England escape Oz onslaught

England’s last pair of James Anderson and Monty Panesar batted for 40 minutes to deny a victory for the Australians in the first Test at Cardiff on late Sunday. The left-handers’ stand of 19 spanned 69 balls after England had been in desperate trouble when all-rounder Paul Collingwood, the last of their recognised batsman, was out for 74 after a gutsy innings lasting nearly five-and-three-quarter hours. Collingwood’s exit left England on 233 for nine but the 10th-wicket duo held firm as England ended the match on 252 for nine.

What did they say?

After the match, James Anderson said, “It is huge for us.”The Cardiff crowd went berserk with every run (read mishits) and it looked as if their team was winning and not desperately fighting to SAVE the Test. England skipper praised his team while Aussie skipper took heart from the fact that his team was one top throughout the Test and would keep their heads highs when they go to Lord’s where the Australians haven’t lost a Test since 1934.

A record that Ricky Ponting would want to keep intact.

Put-off moments in the Test!

1. One of the moments was in the dying moments of the match when England team sent their physio Steve McCraig and their 12th man Shafayat in what was clearing a waste of precious time and I am sure Ponting did not take it too lightly.

2. The England crowd is considered sensible but they displayed none of it when they shamelessly cheered for their team who not surprisingly doing the catch-up act throughout the match. I sincerely hope that some common sense prevails the next time and the team which is performing better gets some cheer too. So what if it is the opposition!

3. Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson gave an earful to compatriot Kevin Pietersen when the latter hit a shot and the ball went dangerously close to where Johnson was practising before the start of the day’s play….

Not necessary Midge, you dont need to open your mouth always….Just show the anger on the field and not off it!!

But they demonstrated a defensive technique worthy of top-order batsmen although England angered Australia by sending on physiotherapist Steve McCaig and 12th man Bilal Shafayat in what appeared to be a blatant attempt at time-wasting.

 

 

<style type=”text/css”>.scribniaWidget {display:block!important;outline:none!important;background:#fff!important;cursor:auto!important;height:auto!important;max-height:none!important;max-width:none!important;min-height:0!important;min-width:0!important;visibility:visible!important;bottom:auto!important;clip:auto!important;left:auto!important;position:relative!important;right:auto!important;top:auto!important;vertical-align:top!important;z-index:1!important;color:#666!important;direction:ltr!important;font:normal normal normal 11px/14px arial!important;font-size-adjust:none!important;font-stretch:normal!important;letter-spacing:normal!important;list-style:none!important;text-decoration:none!important;text-indent:0!important;text-shadow:none!important;text-transform:none!important;unicode-bidi:normal;white-space:normal!important;word-spacing:normal!important;border-collapse:collapse!important;border-spacing:0!important;caption-side:left!important;empty-cells:hide!important;table-layout:auto!important;} .scribniaWidget a {text-decoration:none;} .scribniaWidget a:hover {text-decoration:underline;}</style><div style=”width:154px; border:1px solid #CCCCCC; padding:10px 12px; font-family: arial; float: left; background: #FFFFFF;”><a href=”http://scribnia.com”><img src=”http://scribnia.com/images/scribniaLogoSmall.png” style=”float: left; border: none;”/></a><script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://www.scribnia.com/ranking_widget/connect.php?aid=12436&sid=26&width=154″></script > <div style=”margin-top: 7px; width: 47%; font-size: 11px; float: left; line-height: 13px;”><a href = “http://scribnia.com/author/show/12436/prasad-ramasubramanian/” target = “_blank” style=”color: #2d5993;”>See all reviews for prasad ramasubramanian’s blog</></div><div style=”margin-top: 7px; width: 47%; font-size: 11px; float: right; line-height: 13px; text-align: right;”><a href = “http://scribnia.com/author/subcategoryshow/Sports/” target = “_blank” style=”color: #2d5993;”>Find more Sports bloggers</a></div></div>