Date-stamped : 02 Dec94 - 18:33 England v Australia, Test 1 played at the 'gabba, Brisbane, 25,26,27,28,29 Nov 1994 ====> Prematch Report, 23 Nov 94 England Attack in a Spot of Bother - Phil Wilkins England`s battle plan for Friday`s first Test against Australia was in tatters last night when its key fast bowler, Devon Mal- colm, dropped out of the side because of a bout of chicken pox. The Jamaican-born speedster who made Australia`s eyes roll in England`s Test win at Kennington Oval last year will leave the $500 kangaroo hide boots he had made for the five-Test Ashes series in their wrapping. England`s team management last night drafted standby seam bowler Angus Fraser, who has taken Western Suburbs to the top of the Sydney competition, into the touring side as a temporary rein- forcement. Fraser, 29, the big Middlesex bowler who broke down with a hip injury on the last Ashes tour, will play in the Bris- bane Test only if more players become infected. The English team management asked the other 15 tourists last night whether they had had chicken pox. They all indicated they had, but the remote possibility remains of a player being infect- ed a second time. Before his illness was diagnosed yesterday, Malcolm, 31, one of the most affable of men, wandered through the team`s Brisbane hotel foyer, showing off the spots on his arms. A dismayed team manager, former Test captain Mike Smith, said: ``How can it happen to Devon? He went to the West Indies last winter and missed most of that tour due to injury. He`s shat- tered. It`s a major loss to the side, particularly because of his magnificent performance in the last Test against South Afri- ca. It`s very sad.`` At The Oval last year, with England trailing four-nil in the series against Australia, Malcolm claimed 6-170 to help spearhead a 161 run win to the home side. It was in this Test that Malcolm said of the Australians: ``I really put the scare in you boys.`` ====> more, 23 Nov 94 England`s battle plan for Friday`s first Test against Australia took on specific shape last night with the loss of fast-bowling match-winner Devon Malcolm. The original strategy favoured a four-pillared pace attack consisting of Malcolm, Phillip DeFrei- tas, Darren Gough and Martin McCague. Now, with Malcolm confined to his hotel room for between 10 days and a fortnight because of chicken pox, and with the Gabba pitch dry and expected to turn, left-arm orthodox spinner Phil Tufnell has become as sure to play as skipper Mike Atherton. It will be the controversial 28-year-old Tufnell`s 19th Test for England in a year which saw him `released` for several weeks by his county, Middlesex, following assault charges laid against him by his former fiancee. Eventually he was fined and restored to international cricket by England`s chairman of selectors, Ray Il- lingworth. Tufnell`s tour figures do not reveal it with seven first class wickets at 37.71 in three games, but he has been one of the better England bowlers. McCague, 25, the Northern Irish-born former West Australian fast bowler who preferred to change allegiance to England, is another deserving of a Test cap, his third, on tour performances. Despite Angus Fraser, 29, joining the touring side today from the Western Suburbs club in Sydney, the powerful seam bowler will play in the Gabba Test only if more players are stricken down with the virus in the next 48 hours. Team manager Mike Smith em- phasised that pacemen chosen ahead of Fraser in the 16-man side - he was the official standby pace bowler - would be preferred for the Test. If there are no further cases of chicken pox, Fraser will return to Sydney to continue playing with Wests, the club which produced Alan Davidson, Wally Wellham, Bob Simpson and Dirk Wellham and which the Middlesex man has helped to the top of the grade com- petition. Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy came through an hour-long fit- ness test at the Gabba yesterday with flying colours without any twinge from the left thumb he broke a month ago in Pakistan. Healy`s thumb was fractured at the base of the hand when a ball skidded low along the ground from fast bowler Craig McDermott, ending a 64-Test sequence by the Queenslander. ``It`ll be a real challenge because the wicket looks as though it could spin a lot and I`ll be over the stumps quite a bit,`` Healy said. ``I`m very confident [the hand] will be okay.`` Teams for the first Test: Australia Mark Taylor (c), Michael Slater, David Boon, Mark Waugh, Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Ian Healy (vc), Shane Warne, Craig McDermott, Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath, Tim May (probable 12th man). England yet to be finalised. Umpires : Steve Randell (Aus), Cyril Mitchley (RSA). Source :: Sydney Morning Herald Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> more Gabba Test pitch tailored for spin Kevin Mitchell believes Australian spin twins Shane Warne and Tim May will have the best turning wicket produced at the Gabba here in years for the first Test against England. Mitchell`s father had a reputation for producing greentops when he was in charge of the Gabba pitch, but his successor has urged Australia to play Warne and May here from Friday. "It`s going to help them (Warne and May) a lot more than the ones we`ve had in the past," said Mitchell, preparing his first pitch for an Ashes series since taking over from his father in 1992. "The greener ones tended not to deteriorate and you could play on them for six days. This one should stay dry and if the seamers don`t break through the spinners will cause trouble." English captain Mike Atherton, who opened the English innings here on the last tour here in 1990 when the visitors were rolled in three days on a track prepared by Mitchell snr, could hardly believe his eyes when confronted by the bare, bone-dry track. "It looks a belter, nothing like the one we saw a few years ago," said Atherton. The brown tinge across the pitch also didn`t go unnoticed by Australian coach Bob Simpson. "I wouldn`t mind being 30 years younger," said the former Australian captain and opening batsman. "It looks like a great batting strip to me but when you`ve got the spinners we have it might have something in it for them after four or five days." Mitchell said he would not water the pitch again, adding to the likelihood Australia will leave out Victorian paceman Damian Fleming to play two spinners. Source :: Agence France Presse Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> more, 24 Nov 94 England and McDermott out to prove a point in opening Ashes test England captain Mike Atherton is appealing for more steel from his team`s middle order after some inconsistent batting in the lead-up matches to Friday`s opening Ashes cricket test against Australia here. England has lost the early initiative in the last three Ashes series and the young skipper believes his batsmen need to produce results consistently to take a decisive lead in the best of five test series. "We`ve lost games we shouldn`t have, because our batsmen haven`t been able to hold on for the draw," Atherton said Thurs- day. "Our batting line-up has to come back against them in this series." Atherton was keeping his intentions to himself on the eve of the test and will not announce a line-up until just before the start of play. There was speculation Thursday that that former captain Mike Gatting, thought to be out of the running after some batting failures on tour, could be preferred ahead of youngster John Crawley for the number six spot. Atherton refused to hint which way he was leaning, saying only he hoped the dismissal of his side`s chances would fire his men. Another player keen to silence his critics is Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott, who is indignant at suggestions that his test place is not secure. The Queenslander, who smears zinc cream on his face like war- paint, said Thursday he had been "shocked" by recent media specu- lation his test place was not secure and that his form had slipped badly after two brilliant years in 1991 and 1992. "I read what was in the paper and it was a shock to me," McDermott said. "It hasn`t been the easiest week for me because I`ve heard all the talk. I don`t know where it`s come from or what it`s about, but I have to silence it." McDermott missed the first Test on the recent tour of Pakistan with an infected toenail and the 29-year-old said he was well aware his absence from the one-wicket loss that decided the series had drawn sharp criticism from some quarters. McDermott said nothing untoward had been said to him by cap- tain Mark Taylor, or any of the test selectors, but he wanted to leave no question on his standing as Australia`s premier fast bowler by making a flying start to the Ashes series. "Nothing has been said to me by a selector or by Tubby (Mark Taylor) but if others are upset with me because I didn`t play in Karachi, that`s their opinion. "I know I couldn`t play so I just have to get on with the first test here and put everything behind me with a big game." Source :: Agence France Presse Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> more, 24 Nov 94 England must wear down Warne to put cat among the pigeons - Christopher Martin-Jenkins ESTABLISHED precedent suggests that the Test match starting in Brisbane tomorrow will decide who holds the Ashes after the fifth match of the series in February. A huge sign outside announces the now bright and intimate ground at Woolloongabba as, simply, `The Famous Gabba`. It has certainly proved to be the scene of momentous events: only twice in 12 Tests between the two coun- tries has the result of the whole series been different from the result here. Neither side, therefore, need reminding how impor- tant a game it will be. Chairman of selectors Ray Illingworth`s extraordinarily in- discreet remarks in London so soon before the match have esta- blished only that he is capable of being as undiplomatic as he is sagacious, and also that he is apparently disinclined to pick up a telephone unless someone else is paying for the call. It hap- pened that Mike Atherton rang him yesterday for a chat, not know- ing of his complaint that the captain had not been in touch be- fore. They had an amiable discussion. I am not sure whether the two managers here would have found it so easy to be polite if they had read his remarks about their roles as baggage-man and super- visor of fielding practice, tongue in cheek though they might have been. Our Raymond never had much time for managers, except when he was one himself. But he knows that it is the cricket that matters, not the words. The world and his wife, not to mention the bookmakers, expect Australia to win this first Test and the series. It takes, however, only a small shift of form and fortune to pave the way for a larger one and on a pitch which looks full of runs this England team could easily surprise everyone - perhaps, deep down, themselves - by making a large first-innings score and giv- ing their bowlers the chance to attack. If they do, even without the sick Devon Malcolm, there is no reason why England should not put the cat among some pretty puffed-up pigeons. If it is to hap- pen, Atherton will probably have to win