MELBOURNE: Another pitiful batting display by England, another victory to Australia, another day when it was embarrassing to be an Englishman.

Australia won the fourth Test by an innings and 99 runs at the MCG in just three days and now there is only the final Test in Sydney for England to regain some pride and avoid the first whitewash in 85 years.

The visitors were bowled out in 65.5 overs for 161 and lost their last ten wickets for 120 after their best opening stand of the series. It was appalling. The Australians produced a team bowling effort; it is difficult to report that England produced a major effort of any sort.

Once Alastair Cook had gone for 20, and Ian Bell seven runs later, England sent in Kevin Pietersen — at his own request according to Andrew Flintoff — at No.4 and demoted the willing Paul Collingwood. Pietersen made one before he was bowled by Stuart Clark, the star bowler of the day.

Joint record holder

The only batsman to exceed his brief was Chris Read who had taken six easy catches in the Australian innings of 419 and became joint record holder with Alec Stewart and Jack Russell. Read made second top score with 22 as well and that will probably settle the problem position behind the stumps until the next time Duncan Fletcher, the coach, has a brain storm.

Pietersen's promotion has been advocated by those noisy voices on the Channel Nine commentary panel for some time, but Nasser Hussain added his plea before the third day began and that seems to have firmed up the England resolve. All this decision does is to make the management team from Flintoff to Fletcher look weak. Surely it does not take three and a half Tests to find the correct batting order and I am not sure they have it right yet.

Don Bradman said you played your best batsman at No.3 — where he batted of course — and the current Australian side has Ricky Ponting at what they call first drop. I rest my case although Pietersen has something to learn before he is in the same mould as Ponting and Bradman.

Flintoffspeak

Flintoff said that he felt wretched after losing in three days and being four down, but that the side would play for pride in Sydney when the last Test begins on January 2. Throughout the press conference he wore a half smile, used the phrase "to be honest" all too often and damned one question about the effects of the captaincy on his own performances — which have been poor — as "stinking". He is a straightforward, Lancashire lad, and I am as sad as anyone else that he will not be captain when Michael Vaughan decides he is fit to lead the side again.

Vaughan missed

"To be honest," as Flintoff might say, England has missed Vaughan more than anyone else and if he can bat at No.3 it does not matter where Pietersen bats. I am happy to tell you that the Barmy Army, shooed from the stadium by the security staff with the same relentless authority that Australia showed in the middle, retained its pride, its singing voices and its chants right to the end.

The Queen's New Year's Honours List will be published in the next 48 hours and a joint award to this well-behaved, loyal and enthusiastic bunch would not be out of place. Whatever the team has done, however ignobly it has lost and however badly the rest of us have felt, the Army has stayed right behind it. They deserve at least an MBE, Your Majesty.

SCOREBOARD

England — 1st innings: 159.

Australia — 1st innings: J. Langer c Read b Flintoff 27, M. Hayden c Read b Mahmood 153, B. Lee c Read b Flintoff 0, R. Ponting c Cook b Flintoff 7, M. Hussey b Hoggard 6, M. Clarke c Read b Harmison 5, A. Symonds c Read b Harmison 156, A. Gilchrist c Collingwood b Mahmood 1, S. Warne (not out) 40, S. Clark c Read b Mahmood 8, G. McGrath c Bell b Mahmood 0; Extras (lb-6, w-1, nb-9) 16. Total (in 108.3 overs) 419.

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-44, 3-62, 4-79, 5-84, 6-363, 7-365, 8-383, 9-417.

England bowling: Hoggard 21-6-82-1, Flintoff 22-1-77-3, Harmison 28-6-69-2, Mahmood 21.3-1-100-4, Panesar 12-1-52-0, Collingwood 3-0-20-0, Pietersen 1-0-13-0.

England — 2nd innings: A. Strauss c Gilchrist b Lee 31, A. Cook b Clark 20, I. Bell lbw b McGrath 2, K. Pietersen b Clark 1, P. Collingwood c Langer b Lee 16, A. Flintoff lbw b Clark 25, C. Read (not out) 26, S. Mahmood lbw b Warne 0, S. Harmison lbw b Warne 4, M. Panesar c Clarke b Lee 14, M. Hoggard b Lee 5; Extras (lb-12, w-1, nb-4) 17. Total ( in 65.5 overs) 161.

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-48, 3-49, 4-75, 5-90, 6-108, 7-109, 8-127, 9-146.

Australia bowling: Lee 18.5-6-47-4, McGrath 12-2-26-1, Clark 16-6-30-3, Warne 19-3-46-2.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail