2006-07 Ashes series
From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
Template:Infobox cricket seriesThe 2006–07 cricket series between Australia and England for the Ashes was played in Australia from 23 November 2006 to 5 January 2007. Australia won the series and regained the Ashes that had been lost to England in the 2005 Ashes series. The five Tests of the series were played at Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
In winning the series, Australia completed a 5–0 "whitewash", the first time this had happened in an Ashes series since 1920–21. The series was also notable for the retirement of several significant Australian players, namely Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne.
Ricky Ponting was named Player of the Series.[1]
Contents |
Trophy
During lunch on the third day of the First Test in Brisbane, The Cricket Show on Channel 9 in Australia revealed that the winner of the Ashes would lift a larger, crystal model of the Ashes urn at the end of the series, rather than a replica of the small Ashes urn.
Lead up
Ricky Ponting found himself criticised by journalists on his captaincy and performances in the 2005 series during the run-up to the first Test. When questioned in a press conference on this subject, he said "We didn't perform the way we would have liked and probably I didn't score the runs I would have liked to during the Ashes...It's important for us to move on, to move forward from that; that is me as a player, me as a captain and the rest of the team as well...We have managed to do that very well, we've actually played better cricket as a result of that." [2]
Andrew Flintoff, England's captain, said about the series that "[it is] the reason we play...we are going over there to play in what could be the biggest series ever so there is an excited group of lads...it is going to be tough. We know that 2005 was something special and whether that can be recreated I am not quite sure...in England each Test match got bigger and bigger and we got a real feeling of what the Ashes was about."[3]
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper described the series as "the most anticipated Ashes series ever",[4] and tickets were sold out within days of being available for all the games.[5]
Bookmakers were heavily favouring an Australian series victory, with best odds, as at 10 November, being listed on one site as Australia 1-3 to win, England 11-2 to win, and the draw 9-1. [6]
Sale of tickets
Cricket Australia made the first tickets available on 1 June, selling only to the registered members of the Australian Cricket Family, who were able to register in the months before the ticket sale. 182,000 of 635,500 available tickets were sold on the first day, and a number of buyers immediately put their tickets on eBay at inflated prices.[5] Telephones and internet systems were delayed to such an extent that CA chief executive James Sutherland wrote a letter of apology to the Australian fans, but was still criticised by Brett Judd, the organiser of 1.5 million tickets for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Judd called their approach "farcical".[7]
On 19 June, the remainder of the tickets went for sale to the general public, and were sold within two hours.[8] Cricket Australia later cancelled 1,300 tickets, which they believed had been sold on eBay at inflated prices, as the tickets had "breached conditions of sale".[9]
On 29 December, Cricket Victoria had announced that an excess of 47,000 pre-purchased tickets for the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test were to be refunded, as a result of the Test reaching its conclusion on the third day. Despite the Test lasting only three days, bumper crowds over the duration of the Test ensured that sales had generated over A$8 million in takings.[10]
Squads
Both England and Australia went into the series with concerns about the fitness, form and availability of key players: Michael Vaughan, England's successful captain in the 2005 Ashes series, and Simon Jones, England's lowest-averaging bowler during the 2005 series,[11] were unavailable due to injury. Of other 2005 winners, there were concerns about the fitness of Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles. Australia selected Glenn McGrath for his first first class match since he left the game in April for personal reasons. Other former Australian players such as Jason Gillespie were not selected.
