On a day when their performances were, to some extent, overshadowed by the onset of injuries across the country to a number of Australia's top players, England's cricketers put together possibly the best day of their current tour in their match against an Australian XI at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today.
Led by a fine century from Michael Atherton, England closed the first day at 3/298, with Atherton unbeaten at stumps on 154 and Graeme Hick on 14. Although the three batsmen who surrendered their wickets (Mark Butcher for 25, John Crawley for 27, and Mark Ramprakash for 65) all owed their dismissals to bad lapses in concentration, it was a day which gave hope that a greater sense of resolve and determination may be evident in England's play for the remainder of its Australian visit.
Relishing a brief recall to the national captaincy in the absence of both Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain, Atherton scored his first century for England since his 103 against South Africa at Edgbaston in the First Test of the 1998 series. Under cloudless skies in Hobart, his innings was a typically elegant one and was marked by some excellent strokes off both the back and front foot. Against a side which was badly hampered by the loss of two of its front-line bowlers (Gavin Robertson, who did not even take the field due to back spasms; and Paul Reiffel, who bowled just nine balls before succumbing to a groin injury) within the first twenty minutes of play and a third (Mike Kasprowicz, who departed after feeling some tightness in his hamstring) late in the afternoon, Atherton was largely untroubled in posting his runs and appears to be well placed to surpass his highest first class score of 199 when play resumes tomorrow. Whilst he appeared toward the end of the day to be struggling again with his ongoing back troubles, he certainly put behind him the disappointments earlier this week of his controversial dismissal in Adelaide and his omission from the squad chosen to play in the triangular one-day series against Australia and Sri Lanka later in the season in beautiful fashion today.
Once again, Ramprakash stamped his consistency on the day's proceedings with a stylishly compiled hand, which featured a number of powerful off-drives, daring pull shots and one superb lofted straight drive for six off the leg spin of Stuart Law. He and Atherton severely punished some loose bowling and sloppy fielding (from a side which was even forced to call on Allan Border to act as one of four substitutes) in an excellent partnership of 139 in just 142 minutes for the third wicket before he succumbed by bottom edging an extravagant pull shot into his stumps off the bowling of Michael Bevan.
Notwithstanding the fine nature of England's effort, it was as notable a day for the fact that Australia's bowling stocks took a hammering in medical rooms around the country. Adding to the ills of Robertson, Reiffel and Kasprowicz, leg spinner Stuart MacGill and swing bowler Damien Fleming were both unable to take the field for their respective states in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria in Sydney. Whilst they were generally borne more out of precaution than necessity, the absences of each of the five players have again raised some alarm in local circles about the continuing susceptibility of a large number of Australian bowlers to injury worries. That it was confirmed early in the morning that Shane Warne and Mark Waugh will be required to give evidence before the Pakistani cricket bribery inquiry via a video hook-up next week only exacerbated the fact that this was a day that most Australian cricket followers would probably prefer to forget.
Day 2:
It was a day of frustration here on the second day of the match between England and an Australian XI at Bellerive as a combination of gloomy skies and persistent rain contrived to ensure that only three hours of play was possible. Nevertheless, in the time that was available, England's touring party did make some further (and some spectacular) progress in setting about its monumental task of rebuilding its shattered psyche.
Galvanised by Michael Atherton's maiden first-class double century, the side's batsmen today continued the job of mercilessly plundering a seriously understrength and unimpressive bowling line-up. Profiting from the ongoing absence from the field of off-spinner Gavin Robertson and pacemen Michael Kasprowicz and Paul Reiffel, Atherton (210) and Graeme Hick (125) enjoined in an explosive display of run scoring, initially consolidating their day one position before remorselessly savaging their by now largely disspirited opponents.
Hick, who was spectacularly taken on the half-volley by Greg Blewett at cover when he was on just 26 and who was dropped by Stuart Law at mid-wicket when on 94, was especially brutal. Renewing his reputation among some of the many English journalists at the game as a 'flat-track bully', he compiled what was his 104th first class century with some truly thunderous batting. Underpinned by fourteen crunching boundaries and four towering sixes (including one from Matthew Elliott that appeared to clear the hill at the Derwent River end of the ground), his 153-minute innings was a lesson in how a strokemaker goes about destroying substandard bowling. His stay ended only when he miscued another attempted six to present 16 year-old local boy, Nathan Webb, with the opportunity as a substitute fieldsman to take a well-judged catch at long off from the bowling of Michael Bevan.
The Australian XI - which might more appropriately now be dubbed the Australian VIII such is its injury count - was also powerless to overcome Atherton. Again, the veteran English opener played in a highly resolute and determined manner as he led his team with a wonderful display of concentration and high-class batting. Through some 483 minutes at the crease, he surpassed his previous best of 199; and, by the time he chose to end the English innings at the fall of the wicket of Warren Hegg (4) with the score at 6/469, his score had reached a landmark 215.