the toss. England must also have the right side in the field, which to my mind includes John Crawley at No 6 -rather than Craig White or Mike Gatting - and Phil Tufnell in the attack to balance the three fast bowlers, Phil DeFreitas, Martin McCague and Darren Gough. Neither side will make their final XI known until shortly before the toss, but on a hard and beautifully even pitch of such a pale shade of green that it is bound to be allowing some turn by the later stages of the game, Australia will surely opt for both their spin bowlers, Shane Warne and Tim May, not least because they took 10 of New Zealand`s 20 wickets between them at the Gab- ba last December. Mark Waugh bowled effectively in that match and his brother Steve delivered only three overs, so his incapa- city as a bowler now should not be significant, especially as Michael Bevan is an adaptable left-arm change bowler who can use the seam or bowl chinamen. (And Pakistanis, too: his first Test victim was Salim Malik.) Warne handled a press conference on Wednesday with such charm and aplomb that it was hard not to be impressed, even beguiled. He has intrigued the gullible with talk of a mystery ball, which is not to say that he has not genuinely been experimenting in the nets with an addition to his already extensive repertoire on a theme of sharply-spun and marvellously-controlled wrist spin. He had a session with Abdul Qadir in Lahore when they spun the ball to each other on the carpet - a magic one, no doubt. Shades of B J T Bosanquet discovering his googly while experimenting in games of billiard-fives on a snooker table. Warne is Australia`s trump card still and England cannot win if they do not give him as good as they get. He says that he is quite happy to bowl to Graeme Hick, whose impressive batting on the tour to date gives England genuine hope, especially if Atherton and Alec Stewart can lay the right base. With engaging relish for the fray, Warne said: "I`m quite happy to bowl to him. I love a challenge, especially when a guy`s in form. Hopefully the public will see some good cricket then." Since Mark Waugh established himself at Adelaide four years ago, Michael Slater for Geoff Marsh and Michael Bevan for Allan Border have been the only changes to Australia`s top seven. The evidence of their success should make daunting reading to anyone inclined to think that the likes of Gough and McCague, Malcolm`s poten- tially effective stand-in, will be able to blast their way to in- stant glory: captain Mark Taylor averages 46, Slater 48, David Boon 46, Mark Waugh 42, Bevan 60, Steve Waugh 44 and, at seven the spirited if less gifted Ian Healy a respectable 26. Aus- tralia, under their personable new captain, gained much in the way of camaraderie from their recent trip to Pakistan. It is one of the reasons, no doubt, why the selectors have stuck with the same fast bowling attack here rather than go back to Merv Hughes, as Border, for one, was recommending. Craig McDermott, Damien Fleming and Glen McGrath have less reason to be frightened by England`s top six: Atherton 39, Stewart 40, Hick 35, Graham Thorpe 39, Gooch 43, and Crawley 11 (assuming he is preferred to White, 21 and Gatting, 36). That is still more true, of course, of Warne and May, whose exploits in England the summer before last are part of the reason why some of those averages are relatively modest. Bobby Simpson, Australia`s worldly- wise manager and coach (but not, Raymond please note, a supremo) said of the pitch that he wished he were 30 years younger. I am not sure whether the wise money might not be on a draw. There`s optimism for you! Source :: The Daily Telegraph Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 1, 25 Nov 94 Australian opener Michael Slater scored a brilliant 176 to make England suffer from day one of the Ashes series at BRISBANE on Friday. England`s bowlers had little to cheer from their day of toil which ended with Australia on 329 for four. Slater fired his highest Test innings in five hours 24 minutes, including 24 boundaries. And even when he went, Mark Waugh was still at the crease unbeaten on 82, with night watchman Shane Warne. It was the second century against England for the 24-year-old New South Wales opener following a 152 in Australia`s 62-run win at Lord`s last year. His impressive innings came from only 244 balls. But Slater and fellow-opener Mark Taylor gave notice of their in- tentions from the first session after Taylor won the toss and de- cided to bat. They moved to 87 by the lunch break, sweeping aside everything thrown at them by England`s three-man pace at- tack, which was soon joined by left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell. Phil DeFreitas achieved some movement earlier in the innings but both batsmen waited for the right ball to hit. The normally pa- tient Taylor flew ahead with fluent strokes, particularly off the back foot. He reached his half-century at lunch off 96 balls, in- cluding six boundaries. Slater, who had scored a steady 37 off 78 deliveries by the end of the morning period, turned on the aggression during the second session after Taylor`s dismissal just after lunch. Taylor firmly drove Tufnell to mid-off and set off for a single. The ball went straight to Darren Gough who threw to wicket-keeper Steve Rhodes with both batsmen stranded at the bowler`s end. No run was pos- sible from the shot and had Slater responded to his partner`s call, he would have been yards short of the crease. After the blunder, Australia added only another 27 runs before David Boon fell. He seemed to be in two minds to a ball from Gough and as he decided to withdraw his bat, he played on. Slater and Mark Waugh then put on an exhilarating partnership though. They scored a 100 at a run a minute with Slater in com- manding mood. He used his feet well to come down the wicket to Tufnell and drove the pace bowlers with great power on either side of the wicket. He reached 94 with a superbly timed straight drive four off Martin McCague and then steered the next ball to the third man boundary taking 16 off the over. Slater`s next scoring stroke brought his fourth Test century. He played Tufnell, who had replaced McCague, to fine leg for three. Slater raised his arms then kissed the Australian badge on his helmet, just as he did on his three previous Test tons. At tea, the two batsmen had taken Australia to 194 for two. Mark Waugh`s exquisite stroke play in the final session took him to fifty from 73 balls. His effortless, wristy flicks and cuts were a delight. Both batsmen took control of the England bowling and scored free- ly. The 150 of the stand came in 125 minutes with the bowling at this stage looking quite innocuous. In the 77th over, Slater passed his previous highest Test score of 168 against New Zealand in Hobart last season. When he was fi- nally dismissed, after five hours and 24 minutes at the crease. Slater`s wicket went to part-time bowler Graham Gooch who hit Waugh on the chin with a loosener. Shortly after he ended the dangerous Slater-Waugh partnership when he lifted a delivery to Mike Gatting at mid-off. By stumps England had claimed the wick- et of Michael Bevan, caught at second slip driving off the back foot. Waugh remained unbeaten on 82. Contributed by vasa (Vasanthan.Dasan@Central.Sun.COM) ====> Day 1, more Opener Michael Slater yesterday planted a kiss on his Australian cricket helmet and, simultaneously, landed a punch that could yet prove to be the knockout blow for England`s hopes of regaining the Ashes this summer. The dashing opener made a murderous state- ment of intent on the opening day of the first Test at the Gabba here, demoralising the tourists a brilliant five-and-a-half hour knock of 176 for his fourth Test century. By stumps, Australia was cruising at 4-329 and back in the fami- liar position of domination over England it has enjoyed for the past three series. Slater crashed 25 boundaries from the mere 244 balls he faced and shared a rollicking stand of 182 in two and a half hours for the third wicket with the more sublime Mark Waugh, who finished the day unbeaten on 82. Waugh took a crack on the jaw from Graham Gooch but he, brother Steve and keeper Ian Healy will now aim to push the Australians on towards the 600 mark when play resumes today. Slater raised his ton before tea and celebrated joyously by kiss- ing the coat of arms on his helmet, just as he did for each of his previous tons at Lord`s, Hobart and Rawalpindi. Lord`s will always retain pride of place for Slater as his first journey beyond three figures but this century was his most important so far for Australia, setting the mood for an entire series. always a very important day,`` Slater said after the close. ``I`ll never forget Lord`s but today was very satisfying because it was one of the tightest innings I hve played. Tubby (Mark Tay- lor) won a big toss and we capitalised on it.`` England captain Mike Atherton stressed the need for a good start, well aware England had gone 1-0 down after the first Test of the last three rubbers and never came back into the contest. Slater may yet have killed this Test for England, and the series as a whole, with his merciless destruction of a wayward England at- tack. Just as in the 4-0, 3-0 and 4-1 thrashings of 1989, 1990-91 and 1993, England`s bowlers could not find either a line or a length and were duly put to the sword. Slater`s on-drive was given a regular workout while Waugh was given a regular loose ball on his pads to keep his score ticking along. Worst offender was one-time West Australian Martin McCague who was caned for 80 runs from his 14 overs. Slater finally departed half an hour before stumps to veteran Graham Gooch, trying to slog the ball down the ground and holing out to the equally elderly Mike Gatting at mid-off. Australia was set rolling from the moment captain Mark Taylor won the toss and the left-hander shared an opening stand of 99 with Slater. The tone of the day was set in the first four overs from Phil DeFreitas and McCague, which saw 26 runs ease any early nerves for the openers. A short wide warm-up ball from DeFreitas was gleefully dispatched by Slater to the point boundary to open the Test match and he added a second four from the last ball of the opening over, cutting over the slip cordon. Taylor contributed 59 and was in regal touch until a mix-up with his young partner saw him run out by almost the length of the pitch soon after lunch. Slater went into his shell somewhat after the run out but his first half-century still contained 10 fours and was registered with a lofted drive over mid-on from Tufnell. Thanks :: Patrick Keane, AAP, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 1, more Slater Stars As Australia Takes Command Opener Michael Slater savaged the England attack Friday as Australia made a superb start on the opening day of the first cricket Test at the Gabba Ground. Slater hit 25 boundaries on his way to a score of 176 as Aus- tralia reached 329 for four by stumps. Mark Waugh was unbeaten on 82 with nightwatchman Shane Warne yet to score. Waugh had batted for 195 minutes, hitting seven fours and a six. Slater`s career-high Test score came in 324 minutes from 244 balls. It was the fourth Test century for the 24-year-old. Waugh and Slater shared a 182-run third wicket partnership in just 154 minutes of spectacular aggression. Part-time slow bowler Graham Gooch eventually claimed Slater`s wicket when he had him caught by Mike Gatting at mid-off 35 minutes before the close. ``It`s a great way to start the series because the first day is always a very important day,`` Slater said. ``Today was very satisfying because it was one of the tightest innings I have played.