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Bravo third Test century ensured a healthy total for West Indies but their fighting efforts were overshadowed by a controversial umpiring review that ended Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s push for a hundred. West Indies must win to keep the series alive and Bravo’s 104 gave them hope, although on a good batting surface six opening-day wickets wasn’t a bad result for Australia.

At stumps, West Indies had moved to 6 for 336, which augured well for a better contest than in Brisbane. Darren Sammy provided some late-afternoon highlights with a pair of sixes down the ground off Nathan Hauritz and he was 44 not out at the close, with Brendan Nash also on 44, having earlier retired hurt.

Bravo rode his luck to reach triple figures after being dropped three times but Chanderpaul’s fortune ran out when he was on 62. Chanderpaul was given out caught-behind off Shane Watson and was the victim of a successful review for Australia after Mark Benson initially denied Australia’s appeal.

Hot Spot did not carry the right angle to show an edge but a camera view from the long-on region seemed to show a slight deflection as the ball passed the bat. It was far from conclusive evidence and nor was the decision a blatant shocker – those are the calls the review system is designed to eradicate – but the third umpire Asad Rauf was convinced and sent Chanderpaul on his way.

Chanderpaul had earlier survived a similar review off Doug Bollinger on 38, when again the evidence was inconclusive despite the Australians being utterly convinced that he had edged the ball. The eventual dismissal was a major blow for West Indies and things went from bad to worse when in the same over Denesh Ramdin played on to give Watson his second wicket.

Watson was pleased to redeem himself after his comical mishap gave Bravo a reprieve on 59. Bravo hooked Peter Siddle and Watson tried to snare the catch at deep square leg but stumbled back and lobbed the ball up as he realised he would step over the boundary. He tried to reclaim the catch after jumping back into the field of play but stumbled and parried the ball over for six.

Bravo had already been dropped twice on 46, though both were tough chances – a caught-and-bowled that rocketed back to Siddle and an edge off Hauritz that ricocheted off Brad Haddin and was missed by Michael Clarke at slip. Bravo wasn’t about to be discouraged from playing his shots and brought up both his half-century and his hundred with drives that sailed over the bowler’s head and away to the boundary.

But Bravo was being far from irresponsible in his strokeplay; he was patient and waited for his opportunities, and a crunching, classic cover-driven boundary off Watson was especially attractive. It was his first Test century in four years, since he made 113 in Hobart in 2005-06, and though he eventually missed a straight ball from Hauritz and was bowled, it was just the sort of innings that West Indies needed to lift their spirits after their innings loss at the Gabba.

He had the perfect ally in Chanderpaul, who had looked out of sorts in Brisbane but here compiled his first half-century in his past eight Test innings. As expected, Chanderpaul scored the majority of his 54 runs behind the wicket but also drove well and enjoyed a lovely clip off his toes for four through midwicket off Mitchell Johnson.

The 116-run stand was comfortably West Indies’ best partnership of the series, which made it all the more frustrating for them that it was ended in such debatable style. The pair had come together after Nash retired hurt on 20 during the lunch break, having been struck on the arm by his former flat-mate Johnson in the final over before the interval.

It left West Indies in a spot of bother after they lost three wickets in the opening session, including Ramnaresh Sarwan, whose return from a back injury ended on 28 when he drove Johnson on the up to Clarke at point. The early damage came from Bollinger, who had been waiting 11 months for his second Test and picked up two wickets in his first five overs.

Bollinger’s first two went for 18 as Chris Gayle, who had chosen to bat, launched an early assault. The bowler’s confidence improved when Adrian Barath (3) pushed a catch to gully and the major prize followed when Gayle tried to cut too close to his body and was surprised by extra bounce, which was unusual for an Adelaide pitch, and was caught behind for 26.

There was no doubt about that decision. If only the same could have been said later in the day.

Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson compiled more in a single second-wicket stand of 119 than England’s entire line-up managed in 33.5 overs of abject surrender, as Australia built on the efforts of their four-man seam attack to seize control of the crucial fourth Test at Headingley. Though England battled back in the final session by claiming three wickets in as many overs, including Ponting for 78, nothing could gloss over their humiliation in the opening exchanges of the day. A single pitiful session could well have cost them their chance to reclaim the Ashes.

