Cricket: England Beat Australia – at Last
Ed Joyce’s century helps England to big win over Australia.
Stop the clocks. Hold the front pages. After 83 days, and 10 games, England have finally done what they came to Australia to do. It is far too little, far too late, but right now that does not matter. It was enough just to see an England team playing with smiles on their faces, to see the bowling plans working, Australian wickets tumbling.
People will question how much Australia wanted the result. Certainly they seemed to be treating the match as something of a World Cup trial. Ricky Ponting sat out with a slight hip injury, and Brett Lee was rested. Andrew Symonds retired hurt on 39 with a strained bicep and one eye on the more important fixtures of the near future.
Even so, it was a dominant performance by a side that has been enduring one of the most dire slumps of form in recent memory.
The hero was Ed Joyce. Having started the series looking out of his depth at this level, Joyce has slowly set about proving that first impression to be a misconception. Shaun Tait made the kind of error-ridden start that has plagued England’s bowlers. It helped Joyce and Mal Loye begin with an aggression that they sustained right through the first 10 overs.
Loye fell in comical circumstances, undone by his predilection for slog-sweeping quick bowlers. Attempting to do it to Glenn McGrath, he top-edged the ball into his face-grill and cut his chin. When he was out next ball it smacked of the farce that this tour had become.
Joyce was dropped by Tait when he had scored just six. He punished that mistake with a clinical, inventive and unhurried innings that culminated with the first century by an English player in 16 one-day internationals. Some of his cover-drives would have suited David Gower in his pomp, but more generally he resembled Graham Thorpe: all gritty resistance and neatly driven fours.
While Joyce anchored the innings, Ian Bell (51) and Andrew Strauss (26) provided some impetus. A late dash from Jamie Dalrymple (30 from 18 balls) was cruelly cut-off by a shocking run-out call from Ravi Bopara (his first act in an England shirt).
And somehow England had made 292. And yet, and yet, surely it wouldn’t be enough. The inclusion of Sajid Mahmood and Bopara didn’t appear to do much to bolster the attack. Then Liam Plunkett produced an absolute jaffa to bowl Adam Gilchrist with the first ball of the innings. From the other end Mahmood spat a ball off a length and beat Brad Hodge for pace. He played on to his stumps, and it was four for two.
Even then it didn’t quite seem possible. Michael Clarke came and went, before Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds built the score up to 116 for three. At this point Paul Nixon was in his element, baiting and barbing the two batsmen. Hayden slapped a drive straight to Dalrymple in the covers; Symonds pulled his bicep attempting to hit the ball out of the ground.
And then, crucially, Bopara bowled Mike Hussey for just six. Hussey was trying to cut a ball that nipped back to catch his inside edge. England were jubilant and, unbelievably, could then cruise to their 92-run victory. It means that they must beat New Zealand in their final game to qualify for the final.
There will be plenty of time to do down this achievement later on, to put it in a proper perspective. Right now it is just time to celebrate.