`` Slater blamed over confidence for his dismissal. ``I wanted to get through to stumps but I got a little bit too cocky,`` he said. ``I tried to slog Graham over mid-off and didn`t quite get it right. ``It would have been nice to get 200, but I was more concerned with the fact we lost a wicket late in the day when I wanted to get through to stumps.`` The Australian batsmen completely dominated the England bowlers throughout the day, and the tourists clearly missed the penetration of paceman Devon Malcolm, who has chicken pox. Martin McCague was particularly uncomfortable, conceding 55 runs from his six overs after lunch. Slater fought back after a horrendous mix-up when his opening partner Mark Taylor (59) was run out in the middle session. Slater and Taylor had given Australia a flying start by shar- ing a chanceless 99-run stand before Taylor called for a quick single after pushing a ball towards Darren Gough at mid-off. Slater stayed put and Taylor was run out by the length of the pitch after a slow return from Gough to `keeper Steve Rhodes. England`s second breakthrough came 34 minutes later when David Boon (3) played on, trying to get his bat out of the way of a ball from Gough. Michael Bevan (7), playing his first Test in Australia, was the other batsman to fall. He was Gough`s second victim. Taylor, captain for the first time in a Test in Australia, won the toss and elected to bat on a straw-colored wicket expected to favor the batsmen before offering some turn later in the match. Australia included spinner Tim May alongside Warne, relegating young swing bowler Damien Fleming to 12th man. England took a gamble with its lineup by nominating former captain Gatting to fill the number six spot ahead of John Crawley and Craig White. Australia boasts a slim 7-5 advantage in Tests played in Bris- bane but has an overwhelming 11-1 advantage in recent matches against England. Source :: AP Worldstream Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 1, more England taken apart by Slater - Martin Johnson England have spent so long passively coming to heel whenever Australia snap their fingers, you half expect them to emerge from a dog kennel rather than a pavilion, and the first day of this Ashes series followed much the same pattern as the previous three. So low, in fact, are expectations, that it has now reached the stage where Australia making 329 for 4 in three sessions is not so much a surprise, as a cause for mild celebration. Four wickets, no less. Break out the champagne. Penniless people rarely win the pools and if ever England needed a break, it was when the captains went out to toss yester- day morning. Michael Atherton got it wrong and, on a pitch even more aimiable than England`s attack, it was a licence for Australia`s powerful top six to print runs. For all his optimistic pre-match oratory, the England captain had been starting to fret over most aspects of England`s limp build- up, not least in wavering over his personal choice of John Craw- ley at No 6. Graham Gooch had been quietly pushing for Mike Gat- ting, and finally won Atherton over. In borderline cases, it is the English way to look misty-eyed into the past rather than starry-eyed into the future and the the first whiff of negative thinking blew across into the Australian dressing- room before the game had even started. In a five-Test series, something in the region of 14,000 deliveries can be bowled, and for near-terminal depression to have set in with 13,999 still to go might sound a touch on the pessimistic side. None the less, when Phillip DeFreitas`s first ball, a wide long-hop, rifled off Michael Slater`s bat into the backward point boundary board, there was not so much a feeling of ``oh well, it`s only Daffy`s loosener`` as ``oh, God, here we go again.`` DeFreitas was comfortably England`s best bowler coming into this Test, but when his right shoulder drops his rhythm disap- pears completely. From the look of DeFreitas` right shoulder yes- terday, he was attempting to deliver a medicine ball and he ended the day with a twinge to the hamstring to go along with a bruise to the ego. Ordinarily, DeFreitas would have been England`s worst bowler yesterday, but that unhappy accolade was not so much won by Mar- tin McCague as walked away with. Whether or not McCague had deliberately cut his pace in an attempt to get more swing through The Gabba`s sticky atmosphere, all he succeeded in mastering was the medium-paced half-volley. Most of these were on or around leg stump, where batsmen like Slater and Mark Waugh are witheringly destructive. McCague at least got rid of his reputation for not bowling terri- bly well after an opening spell as yesterday he bowled tripe from the start. When he was disappearing for 29 runs in three overs in mid-afternoon, Atherton looked so forlorn that, having had Ray- mond Illingworth moan at him for not phoning him often enough, you half expected him to pull out his mobile and put in a sarcas- tic ``you landed me with this bloke`` call to Farsley. Atherton might have added: ``What`s more, having announced that McCague was just the man for Australia`s bouncy pitches, thanks to you our best bloody bowler is on his way back to Sydney to play for Western Suburbs.`` And this indeed, shortly after lunch, is where Angus Fraser was headed, having flown in as cover in case anyone else went down with chicken pox. If Atherton could go through his pre-Test build-up again, he would not be placing Devon Malcolm in quarantine, but ordering a double room (prefer- ably with a single bed) for Malcolm and McCague. Philip Tufnell just about scraped a pass mark, but the only front-line bowler to perform anything like well was Darren Gough. The Yorkshireman had become a first-time father 24 hours previ- ously, and (Gough is nothing if not self-confident) had declared his intention to add (to the already chosen Liam) the middle names of all his Australian victims during the day. For quite some time, the prospect of a Yorkshire vicar inton- ing: faintly amusing, although ``Liam Run Out Gough`` was another option after England finally separated Australia`s opening pair in the only way that seemed likely. Mark Taylor, walking out to bat as only Australia`s second captain for 10 years (England have had eight) had dominated the opening partnership of 99 with Slater, when he stroked Tufnell towards Gough at mid-off and ran a single. Slater, however, had chosen not to move so much as half an inch, and Taylor was run out by about 20 yards. Taylor would have been the only person among a healthy 15,000 at The Gabba yesterday who had anything other than admiration for Slater`s footwork, which is so astonishingly quick that a more appropriate partner for him than Taylor would be Ginger Rogers. Not all England`s half-volleys were genuine ones, merely that Slater danced out to create them. It was the hallmark of Slater`s class that he was the dom- inant partner in a third-wicket partnership of 182 in two and a half hours with one of the world`s most naturally gifted batsmen in Mark Waugh. These two came together after David Boon had invo- luntarily played on to his stumps offering no shot at a ball from Gough, and Gough`s reaction at his success, and the prospect of a new name for his boy, was so pumped up it made Merv look shy and retiring. Gough`s second initial was provided by Michael Bevan edging him to second slip, but when his appeal for a caught behind against the nightwatchman Shane Warne was turned down, the name Gough came out with in an eyeball-to-eyeball with Warne would not be deemed suitable for a family christening. In fact, if one or two England players had not moved in as quickly as he did, Gough`s own name might have been the first of the series into the International Cricket Council referee`s notebook. However, Gough`s back-up was so thin that Atherton had turned to Gooch by the time Australia were threatening something monu- mental at 308 for 2. Gooch actually managed to stagger Waugh (not to mention himself) with a bouncer that hit his Essex colleague on the side of the face, but Slater`s mortification at miscuing one old boy to another (Gatting at mid-off) was such that he could barely bring himself to leave the field. When he finally did, England`s own ovation generously ack- nowledged a wonderful innings. Slater`s 176 was his fourth, and highest, Test innings and, at the age of 24, he may set any amount of records. Slater is a product of the Australian Cricket Academy, but so, too, is McCague, which raises the disturbing thought that not only are Australia turning out brilliant players for themselves, but shipping all their duds over to us. Source :: The Independent Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 2, 26 Nov 94 Fast bowler Craig McDermott picked off England`s key batsmen on Saturday to put Australia in a winning position after only two days of the first Ashes Test. McDermott took four for 28 off 13 overs as England slumped to 133 for six in reply to the mammoth Australian first innings of 426. Mark Waugh completed the second century of the Australia innings before the bowlers turned the pressure on England. Among McDermott`s victims were opener Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick and former captain Mike Gatting. England`s batsmen were again guilty of throwing away wickets. Only skipper Mike Atherton, not out on 49, was able to make an impression on another humiliating day for English cricket. Eng- land could not recover from their disastrous start when they lost two for 35 in sixteen overs. McDermott removed Alec Stewart for 16 when the England opener seemed to be settling in. Stewart was caught by wicketkeeper Ian Healy. McDermott then successfully tempted Hick with a short ball. Hick`s hook shot was top-edged -- also to Healy. A partial recovery was staged with the 47-run stand between left-hander Graham Thorpe and Atherton. England, 54 for two at tea, pro- gressed to 82 when the third wicket went. Thorpe, having made 28 lobbed a return catch to spinner Shane Warne. Gooch attempted to hit England out of trouble. His 20 runs came from 30 deliveries and included two fours and a huge six off Warne over mid wicket. But in repeating the stroke later, off Tim May he top-edged the ball for Healy`s third victim of the day. When McDermott was brought back for a second spell, he trapped Gatting leg-before-wicket and bowled Martin McCague in succesive overs. Gatting`s dismissal seemed very harsh with the ball appearing to be missing leg stump. It was, nevertheless, an excellent spell of pace bowling and McDermott finished the day with deservedly remarkable figures. Australia consolidated their first innings with a superb unbeaten seventh Test century from Mark Waugh during the morning session`s play. England`s