Shorn of the services of Andrew Flintoff, whose damaged right knee failed to respond to treatment, and already lacking the aggression and presence that Kevin Pietersen brings to their middle-order, England went into a Test without either of their kingpin players for the first time since the tour of Bangladesh in October 2003, and duly played in a manner befitting their opponents of six years ago. They had been handed a late fitness scare when Matt Prior suffered a pre-toss back spasm, which required the toss to be delayed by ten minutes as England finalised their starting XI, and the bewilderment in their ranks was as plain as it had been at 5 o’clock that morning, when a fire alarm at the team hotel had left them shivering in the Leeds drizzle during a mass evacuation.

For most of the summer, Australia have been the team seemingly lacking in direction, but with a sniff of uncertainty in their opponents’ ranks, they at last had a bowling attack to exploit the situation. The decision to recall Stuart Clark for his first Test of the summer, in place of the spinner Nathan Hauritz, was a gamble that paid rich dividends. He marked his comeback with a pre-lunch spell of 3 for 7 in 6.5 overs, while Peter Siddle followed up after the break with 4 for 3 in 14 balls, to finish with the stand-out figures of 5 for 21. Each of the four bowlers claimed at least one wicket, with Ben Hilfenhaus desperately unlucky not to have pinned Andrew Strauss lbw with the very first ball of the match.

As it turned out, Strauss survived a mere 17 balls before squirting a fat edge off Siddle to Marcus North at third slip, whose stunning one-handed reflex catch was the catalyst for the performance that followed. Strauss had spent the final minutes before the start fretting over the fitness of Prior, who injured his back while playing football in the warm-ups, leaving Jonathan Trott on the verge of a debut and Paul Collingwood pencilled in for the wicketkeeping duties, and his mind was evidently some way from the action in the middle. The confirmation of Flintoff’s lack of fitness ended up being the very least of his worries.

In the event, the only England batsman to show any spine was none other than Prior, who was out in the middle at least two sessions sooner than he might have anticipated, but gritted his way to 37 not out from 43 balls before running out of partners. One other batsman managed double figures – Alastair Cook, who was the mainstay of a flimsy top order with 30 from 65 balls – while the middle-order triumvirate of Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Collingwood showed worrying shortcomings in temperament and technique respectively.

Hilfenhaus accounted for Bopara, earning due reward for his line, length and consistent swing when Michael Hussey collected a loose back-foot punch in the gully, and at 16 for 2, the stage was hardly set for the fragile Bell to make his mark. Mitchell Johnson responded to his arrival with his best and most hostile spell of the series. Threatening to bend the ball back into the right-hander at will, and finding a superb line to complement his subtle changes of length, Johnson tormented Bell’s outside edge before slipping in a wicked bouncer that was gloved through to Brad Haddin.

Next in the procession was Collingwood, whose returns have faded alarmingly since his match-saving performance at Cardiff in the first Test. He couldn’t negotiate Clark’s sharp outswing, which he prodded limply to Ponting at second slip for a fifth-ball duck, and Clark claimed his second scalp in the space of 11 balls when Cook’s resistance ended with a low edge to Michael Clarke at first slip.

Prior did his best to rally the innings in his standard counter-punching style, but Stuart Broad found the going extremely tough in his over-promoted position of No. 7, and was extracted on the stroke of lunch when Katich at short leg scooped Clark’s third of the innings. Then it was over to Siddle to make mincemeat of a tail that had wagged regularly in the series so far, but was unable to make any headway at all with the momentum all in the bowlers’ favour. Graeme Swann laboured to a 15-ball duck which ended with a snick to first slip, while Harmison – back in the side at Flintoff’s expense – edged to the keeper to notch the 20th duck of his career, an England record he now shares with Mike Atherton.

James Anderson did at least manage to extend his duckless run to 53 innings, but the scampered single that preserved his world record culminated in a leg injury that visibly reduced his subsequent effectiveness with the ball. He and Graham Onions were bounced from the crease in consecutive Siddle deliveries, whereupon Shane Watson clattered Anderson’s first two deliveries of the reply through point for a brace of fours in a style reminiscent of Michael Slater. Though Harmison responded by extracting Katich at leg gully with the fourth ball of his comeback, Ponting emerged to put his personal seal on the day with a smouldering and initiative-seizing cameo.

Once again, Ponting came to the crease to a chorus of boos, but true to form, he turned the animosity to his advantage. Latching onto the slightest error in length, he pulled Onions’ first ball through midwicket for six, in an over that eventually went for 17 runs, as Australia’s fifty was brought up in just 39 deliveries. Ponting’s only let-off en route to his 63-ball half-century came on 32, when Bell missed a shy from the covers that would have run him out by five yards.

