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So acute is the pain of a second Ashes defeat that Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has declared himself amenable to the idea of a fifth tour of England in 2013. Ponting, who on Sunday became the first Australian captain since Billy Murdoch to twice lead Australia to Ashes series defeats in England, said the prospect of atoning for losses in 2005 and 2009 could convince him to return for one final campaign at the age of 38.

“We’ll see how I’m going in four years,” Ponting said. “Hopefully I’ll have another chance to play another Ashes series back in Australia, but it would be nice, with everything I’ve done in my career and the games I’ve played, to have some good memories from this ground. I might have to come back next time and find some.

“With a loss, I’m more determined than ever to be a better player and leader than I am at the moment. I don’t really know what to expect when I get back. Hopefully most of the questions will be from journalists, not from people above. But we’ll see. I’ve felt I’ve given myself the best opportunity and done a good job as a captain and leader in this series. Leaders are always looked upon on their results on their team. Unfortunately for me and the rest of the guys we haven’t got the results we would have liked. Ultimately it is my responsibility to get the best out of the guys and to win series. I felt I ticked most of those boxed, other than making a few more runs myself.”

Ponting cut a forlorn figure at Sunday’s post-match press conference, having watched his side squander a shot at a world record run-chase with two run-outs – one of which cost him his wicket – in the space of six deliveries. First innings collapses at Lord’s, Edgbaston and The Oval, coupled with the failure to extract England’s final wicket at Cardiff, contributed heavily to Australia’s 2-1 series defeat; the same margin by which they lost in 2005.

Ponting said the sting of defeat at The Oval on Sunday was every bit as painful as that he felt at the same ground four years ago. “I don’t think you can get any more disappointed than I am right now,” he said. “Looking back at 2005, I was feeling exactly the same back then. We all spoke about it and built the series up so much…but we’ve come up short. I’m obviously hurting, the rest of the guys are hurting as well.

“For me, the leader, the captain, the most experienced player, it’s difficult for me to accept. It’s just as difficult for the rest of the guys. We couldn’t have done anything else, we have given ourselves the best opportunity. Just a couple of really bad sessions during the course of five Tests have cost us the series. When we were been good we were exceptional, when we were bad we were very poor. We need to become more consistent in our performances across the board.”

Australia have won just six of their past 16 Tests, during which they have suffered series defeats to India (away), South Africa (home) and now England. Sunday’s loss at The Oval has ensured their Test ranking has plummeted from first to fourth, marking the first time since 2003 the Australians have not held the top spot.

Despite their slide, Ponting insisted his current squad should be persisted with for future series. “I think there are a lot of Test wins in this series of players,” he said. “In a couple of years there are going to be a couple of guys coming in and going out with a couple of us getting a bit long in the tooth. They will win a lot of Test matches for Australia in the future. They will learn from their mistakes in this series.”

Andrew Strauss, Ponting’s conqueror in 2009, warned that Australia’s youthful squad would learn from the Ashes defeat and emerge a motivated unit for the return clash in Australia next year.

“The fact that they didn’t have the aura is because they have a lot of guys at the start of their career,” Strauss said. “If you think about it logically, they’re going to get better and better. Those guys are going to have experienced a huge amount in this series and they’re probably going to be more determined and hungry to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The last thing you’d ever say is that Australian cricket is in a bad place, because it’s far from it. They will continue getting better over the coming years.”

Amid scenes of delirium unwitnessed in South London since the unforgettable summer of 2005, England’s cricketers reclaimed the Ashes on a tumultuous fourth afternoon at The Oval, as Australia’s brave resistance – led by a century of incredible mental fortitude from Michael Hussey – was unpicked, wicket by wicket, minute by minute, until, at 5.47pm, and with an expectant crowd willing on the moment of glory, Hussey prodded Graeme Swann to Alastair Cook at short leg to spark the celebrations into life.  At the moment of victory, all of England’s players rushed into a huddle on the edge of the square – all except for one, that is. In his moment of Test retirement, Andrew Flintoff’s first instinct was to seek out and console the crestfallen centurion Hussey, whose 121 from 263 balls had given his side a hope of salvation, but whose careless running between the wickets during a fraught afternoon session had been the single biggest factor in their demise. By calling for the single that led to the run-out of his captain and resistance-leader Ricky Ponting for 66, Hussey is unlikely to recall this particular innings with any fondness whatsoever.

