Kate Laven
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2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's, 19-23 Jul 2001 Kate Laven |
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England 2nd innings:
Australia 1st innings: |
By the close, a partnership between Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher had removed the possibility of the match ending inside three days after they put on 96 for the fourth wicket.
Butcher, who was called up for the Edgbaston Test as cover for the injured Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe, was heading for his first century in 27 Test innings with 73. His brother-in-law Alec Stewart was keeping him company but England were still 51 runs behind with the score 163 for four.
The third day - the 20th anniversary of England's historic win over Australia at Headingley in 1981 - started on an ominous note when Butcher dropped a simple slip catch in the second over of the morning which would have had Adam Gilchrist back in the hutch for 13. It was a devastating waste of opportunity and from that point on, an uncharacteristic clumsiness pervaded England's efforts in the field.
Gilchrist was dropped another three times during the morning session. Once on 33 by Ian Ward at cover, again on 49 by Butcher - a difficult chance - and most remarkably of all, on 73 by Michael Atherton, who rarely makes a mistake at first slip.
With each fumble and tumble, Gilchrist looked more incredulous and when he finally departed in the second over after lunch for 90, he will have thanked his lucky stars that he came so close to making a second consecutive Test century.
He went with all guns blazing, trying to hook Darren Gough, 17 overs into the new ball spell, to leave the total on 387, and the lead over England a hefty 200. They had increased both by 14 runs when Andrew Caddick struck for the fifth time in the innings and wrapped it up with the wicket of Brett Lee to bowl out the tourists for 401, the same score as at Headingley '81.
Caddick's figures were 5-101 and he made a particularly good impression finding extra bounce with the new ball while Gough finished with 3-115, but it would have been six if three of the dropped catches had stuck.
England urgently needed a strong start to their second innings to offset the possibility of defeat in three days but Marcus Trescothick was caught behind for three in the sixth over. His lack of footwork made him vulnerable to the Australian pacemen but it was Jason Gillespie, for the second time in the match, who claimed his wicket.
Australia were also having a relative nightmare in the field which gave Michael Atherton a second life on two. Matthew Hayden diving to his left saw the ball tumble out of his hand after shooting off the edge of Atherton's bat.
Atherton looked steady against Australia's new ball attack, hooking when the opportunity allowed and passing Lord Cowdrey's tally of 7624 Test runs to go into fourth on the all time list of England's leading run scorers. But the introduction of Shane Warne into the attack saw a lapse in concentration and having faced 45 balls and hit three boundaries, he was bowled around his legs for 20.
His demise brought Butcher and Ramprakash together and with the score on 47 for two, they took responsibility to recover and rebuild. The campaign started slowly but with Butcher taking the lead the pair gradually gained in confidence. Ramprakash brought up the 50 partnership and England's 100 with a well timed square drive and settled down to eliminate the demons that have wrangled whenever he appears for England at Lord's.
But having taken his total to 40, his highest Test score at Lord's, he was trapped leg before to Gillespie, just seven overs from the end.
At tea, Australia were sitting comfortably in the driving seat having reduced England to 50 for three after they had amassed 401 in their first innings.
The departure of Graham Thorpe signalled the start of the tea interval after he had made just two, out leg before to Brett Lee who had earlier produced a ball that exceeded 90 mph.
Mike Atherton made 20 from 45 balls before he was bowled around his legs by Shane Warne but despite his brief innings, he moved into fourth place in England's list of run makers at Lord's, overtaking Lord Cowdrey's tally of 7624.
For the second time, Marcus Trescothick struggled to move his feet against the Australian pacemen and was caught behind of Jason Gillespie after making three with the score eight for one.
England's best bowler Andrew Caddick finished with 5-101. It was the tenth time he has captured five Test wickets in an innings and the second time at Lord's, though it was Gough that seized the initiative after lunch when he tempted Adam Gilchrist into a hook and saw the ball fly into Alec Stewart's gloves.
Gilchrist fell short of his second Test hundred by ten runs, facing 121 balls and striking 12 boundaries in a characteristically whirlwind innings, which benefited from a lightning fast outfield and four dropped catchers by England's fielders.
Jason Gillespie was comprehensively bowled by Gough with the score 401 for nine and the final wicket of Brett Lee went to Caddick who took three wickets with the new ball while Gough finished with 3-115.
By lunch, the Australian batting dynamo had scored 87 from 114 balls but remarkably, he had enjoyed four lives as Mark Butcher, Ian Ward and the normally reliable Michael Atherton all dropped catches during a clumsy morning in the field.
Caddick picked up two wickets with the new ball including Damien Martyn who gloved a catch to Alec Stewart just two balls after reaching his half-century, the 50 coming off 97 balls and including six boundaries.
But the second Gilchrist chance – the first occurred earlier when he was on 13 – came shortly after when Ward, diving to his left got both hands to the ball at cover but saw it vanish from his grasp.
Gilchrist was on 33 but he was dropped again at gully by Butcher on 49 and then again, just 15 minutes before lunch on 73 when Atherton fumbled an edged ball at first slip.
In between, Caddick surprised Shane Warne with a ball that bounced to take the score to 322 for seven but at lunch, Australia were 378 for seven, their lead over England 191.
Needing early wickets to brighten up a gloomy outlook, England made a series of fumbles and misfields and disastrously, in the second over of the morning, Mark Butcher missed a straightforward chance at second slip to dismiss the explosive Adam Gilchrist for 13.
The ball came off the edge of Gilchrist's angled bat and darted to slip and although Butcher got both hands to it, low down, the ball tumbled out and fell to the ground.
Australia had added four to their overnight total but the disappointment affected England's overall performance in the first hour and allowed Australia to race away to 308 for five, extending their lead of 68 last night to a more commanding 121.
Damien Martyn, the right-hander who made his maiden Test century at Edgbaston had reached his half-century and left-hander Adam Gilchrist, another century maker in the First Test, was starting to gain momentum with 33.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 21 Jul2001 - 22:29