218.
Langer was 54 not out off 99 balls with seven fours and Australia captain Ricky Ponting unbeaten on 28 as England chased a 2-1 lead in the five-match contest and their first Ashes series win since 1986-87.
Australia, 14 without loss at lunch, got through the second session for the loss only of Matthew Hayden with another 46 overs remaining in the post-tea session.
Langer’s fellow left-handed opener edged a drive off pace-bowling all-rounder Andrew Flintoff on 26 and saw Ashley Giles at third slip take a sharp catch to leave Australia 50 for one.
That should have become 79 for two when Langer was dropped on 37 by second slip Andrew Strauss, who’d earlier taken a brilliant catch, off Flintoff.
After 77 overs of pace, left-arm spinner Giles came on for his first bowl of the match with Australia 100 for one but had a mere two overs before tea.
Reverse swing specialist Simon Jones was Australia’s tormentor in chief when play resumed on Saturday, taking five for 44 in 14.1 overs, including two wickets in two balls.
Australia, who began the day on 99 for five, finished 60 short of the follow-on target of 278.
It was the first time Australia had been asked to follow-on in 191 Tests since Pakistan beat them by an innings and 188 runs at Karachi in 1988-89.
Tailender Brett Lee held England up with a whirlwind 47 off 45 balls featuring three sixes and five fours.
Lee was last man out, well caught at third man by a running Ian Bell after upper-cutting a Jones bouncer as Australia lost their last five wickets in all Saturday for 61 runs in 65 balls.
Left-handers Simon Katich and Adam Gilchrist, the duo at the crease when play began on Saturday, shared a run-a-ball stand of 58 but that ended soon after Jones came on.
Jones’s second ball saw Katich, on 45, fall into a trap when he guided a wide delivery to Strauss at backward point, one of two men in that region.
Next delivery Shane Warne went for nought. Trying to turn Jones leg-side, he got a leading edge and gave Bell an easy catch at short cover.
Australia were now 157 for seven and declined to 163 for eight when Strauss, diving full length to his left at second slip, took a one-handed airborne catch to remove Gilchrist, off Flintoff, for 27.
But Lee hit back by pulling fast bowler Stephen Harmison for a huge six and launching Jones straight for another before driving Harmison out of the ground.
SCOREBOARD
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 477 (A. Flintoff 102, G.O. Jones 85, M.E. Trescothick 65, M.P. Vaughan 58; S.K. Warne 4-102).
AUSTRALIA (1st Innings, overnight 99-5):
J.L. Langer c Bell b Hoggard 27
M.L. Hayden lbw b Hoggard 7
R.T. Ponting lbw b S. Jones 1
D.R. Martyn lbw b Hoggard 1
M.J. Clarke lbw b Harmison 36
S.M. Katich c Strauss b S. Jones 45
A.C. Gilchrist c Strauss b Flintoff 27
S.K. Warne c Bell b S. Jones 0
B. Lee c Bell b S. Jones 47
M.S. Kasprowicz b S. Jones 5
S.W. Tait not out 3
EXTRAS (LB-2, W-1, NB-16) 19
TOTAL (all out, 49.1 overs) 218
FALL OF WKTS: 1-20, 2-21, 3-22, 4-58, 5-99, 6-157, 7-157, 8-163, 9-175.
BOWLING: Harmison 9-1-48-1 (3nb); Hoggard 15-3-70-3 (4nb); S.P. Jones 14.1-44-5 (1nb); Flintoff 11-1-54-1 (8nb, 1w).
AUSTRALIA (2nd Innings, following-on):
J.L. Langer not out 54
M.L. Hayden c Giles b Flintoff 26
R.T. Ponting not out 28
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, NB-4) 7
TOTAL (for one wkt, 31 overs) 115
FALL OF WKT: 1-50
BOWLING (to-date): Hoggard 7-2-25-0; S.P. Jones 4-0-15-0; Harmison 11-1-44-0; Flintoff 7-2-23-1 (3nb); Giles 2-0-5-0.—AFP
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