This Sporting Life
Created | Updated Jul 11, 2003
England v Australia: Fifth Test, The Oval
Australia beat England an innings and 25 runs.
The Oval is the usual venue for the final match of the series. Australia
once again underlined their sheer class by clinching the last Test in
convincing style. In their first innings they declared at 641 - 4, leaving
England with the sort of target that so often in the past has left them
demoralised. Faced with have to make over four hundred runs merely to avoid
the follow-on normally has England's batsmen panicking and the tail-enders
having to make up the runs for a half-way respectable innings total. In the
end, England managed to reach 432... a more then respectable total in Test
terms but, unfortunately, not enough to prevent Steve Waugh from enforcing the
follow on and making England bat again. Unfortunately the second England
innings was more in keeping with their efforts earlier in the summer, the
unlikely top scorer being Darren Gough who managed to amass 39 runs. Pretty
good for a bowler but underlining the fact that England's top order had not
done well.
Australia's innings, on the other hand, was another exercise in just how
much of a dominant force they are. In particular it must have been a
heartening experience for Justin Langer, who had previously confessed in his
BBC Online journal, to believing his Test career was over. Forced to retire
hurt on a score of 102, this innings signalled a sparkling return to form
and this must give him the confidence to rebuild his career. If you look at
the scorecard, you will see that only one of the 7 Aussie batsmen scored
less then fifty. Hayden and Ponting clocked up over sixty runs each and
there were three centuries; Langer, Mark Waugh (120) and brother Steve who
scored a blistering 157. This was quality batting, which left England's
bowlers toiling away in the field for little reward.
Australia's performance in the field also saw the return to form of Shane
Warne, who finally found a pitch to suit his spin action. He took 7 wickets
in the first innings and four in the second. Looking at the scorecard shows
that the majority of England wickets came from catches and being bowled
which, once again, underlines the dominance of Australia's attack and the
accuracy of their fielding.
Its no exaggeration to say that England's second innings was a
disappointment, but there is much to take heart from in the first innings.
Faced with a huge total, they held their nerve and while they could not
avoid having to bat again, Mark Ramprakash's century was as pleasing to
England fans as Langer's was to Aussie supporters. They also saw Michael
Atherton play his final innings for England, though I am sure he would have
wanted to do better then 9 and 13. Even so, Steve Waugh has said that he
thinks England could do well in India over the winter:
'They obviously had four or five good series before this one
and I think we played excellent cricket over here. We played probably as
well as we can play. India are a bit hot and cold. They play great one
minute, the next minute they're not playing that well. For England to do
well over there, they've really got to enjoy the tour, sort of embrace the
country and the people and have a good time because if you don't off the
field, you're going to struggle on the field. I think on the field, they're
quite capable of doing well against India.'
It is unlikely that the English crowds will see Waugh again, as he will
be approaching 40 by the time of the next domestic Ashes series. Despite
his personal dominance and dominance as a captain, I think that this is very
sad, as he is one of the game's great players. All in all it has not been a
summer to remember, but it has been entertaining. The Aussies are the best
in the world and they play the game in a way that should be applauded and
imitated.
Abi... Post Sports Correspondant.