Inevitably, it was Flintoff who stole the show from the Australians. He could not be the tub-thumping batsman of old in this series, while his bowling – though thunderous at Lord’s – faded cruelly as the concerns about his right knee began to mount. But as a presence, and as a man who can make things happen on a cricket field, his spell has scarcely diminished. In a moment that is sure to be replayed for years on end, he gathered a firm clip from Hussey, steadied himself as Ponting hesitated fatally, then unleashed a fast, flat, unerring swing of the arm that plucked out the off stump with Ponting a foot short.

Though the decision went to a replay, Flintoff was in no doubt. He raised his arms in his now-habitual Kodak pose, and waited to be enveloped by his jubilant team-mates. It was a moment eerily reminiscent of Gary Pratt’s series-turning shy at Trent Bridge in 2005, when Ponting once again was the fall guy, and it uncorked the tensions in the crowd as surely as the champagne was uncorked in England’s dressing-room some three hours later. It brought to an end an unnerving stand of 127, and it shattered Australia’s collective will.

Five balls later, their batsman of the series, Michael Clarke ran himself out for a duck after a clip off the pads ricocheted to Andrew Strauss at leg slip, and Australia could not recover their poise. Though Hussey was badly dropped by Paul Collingwood at slip on 55 off Swann, in Swann’s next over, Marcus North dragged his back foot out of the crease as he swung at a big ripper, and Matt Prior, having gathered well high to his left, flicked off the bails almost as an afterthought. Their target of 546 had become a distant figment of their imagination, and at 236 for 5, their only remaining hope was to bat out the final four sessions of the series.

Brad Haddin chose pugnacity as the means to reboot Australia’s innings, and he signalled his intent with two fours in his first nine balls, including a fizzing cover-drive as James Anderson overpitched. But Anderson might have dismissed him three times in a single over, including a regulation clip to short midwicket that was spilled by the substitute, Graham Onions. As he and Hussey took their seventh-wicket stand to 91, an ever-anxious crowd began to shuffle in their seats. On 34, however, his luck finally ran out, as he advanced down the track to Swann and picked out Strauss with a lofted flick to deep midwicket.

It was to be the game-breaking moment. Strauss, usually the coolest of characters in the field, celebrated euphorically as The Oval erupted once more, and seven balls later, the end truly was nigh. Steve Harmison – hitherto muted on a pitch that did not suit his style – extracted enough life for Mitchell Johnson to fence to second slip, where Collingwood, to his relief and joy, finally held on. Then, when Peter Siddle played around his front pad to lob a simple chance to mid-off, Harmison had his second scalp in the space of 12 balls.

That quickly became three in 13, as Stuart Clark fenced nervily to Cook at short leg, and though Hilfenhaus averted the hat-trick with a stabbed defence straight back down the track, there was no longer any way to stem England’s tide of emotion. With Harmison stalking to the crease with a predatory menace unseen in Ashes cricket for four long years, the crowd finally dared to proclaim the Ashes were coming home. Fifteen balls later, they were.

Some six hours earlier, England’s day of destiny had dawned with more than just a frisson of anxiety in the air, thanks to the ease with which Australia’s openers had pushed along at four runs an over on the third evening of the match. But Swann soothed the nation by claiming the initial breakthrough at the end of his second over, tweaking a succession of sharply spinning offbreaks past Simon Katich’s edge, before nailing him plumb lbw with the arm-ball.

Swann bounced for joy in the middle of the pitch as a massive roar of relief and ecstasy erupted from the stands, but almost immediately the fervour morphed into a respectful standing ovation for the incoming Ponting, in his 136th Test and almost certainly his last in England after four memorable Ashes tours.

Before he had faced a delivery, however, England had struck again, as Broad this time hurried Shane Watson on off stump and beat the inside-edge of his defensive prod. Watson did not seem best amused at the decision, but replays suggested there was nothing wrong with the appeal at all. For all of Watson’s impressive form in five innings at the top of Australia’s order, it was nevertheless the fourth time this series he had fallen in such a manner. Food for thought as he works on his new career as an opener.