However, as the second day drew to a close, it seemed that England might be in for a sobering reality check as this game progresses. Australia's two in-form openers, Victoria's Matthew Elliot and South Australia's Greg Blewett, ominously continued to make batting look ridiculously easy as they steered their team to 0/30 in the eleven overs that they faced prior to stumps.
Day 3:
As eddying winds and cloudy skies maintained a continuing watch over the Bellerive Oval, this was another day of relentlessly high scoring in what is fast becoming an almost ludicrous match.
Not to be deterred by the early morning confirmation of the fact that it was Darren Lehmann who had won their three-cornered race to replace Ricky Ponting in Australia's Fourth Test team, it was the Australian XI openers Greg Blewett and Matthew Elliott who essentially provided the headlines today. Blewett made a relentless unbeaten 169 and Elliott a stylish 81 as their 206 run opening stand allowed Lehmann to make an imaginative early afternoon declaration at 4/293 in an attempt to revive a match that had, until that point, appeared to be on its way to suffering a slow and painful death.
Making runs that would, in truth, have been far more consequential for their respective States in the Sheffield Shield games currently being played in Perth and Melbourne, Blewett and Elliott mauled England's bowlers with some imperious strokeplay. Blewett was particularly severe, slamming fifteen fours in the process of advancing his first-class season run aggregate to 962 at the astonishing average of 120. Although the Australians suffered a mini-collapse in the middle of the afternoon when they lost Elliott, New South Welshman Corey Richards (for a second-ball duck) and Lehmann (whose mind appeared to be elsewhere during his innings of just four) for the addition of just six runs in the space of twelve balls, their innings provided further evidence of the unsuitably docile nature of this wicket. Moreover, it brought into much sharper perspective the precise quality of England's batting performance earlier in the match.
When England's batsmen themselves returned to the crease, there proved more to come in the way of bat's domination over ball. The tourists raced to 2/166 in the 37 overs bowled before stumps, with Mark Butcher (85 not out) and John Crawley (63) taking up the cudgels in the wake of Michael Atherton's decision to rest himself after his first innings heroics. That Crawley, who has appeared so ill at ease at the crease in most games on this tour so far, was able to make his runs so easily satisfactorily underlined - as much as any other of the commanding performances of the day - the extent of the benevolent nature of the batting conditions in this game.
Day 4:
Notwithstanding the promising nature of their start to this match, England's demoralised cricketers ended a tour game in despair yet again as they were left on the wrong side of the ledger at the close of their almost farcical run-fest against an Australian XI here on Tuesday. Once more on the receiving end of a marvellous batting exhibition from Australian cricket's man of the moment, Greg Blewett, the tourists surrendered meekly as they allowed the young Australians to register an easy nine wicket win with more than twenty overs to spare.
For the third time in two weeks at this venue, it was Blewett's day as he cracked a superb unbeaten 213 in almost even time. Joining an elite group of record breaking Australian batsmen, he was again in irresistible form. Supported in grand style by young New South Welshman, Corey Richards (who made 138 not out), Blewett displayed a sense of arrogance and complete contempt for England's bowlers as he piloted his team to an emphatic victory. Together, the two added a massive unbroken partnership of 345 in 206 minutes off just 307 balls after the surprising early loss of Matthew Elliott (8). Such has been his insatiable taste for runs this season that Blewett has now moved alongside such names as Bill Ponsford, Bob Simpson, David Hookes, Graham Yallop and Allan Border as the only Australians to have chalked up 1000 first-class runs in a domestic season prior to January. He also joins Sir Donald Bradman, Charlie MacCartney, Hookes, Border and Michael Bevan as the only players from his country to make four centuries from as many first-class innings.
Not to be completely outdone by his partner at the individual level, Richards continued his own spectacular season of scoring by registering his fourth first-class century from six matches. Whilst his innings was clearly not as commanding as the one played by Blewett, he was also particularly severe off the front foot and accumulated his runs without ever appearing to be in trouble. Apart from surviving a close legside stumping appeal off Dominic Cork on 108, he was never really tested by the bowlers and suggested why he appears to be so highly regarded by the nation's selectors so early in his career.
Although Mark Butcher was able - after, it must be said, running Cork out at the first attempt to register his milestone - to provide one English highlight on his way to making an unconquered 103, England's day was a highly disappointing one. After its batsmen had progressed somewhat scratchily in the first half hour of the day to an eventual second innings closure at 3/199, things went steadily downhill for them. Almost amazingly - in light of both their start to the match and the injury woes which afflicted their opponents during this game - it was indeed England that departed Bellerive with the majority of the long list of bowling headaches that were sustained during this contest. Whilst they were essentially on a hiding to nothing on this most benign of batting pitches, Cork, Alex Tudor and Peter Such (each of whom will almost certainly be playing at Test level over the course of the next fortnight) made simply no impression and did woefully little to impress as they attempted to take the mere seven wickets that probably would have been enough to win them the match. And despite the fact that the result in this game owed far more to the curator than the players, one can only guess at the mood of Alec Stewart's men as they head to Melbourne tonight to prepare themselves for the hectic post-Christmas leg of their tour.
John Polack (CricInfo's Hobart correspondent).