Match Report

England won the toss and elected to bat on an Sydney Cricket Ground wicket looking less of a dustbowl than the one for the previous match. Both teams put near full strength sides on the field, Australian resting Glenn McGrath, playing in his place Michael Kasprowicz, whilst England returned several regulars, including captain Alec Stewart, to the second string side that played on Wednesday.

Unfortunately for England they made a poor start finishing at 2/30 after the first 10 overs against a straight but unthreatening attack from opening bowlers Michael Kasprowicz and Adam Dale. With openers Nick Knight and Alec Stewart playing a more normal game than has been seen frequently, England dawdled along at a slow two runs per over, fine if you do not lose wickets, but when Dale clean bowled Knight bring one back between bat and pad taking the top of off stump, Englands game plan went out the window.

Stewart responded by putting a beautiful cover drive to next ball into the fence, and then lofted Kasprowicz over cover for two more. Dale continued to be tight bowling a close line that allowed the batsman no easy runs, requiring the batsman to do all the work in scoring. Kasprowicz was more readily milked for runs, and a Hick drive ran easily to the cover fence, but when Dale removed Hick first ball of the next over, drive at a good ball, Englands start had gone from poor to bad.

Dale again bowled an excellent starting spell and with England not willing to attack him will likely bowl out another ten cheap overs in this tournament. The introduction of Brendon Julian in the eleventh over bodes well for a more interesting time in this match.

Despite the introduction of the inconsistent Brendon Julian, and medium pacer Shane Lee into the attack, England onlt managed 38 runs in the second ten overs for the loss of captain Alec Stewarts wicket.

In another 10 overs of trundling bowling faced up by cautious batting, not even Julian's reknowned inconsistency was able to enliven the game. Dale took his figures to 2 for 15 off 7 overs before being relieved by medium pacer Shane Lee. Lee having been hit out of the attack three times in for games before this match managed to get through three overs tidily and with Julian bowling a tidy 5 overs, England look to be struggling to get more than 200.

Julian started the eleventh over and bowled tidily, whilst Dale continued to bowl his immaculate line. Neither Alec Stewart nor Nassar Hussain seemed willing to lift the pace, and it was only in a single over where Alec Stewart lofted Julian to long on and then punished a bad legstump short ball to the square leg fence that any interest in attack was shown by the batsmen. But Stewart departed the following Julian over lifting him to the square leg fielder lee, perhaps misjudging the height of the ball. With a glanced four from Hussain to fine leg taking the number of boundaries in the 10 overs to 3, England moved to 68 after 20 overs. Although England have a deep batting lineup they appear unwilling to exploit it.

Another laborious period passed by as England again scored thirty something runs in 10 overs. Thirty-three they scored this time again though they lost a wicket, this time that of Nassar Hussain who cut the off spin of Mark Waugh straight to the man at point. The ball, the shot and the catch indicating the lack lustre nature of play in this match so far.

Warne introduced himself into the attack for over 33, to mild applause matching in excitement the game itself. Julian finished his 6 over spell for just 20 runs, Lee went off after 5 overs for 22, his last over witness perhaps only the second aggressive intent from a batsman of the match when Wells come down and slogged Lee to the deep cover boundary.

That was enough for Warne, he brought Mark Waugh into the attack, the first overs Mark Waugh has bowled in this Carlton & United One Day Series. Waugh bowled tidily but the lack of pace and dusty nature of the pitch although better than Wednesday night when Sri Lanka utilised 5 spinners, help him keep the batsman from scoring. Needing to put all the pace on the ball themselves and being unwilling to do that, Englands batsmen continued to struggle to score runs.

Wells survived a stumping chance, a late decision by the umpire to call for the replay, showed that he had grounded his backfoot. But the following over Hussain offered no doubt as he cut a straight ball straight to the backward point fieldsman. An ordinary dismissal from a normal ball and a very average shot perfectly summing up this game so far.

England's batsmen showed more interest in scoring runs as they tried to step up the pace and give Australia a score that gives them a chance of victory. Both Hollioake and Wells were keen to push the rate up by path of singles and twos, neither keen to loft, struggled through to push the singles every ball as they really needed.

Warne used a varied collection of bowlers, Waugh coming off after 3 overs, replaced by Dale, then Warne replacing himself with Bevan. Dale continued his tidy bowling, a boundary in his second spell from a legstump short ball being perhaps his only really bad ball. Bevan bowled with his usual mixture of good balls that batsmen fail to read with his half trackers that batsmen seem mesmerised by.

It was one of these deliveries that removed Adam Hollioake, attempting to drag the ball to the square leg fence he succeeded in being caught behind. The ball appearing to come off his arm into the keepers gloves, Gilchrist failing to respond in time to take the catch was lucky that the ball bounced straight up allowing him a second chance. The ball did pass close to his glove but it was unclear from the replay wether it did in fact brush the glove. The next ball, new batsman Mark Alleyne showed hat sould have happened to the previous ball when he pulled it to deep midwicket, with only a slow outfield stopping it from reaching the fence.

Dale bowled out, Warne brought Julian back and he continued his tidy contribution although he did overstep several times, and it was during one of these times that Vince Wells making for a run and being sent back was run out by a throw from Ponting. The TV replay used by the umpire again showed the inconsistencies in this, to most it would have been given not out, but the third umpire gave Wells out. England finished 40 overs at 6/148, 200 would be on the optimistic side for a toal, 185 more likely.

