England vs Australia - Ashes 2009 - Fourth Test - Day 1

Australia: 196/4 (47 overs) Michael Clarke 34*(60), Marcus North 7*(42)
England 102 (33.5 overs) Matt Prior 37*(43), Alastair Cook 30(65), Peter Siddle 5/21, Stuart Clark 3/18

Ricky Ponting helps Australia gain a lead of 94 runs at stumps on Day 1

And that's the end of a good day for Australia. Australia are 196/4 at stumps on Day 1, leading by 94 runs with 6 wickets in hand. Skipper Ricky Ponting along with Shane Watson made a mockery of England bowling attack scoring runs aggressively. They added 119 runs to the second wicket, and made sure Australia gets a lead in the fourth test. England managed to pick up 3 wickets in 4 overs after tea to apply brakes to the Australian juggernaut. At stumps, Michael Clarke 34*(60) and Marcus North 7*(42) are at crease.

Over 47: 5 runs from the over. And that's the last over of the day. Australia lead by 94 runs with 6 wickets in hand.
Australia: 196/4 (47 overs) Michael Clarke 34*(60), Marcus North 7*(42)

Over 46: 3 runs from James Anderson's over. Australia lead by 89 runs with 6 wickets in hand.
Australia: 191/4 (46 overs) Michael Clarke 33*(56), Marcus North 3*(40)

Over 40: Steve Harmison into the attack. 1 run from the over.
Australia: 179/4 (41 overs) Michael Clarke 21*(43), Marcus North 3*(23)

Over 40: James Anderson into the attack. And Clarke welcomes him with a couple of fours in the over. 8 runs from it.
Australia: 178/4 (40 overs) Michael Clarke 21*(40), Marcus North 2*(20)

Over 39: 1 run from the over. 15 more to go.
Australia: 170/4 (39 overs) Michael Clarke 12*(34), Marcus North 2*(20)

Over 38: 1 run from the over.
Australia: 169/4 (38 overs) Michael Clarke 12*(28), Marcus North 2*(20)

Over 37: Maiden over from Broad. 17 overs remaining in the day.
Australia: 168/4 (37 overs) Michael Clarke 11*(22), Marcus North 2*(20)

Over 36: Onions to continue. 3 runs from the over. Australia lead by 66 runs.
Australia: 168/4 (36 overs) Michael Clarke 11*(22), Marcus North 2*(14)

Over 35: Maiden over from Broad.
Australia: 165/4 (35 overs) Michael Clarke 9*(15), Marcus North 2*(14)

Over 34: Onions to continue. 9 runs from the over. Australia lead by 63 runs with 6 wickets in hand.
Australia: 165/4 (34 overs) Michael Clarke 9*(15), Marcus North 2*(8)

Over 33: Maiden over from Broad.
Australia: 156/4 (33 overs) Michael Clarke 1*(10), Marcus North 1*(7)

Over 32: Onions to continue. 4 runs from the over.
Australia: 156/4 (32 overs) Michael Clarke 1*(4), Marcus North 1*(7)

Over 31: Broad to continue. And he strikes again. Broad gets two wickets in two overs. Hussey Out LBW. Marcus North is the new man in. And he gets off the mark straight away. 5 runs from the over.
Australia: 152/4 (31 overs) Michael Clarke 1*(4), Marcus North 1*(1) Michael Hussey 10(10)

Over 30: Onions to continue. Michael Clarke is the new man in. Two new batsmen at the crease. Hussey gets off the mark with a fabulous boundary. Both batsmen off the mark. Australia lead by 45 runs with 7 wickets in hand.
Australia: 147/3 (30 overs) Michael Hussey 6*(7) Michael Clarke 1*(2)

Over 29: Stuart Broad to continue. And Ricky Ponting departs. 7 runs from the over. A good over from Broad where he had a couple of chances to get Ponting's wicket and finally he gets him in the last ball of the over.
Australia: 140/3 (29 overs) Michael Hussey 0*(3) Ricky Ponting 78(101)

Over 28: Graham Onions into the attack. And finally England gets a break. Onions gets rid of Shane Watson right after he got his fifty. Shane Watson OUT LBW. Good innings from Shane Watson. The partnership comes to an end after 119 runs. Michael Hussey is the new man in.
Australia: 133/2 (28 overs) Ricky Ponting 74*(94), Michael Hussey 0*(3) Shane Watson 51(67)