bowling was wayward at the start of the day with 30 runs being conceded in as many minutes. Martin McCague was re- placed by Darren Gough after two overs which gave 12 runs. Gough struck immediately, taking nightwatchman Shane Warne caught behind off the third ball and Australia were 352 for five. Steve Waugh joined his brother Mark at the crease and promptly opened his account with a first-ball boundary to extra cover off Gough. After a 27-run stand, England hit back. DeFreitas had Steve Waugh caught at second slip. Mark Waugh, who was on 98 for half-an-hour, reached his century with a crisply struck cover boundary. It was his third hundred against England and the 50th in first-class cricket. It was a superb innings of glorious stroke-play. He drove elegantly on ei- ther side of the wicket and his cuts were perfectly timed. Aus- tralia, on 420 for eight at lunch, were dismissed a quarter of an hour into the second period. Mark Waugh, having reached 140 in 323 minutes at the crease, was the first to go, caught at short cover from a leading edge off Darren Gough, who finished with four for 107. Waugh`s innings contained fourteen fours and a six from the 215 balls that he had faced. Contributed by vasa (Vasanthan.Dasan@Central.Sun.COM) ====> Day 2, more Australian strike bowler Craig McDermott fulfilled his pre-match promise to impose himself on the Ashes series by spearheading an England batting collapse at the Gabba yesterday. The big Queenslander finished with four wickets for 28, including the wicket of nightwatchman Martin McCague on the last ball, as Eng- land slumped to 6-133. England`s hopes today of saving the match now rest with captain Mike Atherton, who was unbeaten on 49 at stumps. McDermott revealed before the game that he was stung by whispered criticism of his form and responded by firing out Alec Stewart and Graeme Hick in his opening spell on the second day in Bris- bane. Later, he snared Mike Gatting lbw for 10 then bowled McCague as the clock struck six. In front of his home crowd, the 29-year-old Queenslander had Eng- land in familiar trouble at 2-54 at tea, still trailing by 372 runs overall in reply to Australia`s 426. McDermott had faced criticism for a supposed lack of wickets with the new ball but his two scalps gave him excellent figures of 2-20 from nine overs. The new ball gave Australia the start they needed after Mark Waugh`s seventh Test century had pushed the innings past 400. Waugh struck 14 boundaries and one six in his highest Test score of 140, registering his 50th first-class ton in the process. England`s first target was to reach 227 to be certain of avoiding the follow-on and they lost Stewart for 16 when the score was 22. The vice-captain had just pulled McDermott for four before a re- gulation outswinger drew an edge and presented Ian Healy with his 200th Test catch. The all-Queensland combination also accounted for Hick for just three. Hick attempted a horrid hook shot, tak- ing his eyes from the ball, and top-edged a second catch to the Australian keeper. Earlier in the day, Mark Waugh once again rose to the occasion of Ashes cricket. Although he has frustrated his many supporters with lapses in concentration during his career, Waugh peeled off his third ton from only nine Tests against England. The 29- year-old h ad some anxious moments before getting to his century, surviving 29 minutes on 98 and a dropped catch at second slip on the same score. Waugh was deceived by an outswinger from Phil DeFreitas but Hick could not grasp a difficult one-handed opportunity low to his left. The classy New South Welshman finally cut Darren Gough for his 11th boundary to move up to 102 and, in the process, brought up the 50th first-class century to be registered on his thigh pad. For every ton he makes in his career, Waugh marks a stick figure on his thigh pad and his Test centuries are signalled with a tiny asterisk. At lunch, Waugh was on 137, two runs shy of his Test best, an unbeaten 139 against the West Indies in Antigua in 1992. Brother Steve played some classic strokes in his 19, which in- cluded three sweetly-cracked boundaries, two of them prefectly timed cover drives. But unlike his twin he was not given a life by Hick, who this time held his second catch of the day, at second slip, just as the Australians began to look settled. Hick again made amends for his miss with a very smart gully catch to march Healy, who attempted to cut Phillip DeFreitas. Australia had visions of a total beyond the 500-mark but England did well to fight back yesterday from Friday`s horrors and res- trict the score to 426, taking the last eight wickets for 118 runs. Aside from Waugh, Michael Slater (176) and Mark Taylor (59), no other batsman in the side reached 20. Darren Gough was rewarded with well-deserved figures of 4-107 from his 32 overs while DeFreitas and Martin McCague claimed two scalps apiece. It was Gough who started the slide in the morning, having Shane Warne caught behind for two, while DeFreitas bagged Steve Waugh and Ian Healy for 19 and seven respectively. Gough showed a willingness for the contest throughout the innings and fully deserved the scalp of Waugh, beating him off the wicket and drawing a leading edge that flew to Alec Stewart at cover. Thanks :: Patrick Keane, AAP, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 2, more Waugh, McDermott Put Australia In Command - Winsor Dobbin Mark Waugh completed the best innings of his career and Craig McDermott ripped the England top-order to shreds Saturday as Aus- tralia took complete control on the second day of the first cricket Test at the Gabba Ground. Waugh scored 140 his highest Test score as Australia made 426 in its first innings and then reduced England to 133 for six by stumps. Captain Mike Atherton is unbeaten on 49, but England still needs a further 94 runs to avoid the follow-on. McDermott, playing in front of his hometown fans, generated great pace on a docile pitch and finished with figures of four wickets for 28 from 13 fiery overs. He ended the day in great style, bowling Martin McCague for one with the final delivery a yorker. ``It was good to get wickets to verify that I`m still around,`` said McDermott. ``We bowled very well as a group and I`m very happy with the way things came out for me. I was pretty motivated to have a good series and we have to keep it going now.`` The elegant Waugh earlier completed the seventh Test century of his career after resuming on 82. It was the second superb bat- ting performance following Michael Slater`s 176 on Friday. The 29-year-old was the only Australian to find his feet after the home team resumed at a healthy 329 for four. Waugh hit 14 boundaries and one six in from the 215 deliveries he faced. He had some anxious moments before registering his milestone, sur- viving 29 minutes on 98. He finally cut Darren Gough for his 11th boundary to move to 102 and, in the process, brought up his 50th first-class century. Waugh`s score bettered his previous Test best of 139 against the West Indies in Antigua in 1991. Australia had the opportunity for a total beyond the 500-mark, but England did well to fight back, taking the last eight wick- ets for only 118 runs. The diligent Gough was rewarded with well-deserved figures of four for 107 from his 32 overs, while Phillip DeFreitas was accurate all morning. Nightwatchman Shane Warne became Gough`s third victim when he was caught behind by Steven Rhodes for two. DeFreitas then got a vital breakthrough after an hour of play when he had Steve Waugh caught by Graeme Hick at second slip for 19 with the score on 379. DeFreitas and Hick combined again to dismiss Ian Healy for seven. DeFreitas got some bounce and Healy directed the ball to the gully, where Hick took a diving coach. McCague, whose first 16 overs had cost 92 runs, finally had some success just before lunch when he had McDermott caught by Gough for just two. The last two wickets fell soon after lunch interval but Eng- land made a decidedly shaky start in the face of McDermott`s as- sault. McDermott first removed vice-captain Alec Stewart for 16 when the score was 22. Stewart presented wicketkeeper Ian Healy with his 200th Test catch. The McDermott and Healy combination then removed Zimababwe-born batsman Graeme Hick for just three. Hick attempted a hook shot and top-edged a catch to Healy. McDermott also removed Mike Gatting for 10, and McCague. Off-spsinner Tim May, introduced after only nine overs, re- moved Graham Thorpe (28), while leg-spinner Shane Warne had Gra- ham Gooch caught and bowled for 20. [It was the other way about: Warne took Thorpe`s wicket, and Gooch fell to May.] ``The lads did well to get Australia out for around 400, but the batting let us down,`` said England manager Keith Fletcher. Source :: AP Worldstream Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 2, more Atherton alone on the bridge - Derek Pringle IT HAS taken just two days of this Ashes series to illustrate the yawning chasm that lies between English and Australian crick- et. From the moment Mark Waugh nonchalantly took 11 runs off the second over of the second day until Craig McDermott shattered the nightwatchman`s stumps a minute from the close, England were outclassed in all departments, and they ended the day in a par- lous state on 133 for six, having earlier dismissed Australia for 426. To Michael Atherton, unbeaten on 49, it must have seemed an all too familiar scene as a procession of batsmen made the return journey from pavilion to crease with increasing regularity. Con- trary to the pre-match billing on this dry Gabba pitch, it wasn`t spin that did the damage but some high-class fast bowling from Craig McDermott, motivated by a comeback on his home ground. The Queensland fast bowler has been low on form recently, but he felt the ball was ``coming out well``, and his four well- deserved wickets mean that England will now surely struggle to save the match. Only Atherton and, briefly, Graham Gooch looked able to with- stand the rampant Australians and the England team manager, Keith Fletcher, though scathing of the team`s batting, was full of praise for his captain. ``Our batting has let us down. But Micha- el showed the others how to guts it out, something he has done ever since he`s been captain. We just need his attitude to rub off on some of the others.