At 90 for 2 and with a jittery Hussey at the crease, England swarmed onto the offensive, with Swann camping four men around the bat at all times and at one stage sending down 28 dot balls in a row as Hussey prodded and smothered with desperate determination. At the other end, Ponting’s eagerness to play the pull was tempered by his wariness of the vagaries of the wicket, although whenever he was tempted, he executed the stroke with the mastery that has made it his calling-card for the past decade.

In the first over after lunch, Ponting laced a first-ball full-toss from Broad through the covers for four, then tickled Swann around the corner to bring up a battling and brilliant half-century from 76 deliveries. Broad subsequently received a warning for running on the pitch to deepen the crowd’s growing concerns, who had just seen Collingwood at slip parry a rare Ponting edge with his left boot. But then up popped Flintoff, and once he’d had his say, there was no holding back the inevitable.

England allrounder Andrew Flintoff is confident of being fit to round off his Test career in this weeks final Ashes match against Australia . Flintoff missed the fourth Test, which Australia won by an innings and 80 runs to draw level at 1-1 , because of a knee injury. But he said on Tuesday that he has batted and bowled in training to prove his fitness for the series decider at the Oval.
The 31-year-old allrounder is stepping down from Tests after the Ashes in order to reduce the strain on his body and concentrate on limitedovers cricket. But he said that wasnt playing on his mind as he prepares for a final fitness test. Its my last Test, but Im not too fussed about that, Flintoff said. Its more the chance to win Ashes again.
A talismanic member of the team that won the urn in 2005 and then lost it to a 5-0 mauling two years later, Flintoff is key to Englands hopes of a shock victory over an Australia side that appears to have played itself into winning form.
Flintoff hit a 27-ball 30 not out and took five second-innings wickets to help England to victory in the second Test at Lords , but his condition appeared to deteriorate throughout the third Test.

England have been given a huge boost ahead of next weeks Ashes decider with the announcement that key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is set for a farewell to Test cricket at the Oval. An England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement issued on Monday said swelling on his right knee injury had significantly eased .
Flintoff was ruled out of the fourth Test here at Headingley, where England were thrashed inside three days by an innings and 80 runs on Sunday, because of his longstanding knee injury . England, with the series all square at 1-1 , must win at the Oval where the fifth Test starts on August 20 to regain the Ashes, while Australia need only a draw to retain them.
But if their talismanic all-rounder is in the side, home fans will dream of a fairytale finale for both Flintoff and England. An ECB statement said: Andrew Flintoffs right knee injury was reviewed by his specialist in conjunction with the ECB and Lancashire CCC medical teams.

Australia required a session and six overs on the third day at Headingley to wrap up a thumping innings-and-80-run victory against England, and so draw level at 1-1 in the Ashes with just the fifth Test at The Oval to come in a fortnight’s time. Mitchell Johnson had the honour of sewing up the contest with his fifth wicket of a resurgent performance, when he bowled Graham Onions for a duck to confirm his return to his best and most hostile form, and underline the fact that Australia have suddenly emerged as firm favourites to complete their 10th Ashes victory in their last 11 contests.

It was not, however, a day that went entirely to plan for Australia, who were frustrated – not for the first time in the series – by England’s tail, not least Stuart Broad, who added a boundary-laden 61 from 49 balls to his earlier six-wicket haul, as he became the first England cricketer to achieve such an Ashes double since Darren Gough at Sydney in 1994-95.

On Saturday evening, Board had promised to provide late-innings resistance for England’s beleaguered cricketers, and he was true to his word as he and Graeme Swann compiled a spirited and thrilling eighth-wicket stand of 108 in just 12.3 overs. The tempo of the stand, at more than eight-and-a-half runs per over, was the second fastest for any partnership over 100 in Test cricket, behind Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns at Christchurch in 2001-02, and then as now, it was glorious in its futility. It could not save England from a hefty defeat, but it might just preserve a modicum of their self-respect.