For as long as he and Watson were in tandem, Australia’s dominance was absolute. Watson, revelling in his new opener’s role, cracked his third half-century in as many innings, and battered Harmison for four fours in nine balls as England’s bowlers completely forgot about the virtues of line and length. But then, almost without warning, they finally remembered to pitch the ball up, and with a hint of movement around that habitual 30-over mark, they succeeded in stemming the tide.

First to strike was Onions, who pinned Watson lbw for 51 as he whipped across the line, whereupon Broad – for the first time this summer – opted to follow suit. Twice in four balls he angled the ball in from a full length, first to end Ponting’s stay on 78, and then to remove Hussey before he could get going. England created opportunities as the shadows lengthened, not least when Harmison, in a furious final spell, cracked Michael Clarke on the helmet and the glove from consecutive deliveries. But by the close, Australia’s hold on the Ashes was looking as sprightly as it has done since Cardiff.

Peter Siddle took his Test-best figures and Stuart Clark marked his return to international cricket with three wickets as Australia bowled out England for just 102 at Headingley here on Friday. England , who won the toss, were routed on the first day of the fourth Ashes Test with Siddle taking five wickets for 21 runs in 9.5 overs and Clark three for 18 in 10 as Australia look to level the five-match series.
Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, then made 78, before falling short of his third hundred at Headingley in as many Tests, to help his side to 196 for four at stumps a lead of 94.
Michael Clarke was batting on 34 and Marcus North on seven after Ponting and opener Shane Watson shared a second-wicket stand of 119. Clarke was hit flush on the helmet by a Stephen Harmison bouncer on 27 and then, after several minutes of treatment, survived a huge appeal for caughtbehind following another short ball from the Durham quick.
Australia were on the verge of building an impregnable lead when fast bowler Stuart Broad took two wickets for four runs in six balls to have both Ponting and Michael Hussey leg-before .
Australia, who had lost three wickets for 18 runs in 19 balls in total, were then 151 for four. But that was nothing compared to Englands collapse . Clark took three wickets in quick succession as England , who won the toss, slumped to 72 for six at lunch before Siddle polished off the tail with four wickets for three runs in 14 balls.
Matt Prior (37 not out) and opener Alastair Cook (30) were the only England batsmen to make it into double figures in an innings that featuring four noughts. Clark, after Australia dropped off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, made a dramatic return in what was his first Test in nine months after an elbow injury and selectorial preference had kept him out.
The 33-year-old upheld his reputation for economical accuracy by taking three wickets for five runs in 21 balls. England, already in trouble, succumbed to Siddle, in only his 11th Test, after lunch.

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.

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.”

England captain Andrew Strauss made a superb unbeaten century but a top-order collapse saw the hosts squander their advantage against Australia on the first day of the second Ashes Test.
England, at stumps on Lords here on Thursday, were 364 for six with Strauss 161 not out after batting the whole day in an innings of more than six hours. But they were in a commanding position at 196 without loss after a record-breaking first-wicket stand between Strauss, who won the toss, and fellow left-hander Alastair Cook (95).
Strausss hundred was his third against Australia and his highest, surpassing the 129 he made at the The Oval in 2005. It was also the fourth of his 18 Test centuries the Middlesex batsman had made at his Lords home ground.
Australia, who bowled badly before lunch, spent most of the day without one of their four frontline bowlers after offspinner Nathan Hauritz sustained a finger injury.
But England still lost six wickets for 137 runs as the rest of the top-order failed to build on a fine opening stand.
England, at tea, were still well-placed at 255 for two. Strauss was exactly 100 not out and Kevin Pietersen unbeaten on 22.
Although Pietersen struck Peter Siddle for a couple of forceful boundaries after tea, he rarely looked settled and the pace bowler had his revenge when the South Africaborn batsman, on 32, edged him to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin. Paul Collingwood, who batted for nearly six hours to help England secure a draw in last weeks series opener in Cardiff, gave his wicket away when he chipped occasional left-arm spinner Michael Clarke to Siddle at mid-on . Wicket-keeper Matt Prior fell cheaply, bowled by an inswinger from left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson, whose largely wayward 19 overs cost an expensive 107 runs. Priors exit brought in allrounder Andrew Flintoff, cheered all the way to the wicket the day after announcing he would retire from Test cricket at the end of this series. Sadly for England fans, they were soon clapping him in again after the all-rounder was out for four, having edged a fine delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus straight to Australia captain Ricky Ponting at second slip. England, just as theyd done in Cardiff, were letting slip a promising position something they could ill afford if they were to beat Australia in a Lords Test for the first time in 75 years.