The England squad for the tour of Australia was announced on 12 September 2006. Andrew Flintoff was selected over Andrew Strauss as the captain, in the absence through injury of Michael Vaughan. Marcus Trescothick left the squad on 14 November due to a "recurrence of a stress-related illness," after making 10 runs in two tour matches.[12] Ed Joyce was called up as his replacement on 15 November.[13] The Australian 13-man squad for the first Test was announced by Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel on 16 November 2006. Michael Clarke was called up on 18 November 2006 as cover for injury doubt Shane Watson.[14]
On 8 December 2006, a week before the third Test, Damien Martyn announced he was retiring from all forms of cricket.[15] Adam Voges and Andrew Symonds were called up to the squad to replace him.[16]
On 16 December Ashley Giles left the tour to be with his wife, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was replaced by Jamie Dalrymple.[17]
Venues
As with other recent Ashes series in Australia, this series was played at the main cricket grounds in Australia's five largest cities. {{Image label begin|image=Australia location map.png|width=400|float=right}} Template:Image label smallTemplate:Image label smallTemplate:Image label smallTemplate:Image label smallTemplate:Image label smallTemplate:Image label end
| Test | Location | Stadium Name | Capacity | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | The Gabba | 42,200 | 23-27 November |
| 2 | Adelaide | Adelaide Oval | 34,000 | 1-5 December |
| 3 | Perth | WACA Ground | 24,000 | 14-18 December |
| 4 | Melbourne | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 100,000 | 26-30 December |
| 5 | Sydney | Sydney Cricket Ground | 43,562 | 2-6 January |
Matches
First Test: 23–27 November, Brisbane
Template:First Class MatchesDay One Template:WikinewsAustralia won the toss after Andrew Flintoff called heads. Ricky Ponting elected to bat on a good looking pitch. Stephen Harmison bowled the opening over, with the first ball a wide that went straight to Andrew Flintoff at second slip. Harmison only lasted two overs, which went for 17 runs, before being replaced by James Anderson. Anderson proved just as expensive as Harmison, conceding 10 runs in his first over in his first Test match for 7 months. Andrew Flintoff got Matthew Hayden to edge one to second slip on 21. Australia reached lunch without further loss on 1/79.
In the afternoon, Flintoff unexpectedly removed Justin Langer, who had looked set for a century but holed out to Kevin Pietersen at cover point. Ashley Giles, bowling in his first first-class match for twelve months, took the wicket of Damien Martyn but was innocuous, if inexpensive (unlike many of his colleagues), claiming no more wickets during the day. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey survived the final session of the day to close at 3/346. During the session, Ponting passed 100 runs in a near-faultless display, offering up only one potential lbw shout (dismissed by umpire Billy Bowden) when he missed a sweep on a straight ball from Giles. The century took him level with Steve Waugh as Australia's leading century-maker, with 32 centuries each. England's bowling was generally criticised, most notably Harmison, who was given only 12 overs out of the 90 overs bowled during the day. Andrew Flintoff was the only bowler to finish the day with his reputation enhanced, having been England's cheapest and most effective bowler. The pitch, however, was flat and not conducive to either pace or spin bowling and as England failed to use the new ball well at both the beginning and end of the day, it proved to be one of the most frustrating days in the field English cricket had endured in modern Ashes series.[21]
Day Two
Australia continued their dominance throughout the second day. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey continued their partnership, putting together 209. Flintoff finally took Hussey's wicket when he was on 86, bowled through the gate, with the off-stump out of the ground, when he had looked set for a century. Matthew Hoggard finally made a significant breakthrough in the afternoon, taking the wickets of Ponting (for 196) and Adam Gilchrist (for a duck) in the same over, both men out lbw. Gilchrist, in particular, was out to a ball bowled from around the wicket from the right-arm bowler Hoggard, a continuation of England's tactics against him in the 2005 Ashes series, which had restricted him to a top score of 49*. Ponting's 196 allowed him to surpass Graham Gooch as the 7th highest Test runscorer of all time (Gooch scored 8900 runs). Michael Clarke crafted a solid 56 before falling to James Anderson, edging a good delivery to slip. Australia's tail wagged, with Brett Lee scoring 43 and Stuart Clark hitting a quick-fire 39 off 23 balls before having his leg stump knocked out of the ground by Flintoff. His innings included two huge sixes off the bowling of James Anderson, who ended the innings with figures of 141 runs for just one wicket. Australia were able to declare their innings with the score 9/602 after tea.
