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Australia v England, 2nd Test, Adelaide

Magical memories, but now Australia under scrutiny

Peter English

December 1, 2010

Comments: 87 | Text size: A | A

Match Facts

Kevin Pietersen pushes to the off side, Australia v England, 1st Test, Brisbane, 1st day, November 25, 2010
Kevin Pietersen was just starting to purr when he was dismissed in Brisbane © Getty Images
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December 3, Adelaide
Start time 10:30 (00:00 GMT)

The Big Picture

England fought back to show character and ended up controlling the first Test, but they must build on their hard-won momentum to deliver more pain to the ailing hosts. Andrew Strauss already holds the urn so he has an important advantage in what has turned into a four-game shootout. The equation is simple: Australia must win more games than England to reclaim the Ashes.

Given the state of the sides, a local victory will be hard work in Adelaide. The back-to-back games mean both outfits will have some weary men, and the bowlers face another back-breaking week on a surface that feels like paradise for the batsmen. At the end of the Gabba Test, Ricky Ponting couldn't help but laugh at England's second innings, which finished at 1 for 517. There wasn't much else he could do after watching his bowlers provide fodder for Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott.

It is extremely unusual for the hosts to be under such heavy scrutiny so early in a home campaign, but they must discover some sustained form to win some relief. Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris, the fast bowlers, have been included in the 13-man squad and have been trying to impress in the nets this week. The batting remains unchanged but once again this is an important game for Marcus North, the hit-and-miss batsman, and part-time spinner.

The game here four years ago is still remembered as a nightmare or a magical dream, depending on your allegiance. England entered the final day at 1 for 59, with a lead of 97 and a chance to push for victory. Instead they were rolled by Shane Warne for 129 and Australia sped to a six-wicket victory. England never recovered and the result changed the series.

Form guide

(most recent first)

Australia DLLLW
England DWLWW

Watch out for...

Ricky Ponting was relieved when he was able to leave the Gabba with an unbeaten half-century on Monday. He did enough to show some much-needed form in the Test arena and convince himself he's on target for a huge score. As Australia showed in the first game, they need their captain to fire, and will hope he does it on a ground he loves. Ponting is the leading scorer in Adelaide with 1433 runs, including five centuries and a high of 242, in 14 Tests.

Like Ponting, Kevin Pietersen produced a bright start in Brisbane, with 43 when the conditions were at their toughest on the opening day. Just as he was starting to shine brightly he pushed at Peter Siddle and edged to second slip. Pietersen is desperate for a big contribution and will start at Adelaide sans moustache, which makes him look hungry for runs instead of 1970s fun. The arena is Pietersen's favourite - although that might have changed slightly after his rain rant yesterday - but he has mixed memories from four years ago. He conquered Warne in the first innings with 158, but was bowled trying to sweep on that fateful final day in 2006-07.

Team news

Australia's bowlers are the most nervous groups of players in the country and Mitchell Johnson has already had his card marked unfavourably. Ponting has confirmed Johnson has been dropped from the side after his ineffective performance at the Gabba, with Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger vying for his place. With a gap of only three days between Tests, the fresh men could provide a huge boost for the already weary side. Expect Bollinger to come in for Johnson, which lengthens Australia's tail, while Ben Hilfenhaus also struggled at the Gabba and will be under pressure from Harris.

Australia (probable) 1 Simon Katich, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Xavier Doherty, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Doug Bollinger.

England's bowlers also found the Gabba pitch tough work but only injury will force them into a change. Steven Finn showed he could extract some extra bounce out of lifeless surfaces, while Stuart Broad and James Anderson also had bright patches. The key for England is to get something out of their highly-rated spinner Graeme Swann, who struggled in the opening game.

England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn.

Pitch and conditions

This will be the first Test in charge for the curator Damian Hough, who has replaced Les Burdett after his four decades at the ground. Hough expects a traditional Adelaide wicket, which means lots of runs and some unpredictable bounce late in the game. "Every year we have been able to produce a sporting pitch," Hough said. "There have been eight results in the last 10 years so I think the characteristics haven't changed." The forecast for the opening day is mostly fine, with a top temperature of 30C, while Saturday's maximum is expected to be 35C.

Stats and trivia

  • The last time Australia drew at the Gabba, they followed up with a four-wicket defeat in Adelaide. That was against India in 2003-04. England last drew the opening Test of an Ashes tour in 1998-99, which they followed with losses in Perth and Adelaide
  • After last week's run-fest, when Cook became the highest scorer at the Gabba with his 235, the players will have to do a lot better to beat the ground's high mark. Don Bradman's 299 is the top score, while England's best is Paul Collingwood's 206 four years ago
  • Two players involved in the match will start it with batting averages of more than 200 at the venue. Brad Haddin's mean is 245 in two Tests, while Collingwood's is 228 after one match.
  • Australia have won 16 of 29 Tests against England at Adelaide, while the visitors have succeeded on eight occasions. Their last victory there came in 1994-95, when Devon Malcolm and Chris Lewis bowled the hosts out for 156 in the final innings.
  • Only four of the specialist bowlers in both squads have played Tests in Adelaide. Johnson has played there three times, while Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and James Anderson have played there once.