Such a prospect didn’t seem to be remotely on the cards when James Anderson fell meekly to the third ball of the morning, immediately after cutting Hilfenhaus to the boundary, thus extending his “duckless” streak to 54 Test innings. Anderson hung out his bat limply to a shorter delivery and edged to Ricky Ponting at second slip. Head down, shoulders slumped, and reeking of the bad body language for which Justin Langer has taken him to task in today’s leaked dossier, Anderson took an eternity to trudge from the playing surface. It was an image that summed up England’s match.

Innings and 80 runs The margin of defeat – an innings and 80 runs – is England’s second largest at Headingley after the innings and 148-run loss to Australia in 1993. The margin of victory was also Australia’s largest since Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath retired. 16 Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara and Paul Collingwood scored 16 runs between them in the series – the lowest-ever aggregate for England’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in Tests. 250 Stuart Broad scored 20 runs off eight balls – five fours – from Stuart Clark in the second innings at a strike-rate of 250. Clark’s economy-rate of 6.72 during his 11-over spell was the first time he conceded more than 4.29 runs per over in Tests. 7-1 The century tally after four Tests is 7-1 in Australia’s favour with five of their batsmen averaging over 50. Andrew Strauss is the only England batsman with a series average higher than 40.

Matt Prior did what he could to stem the tide, slashing Mitchell Johnson behind square three times in two overs to rattle along at the run-a-ball tempo that makes him most comfortable. But no sooner had Broad nudged a leg-bye to take England past their heaviest home defeat of all time (an innings and 226 runs against West Indies in 1973), Hilfenhaus lured Prior with a perfectly pitched outswinger, which Brad Haddin scooped one-handed in front of first slip, to leave his team just three wickets from victorThat, however, was the cue for England to raise their game, somewhat belatedly given the match situation. Initially Swann endured a torrid time at the crease, inside-edging Hilfenhaus millimetres past his leg stump, then wearing a Peter Siddle bouncer on the point of his elbow before pulling him inelegantly, and with eyes wide shut, through midwicket for another chancy boundary. But at the other end, Broad grew into his role of chief resistor, and four fours in a single over from Stuart Clark – three intended, one fortuitous – saved England from another unwanted notch in the record books, their heaviest home Ashes defeat, an innings and 180 runs at Trent Bridge in 1989.

Siddle responded to Clark’s indignity with a hot-headed over that went for 17, including back-to-back bouncers that soared away for five wides each, and was concluded with a larruped four straight back down the ground, as Broad – who by now had exceeded his father’s highest score in a home Ashes Test (37 on this very ground in 1989) – motored towards his second half-century in consecutive matches.

Now it was Swann’s turn to get properly stuck into the action. For the second over running, Clark was clobbered for 16 in an over with three more fours, including a perfect pull shot that bisected the field at midwicket. A flat-batted smear off Siddle followed three balls later, whereupon Broad climbed into the biggest and most extravagant thwack of the day, a full-blooded swing that climbed high and handsomely towards Johnson on the long-off boundary, who could only parry a tough chance over the ropes for four.

Six balls later, and Broad once again took the aerial route, straight through the fielder’s hands, as he connected with a pull off Clark and left Simon Katich sprawling as he sprinted round to intercept at backward square leg. But the fun could not last forever, and Siddle was the man to make the breakthrough, as Broad failed to get on top of another energetic swipe, and Shane Watson clung on gratefully at deep midwicket. He departed to a standing ovation from a newly invigorated Barmy Army, who had been understandably subdued for much of the morning, but found their voice as the run-rate climbed.

With the duck-happy Steve Harmison now joining him at the crease, Swann decided it was not the time to stand on ceremony, and an effortlessly timed pull through backward square sailed all the way for six to bring up a richly deserved half-century, from only 53 balls. Harmison chimed in with a slashed four over the slip cordon to get his innings up and running, as England went to the break still trailing by 98 runs, but with their morale lifted for the first time in the game.

After the resumption, however, the end came swiftly. Swann’s uncompromising performance came to an end when he swished outside off to Johnson and was adjudged caught-behind for 62 from 72 balls, whereupon Onions – on a king pair after his first-innings extraction – was struck on the gloves first-up by a ball that very nearly dribbled onto his stumps. In the event, he survived just seven deliveries as Johnson nipped one off the seam to peg back his off stump, and Australia march south to London with their morale sky-high.