England had to negotiate the seventeen overs remaining in the evening. After a reasonably solid start, England lost Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in consecutive balls to Glenn McGrath. Strauss was lambasted for his dismissal, top-edging a pull on a ball too full to be suitable for the shot. Stuart Clark removed Paul Collingwood, edging an off-cutter to Adam Gilchrist. This dismissal left England on 3/53 at the close, leaving England in a perilous position, Australia having reached a total more than 200 runs higher in any Test of the 2005 Ashes series before taking three cheap wickets before the close. Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen were the not out batsmen, with scores of 13 and 6 respectively.[22]
Day Three
Matters continued badly for England on day three and they ended their first innings on 157 all out just after lunch, 246 short of their follow-on target of 403. Ian Bell was the only England batsman to offer any real resistance, spending nearly four hours at the crease before being dismissed by Stuart Clark for 50. It was a personal triumph for Bell, who had averaged just 17.10 in the 2005 series, looking particularly vulnerable against McGrath and Warne. England's other specialist batsman Kevin Pietersen was out for only 16, lbw to a ball from McGrath which appeared to be going over the stumps. All-rounder and captain Andrew Flintoff was out for a duck, caught behind off a no-ball (not spotted by umpire Steve Bucknor) from Brett Lee. Brief resistance also came from wicketkeeper Geraint Jones and spinner Giles, who made 19 and a quickfire 24 respectively, but both were out to Glenn McGrath. In total McGrath took 6 wickets for only 50 runs conceded, a powerful response to critics who had suggested that he was, at 37, too old to be a frontline bowler in an Ashes series.
After bowling England out for 157, Ponting chose not to enforce the follow-on and put his team back in to bat, a decision which surprised the majority of spectators and media personnel. Australia's lead of 445 going into the second innings was one of the largest ever held by a team which had then decided not to enforce the follow-on. This decision was in contrast to Michael Vaughan's decision in the 4th Test of the 2005 series, where he had enforced the follow-on with Australia just 259 runs behind. As on the opening day, England's bowling attack was again barely able to penetrate Australia's defences, and the home side were able to end the day on 1/181, the only loss being Matthew Hayden who was run out on 37 by James Anderson while attempting a risky second run. Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting ended the day unbeaten, with Langer on 88, and Ponting on 51 having scored his 9,000th test run during the innings. The day was the third in a row which had gone badly for England and with the pitch showing wide cracks, offering encouragement to Shane Warne in particular, an Australian victory was widely expected at the close of play.[23]
Day Four
Australia continued to build a formidable lead, eventually declaring at 1/202, a lead of 648, just after Langer had passed his century, his 23rd in Test cricket. Langer ended on 100 not out while Ricky Ponting had progressed to 60. Towards the end of Australia's second innings Ponting suffered a back strain, and did not return to the field after his side's declaration.
England began their second innings shakily, with Andrew Strauss out for 11 off Stuart Clark in a similar fashion to his first innings dismissal, this time hooking the ball to fine leg, the dismissal owing more to poor execution than the poor shot selection witnessed in England's first innings. Shane Warne dismissed Alastair Cook for an industrious 43, caught by Hussey off his pads, and Ian Bell for a duck, lbw to a slider, leaving England struggling at 3/91. Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen then rebuilt their team's innings in the second session, sharing a 153 run partnership. Collingwood was eventually stumped for 96 off the bowling of Warne, charging down the pitch while looking to reach his third Test century, and his first against Australia, and missing his shot comprehensively. Andrew Flintoff soon followed after scoring 16 runs, perishing to an ill-judged pull shot off the bowling of Shane Warne. Kevin Pietersen and Geraint Jones were the not out batsmen at the end of the day, with 92 and 12 runs respectively, with England needing a further 355 for victory. Pietersen's innings was notable because of the manner in which he had suppressed legendary leg spinner Warne. At one point at the end of a delivery, Warne picked up the ball and thew it to Adam Gilchrist behind stumps albeit badly. The ball veered and headed to Pietersen, who was forced to defend himself with a reflexive hookshot. He could be seen angrily mouthing the words, "Fuck off!" on conclusion of the stroke. The fourth day was a break from the norm of the Brisbane Test, which until then had gone entirely in Australia's favour. The partnership between Collingwood and Pietersen was the first of any substance in the Test for England and allowed some hope of an unlikely draw, with reports from some sources of an approaching storm.[24]
Day Five