James Anderson and Monty Panesar staged one of cricket’s great escapes as England clung on for a dramatic draw in the first Ashes Test at Sophia Gardens here on Sunday. England’s last-wicket duo batted together for 40 minutes to deny Ashes holders Australia what seemed a certain victory. The left-handers’ stand of 19 spanned 69 balls after England had been in desperate trouble when all-rounder Paul Collingwood, the last of their recognised batsman, was out for 74 after a gutsy innings lasting nearly five-and-three-quarter hours.
Collingwood’s exit left England on 233 for nine but the 10th-wicket duo held firm as England ended the match on 252 for nine. The teams now head to Lord’s, where Australia have not lost a Test since 1934, for the second match in this five-Test series starting on Thursday. When Collingwood was eventually out, caught at the second attempt in the gully by Michael Hussey off aggressive fast bowler Peter Siddle, having faced 245 balls with six boundaries, it seemed England had lost all hope of avoiding a convincing defeat.
There were a minimum of 11.3 overs remaining when Anderson and Panesar came together. But both left-handers demonstrated a defensive technique worthy of top-order batsmen although England let themselves down by sending on their physiotherapist and 12th man in a blatant attempt to waste time. Apart from Collingwood, no other top-order batsman made more in the second innings than England captain Andrew Strauss’s 17. Each ball England Anderson and Panesar survived was cheered to the echo by the crowd at what was the first Test match ever played in Wales. And when Anderson steered Siddle through the slips for four it meant Australia would have to bat again to win the match.
Australia’s progress was first checked on Sunday by a determined eighth-wicket stand of 62 lasting 81 minutes between Collingwood and Graeme Swann. But when Swann was plumb lbw to Ben Hilfenhaus for 31,England were 221 for eight and the game seemingly over.
The sight of Australia spearhead and leftarm quick Mitchell Johnson bowling wides with the new-ball gave England fans hope that the draw, which had seemed for beyond their side’s reach at 70 for five, was coming into view.
England, at lunch, had been 102 for five. Collingwood was 35 not out and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff unbeaten on 11. After lunch, they both looked to be getting down to the task at hand. But a stand of 57 was ended when Flintoff fell on 26. Stuart Broad was plumb lbw to Nathan Hauritz for 14 as the off-spinner took his third wicket of the day.

VENUE:

Cardiff will stage its first Test. Capacity: 16,000.

CAPTAINS:Australia: Ricky Ponting, 34. Right-hand batsman; 131 Tests, 10,960 runs at 56.20. A quick-footed free-scoring batsman in the best Australian tradition who has been rebuilding his side after the loss of several great players. England: Andrew Strauss, 32. Left-hand opening batsman; 62 Tests, 4,792 runs at 43.96. After a brief period in the wilderness, Strauss returned to the team last year. Subsequently he has been England’s most prolific batsman.

KEY PLAYERS:Mitchell Johnson (Aus), 27: Intimidatingly quick and increasingly hostile, Johnson has become the complete package as a left-arm fast bowler by adding a late inswinger to his repertoire. He may also be the world’s next great all-rounder after averaging 85 in South Africa this year, including a first Test hundred. Kevin Pietersen (Eng), 28: The batsman Australia fear the most. Has 963 runs at 53.50 in 10 Tests against the old enemy. His fearlessness and range of strokes make him formidable.

WEATHER FORECAST:Unsettled with showers

ODDS:England 2/1, Australia 7/4, draw 6/4

SQUADS:Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Graham Manou, Andrew McDonald, Marcus North, Peter Siddle.

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann.
Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)

Although Australia ended the day on 349 – 7 against Sussex at Hove this was largely thanks to the lower middle order and the bowlers. With Australia’s front line batsman leaving them reeling on 114 – 5 it was down to the lower middle order of Brad Haddin and the bowlers Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz.

rickyponting

With the likes of Ricky Ponting and super star in the making Phillip Hughes back in the pavilion early it was down to the lower order to rescue Australia from what could have been an embarrassing batting display.

With Australia only having one front line spinner in their squad, Hauritz, he is doing himself no harm so far in this match with 65 not out at stumps of day one. Scoring runs will have enhanced his position for a place in the first test of the ashes at Cardiff however Australia will mainly be looking for him to play a major part with the ball.

England will be hoping Sussex can finish off the rest of the Australian batsman then stick around in the middle for as long as possible heaping misery amongst the Australia bowlers. Australia then face a tougher test on the 1st July against a strong England Lions team including several fridge England players.

There are a number of players from both teams who will be keen to impress in a hope of securing a place in the starting line up come the first game of the ashes series.