`` It all started to go wrong for England just after lunch when Alec Stewart, having just pulled a short ball from McDermott for four, pushed unconvincingly at the next to give the wicket- keeper Ian Healy a relatively simple chance, his 200th catch in Tests. As an opening batsman, Stewart likes to dominate, but his hesitant foot movement sometimes let him down and the opposition in. After a cautious opening, it was just the catalyst McDermott needed and Graeme Hick felt the extra effort as some well- directed short balls revived the spectre of Merv Hughes from the 1993 Ashes campaign. Since his mauling then, Hick has rightly de- cided to be positive but his wild swish at yet another bouncer, was desperately uncontrolled, the ball finding the faintest of top edges, and Healy collected another scalp. Sensing that this was something of a bonus on such a flat pitch, Mark Taylor early resorted to spin, with Tim May bowling the 10th over of the innings from the Stanley Street end. Shane Warne followed soon after, immediately having Atherton caught by Mark Waugh off a long hop, the dismissal invalidated as the ball had ricocheted off David Boon`s helmet while he was fielding at short leg. It was not the only piece of fortune Atherton enjoyed - a sharp chance to Taylor at slip off May was missed - but the Eng- land captain looked largely untroubled as he passed 1,000 Test runs in the calendar year, a feat only nine other Englishmen have achieved. After tea, Warne began to torment Graham Thorpe by bowling into the bowlers` foot marks outside his off-stump. Left- handers may be better off defending against someone like Warne, but their run-scoring is limited to the leg side. After a near miss, when the spinning ball must have blistered the varnish on the stumps, Thorpe, never quite to the pitch, drove the ball meekly back to the bowler. In stomped Gooch, handlebar moustache bristling. The most difficult thing Gooch finds about batting at five is the wait to go in. More used to starting an innings with Atherton, Gooch im- mediately set about the spinners. With a variety of thumping swats and drives, Gooch raced to 20 before being undone by some extra bounce from May as he tried to drag a ball wide of off- stump to leg. Australian jubilation told just how important they feel Gooch`s wicket to be and, with Gatting out of sorts but still adept at judging spin, Taylor brought back McDermott from the Vulture Street end. It was a shrewd move, for England`s carcass had still not been picked clean, and McDermott`s tally was swelled by, first, Gatting and then Martin McCague. Gatting could count himself a little unlucky as there was a suggestion of an inside edge in what was otherwise a plumb leg-before decision. It was abject ending to a day that had begun promisingly for England, when a much improved performance, particularly by Darren Gough and Phil DeFreitas, meant that restricting Australia`s to- tal to 426 was a triumph of sorts for the visitors. Gough has impressed throughout this match with his attitude and his four wickets were just reward for an effort that even drew begrudging admiration from the Australians. DeFreitas also bowled well, though how his captain must have wished he had pro- duced this kind of swing with Friday`s new ball, before the kan- garoo had bolted. With impressive accuracy, DeFreitas managed to pin Mark Waugh down, even having the batsman dropped on 98 by Hick at second slip. Waugh`s twin brother Steve allowed Hick to make up for his lapse, and the same combination was again responsible for the dismissal of Healy, who cut uppishly to gully. McCague, who has been an expensive liability so far in this match, then mopped up the tail with two fortuitous dismissals, both caught by Gough at mid-off, a not altogether reliable way for budding fast bowlers to get their wickets, and Atherton`s slip of the tongue regarding the virtues of Fraser at Hobart last week now looks mightily prophetic. While his partners were doing their best to throw away Australia`s indomitable position, Mark Waugh casually glided to- wards his highest Test score before being ninth out for 140. Later, he said he did not rate it as one of his better knocks as the pitch was too flat and that Gooch was the pick of England`s bowlers. That was about as much faint praise as England deserve. Source :: The Independent Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 3, 27 Nov 94 Taylor`s decision cloud`s Australian victory march Mark Taylor`s decision not to make England follow on Sunday marred what should be a comfortable stroll to an Australian vic- tory in the first Test at Brisbane. Australia suffered a mini- collapse in their second innings, closing at 194-7, after England`s first innings was easily finished off for 167. Only the enormous first innings lead of 259 saved the Australian skipper. But with the cushion now extended to 453 runs, a score no team has acheived in a fourth innings to win a match, Taylor looks safe. Taylor decided to start his team`s second innings after England`s final four wickets survived only 12 overs on the third day when they resumed at 133 for six. Craig McDermott took two more wickets to take his figures for the innings to six for 53. England skipper Mike Atherton added only five runs before he be- came the third major victim of McDermott`s partnership with Aus- tralian wicketkeeper Ian Healy. Fellow opener Alec Stewart and Graeme Hick also provided catches for Healy off the fast bowler on Saturday. Atherton was England`s only hope of keeping the Test alive. McDermott also had England wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes lbw. His figures would have been even more impressive had tail- ender Darren Gough not hit two towering sixes in one over. Taylor`s decision not to enforce the follow caused a stir in the Gabba ground. But once again the skipper and fellow opener Michael Slater made an excellent start, putting on a 109 stand with Taylor hitting 58 and Slater following his first innings 176 with a 45. And their stand proved vital as wickets went cheaply after. England claimed three wickets for 30 runs after Taylor became Phil Tufnell`s first victim of the match. The left-arm spinner Tufnell found considerable turn and took four wickets. Tufnell also took the wicket of Mark Waugh, with the batsman falling foul to a casual reverse sweep. Steve Waugh was brilliantly caught one-handed by substitute fieldsman Craig White off Tufnell. White was on the field in the absence of bowler Martin McCague who was suffering from a stomach complaint. With the dismissal of David Boon, whom he bowled with a prodigiously turning ball, Tufnell had taken 4 for 58. Despite McCague`s absence, England bowled well and between the first wicket falling and the seventh, only 82 runs were scored. But Australia are still in the driver`s seat having totally outplayed England during the first three days of the first Ashes Test. England will be lucky to survive Monday`s fourth day and the final three Australian wickets could easily make the lead even more daunting for Atherton`s battered team. Contributed by vasa (Vasanthan.Dasan@Central.Sun.COM) ====> Day 3, more The lawn cemetery which Mark Taylor planned the Gabba to be for England was something less than an escape-proof, lead-lined crypt in the first Test last night. Down a man throughout the third day, England rallied through the left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell (4-58) as Australia defied all expectations of enforcing the follow-on to be 7-194 in their second innings. England were so sure of batting again that openers Michael Ather- ton and Alec Stewart were padded up when informed they were in the field. Leading by a soul-crushing 259 runs on the first innings - 426 to 167 - Australia`s lead of 453 runs has never been approached in more than a century of Tests as a fourth innings winning score. They may bat on. The yellow pitch is dry and chewed up at the Vulture Street end, and the Tufnell delivery which pitched outside Boon`s leg stump made Shane Warne`s mouth water. England coach Keith Fletcher said: ``Someone has to get 200 and someone else 100 if we are to win. By crikey, we`ll have to im- prove. And it`s fairly tropical in these parts, of course.`` Coach Bob Simpson defended Taylor`s action of draining every drop of English resistance by batting again, claiming the weather and history were on Australia`s side. ``We`ve got the forecast. It`s going to be beautiful, lovely. What do they say about Queens- land?`` he said. ``I`m a great one at looking at the history of the game and not too many teams get out of this sort of situa- tion.`` One of the many sceptics persisted: ``It opens you up to criti- cism if you don`t win.`` ``Well, that`s something we`re not going to allow to happen,`` Simpson retorted. ``You people are looking at the negative side of it. We`re looking at a very positive side of things. Our only consideration was what would be the best way to win this Test match for Australia. We`re pretty sure we can win this way.`` Always the fireball, Craig McDermott`s sustained eruptions for 6-53 were the justification he wanted after high-level criticism of his consistency. ``I`ve copped a bit of stick in the last week,`` he said. ``I don`t believe it and I know I`m good enough to play Test cricket for a long time yet.`` McDermott said the bowler`s day of recuperation and the wear and tear on the pitch with two days remaining would make England`s task perilous. In his 61st Test, the 29-year-old McDermott raked in five wickets or better in an innings for the 10th time, rais- ing his tally to 244 wickets. The last Australians to be overhauled are Dennis Lillee (355 wickets in 70 Tests), Richie Benaud (248 in 63 Tests) and Graham McKenzie (246 in 61 Tests). Physically, McDermott appears fabulously, fearfully well. The knee surgery which drove him home from South Africa was success- ful, his agony of a twisted bowel in England last year is over, the Karachi Test withdrawal due to an infected ingrown toe nail overcome. So far above the rest was McDermott that Warne`s splen- did 3-39 from 21.2 overs was merely an afterthought. On the score of courage, the 50 overs of Yorkshire fast bowler Darren Gough (4-107 and 1-59) showed the spirit of an English Channel swimmer, an Alps mountaineer and runner of marathons, all in one. And it was Gough who also banged two sixes in an over from McDermott in a bold 17 not out. After their 99-run start on Friday, Taylor (58) and Slater (45) put on 109 at a spanking rate after which the highlight was Mark Waugh`s reverse sweep to drag Tufnell into his off stump. The press box is always a barometer of the beat of a Test, and this was no exception. ``Glad to see Billy`s over the hill!`` groaned an Englishman as a whistling McDermott bouncer drew a convulsive attempted pull from Graeme Hick (three) for the catch to Ian Healy. When Graham Gooch (20) swept Tim May (1-34) ambitiously towards midwicket for the catch to a scampering Healy behind square leg, a lad put his head into the box and called out: ``Ice cream!`` ``No, thanks,`` came the response, ``ice packs!`` After criticism of his strike-rate against openers, no wicket was more satisfying to McDermott than that of Alec Stewart (16), an outswinger pitching on off stump and carving away, a magnet for Healy. In all, Healy held five catches, a flying start if he is to eclipse his 26-dismissal effort in England last year and surpass Rod Marsh`s record of 28 in an Ashes series. Healy is among the game`s six elite keepers with 200 Test dismissals. His 218 catches and stumpings puts him just one behind Godfrey Evans. The Englishman appeared in 91 Tests, Healy 65. However well McDermott bowled on Saturday, no ball surpassed the bouncer which brought Michael Atherton (54) undone yesterday, a 61st-over scorcher which compelled an involuntary duck of the head from the England captain, a furious, self-defensive hook and the glance from glove to Healy. As the Englishmen came and went, the sight of Geoff Boycott among the Nine Network`s galaxy of stars was a reminder of the opener`s unflinching ``Timeless Test`` mentality, which brought him 22 Test centuries. Frank Tyson and Tony Greig would have been handy. David Gower might have got a game, too. As if his first-day spray-painting of the wicket square for 0-80 from 14 overs were not enough, paceman Martin McCague did not em- erge for Australia`s second innings due to a stomach upset. On top of Devon Malcolm`s bout of chicken pox, which forced him out of the Test, it was the last straw for England. Having made 4-329 on the first day, after winning the toss and batting, Australia lost 8-118 due as much as anything to Phil DeFreitas`s clever session-long spell of 12-5-30-2 on Saturday. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 3, more Breathing space for England; Tufnell hits back after Australian skipper declines the quick kill - Peter Johnson IT IS impossible to measure the power of hope. The Ashes series may have to run its full course before we know how much of England`s self-belief was restored by Australia`s extraordinary decision not to enforce the follow-on in the first Test yesterday. Opener Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart were padded up, the noose tight around their necks, when the message came like a stay of execution from the Home Secretary. Had England batted then, 259 behind and with their morale in their boots, defeat would surely have been swift, massive and inevitable. Instead, their dressing-room - second from the left on Death Row - was besieged at close of play by Union Jackanapes singing ha- dachieved the triumphant feat of taking four wickets. The spir- it of Dunkirk lives on. A little matter of 453 runs, two whole days and the entire history of Test cricket were still stacked against England sur- viving. But at least the underdogs have had their day. By containing, frustrating and reducing Australia to 194 for seven they have proved that, if you dig deep enough, there is some heart and fight in Atherton`s team. What they and most of Australia will never fully understand is why skipper Mark Taylor chose to prolong the agony instead of go- ing for the quick kill which would have crushed an already wan- ing spirit. Coach Bobby Simpson said he and Taylor believed the wearing Gabba pitch would deteriorate and allow spinners Shane Warne and Tim May to dominate the rest of the match. The weather forecast is `beautiful` and failing to win is, he said, `something we will not allow to happen`. You wonder, though, how much Taylor was haunted by his recent ex- perience in Rawalpindi when he asked Pakistan to follow on 261 behind. They escaped when Salim Malik made 237, a total that the entire England team would have accepted with humble gratitude yesterday. Until Taylor`s unwitting act of mercy, this had been a week- end of unrelieved depression for English cricket. Some innocuous bowling was followed by batting as inept and wild as any seen over the last five lean and hungry years. The wilful surrender of men like Stewart, Graeme Hick, Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting was bad enough. But all hope seemed to disappear when Atherton himself succumbed to the urge to swing a haymaker at pace bowler Craig McDermott. He had spent two-and-three-quarter hours over his 54 when he hooked frantically, angrily at a bouncer. When um- pire Steve Randell gave him out caught behind, he looked long and hard at the official before beginning the slow walk back. England`s pathetic 167 left McDermott with six for 53, an in- dignant response to the whispering campaign that accused him of merely going through the motions in recent Tests. By catapulting the ball into what England manager Keith Fletcher called `one of the slowest Australian wickets I`ve ever seen,` he made it fly. That has been the glaring difference between the opposing quick bowlers. McDermott bristled under pressure, England`s Mar- tin McCague wilted under it. Having bowled embarrassingly badly during Australia`s first innings, he retired with a stomach upset before the start of their second. It would be wild exaggeration to suggest that his absence re- duced the effectiveness of the England attack. But it did in- crease the workload of the three remaining front-line bowlers and for 110 minutes it seemed it would be too much for them. Openers Taylor and Michael Slater raced to 109 and even the faintly cynical might well have thought England were simply wait- ing for the blessed relief of a declaration. Maybe, subconcious- ly, they were. But that air of resignation faded when Darren Gough trapped Slater leg-before. Gough is one of life`s great enthusiasts, so ebullient that even his captain admits that `a few more like him in the dressing room would drive you up the wall`. But he is untainted by professional cynicism and has a habit of making things happen, if only because batsmen try to put the young upstart in his place. The great danger is that Gough`s wil- lingness to work will tempt Atherton to over-bowl him and he came close to doing that in yesterday`s enervating humidity. But Gough`s breakthrough changed the whole mood of the in- nings. When Taylor hit a Tufnell full toss to cover, the Aus- tralians turned to a curious, time-consuming attrition that is totally foreign to them. The idea, perhaps, was to grind the last traces of self- esteem out of England. It did not work. Tufnell, bowling unashamedly at or outside the leg-stump, tied down the batsmen until Mark Waugh, the great adventurer, could stand it no longer. He invented one of the ugliest shots ever seen in Test crick- et, a reverse pull played with feet straddling the crease. He dragged the ball into his stumps and went off to face some quizz- ical looks from the Australian management. Tufnell has bowled with discipline and imagination from the start of the tour. His variety and flight have made him one of England`s few economical bowlers. Yet he is no great spinner of the ball and was bound to suffer in any comparison with the match-winning magic of Warne. His figures of 31-9-58-4 were simultaneously encouraging and alarming. His tidiness managed to keep England on the right side of respectability but he turned at least one delivery prodigious- ly enough to set Warne`s mouth watering. That ball pitched outside David Boon`s leg stump and hit the off to end an innings that summed up Australia`s general confu- sion. He made 28 in three of the most pointless hours any Ashes series can have witnessed. By then, however, you could have been forgiven for believing that England were the hunters rather than the hunted. Their fielding hovered between adequate and electric. Craig White, on as substitute for McCague, defied gravity and the shape of his own spine to take an astounding square-leg catch to get rid of Steve Waugh. In the end, Australia, the most powerful batting side in Test cricket, lost seven for 82 and left a rejuvenated England with the feeling that anything - well, almost anything - might be pos- sible. Source :: Daily Mail Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 4, 28 Nov 94 There is no blood on the Union Jack yet in the first Test, and the hundred chanting, cheering Englishmen on the Gabba last night would not hear of any being spilled today. The unthinkable, unwinnable Test for England began filtering into Australian consciousness as the makings of a legend by the fourth afternoon as Graeme hick (72 not out) and Graham Thorpe (66 not out) carved an unbroken 152-run partnership through four hours of vigilance yesterday. England are 2-211 in their second innings, still 297 runs from a winning fourth-innings Test score of 508, a soraing pinnacle nev- er remotely scaled in the history of the game. Almost 20 years ago, Clive Lloyd set India 403 to win in Port-of-Spain and they made 4-406 to beat the West Indies by six wickets. England coach Keith Fletcher said last night: ``It`s on. It`s a real outside chance, but it`s still on. We have to bat till tea, score 170 or 180 runs, then have a look at [a win] with an hour and 15 overs remaining. We`ve got a fighting chance with still eight wickets to go, but to be honest, it`ll be a struggle. I suppose the odds are in Australia`s favour, but if we show the character of this afternoon then we have every chance of saving it.`` While the flag-waving and singing English supporters, issued with cans of beer by Devon Malcolm and Shaun Udal, sang ``God Save the Queen``, Thorpe picked up six pairs of batting gloves drying on the concrete last night. Thorpe had eight changes of batting gloves and headbands during the clouded but mentally exhausting afternoon. If anyone has the capability to hit a double century in this Test, it is the formidably powerful Hick, but it was the left- handed Thorpe who efficiently nullified 25 overs of the wiles of Shane Warne (2-44). Appearing in his 11th Test, the judgement of the 25-year-old Thorpe was impeccable, pushing forward through the harrowed rough at the Vulture Street end or turning the ball to leg, pulling and driving eight boundaries. England might never even have breathed victory but for a critical instant less than 10 minutes after lunch. Warne delivered an orthodox leg break into the rough, an off break to Thorpe, and it curled back like a live electrical lead, perhaps striking the back of the bat, rebounding for Ian Healy to gather the ball one-handed. It was obscured from umpire Steve Randell`s vision, making judgement almost impossible, and jubilation turned to frozen stares. Thorpe was nought not out. Had the appeal been upheld, even on persuasive suspicion, England would have been 3- 64. The 28-year-old Hick weathered a gentle hail of high balls, but the Gabba pitch was a ``slow, nothing wicket``, according to Fletcher, and not even Craig McDermott (0-61) could extract the fatal error. It was on the same Gabba ground that Hick played a season for Queensland in 1990-91 with modest success before re- turning to be chosen for Test cricket. Yet, for all the fanfare preceding Hick`s international career, it was not until his 14th Test that he made his first century against India in Bombay and a second century in his 28th Test against South Africa at Leeds. A third century should be Hick`s reward today, his usual drives and cuts scorching the green. There must be a bore of poison beneath this strip, but it emerged only in dribs and drabs yesterday. Fifth-day logic says it will bubble today. Australia closed their second innings at 8-248 after almost an hour, Healy chortling along for 45 not out. Warne was into action by the 10th over and with only his 10th ball, a quick, flat flipper, he shattered Alec Stewart`s wicket, the opener (33) flailing vainly. Immediately after lunch, Warne`s third delivery pitched on the leg stump of Michael Atherton (23), driving the England captain back, and the ball rammed into his back pad for the lbw. Atherton left in a state of trance. England were 2-59, but far from transfixed. Moments later came Australia`s appeal for the catch from Thorpe, Healy standing on the pitch, tingling with disbelief. Adding to McDermott`s misfortunes, umpire Cyril Mitchley warned him against trespassing on the portion of the pitch in Warne`s leg-spinning sights. Mitchley officially waved him out of the danger zone once, examined the strip twice and was on the verge of chipping McDermott again. McDermott over-stepped the popping crease, was no-balled and at the end of the over picked up the ball tapped back by Hick and hurled it to Healy. Healy saw the ball sail by out of reach into the fence in front of the Clem Jones Stand and, while the fast bowler stood disgusted, Mitchley signalled four overthrows, the easiest gift pack of runs Hick has ever received. The South Afri- can umpire had not called ``over``, and McDermott waited with hand outstretched for his jumper while Mitchley turned his back on him and signalled to the scorer`s box and the scoreboard. It was not a happy occasion for Glenn McGrath either. Having fin- ished with 0-40 from 10 overs in England`s first innings, he went unrewarded for another 14 overs for 0-47. Nothing seemed likely to save England in the 31st over when a ball from Warne pitched outside Hick`s legs and flew for two byes between Healy and Taylor at slip as if glancing from the root of a projecting Moreton Bay fig tree. Yet, 43 overs later, the pair were still there. Surely, a miracle is not about to happen. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au) ====> Day 4, more Relieved England snap out of it and exorcise a demon - Peter Johnson ENGLAND awoke yesterday from the hypnotic trance that has made them obey every snap of Shane Warne`s fingers. The four-hour partnership between Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe, which sent them into the final day of the first Ashes Test daring to dream the impossible dream, has already achieved one significant objective. It has stripped away some of the mysticism, the carefully cultivated hocus-pocus, that has turned the world`s best spin bowler into a demon. England, an heroic 211 for two but still 296 behind and a day away from survival, cannot yet look upon yesterday`s technical and psychological triumphs as the final solution. Warne is still highly complex and potentially lethal. But the stand by Hick and Thorpe - it was worth 152 by the close - could, in its way, be the most effective exorcism conducted by an England pair since Peter May and Colin Cowdrey fathomed the mysteries of West Indies leg-spinner Sonny Ramadhin at Birmingham in 1957. May and Cowdrey gave England a mountain of runs. Hick and Thorpe gave confidence, consumed valuable time and proved that there is life after Brisbane. It would have been easy to slip, unnoticed into oblivion. That, after all, is what the nation has come to expect from a batting side faced with any serious chal- lenge. And the task Australia set England was big enough to be sadistic. Mark Taylor`s declaration at 248 for eight, an hour before lunch, asked them to survive for virtually two days or to make 508 to win. No team in the history of Test cricket has come within 100 runs of achieving that, let alone one that gets suici- dal at the first sniff of trouble. But last night, as a horde of flag-draped yobs gathered to yell classic British obscenities at the Aussies and be tossed free cans of beer by misguided England players, anything seemed possible. Even manager Keith Fletcher murmured a few cautious words of optimism. `I can`t explain the great turnaround from the first innings when we batted appallingly,` he admitted. `But it would be a great boost if we could save the game. By playing their spinners so well Hick and Thorpe have given the whole side back its confi- dence.` At least Fletcher was more forthcoming than the Australians. Nobody emerged from their camp to offer any explanation why things had gone so badly wrong. Nobody offered a word of remorse for Taylor`s illogical decision not to force the follow-on the previous day when England were 259 behind and suffering from ter- minal depression. The startling truth is that this Australian side did not trust itself to finish off a bleeding victim. They suffered for it yesterday as Hick and Thorpe, learning as they went, made de- voted half-centuries. They built their alliance on shaky ground. England were 59 for two when Warne removed openers Alec Stewart and Mike Atherton. Stewart, so masterful against the pace attack, collected his 3,000th Test run then fell for the sucker punch. Having pulled the previous ball for four, he failed to identify the flipper and was still swinging wildly across the line when it hurried through to bowl him. Once again, you have to question England`s insistence on using Stewart as an opener when Graham Gooch is so patently and restlessly out of position lower in the order. Skipper Atherton has twice watched from the other end while Stewart`s recklessness has plunged the side into trouble. This time Atherton did not stay long enough to repair the damage. He played back to Warne and was leg-before. The Hick of only a year ago could not be guaranteed to stay long enough to take on Warne. He had surrendered to paceman Craig McDermott in the first innings when he attempted a hook that was more evasive than aggressive. The second time around he merely swayed out of the path of McDermott`s bouncer and concentrated on the great mathematical problem of Warne. The pitch had not crumbled as much and as rapidly as Aus- tralia had hoped and, at separate times, Ian Healy, Tim May and McDermott were all warned by the umpires for treading none too lightly on the surface. Occasionally, Warne hit the scuff marks and made the ball leap, but never quickly enough to catch either Hick or Thorpe out of position. Even in his more dominant innings Hick is often ac- cused of lacking imagination and flair. With two days to bat, he locked himself in an ivory tower of concentration, stuck on 62 for 50 minutes and allowed himself only six scoring shots in the final two hours. Thorpe`s 66 was often more elegant. He is nimbler, naturally more aggressive. Occasionally he unfurled a cover drive worthy of a Gower. Yet when he threatened to break free and attack either Warne or off-spinner May, Hick walked down the pitch to have a cautionary word. According to Fletcher, the pair had been advised at tea to help each other, to talk away their doubts. It worked so well that their unexpected calm wore away the Australians` patience. Healy went stomping dangerously close to disciplinary trouble when he claimed a close-up catch off Thorpe. Half-a-dozen Aussies froze in theatrical disbelief when an appeal for a bat-pad catch off Hick was rejected. For a second or two skipper Taylor`s new code of discipline was under severe strain. The normally enig- matic Hick grinned and shook his head knowingly. When you`ve got the Aussies rattled you know you have made a big breakthrough. Source :: Daily Mail Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 5, 29 Nov 94 England captain Mike Atherton sat like a dispirited prisoner between the warder and the executioner after Australia`s 184-run win in the first Test at the Gabba yesterday. The winning captain Mark Taylor, all smiles and nursing a beer, was on one side and leg-spinner Shane Warne, gleaming from his 8-71 from 50.2 overs, smoked a cigarette and guarded the other side. In 30 Tests, the bowler described by Taylor as ``a bit of a wizard`` has never finished with finer innings figures. He claimed 11-110 from 71.4 overs for the match, surpassed only by his 12-128 against South Africa in Sydney last summer. Yesterday`s performance from the Stanley Street end, pitching into the ragged vulture`s nest caused by the four-pace follow- through of Craig McDermott (6-53 and 2-90), was simply phenome- nal. In his last 25.2 overs of wrist spin as accurate as it was prodigious he took 6-27, bringing England`s second innings to a crumbling halt at 323. Atherton said simply of Warne: ``He is the best bowler in either side, without a doubt.`` Atherton`s melancholy nature was voiced in his thoughts on the loss: ``It`s a devastating defeat for me. I stressed before the Test the importance of not losing the first game because that`s the way the last three Ashes contests have gone. It can set the tone for the series. I`m devastated by it.`` England began the fourth innings requiring 508 to win the greatest of victories in 11 hours, which was shaping as a remote possibility at 2-219. But the Test was all over a quarter of an hour before tea. In his whirlwind career Warne has taken 145 Test wickets at 23.40, passing the great Bill O`Reilly`s 144 wickets in 27 Tests. In successive calendar years no spinner has been more successful - 61 in nine Tests this year and 72 last year. He is 25, but the blond bloke from Black Rock is going on 50 in his knowledge of the ways of the world. He sat before media men and thought of the Melbourne Test and Christmas ``back in front of the home crowd... hopefully we can get a good result at the MCG.`` He mused on his ambition to become one of the immortals: ``It would be nice. But I think everyone in his own time has been the best. I don`t think you can compare me to Richie Benaud or whoev- er. Everybody`s a different type of bowler. Different condi- tions. Who knows? You can lose it and maybe not be playing in six months. You have to enjoy every opportunity you get and savour the moment. It`ll be great to get in there with the boys and have a beer and a talk about it.`` Warne was asked whether he felt dejected when he considered his fourth day return of 2-44 from 25 overs, leaving eight England wickets still standing. He was appalled. ``If you sit there in the room and think: `Gee, I`ve got to get wickets today`, it just won`t work,`` he replied. ``You`ve got to go out and enjoy the game. If you don`t enjoy it and give 100 per cent, then you shouldn`t be playing. Simple as that. There`s enough pressure when you walk out the gate and perform for your country. You just have to do the best you can. You can`t do any more than that.`` Taylor explained his decision of not enforcing the follow-on by pointing out that with Steve Waugh nursing a tender right should- er, Australia were reduced to four front-line bowlers: new ball men McDermott and Glenn McGrath and spinners Warne and Tim May. ``We were a bowler short in the game - well, half a bowler short - with Steve unable to bowl,`` Taylor said. ``We had two class spinners and I thought the best way to win was by bowling on the last day when the wicket was turning. Win, lose or draw, in that situation I would do exactly the same thing again.`` On the third morning, with England faltering at 6-133 in reply to Australia`s 426, Taylor chatted to his teammates about the follow-on. ``I got a mixed reception as the last four wickets fell,`` he said. ``All the batsmen said stick them back in and all the bowlers said they wanted the day off. That`s the sort of help you get from your players. In the end it was my decision. If I`d had another seam bowler, I might have put them back in, but as it stands I have no regrets. Maybe if we`d drawn it I might have. But we hold the Ashes and are one-up, so we`re in a very good position.`` Half an hour into the Test yesterday, with Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe settling in resolutely, Taylor interrupted a Warne over, jogging down the pitch to speak to the spinner. Warne`s next delivery was slightly over-pitched outside the off stump, Thorpe groped in the rubble and heard his wicket shatter, ending a 160- run stand in 275 minutes with Hick. Taylor said, tongue in cheek: ``I told him to bowl Thorpe a full toss and see if he missed it!