England's chances of lasting the day were effectively dashed after Kevin Pietersen flicked the ball to Damien Martyn at short midwicket off Brett Lee in the first over of the day, immediately after Australia's taking the new ball and without adding to his overnight score. Geraint Jones struck a few boundaries but edged onto his stumps off Glenn McGrath. Fellow NSW paceman Stuart Clark took the final wickets of Giles (caught at first slip), Hoggard (caught at first slip) and Harmison (caught pulling at fine leg), with England lasting only 20 overs for the day. England's fourth innings total of 370 was the highest ever achieved in a fourth innings of a Test match at the Gabba but was still nowhere near the total set by Australia. Australia won the match by 277 runs, with Ricky Ponting named man of the match for his 196 and 60 not out. The total attendance was recorded as 164,747 for the match. [25]
Second Test: 1–5 December, Adelaide
Template:First Class MatchesDay One Template:WikinewsIn a similar fashion to 2005, England named an unchanged XI for the second test, despite Cricinfo and others suggesting that it was "almost certain" that Monty Panesar would replace James Anderson.[27] Australia also named an unchanged team after Glenn McGrath passed a late fitness test. He was earlier rated as 50:50 to play due to a heel injury [28] Andrew Flintoff won the toss and elected to bat first. Early on, the dry flat wicket offered little for the Australian bowlers who toiled in the first hour for no wicket. Stuart Clark took the first wicket, with Andrew Strauss being caught by Damien Martyn for fourteen runs. This was the third time in the series that Strauss had been caught attempting to play on the leg side. Clark then took the wicket of Alastair Cook for twenty-seven runs, having him caught behind by Adam Gilchrist. The periods before and just after lunch were dominated by Shane Warne, who bowled with consistent line and length to keep both Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood restricted to about two runs per over. Bell continued his struggle against Warne, who beat Bell's bat on several occasions. Despite a slow scoring rate, the batsmen made a good fightback in the afternoon session, despite some persistent Australian bowling. Both batsmen reached their half-centuries in the last over before the tea interval, which England reached with the score at 2/144. After tea, England came out looking to increase the scoring rate. Soon, however, Bell was caught and bowled by Brett Lee as he skied an attempted pull to the leg side. Kevin Pietersen was aggressive from his first ball, going on to make his half-century off just 70 balls. The scoring rate increased somewhat in the evening session as England increased their score to 3/266 at stumps. Paul Collingwood was not out on 98 runs, tantalisingly close to a maiden Ashes century. The day's honours were roughly even. Australia would have liked more than 3 wickets, but they did keep England's scoring rate low on a flat dry wicket. [29]
Day Two
Australia resumed play on the second day with the ball only 6 overs old, whilst England's Paul Collingwood required two runs to make a century. Collingwood made his runs in the second over of the morning, off the second ball he faced. Kevin Pietersen made his own century later in the morning. England again scored relatively slowly, but survived the first session without losing a wicket to be 3/347 at lunch. The two batsmen continued after lunch in a session that would go on to break several previous partnership records for English batting. [30] Collingwood increased his score to a personal best innings of 206, becoming only the third Englishman to score a double-century in Australia, and the first in seventy years. He was out caught behind by Adam Gilchrist from an outswinging Stuart Clark delivery on the final ball before tea. After the interval, Pietersen went on to make 158 before being run out. This was the third time that Pietersen had been out for 158, still his highest test score. Collingwood, and particularly Pietersen, consistently attacked the Australian bowlers, forcing them to take up defensive fielding positions for the first time in the series. Noticeably, Shane Warne bowled defensively outside leg stump from around the wicket to Pietersen, having exhausted all other methods of containment. Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles added sixty runs for the sixth wicket before the innings was declared at 6/551.
The Australian bowling was generally ineffective during the England innings, despite keeping the run rate low. Glenn McGrath conceded his first analysis of 0/100 or worse in Test cricket, and was targeted by Pietersen in particular, who took three fours off his first over of the second day. It was speculated that whilst McGrath had declared himself fit for the game, he was still struggling with his sore heel. Despite his defensive bowling, Shane Warne conceded his worst innings figures of 1/167.
Australia had to face nine overs before the close of play. Flintoff, who opened the bowling with Matthew Hoggard, took the wicket of Justin Langer during this short period. The Australian score at stumps was 1/28, making day two the first day of the series which clearly belonged to England. [31] However, the question remained as to whether England's bowling attack would perform any better than Australia's on a good batting pitch in the days ahead. [32]
Day Three
England started the day strongly, their bowling attack testing the Australians as