Over 27: 4 runs from Broad's over.
Australia: 131/1 (27 overs) Shane Watson 49*(64) Ricky Ponting 74*(94)

Over 26: Steve Harmison to continue. 10 runs from the over. Another expensive over from Harmison. Australia is going well at a run rate of 4.88 per over.
Australia: 127/1 (26 overs) Shane Watson 49*(64) Ricky Ponting 70*(88)

Over 25: 2 runs from the over. Australia lead by 15 runs.
Australia: 117/1 (25 overs) Shane Watson 44*(60) Ricky Ponting 65*(86)

Over 24: Andrew Strauss brings Steve Harmison into the attack. And Watson embarasses Harmison by hitting 3 fours in the over. 12 runs from the over. Australia lead by 13 runs.
Australia: 115/1 (24 overs) Shane Watson 44*(60) Ricky Ponting 63*(80)

Over 23: 3 runs from the over. Australia in lead here. They lead by 1 run with 9 wickets in hand.
Australia: 103/1 (23 overs) Shane Watson 32*(54) Ricky Ponting 63*(80)

Over 22: Anderson to continue. 8 runs from the over. Australia trail by 2 runs with 9 wickets in hand.
Australia: 100/1 (22 overs) Shane Watson 29*(50) Ricky Ponting 63*(78)

Over 21: Ricky Ponting is punishing England for their inconsistency. 5 runs from the over. Australia trail by 10 runs with 9 wickets in hand.
Australia: 92/1 (21 overs) Shane Watson 27*(48) Ricky Ponting 58*(74)

Over 20: A back-foot cut shot from Ponting brings up his fifty in just 63 balls. 5 runs from the over.
Australia: 87/1 (20 overs) Shane Watson 27*(48) Ricky Ponting 53*(68)

Over 19: Broad to continue. 5 runs from the over.
Australia: 82/1 (19 overs) Shane Watson 27*(48) Ricky Ponting 48*(62)

Over 18: James Anderson to continue. 3 runs from the over. Australia trail by 25 runs with 9 wickets in hand.
Australia: 77/1 (18 overs) Shane Watson 25*(45) Ricky Ponting 45*(59)

Over 17: Stuart Broad into the attack for the first time in the match. Maiden over for him.
Australia: 74/1 (17 overs) Shane Watson 25*(45) Ricky Ponting 42*(53)

Over 16: James Anderson to bowl the first over after tea. 4 runs off it.
Australia: 73/1 (16 overs) Shane Watson 25*(40) Ricky Ponting 42*(52)

Australia gets off to a good start in first innings

Australia: 69/1 (15 overs) Shane Watson 24*(37) Ricky Ponting 39*(49)

Australia made a good start after bowling out England for 102. Australia are 69/1 at Tea on Day 1, trailing by 33 runs with 9 wickets in hand. Shane Watson was on right from bowl one, as he smashed the first two balls of the innings to the boundary. Steve Harmison got the first break for England as Simon Katich was caught behind by keeper Matt Prior. Ricky Ponting joined Shane Watson and they scored aggressively.

Over 7: Andrew Strauss brings in Graham Onions into the attack. And Ricky Ponting welcomes him with a six and a four. Ricky Ponting is playing some awesome shots here. An expensive over again for England. 17 runs from the over.
Australia 57/1 (7 overs) Shane Watson 20*(18), Ricky Ponting 32*(20)

Over 6: A terrific over for Australia. Ponting smashes a couple of balls to the boundary. 11 runs from the over. Australia trail by 62 runs.
Australia 40/1 (6 overs) Shane Watson 20*(18), Ricky Ponting 15*(14)

Over 5: 6 runs from Anderson's over. The deficit is 73 runs with 9 wickets in hand for Australia.
Australia 29/1 (5 over) Shane Watson 20*(18), Ricky Ponting 4*(8)

Over 4: Steve Harmison to continue. And Ricky Ponting is off the mark with a fabulous boundary. 5 runs from the over.
Australia 23/1 (4 over) Shane Watson 14*(12), Ricky Ponting 4*(8)

Over 3: James Anderson to continue. 4 runs from the over.
Australia 18/1 (3 over) Shane Watson 14*(12), Ricky Ponting 0*(2)

Over 2: Steve Harmison gets to bowl for the first time in Ashes 2009. He receives a big cheer from the crowd. And he strikes for England. Simon Katich is out for a duck, caught by a diving Ravi Bopara at leg gully. Ricky Ponting is the new man in. He gets a lot of boos from the crowd.
Australia 14/1 (2 over) Shane Watson 10*(6), Ricky Ponting 0*(2) Simon Katich 0(4)