Star allrounder Andrew Flintoff rates the Ashes rivalry against Australia as the ultimate for an Englishman, which could not be compensated by playing in any number of IPL or World Cup matches. The Ashes is like nothing else. You can have your World Cups and IPLs, but as an Englishman, to be able to play in the Ashes is the ultimate, said Flintoff, who has decided to prematurely quit Test cricket after the series owing to his recurring injury worries. Im sure I speak for the Aussies as well. All the traditions, all the great players whove played in it, all the great contests. Theres no doubt about it, these five weeks of Test cricket are the best youll ever play in, he said. Flintoff, who starred in Englands 2005 Ashes win, is again standing tall in the series and he hopes to say goodbye to Test cricket on a triumphant note.

All-rounder Shane Watson believes he can be a solution to Australia’s long-standing opening problem and feels he has the technique and temperament to counter the moving new ball.

“I have absolutely loved the challenge of opening the batting and I feel that I have the technique to open the batting,” said Watson, who scored an impressive 62 as a makeshift opener during Australia’s first innings in the on-going third Ashes Tests in Birmingham.

“I have no doubt I have the mental and technical aspects to be able to open the batting and consistently do well.

“I just have to perform and form a really good partnership with Simon Katich,” he added.

The 28-year-old Tasmanian, however, said he was little nervous initially when asked to replace struggling Phil Hughes at the top.

“I was probably the most nervous I have been before I went out to bat, but once I got through a few overs I felt fine,” Watson was quoted as saying by The Australian.

“To be able to face the fresh English bowlers on a brand-new wicket with a brand-new ball was a great challenge and I really really enjoyed it.

“The development of my technique means I have been able to take it on more comfortably than I did previously. The one opening stint I had 18 months ago was very poor,” he said.

“But to be able to develop the game I have the past six months, particularly technically, meant I had the best chance to combat the new ball and English bowlers.”

He credited former India coach Greg Chappell, who is now the head coach of Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, for the improvement in his batting technique.

“It was just simplifying my technique so I was not really thinking of anything apart from watching the ball and keeping my mind clear,” he said.

“Greg Chappell is the guy I have worked with closely over the past six months to really simplify my game.”

Watson also feels his batting colleagues need to apply themselves more to counter the English swing bowlers.

“Jimmy is bowling well when the conditions are right and it is swinging around,” he said.

“There is no doubt that we need to be a bit more patient and a bit more technically solid with our defence and decision-making to make sure he does not go through us again,” the right-hander added.

England were dismissed for 376 soon after tea on Sunday on the fourth day of the third Ashes Test to lead Australia by 113 runs. Stuart Broad scored 55 from 64 balls for his fourth Test half-century to stretch Englands advantage after top-scorer Andrew Flintoff hit 74 and combined in a brisk sixth-wicket partnership of 89 from 97 balls with Matt Prior (41) in the afternoon session to turn the match in Englands favour.
At the time of going to press, Australia were 44 for no loss from 10 overs in an extended session of play.
Earlier, Flintoff s innings helped England to 316/7 at tea on a day that began an hour late because of a wet outfield. England lost Ian Bell for 53 and Matt Prior for 41 after lunch. But Flintoff then played a typically aggressive innings, hitting 10 fours and a six in 79 balls before being dismissed by offspinner Nathan Hauritz when a ball flicked his glove on the way to Michael Clarke at slip.

Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi’s match winning knock in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 Championship in Lord’s last month has earned him a reward that he would cherish for the rest of his life.

The Lord’s cricket museum has decided to preserve the shirt worn by him in the T20 final against Sri Lanka, The News reports.

Afridi scored 54 of just 40 balls and then took 1for 20 to help his side register a historic win in the final by six wickets.

He is the first Pakistani cricketer to receive such an honour.

The museum has some of the rarest articles used by some famous cricketers of the world. A sparrow which was killed by a stroke of the bat from Jahangir Khan, father of former Pakistan captain Majid Khan, has also been preserved in the museum.