Quotes

"The bottom line is we've got to find 20 wickets in the game and we've got to pick the bowlers who we think are best equipped, skill-based wise and physically, to get that job done."
Ricky Ponting

"We played a really good three-day game here a little while ago, and it was really valuable to play on the Test square. Our guys enjoyed playing on that surface."
Andy Flower, England's coach

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo

RSS Feeds: Peter English

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Comments: 87 
Posted by   on (December 02 2010, 22:30 PM GMT)

Why is it so hard to find out the final team selections?? I should have thought Cricinfo would have published them somewhere. How does one pick a team without this info?

Posted by   on (December 02 2010, 22:07 PM GMT)

Cam, couldn't agree more mate

Posted by asraruwant on (December 02 2010, 20:52 PM GMT)

Guys its all predictions for now, we can only know after the match starts in about 3 hours from now, I really dont know how to react to the axing of mitch i know it was necessary but then again what if ? what if he was gonna shine in this test? One thing is for sure the Aussie Tail is now long after Johnsons Axing so this puts extra pressure on the top 7, although i think its a flat deck so 7 good batsmen should be good enough. I really feel if Aussies dont pick Harris in Adelaide its gonna be another blunder. And for sure this should be north's last chance and for some reason i have a gut feel that north is going to get a hundred in this test and take a couple of wickets on the last day. But for the Sake of the Series i would like to see england win this test match and then Australia fight back with a win in Perth, then a Last wicket Draw in Melbourne and then 5 days of immense Drama in Sydney. Final Score line??? 1-1 Drawn Series. Coz these 2 teams are very evenly matched.

Posted by   on (December 02 2010, 20:52 PM GMT)

Why Johnson? He is a better batsman than North! Don't give him bowling if he cannot take wickets... At least he can score few runs! There were 5 bowlers when England piled on 517/1. Why him?

Posted by grvdubey on (December 02 2010, 19:55 PM GMT)

The dream team of Aussies as i call it was no doubt an all time great test team with match winners like Mcgrath , Warne ,Gilly, Hayden etc .So all the teams had to give their 100 percent for giving some sort of competition to that team .Aussies have such a reputation that teams still give their 100 percent against them but the problem is team is not good as it used to be now .Hence i am sure we will see such tough decisions from Aussies selectors in future also. Apologies if i am incorrect but as far as i know this is not new with Aussie cricket , they preferred Damien Martyn over Steve Waugh in ODIs for welfare of the team .

Posted by Fareen on (December 02 2010, 19:53 PM GMT)

Please drop North! Please! Why can't the selectors understand? All the aussie fans know he shouldn't be there and even me from Bangladesh understands he doesn't deserve his place.So many players are knocking @ the door.Play C.White instead of him.White already showed in the practice game just what he can do.And he can give you 10-12 overs of leg spin too.and please play ryan harris,he's a classy bowler.

Posted by radhegee on (December 02 2010, 19:20 PM GMT)

Australia should have White in place of struggling North . White scored a Ton against Englishmen in australia A game and is in very good form . Its high time now , White should be in the squad as his attacking form could a great help for australia to reclaim Ashes . Even in the tour match north failed in both the innings against england . Its now time to replace western australia's skipper with victoria's Skipper in the australian national team .

Posted by suzyparker on (December 02 2010, 18:31 PM GMT)

We got two things from the Gabba. The first is that bowlers find it hard on feather bed pitches - obvious! The second is that England will not be rolled over. They have nothing to fear from a benign attack and this might change their mindset and encourage them to take the aussie bowlers apart. Them we'll see what punter is made of. By the way congrats on 150 caps! I wish the English fans wouldn't boo him. I was at the Oval and gave him a standing ovation, the guy deserves respect.

Posted by handyandy on (December 02 2010, 18:18 PM GMT)

Bowlers have a right to unhappy with their treatment. Hussey, North and Clarke seem automatic selectons even though their performances ove the last few years have been less then stellar. Johnson and Hauritz on the otherhand have been generally better performed and yet they are now both gone.

Posted by   on (December 02 2010, 18:08 PM GMT)

Not quite a surface where some one like James Anderson would relish to bowl, but for certain Swann is going to topple a few Aussie wickets keeping in view the reputation of Adelaide Oval. Not overestimating the strength of pace attack, the Spin department of locals seem to be pretty feeble and it might need some miracle for them to get past the English. Last time round these 2 teams met at the Oval, Colly and KP got a 300+ runs partnership, but still ended up on the losing side. However the difference this time is the absence of McGrath and Warne. All in all, a tough test for Aussie bolwers on a pitch that generally suits the batsmen.

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Peter EnglishClose
Peter English Australasia editor Peter English is regularly accused of being English by Australians, especially during an Ashes series, but has lived most of his life in Queensland and risked re-breaking ribs by cheering the state's original Sheffield Shield win in 1994-95. He did spend three years in England but never considered swapping his Australian passport, mainly because his batting was so miserable during occasional appearances in Yorkshire's Wetherby League. In London, Peter worked for Wisden Cricket Monthly and the Guardian before returning to Australia, where he joined ESPNcricinfo in 2004. For exercise, he now chases his two children.
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