Over 1: The players are back in the field. James Anderson to bowl the first over for England. Three slips and a gully for Watson. A good start for Australia as Shane Watson dispatches the first two balls to the boundary. An expensive over for England and Australian couldn't haved asked for a better start. 10 runs from the over.
Australia 10/0 (1 over) Shane Watson 10*(6), Simon Katich 0*(0)

England bowled out for 102 in first innings

England 102 (33.5 overs) - First Innings
Matt Prior 37*(43), Alastair Cook 30(65), Peter Siddle 5/21, Stuart Clark 3/18

England equalled the sixth lowest total at Headingly in test matches as they are all out for 102 runs in the first innings of the fourth test match. Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Peter Siddle and Stuart Clark made a mockery of England's batting attack who are without Andrew Flintoff for this match. Siddle picked up 5 wickets which included 4 wickets in 3 overs after lunch. Stuart Clark who is included in the side ahead of Brett Lee picked up 3 wickets. Only two batsmen could score double digit runs. Alastair Cook 30 and Matt Prior who remained unbeaten at 37. There's still a great deal of pace on the pitch which could be the only hope left for England at the moment.

Over 33.5: Crowd cheers as England reaches 100. Peter Siddle to continue. Another one bites the dust. Peter Siddle gets three wickets in three overs. James Anderson is caught behind the stumps by Haddin. Graham Onions is the new man in and he goes out first ball. Peter Siddle picks up five wickets. And England is all out for 102 runs in 33.5 overs. Great stuff from Australia here.
England 102 (33.5 overs) Matt Prior 37*(43), James Anderson 3(10), Graham Onions 0(1)

Over 33: James Anderson played 52 innings so far without making a duck. Ben Hilfenhaus into the attack replacing Stuart Clark. 2 runs fro the over and Anderson manages to survive another innings without a duck.
England 100/8 (33 overs) Matt Prior 37*(43), James Anderson 1*(6)

Over 32: Peter Siddle to continue. He picked up 2 wickets for 18 runs so far in the first innings. And Steve Harmison goes for a duck too. Siddle is bowling a great spell here. Harmison is caught behind by keeper Haddin who is back for the fourth test having missed the third test match. James Anderson is the new man in.
England 98/8 (32 overs) Matt Prior 36*(41), James Anderson 0*(2), Steve Harmison 0(6)

Over 31: 5 runs from Stuart Clark's over. Harmison on 0.
England 97/7 (31 overs) Matt Prior 35*(38), Steve Harmison 0*(5)

Over 30: Siddle strikes this time. Swann is out for a duck. A thick outside edge flies to Michael Clarke at first slip. England are going down fast here. Steve Harmison is the new man in.
England 92/7 (30 overs) Matt Prior 34*(35), Steve Harmison 0*(2), Graeme Swann 0(15)

Over 29: Stuart Clark to continue. 4 runs from the over. England needs to build up a partnership here to avoid the embarrassment. Swann still on 0.
England 91/6 (29 overs) Matt Prior 33*(33), Graeme Swann 0*(13)

Over 28: Peter Siddle to continue. 3 runs from the over.
England 87/6 (28 overs) Matt Prior 30*(32), Graeme Swann 0*(8)

Clark picks 3 wickets as England slumps to 72/6 at Lunch

England 72/6 (24.5 overs) Matt Prior 17*(20), Alastair Cook 30(65), Stuart Clark 3/7

England won the toss and chose to bat first in the fourth test match of Ashes 2009 at Headingley, Leeds. England leads the series 1-0 in the three test matches so far. Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of the fourth test match due to lack of fitness. England had a crazy morning with a fire alarm going off at 5am at the team's hotel in the morning and Matt Prior having a back spasm playing football before the start of the match. Australia agreed to delay the start by 10 minutes allowing England to decide their final XI for the match.

Winning, the toss England chose to bat first. Australia who is still looking for a win in the tournament so far chose to bring Stuart Clark in the final XI ahead of Brett Lee who declared himself fit earlier in the week. Australia had a great first session as their fast bowling attack ripped England's top order. England were struggling at 72/6 at Lunch on Day 1. Stuart Clark who is playing his first match of the series took 3 wickets in the morning in just 7 overs.

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