Later order hitting from Mark Ealham and continual running from Mark Alleyne saw England scramble 64 runs from the last 10 overs of the match. Ealham hitting through through cover and Alleyne hitting over square leg took 10 runs off Kasprowicz seventh over, the 48th of the match, as Kasprowicz was found wanting for line and length in the final overs. Ealham then lofted Warne over midwicket for six, before perishing in the same over trying to lift Warne over the fence in the same area.

Both Shane Warne and Kasprowicz struggled to control the scoring rate in the last few overs. Earlier Julian finished a good day for him with just 39 runs scored off his 10 overs, but once the batsmen tried to raise the pace they suceeded, leaving spectators wondering where this form had been in the first 45 overs of the game.

England should be unhappy with their batting performance, a slow start was not helped by the fact that no batsman went on with the job, 6 batsmen making 19 or more was wasteful as all batsmen with the exceptional of Ealham took their time in getting their eye in, dragging the run rate down in the process. Having made 210 they should have made 250, given the slow nature of this wicket, they may find themselves having to make use of Hicks offspin and getting lots of overs out of the medium pacers. Australia have a deep batting lineup with Lee at 7 and Julian at 8, unless England make strong early inroads into this batting lineup they will struggle to defend this total.

The Australian openers Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist made a steady if unexceptional start as Australian moved to 0 for 38 after 10 overs.

Both batsmen had moved into double figures comfortably managing to score regularly but not showing early of the early attacking flair seen from them in earlier matches.

Darren Gough, though going for almost 5 an over, and Allan Mullally bowled tight lines restricting the Australians to just a single boundary, that being an outside edge from Waugh off Gough that ran all along the ground past slip to the third man fence.

Both bowlers trouble the batsmen occassionaly without every threatening to dismiss them, Waugh rapped sharply on his bottom hand by one from Gough that jumped a little, and Gilchrist hit on the body several times trying to turn shortish balls to leg.

Allan Mullally removed both openers in the same over to help bring England into the match after a solid opening partnership. Mullally had Adam Gilchrist bowled as he has been many times this series. Then 3 balls later had Mark Waugh caught behind as he wafted at a good ball angling across him.

Ricky Ponting batting 3, and Darren Lehmann batting 4 steadied the innings whilst maintaining the run rate at just under 4. Bother players pushed regular singles and punished the bad ball, particularly the short ball.

Ponting pushing an Ealham legstump ball down to fine leg for four, and then next over Ealham puts one in short that Lehmann pulls over the fence. Both batsmen looking comfortable, Stewart decides to keep Mullally for later bringing on the medium pace of Mark Alleyne, but he bowled poorly easily milked for runs and bowling some bad short stuff. England need another spark.

Lehmann and Ponting batted through to the thirtieth over, adding 33 runs to take their partnership to 61 for the third wicket, putting Australia comfortably in control of the match.

Alec Stewart using Robert Croft and Adam Hollioake, to relieve Ealham and the expensive Alleyne, was unable to produce the breakthrough he needed. Ponting and Lehmann batted comfortably through the 10 over period, Croft providing the only danger. His bowling on this turning wicket kept the Australian batsmen well below the required rate, but with the medium pacers continued to provide the flow of runs needed.

England perhaps ruing not selecting Ashley Giles should find themselves with Hick in the attack shortly. The medium pacers have proved no threat with Ponting and Lehmann taking a casual 5 runs per over off them. England now badly need wickets.

After losing Darren Lehmann to a dubious lbw decision off Adam Hollioake, Australian captain Shane Warne pulled a swifty elevating Julian up the order for the third time in this series. After looking unsure of himself initially, Julian launched into a savage attack on the bowling.

He started by smacking Adam Hollioake over long on, a powerfully timed shot that not even the slow outfield could stop from reaching the fence. Taking a legbye off the last ball of the Hollioake over, he then lofted Robert Croft even further down to long on for another four. He topped these shots with a one kneed pull over square leg for six. New over Ealham angling down legside was well glanced for four to give Julian his highest first class score.

Julian obviously enjoyed himself but the decision to send his up the order was not easy to understand. Australia were cruising when Lehmann was dismissed and with Damien Martyn and Michael Bevan the two remaining batsmen both capable of easily scoring at 5 an over, there was no need for the lower order slogger to be used.

Instead Julian's lusty hitting seemed to affect Ponting who, after the 14 runs in 4 balls from Julian, charged Holliaoke and hit him over long on, then three balls later hit a big drive straight down mid on`s throat. A needlessly lost wicket because of the promotion of Julian. Damien Martyn came in and was immediately off the mark and scoring at a run a ball. This sort of decision could provide England with a life line destabilising the Australian batting lineup, but as it stands Australia look set for an easy victory.

Australia romp home with 24 balls to spare

Shock Man of the Match Damien Martyn guided Australia to a comfortable 4 wicket win with 24 balls to spare over England. Martyn inexplicably made Man of the match for his 38 runs coming in with Australia needing 53 runs at 4 an over, faced 32 balls and looked completely comfortable but his contribution to the game did not include any stand out in the field and his election as man of the match was strange at best.

When Julian was dismissed, dragging a big drive to Graeme Hicks right at midwicket, to a brilliant one handed diving catch, and then next over Bevan fell aimlessly trying to loft a drive that only went to mid on, England would have felt they had a chance. But they simply didn't have enough runs, and with Stewart forced to bring the field up to stop easy singles, Martyn and Shane Lee the new batsman were able to loft the ball for easy boundaries to mercifully end the match quickly.

England's main dissapointment would have been the lacklustre display from the batsmen who never got on with the job of scoring. Repeated starts from players only handicapped the later batsmen who were left with the job of batting out overs and trying to lift the run rate. Englands bowlers did a servicable job but without suficient spin bowling power they were going to struggle to defend an inadequate total.

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