England's bowlers could make Marsh eat his 'pie' jibe

By Peter Deeley, in Mount Gambier

Rod Marsh, the former Australian wicketkeeper, once described the mass of English bowlers as ``pie-throwers''. The type of pie which springs to mind here is 'humble' as Marsh watched his Australian Cricket Academy fledglings undone by competent work from the England A attack.

But for a 125-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Michael Dighton and Shawn Craig, the Academy would have been blown away long before the final over, when their innings ended at 258.

Marsh grudgingly admitted afterwards that he thought the England spinners had bowled well, not an understatement on a day when Ashley Giles claimed another four wickets - and would have had his third 'five' of the tour but for a dropped catch - and Peter Such broke his duck.

Jason Gallian returned to strengthen the batting after injury and should provide some much-needed experience, but this is the first four-day game on the newly laid pitch, built over an extinct volcano.

It was last active 4,800 years ago, so the odds on safely getting through the match are reasonably good. How the pitch will play later is more questionable.

There was one moment of anxiety when Dean Headley - who is being rested - left to fly over the ground in a light plane in the company of Rod Marsh's wife.

Shades of David Gower and John Morris six years ago, perhaps. However, the tour manager David Graveney had authorised the trip, though he seemed uncertain about the insurance, and the Cessna aircraft (a Tiger Moth was either unavailable or thought to be too redolent of memories of That Other Occasion) passed serenely by several hundred feet up.

Headley did come hurrying back to the England tent - this is very much a country town atmosphere - saying, as he passed the press corps huddled from the wind in a deserted snack bar: ``Don't do a Gower on me.''

Such and Andrew Harris may not have gone flying, but they were clearly buoyed by their first wickets. Harris is bothered with a toe problem, where his boot is rubbing, but in his second over he got one to stop on Jerry Cassell and followed through quickly taking a diving catch.

The spinners were together by the 16th over. Such had Lee Carseldine caught in the covers misjudging the turn, and then the Academy captain, Justin Poole, pushed at Giles and was caught at silly point.

Like most of this side neither Dighton, 20, from Western Australia, nor Craig, 23, from Victoria, had played top cricket, but after an uncomfortable start against the slow bowlers they mastered the situation to the extent that England began to look ragged.

Dighton survived a fast edge off Glen Chapple, which Mark Butcher at first slip got a hand to, but it was not until the last ball before tea that Craig was bowled, playing no shot to Giles.

Dighton batted for 4.25 hours before he was given leg before sweeping Giles, though he was clearly displeased with the umpire. With these two gone, the tourists recovered their composure, though the persevering Such let out an ungentlemanly imprecation when he once shaved Adam Smith's off stump.

Day 2 & 3, Electronic Telegraph

Rain reduced the third day of the Academy game to 17 overs yesterday, by which time the home side were 70 for two in their second innings, 56 runs on. Andrew Harris, who now looks to be settling down, claimed two more wickets and Glen Chapple had a chance put down by Mark Ealham.

Tour manager David Graveney rates the weather here as similar to a Durham home match in late April: cold and wet and with a wind coming straight up from the South Pole.

Mark Butcher had given England a 14-run lead on first innings on Saturday with his fourth half-century of the tour. His 81, which took three hours, was also the highest individual score so far. Jason Gallian, however, went to hospital for an X-ray after being hit on the hand. There is no break but the hand is badly bruised and swollen.

Michael Vaughan, with 40, and captain Adam Hollioake, who was last out for 62, also reached personal bests but there was another alarming mid-order collapse with five wickets going down for eight runs, Acadamy fast bowler Don Nash twice getting two wickets in an over.

England's prodigies outwit the Academy By Peter Deeley in Mt Gambier, South Australia

ENGLAND A gained the victory they had set their hearts on yesterday, the chance to prove that they were more than the equals of Australia's much-vaunted Cricket Academy.

It came with such fluency - by seven wickets in under three playing days - that one has to ask why the academy has been held up in England as the basis for recent Australian supremacy at Test level.

While the home side depended upon a handful of players to produce the goods, England were a hard-working unit, every player committing himself as if his career depended upon it.

Andrew Harris bowled superlatively, always keeping the ball well up to the batsman and forcing him to play, and finished with seven for 89 in the match. But the batting too, which has looked shaky until now, is starting to play its part.

Michael Vaughan, upright and technically correct, scored an excellent 70 as the visitors strolled to victory and Owais Shah returned to his form at the start of the tour with a typically punchy 43 not out.

If Mark Butcher failed this time, his first-innings 81 - the fourth half-century he has scored in seven outings - was full of positive shots and suggests that he is the batting find of the tour.

Rod Marsh, now the academy's chief coach, was right to point out afterwards that none of his side had first-class experience (which is why this game was not deemed first-class) and they rarely played four-day cricket. But he was generous in praise of England.

``There's some good talent there. Your batting was positive, Butcher played well and so did young Shah. If he [Shah] keeps playing his shots there's nothing wrong in that. But it's harder to judge your bowling in these conditions. I would rather comment after seeing the likes of Harris on a flat wicket.''

Marsh added: ``I see big pluses with Mike Gatting and David Graveney in charge. I've never seen a happier bunch of young players. That's what the game should be all about, enjoying it.''

Few would have predicted such a sweeping England victory when play began with the academy 56 runs on and eight second-innings wickets still standing. But inept batting played into the tourists' hands.

Ashley Giles should have had a wicket with his first ball but Warren Hegg missed Jerry Cassell down the leg side - the first of two such chances he let go begging - but two deliveries later the spinner bowled Jason Poole, the academy's captain, round his legs.

In the next over Harris lured Shawn Craig into the drive and Hegg took the edge diving low to the left. It was three wickets in nine balls when a Vaughan underarm throw from the covers beat Adam Smith after he had been sent back.

The Derbyshire bowler struck again when Dominic Thornley chopped a lifting ball on to his stumps and Harris collected his fifth wicket in 12 overs when Hegg, making up for the earlier mistakes, shrewdly anticipated another edge, from Cassell, and took the catch.

Cassell had stayed 2.5 hours for his 69 and his departure signalled the end of any real resistance. Giles finished with two wickets to bring his tally to 16 on tour - the leading wicket-taker - and Adam Hollioake again showed his capacity for dealing with the tail by collecting two more.

Eight wickets had gone down in the morning and England were left needing only 162 for victory. By the tea session they were already within eight runs as the early batsmen scored at a run a minute.

Butcher made a rare error chasing a wide ball but Vaughan had made 70 in 105 minutes when he was trapped square on his stumps by the leg-spin of Craig.

Shah was typically bouncy, opening with a brace of fours, but Mark Ealham, who has had a moderate tour and had been sent in up the order, pulled a short ball from Craig to midwicket. It was left to Hollioake to hit the winning boundary and complete England's second win in a week.