`` Six minutes later Hick pushed out a defensive pad to another huge-breaking ball, only for it to rebound against his forearm and strike the back of his bat as he hovered over his stumps. Ian Healy did the rest. Ian Healy had a marvellous Test. In his first game in a month since breaking his left thumb in Pakistan, he held five catches in the first innings and four in the second as well as making a busy, unbeaten 45 for Taylor to close Austyralia`s second innings at 8-248. Healy passed Godfrey Evans`s 91-Test tally of 219 dismissals in his 65th Test. He now has 222 catches and stump- ings. His catch from Graham Gooch was a gem, a sharp, bottom-edge snick as the veteran swung from outside his off stump towards mid-wicket. Atherton hoped the defeat would bring a positive reaction from his team, declaring: ``We have a set of guys, most of whom have got a bit of a ticker, a bit of fight. That`s what I`ll be look- ing for. In the West Indies we were down and out and we came back towards the end of the tour and won in Bridgetown. I hope we come back quicker this time.`` Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 5, more England threw everything at him. They kicked and swept and blocked him, used pad and bat and boot and body. Phil Tufnell even made him laugh (he also drew a grin from David Boon, and that`s almost impossible) but no-one could stop Shane Warne. The blond bombshell ran through the Poms once again. Not, perhaps, like a knife through butter for England resisted strong- ly; more like a saw through wood, a gradual splintering and then, at last, a clean cut. Warne`s haul: 8-71. All winter England had talked about him, pondered ways of playing him. Having seen him before, they knew what to expect, knew an answer had to be found. They even pretended not to be worried about him, which rather gave the game away. It was all to no avail. Once again, Warne was too good. Aus- tralia won by 184 runs. They won it because they have in their team as great a spinner as ever was born. Warne does things no- one else even thinks about, and does them on his ear. In his hands a cricket ball curses and spits and sings and whispers and screams and shouts. And, not content with this, he wants to go further, to find fresh deliveries, more ways of fooling batsmen. He is fascinated by his art and intends to stretch its limits. And he`s only 25. They say a man`s imagination begins to dim as adulthood arrives (presumably filling in tax forms offers sufficient satisfaction). Warne`s awoke at 18 and continues to thrive. England didn`t do so badly yesterday, went down with a fight. Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe first, then the old men, Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting worked hard together, soft hands in de- fence and concentration unfailing. As the minutes ticked by, so the Australians grew twitchy. Periodically their captain, for whom the clock hurried by with terrible speed, rubbed his chin and wondered if the hands could be turned back. Meanwhile, Michael Atherton watched from the pavilion roof, where he`d sat since Hick and Thorpe began their partnership, and where superstition had commanded his return. Could England bring it off? But Warne would not go away and could not be stopped. His stamina was remarkable, and if Mark Taylor didn`t buy him a beer last night he never will. Warne had saved him from the gallows. And all of it done with a certai humility. To perish at Warne`s hands was, at least, to die a beautiful death. All eight execu- tions were elegant. Alec Stewart had gone the previous evening, lured to his doom by the old combination, an easy delivery dispatched with aplomb and then an offering whose deadliness was detected too late. Stewart had never suspected a thing, he was utterly confounded, flippered out. Gradually, he worked his way through the order, Atherton fooled by one that hurried through and Thorpe beaten by a faster leg- break. Here was proof of Warne`s cunning. Realising that Thorpe was not driving and he could pitch up with impunity, Warne fired full-length deliveries until he broke through. Hick unluckily fell to one that popped, Gooch heaved wildly, Phil DeFreitas was bowled behind his legs and poor Martin McCague was flippered. The match was in the bag, and surprised to find in Tufnell a batsman whose notion of defending his stumps involved lying on the turf in front of them. Warne roared with laughter, joked with Darren Gough and eventually took the last wicket with a genial leg-spinner. Thanks :: Peter Roebuck, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 5, more England`s high hopes sent into tailspin - David Hopps THE most worrying aspect of England`s 184-run defeat at The Gabba is that it has heightened the suspicion that much of their bowling strategy is based upon a false premise. This is a party chosen with respect to the past, comfortably beaten in the present and now faced with an unsettling future. England departed for Australia with Raymond Illingworth, the chairman of selectors, trumpeting the need to fight fire with fire on fast Australian pitches. Presumably the unsettling evi- dence presented to Illingworth on satellite TV back home in Fars- ley has time-warped him into 1994 in time for his arrival in Mel- bourne at Christmas. The Waca, of all Australia`s Test grounds, is unlikely to be curbed of its pace and bounce, but as England do not visit Perth until the fifth Test, that is hardly cause for consolation. Until then, this Ashes series will, barring accidents of groundsman- ship, be fought out on the same type of slow, dry, closely shaven surface that yesterday gave Shane Warne eight for 71, the best figures of his Test career. Considering that when the Test and County Cricket Board in- sist upon a close shave, they are generally referring to the players themselves, such a prospect will hardly fill England with enthusiasm. Australia`s policy (and their captain, Mark Taylor, came close to admitting it as such) threatens to limit the effec- tiveness of the tourists` most potent weapon, Devon Malcolm, and expose the quality of their spin bowling to a rigorous examina- tion. Michael Atherton, England`s captain, is wise to the possibil- ities. "Losing Devon with chicken-pox realistically wasn`t that devastating a blow," he admitted, "because there wasn`t that much pace and movement in the pitch." Malcolm could hardly have fared worse than Martin McCague, whose Test career might well be completed with a record of six wickets at 65 each. McCague`s flaccid and misdirected bowling during Australia`s first innings was a liability, his absence with a stomach upset during the second innings was at best convenient, and it was no surprise at all yesterday when his sorry match ended with a first-ball dismissal, leg before to Warne`s flipper. It is easy to conclude that Illingworth`s insistence upon McCague`s selection ahead of Angus Fraser, who would at least have bowled with discipline, was at the heart of England`s trou- bles. Atherton did not accept such appealing bait yesterday, on the grounds that he did not want Illingworth to give him "another slap on the wrist". His main worry at the moment should be anoth- er Australian kick in the teeth. The presence of Fraser (or, indeed, Joey Benjamin, who does have the advantage of actually being in the squad) would have al- lowed England to give Darren Gough, their freshest and most boisterous bowler, more licence to attack, instead of requiring him to fulfil stock bowling duties. But with spin bowling so heavily favoured, a better balance - if not automatically a better side - would have been gained by the inclusion of White and Udal for Gatting and McCague. It is the unnerving prospect of picking Udal as a second specialist spinner, with White as third seamer, that England will be forced to consider next month if turning pitches remain the norm. Taylor, celebrating his first Test victory as captain at the fourth attempt, said: "I think the rest of the pitches will be similar to this. Melbourne is Shane`s home ground, and he will be hoping for a good performance there." It was precisely the spin-orientated nature of Australia`s at- tack that persuaded Taylor not to enforce the follow-on on Sun- day morning. With England 211 for two with a day remaining, Tay- lor admitted to waking in the night to the fear of a drawn match and the scorn that inevitably would have followed. A cross- section of Brisbane`s taxi drivers unanimously had it that Allan Border "would have had more guts". As it was, England`s last eight wickets added only another 112 in 61 overs, with Warne`s figures yesterday amounting to six for 27. Twenty minutes before the scheduled tea interval, the match was won. Taylor could point to a decision of good cricket- ing sense. England`s survival was largely dependent upon Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe implanting themselves throughout the morning with the same resolve they had shown during the last two sessions of the previous day. Their resourceful resistance in the face of a historically impossible target, 508 for victory, had regained more than a smattering of English credibility, but with their dismissals in successive overs from Warne within the first 40 minutes went English hopes. Thorpe (67 from 229 balls) had added only a single when Warne bowled him with a swinging, dipping yorker; Hick (80 from 227 balls) could rue his misfortune as he tried to pad away a ball that pitched wide of leg stump, only to see it roll up his arm and off the back of the bat into the wicketkeeper`s grateful clutches. England`s top order had acquitted themselves reasonably in de- fence against Warne and yet still his figures told of unparal- leled success. For a leg spinner, even one as freakishly accurate as this one, to concede only 1 1/2 runs per over stressed that survival alone will not prevent an unbearable build up of pres- sure. Somehow, England`s batsmen must work out how they can dis- turb the stranglehold. With Warne and Tim May - who dropped two catches off his own bowling - employed in tandem more than on the previous day, the new ball was delayed until the 108th over, but McDermott roused himself in discouraging circumstances to have Gatting caught at the wicket before lunch, and Steve Rhodes afterwards. Gooch`s robust half-century ended when he tried to heave Warne over midwicket and his under-edge enabled Healy to equal the Australian wicketkeeping record of nine dismissals in a Test match. For the second time in the match, Warne`s tormenting of England`s tail brought gales of laughter. Whereas a fast bowler`s destruction of a lower order can be swift and fearsome, Warne`s bountiful variations invited the crowd to join a pantomime. Phil Tufnell, knocked to the floor by one delivery as he dived on to it like a drunk trying to recapture a fallen whisky bottle, was cast as the fool. Warne`s heroic role needs no ex- planation. In this pantomime, when somebody shouts "oh yes he will", everybody just nods in agreement. Source :: The Guardian Contributed by Ram Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)