da brdice： It has happened again. Down 1-0 after a first-Testthrashing, England have been revived for the secondAshes series in a row by batting first in the nextmatch
Peter English at Adelaide02-Dec-2006Australia 1 for 28 (Ponting 11*, Hayden 12*) trail England 6 for 551d (Collingwood 206, Pietersen 158) by 523 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England
How they were out – Australia
‘Age is also telling for Glenn McGrath and his left heel. Hewas on and off the field in the opening session fortreatment and was belted for three fours by Pietersenin his first over of the morning’ © Getty Images
It has happened again. Down 1-0 after a first-Testthrashing, England have been revived for the secondAshes series in a row by batting first in the nextmatch. Through brilliant returns from Paul Collingwoodand Kevin Pietersen they grabbed the momentum fromAustralia, posted 6 for 551 and promptly declared infive-star luxury. The series gained further life whenJustin Langer edged Andrew Flintoff, who decided toopen the bowling, and the home side were 1 for 28 atstumps.Collingwood clipped a superb 206 and Pietersen backedhim up with a sensible 158 as England enjoyed anotherwildly successful day on a pitch offering nothingencouraging to the fast bowlers. Together they etchedthemselves into Ashes history with England’s highestfourth-wicket stand against Australia, passing the 288of Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe at Edgbaston in1997.Individually they coped well with Australia’spersistent tinkering in the field, the attempts atregular containment and Shane Warne and Stuart Clark,the biggest dangers in an ineffective attack.Collingwood closed a 70-year double-century droughtfor England Down Under when he became the first sinceWally Hammond to achieve the milestone. It was anoutstanding all-round innings that has sealed his spotat No. 4. Pietersen has been criticised for sitting aspot lower in the order but the move has workedspectacularly in this game.The top four blunted Australia and then Pietersen andCollingwood were allowed to capitalise, driving theirside into a position that was unthinkable for even themost positive England supporter over the past week.They narrowly avoided going three sessions withoutAustralia’s hyped attack taking a wicket and thechilly wind that blew between lunch and tea was morebiting than Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.It took an edge from Clark, who was easily the leadingfast man with 3 for 75, to end Collingwood’s stay of392 balls and signal the tea break. India havepunished Australia at home like this recently, butonly occasionally do they allow themselves to betreated so badly in their own conditions.Adelaide is not Warne’s favourite ground and he hasnever given up as many runs against England as his 1for 167. Struck for centuries in consecutive inningsby opponents who usually shake whenever he flicks hiswrist, he has started to look like a 37-year-oldinstead of a vibrant 20-something. Spin has been greatbut slow and his first wicket didn’t come until his47th over. He barely acknowledged it.Age is also telling for McGrath and his left heel. Hewas on and off the field in the opening session for boot treatment and was belted for three fours by Pietersenin his first over of the morning. Clark was preferredto start proceedings and McGrath was only called for athree-over spell. He delivered 12 in the day, most ata speed in the mid-120s, and the decision to passhimself fit is in the process of back firing.
Pietersen and Collingwood etchedthemselves into Ashes history with England’s highestfourth-wicket stand against Australia, passing the 288of Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe at Edgbaston in1997. © Getty Images
England have no such concerns thanks to the 310-runpartnership between Collingwood and Pietersen thatrattled at 3.68 an over. Collingwood’s century arrivedfrom his second ball this morning and he was measuredin the first session before outscoring Pietersen by 27runs in the second.The most spectacular of his 16 fours were lofteddrives to bring up his 150 and 200 as he corrected hiserror on 96 in Brisbane. Warne was the first to watchthe ball sail over his head while Michael Clarke wasthe victim when Collingwood joined Hammond and REFoster as the only Englishmen to scoredouble-centuries in Australia.Until his dismissal Collingwood came closest to losinghis wicket on 109 when Michael Hussey had a chance ata direct hit and missed. As Collingwood walkedfollowing his edge 97 runs later Pietersen ran over tohis team-mate to join the loud applause and the BarmyArmy sang his name.Australia had shut down Pietersen by employing Warnearound the wicket, sometimes with five men on thelegside, but he was happy to let the ball thud intohis pads and occasionally used his feet to attackhalf-volleys. Lee was hammered by Pietersen on acouple of memorable occasions; one thumping straightdrive was just out of the bowler’s reach and a finehook shot sped to the short square boundary. However,Lee was convinced Pietersen nicked him on hisovernight score of 60, but Steve Bucknor ruled not outand was supported by the technology.A quick single from Clark brought up Pietersen’ssecond century against Australia and his double-armraise paid particular attention to his fiancée andLiberty X singer Jessica Taylor, who was standing andsmiling in the Sir Edwin Smith stand. A similarattempt at a run caused his downfall when Ponting under-armed sharply from midwicket. By then England’sgrip on the match was as secure as Pietersen’s bearhugs of Collingwood.Short cutsShot of the day
Paul Collingwood’s lofted four over the head of ShaneWarne to bring up his 150. He tried a similar shot inBrisbane last week and failed, but stayed true to hisaggressive instincts and was rewarded.Highlight of the day
Collingwood again. His double-century was only thefifth by an Englishman in Australia. Wally Hammondscored three, the last in 1936-37, and RE Foster’s 287came in 1903-04.Partnership of the day
Collingwood and Pietersen gave Justin Langer andMatthew Hayden a target to aim for this summer for themost hugs in a liaison. There was a lot of love on theoval as they produced the highest fourth-wicketpartnership for England against Australia.Surprise of the day
Bored of Pietersen andWarne’s battle, the Boony Army tried to start aMexican Wave in the middle session, but the Barmy Armywere gripped by the action and refused to haveanything to do with it. How times change.Wave of the day
Glenn McGrath has never given up as many runs withouta wicket as his 107 in this innings, but theperformance did not steal all of his humour. When theBarmy Army cheered his century McGrath gave a thumbsup as he walked back to his mark.