England 215 (Siddle 5-50) and 375 (Bell 109, Broad 65, Pietersen 64, Cook 50) Australia 280 (Agar 98, Hughes 81*, Smith 53, Anderson 5-85) and 296 (Haddin 71, Rogers 50, Anderson 5-73) by 14 runs
James Anderson led England to victory in the first Investec Test as he
took the last four wickets to fall in a steadfast spell of fast bowling
on a wonderful final day at Trent Bridge. But Australia took some silencing.
A last-wicket stand of 65 between Brad Haddin and James Pattinson took a
wonderful match, against expectations, into the afternoon session
before Anderson struck for the final time.
Haddin's valiant innings, 71 from 147 balls, deserved better than a
dismissal by virtue of DRS. But it was better than an umpire getting it
wrong; the system worked. Aleem Dar, the on-field umpire, understandably
did not spot an inside edge about which only the wicketkeeper, Matt
Prior, seemed convinced but England had two reviews in the tank and
replays clearly proved Haddin nicked it.
England raced into a jubilant huddle, a capacity crowd cheered with
delight and Haddin, his helmet removed, looked pale with exhaustion and regret.
The importance of Anderson to England was doubly emphasised when he
finally took a break. At that stage, Australia still needed 71 but, with
Anderson withdrawn, the last pair immediately sensed they could hit
their way to victory. Haddin, strong on the slog-sweep, was dropped at
deep square leg by Steven Finn on 64, Graeme Swann's premature visions of victory banished.
England were so shaken they ended the session with a shameless display
of timewasting - Stuart Broad to the fore, under his captain's
instructions, with needless boot repairs. The umpires made then have
another over anyway.
Much is made of Anderson's skill, but was his stamina that was also to the fore as he produced
a gruelling spell of 13 overs off the reel and was then asked for 11
more deliveries after lunch. Anderson was entrusted first with the old
ball, then dismissed Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle with
the new. He has bowled 54 overs in the match, taking ten for 158 in the process, and passed Fred Trueman in England's all-time list during the game.
Turn to your leading bowler when it most matters. In relying upon
Anderson, England's captain, Alastair Cook, was returning to basic
principles, and aware also of his excellent record at Trent Bridge but
he would have had a few qualms about giving Anderson such an arduous
spell with the Lord's Test only four days away.
There is no doubt who is most invaluable to England in this Ashes
series. It is not Cook, Jonathan Trott at his most unflappable or even
Swann, whose superior spin bowling gives England an obvious advantage.
It is Anderson.
All three wickets fell to catches by Cook at first slip, as Anderson
found awayswing from both around then over the wicket. The best of them
was a diving effort to his left to dismiss Peter Siddle, atonement for
dropping Siddle in the same position in Anderson's previous over. When
you have set a field with a solitary slip - generally justifiable on
this low pitch, but not necessarily when Siddle was having a lash - it
is advisable to develop spring heels.
Trent Bridge has lapped up a wonderful Test. It was sold out for all
five days, and with Australia, six down overnight, needing another 137
to win, there was enough in the game for the vast majority to turn up
for the final phase of a gripping Test.
There is more than one way to seek to turn a Test that seems to be
tipping against you. Agar, with the eagerness we have already come to
expect, fancied
scampering a single or two to get the intensity up. The old timer,
Haddin, wanted to do nothing of the sort, preferring to hunker in and
communicate a sense that Australia would not yield. Twice, Agar almost
ended up in mid-pitch, leaving his older - and slower - partner to have a
calming word.
The ball was 71 overs at start of play, the floodlights broke through
the morning haze and a slow pitch was as inhibiting for the batsmen as
ever. Cook was satisfied enough to watch Australia make painstaking
progress, so cautious that he even set a long on and long off for
Swann's offspin, but it was deadlock.
In 11 overs, Australia made 18. Haddin slog-swept Swann for four, Agar,
driving with big backlift and loose limbs, deflected Anderson to the
third boundary. After 82 overs, Cook had seen enough and took the new
ball. But Anderson, his go-to bowler, had already bowled five overs with
the old one. Finn had become an option that Cook did not entirely
trust.
If the harder ball did not swing, Australia had an opportunity to step
up the scoring rate for more than an hour before lunch. Instead, with
the fifth over of the new ball - Anderson's eighth of the morning - Agar
fell to Anderson.
Agar prefers to stay leg-side of the ball, foot not always to the pitch,
to free up his off-side drives; Anderson, shaping the ball away from
around the wicket, found the perfect retort and Cook held the edge at
first slip. His 14 had taken 71 balls, in sharp contrast to his
first-innings spree, but it was not just the increased pressure second
time around, but could also be put down to the debilitating nature of
the pitch.
Australia's lower order is no pushover: their bottom three - Starc,
Siddle, and Pattinson share a combined Test average of 70. But Anderson
had not finished. Starc received another excellent delivery which left
him - this time from over the wicket - and Cook again held on.
With eight down, and 100 still needed, Siddle decided that adventure was
called for. Cook missed an inviting opportunity to his left at slip,
but then caught a blinder in Anderson's next over. At 240 for 9,
Anderson finally had to stand down.
With 80 needed, Haddin decided that a concerted assault upon Finn, who
has been thoroughly out of sorts throughout this Test, was Australia's
last remaining hope. He took 15 off Finn's first over, passing 50 in
the process, crunching him over the leg-side on three occasions. Finn
looked bereft. Finn's second over went for nine, including four byes.
England could afford one bowler to be broken; they could not afford two.
Pattinson slogged Swann over midwicket for six as the last-wicket stand
reached 50. England turned to Broad, but any fond imaginings that they
might return to Anderson were forgotten when he tried to stretch and
limped off to the pavilion.
England then missed a run out with 28 needed, Haddin and Pattinson
caught in mid-pitch as they became mixed-up over a leg-side single, only
for Jonny Bairstow's shy at the stumps at the keeper's end to miss the
target. Watching from the Australia dressing room, the coach, Darren
Lehmann played with a stress ball.
Broad responded well, first settling matters then delivering an
excellent off-cutter to Pattinson. But Finn allowed a challenging
running catch to slip through his hands at deep square-leg with Haddin
64 and 26 needed.
At lunch, a late lunch, too, this Test would just not lie down and die.