The Lord’s cricket museum, commonly known as MCC Museum, is the world’s oldest sporting museum. While it contains a wide range of exhibits, it is best-known for being the home of The Ashes.

Brett Lee has been ruled out of the first two Tests of the Ashes series with a low-grade abdominal tear and is no guarantee to play thereafter. As revealed by 22yardscricket, the Australian fast bowler experienced pain down his left side following last week’s tour game against England  in Worcester, and will be sidelined for the Cardiff and Lord’s Tests at the very least.
Lee was absent from Australia’s training session at Sophia Gardens on Monday after being sent to London for scans, which revealed a small tear in an abdominal muscle. His absence has thrown Australia’s planning into disarray ahead of the first Test, which begins on Wednesday, and will deny the tourists the services of their most decorated bowler.
“There probably is a bit more disappointment that it is an Ashes Test,” Lee said. “I’m extremely disappointed. I’m gutted that I won’t be there for that first Test match. But I’ll find a way to bounce back. I’ve gotten back from five ankle surgeries so I’m sure one little muscle strain won’t keep me out for too long.
“I still see myself hopefully playing a major role for Australia through the end part of the series, whether that’s the second, third, fourth or fifth Test match, depending on how things go. I’m very disappointed but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve got a couple of weeks now to get it right. I’ll be hopefully running in a couple of days if [the physio Alex Kountouris] lets me. I’ll be working on my fitness … and hopefully I’ll be back shortly.”
Lee was comfortably Australia’s best bowler in the tour match in Worcester, claiming 6 for 76 in the first innings and displaying a mastery of reverse-swing, but his 35 overs have come at an immense cost.
Prior to the injury, Lee seemed certain to partner Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle in Australia’s pace attack in Cardiff, with Stuart Clark and Nathan Hauritz duelling for the final bowling position. Precisely how the Australians will compensate for his absence remains uncertain, but Lee insisted the lessons from South Africa – in which Australia swept to a 2-1 series victory with a relatively untried pace line-up – would serve them well in the Ashes.
“I was going pretty much as hard as I possibly could [in Worcester],” Lee said. “I suppose I had to prove to myself that I can do it again. I never doubted in my own mind but it was more me going out there and showing that I can get close to the 100 mile an hour mark again and take wickets, which I’ve done. I’m proud about that and obviously I have sustained a small muscle tear which has ruled me out of the first Test match. Yes, I’m disappointed, but it’s not the end of the world.
“It gives somebody else in our team an opportunity. We’ve got a very strong bowling attack here. The guys did the job in South Africa while I wasn’t there. We’ve got a great bunch of guys, guys who are willing to go out there and do the hard work. I’ve got the utmost confidence in the guys that they can do the job out there.”
Lee, Australia’s most senior bowler with 310 wickets from 76 Tests, only recently returned to action after undergoing foot and ankle surgery following the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. The tour matches against Sussex and England Lions were his first outings outside of Twenty20 competition this year, and his display in Worcester last week had prompted many to feel that he was nearing peak form.
Kountouris said Lee could have faced 10 weeks on the sidelines had the injury not been detected so early. “We’re pretty thankful it’s not the more severe side of things,” Kountouris said. “It is a relatively good outcome. We got it pretty early. Brett’s pretty sensitive with his body and knows when things aren’t quite right. We got it nice and early I think.”
Kevin Pietersen resisted the temptation of indulging in a spot of pre-Ashes schadenfreude by expressing sadness for Lee. “It’s a huge, huge loss for Australia,” Pietersen said. “Who knows with the Australian team? It could be cat and mouse… [but] it’s sad for [Lee] if it’s true. We keep in touch and are pretty good mates.
“He’s a fantastic competitor and an amazing bowler. We’ve all seen how he’s bowled in the last couple of games. He’s a huge, huge, huge player for Australia. There’s his experience in the dressing room and also the intimidation he has on batsmen around the world, because he’s the fastest bowler in the world.”
Michael Clarke, Lee’s Australian team-mate, expressed sympathy for his colleague. “He’s worked really hard over the last 12 months to get back,” he said. “I only found out this morning that he was having the scans, so it came as a bit of a surprise to me. The most important thing is to get Brett as fit as possible.”