England retain the Ashes off the last ball in another amazing nail biter of a finish!

Match report by Michael Banks

After Captain Banks lost his sixth toss in a row England were put in by Aussie Captain Bower. The field was still wet from the early morning fog and the sky was overcast but the sun soon shone through and, much to the relief of the England team, it soon dried out. Young Napa Valley pace bowler, Tim Irwin, opened up and his first ball was hooked, one bounce, into the crowd for four by Matt Biant. An auspicious start for the Poms. Indeed Matt and Stuart Read put on 71 for the first wicket at five an over before Stuart was bowled by Epps for 20. Mixing aggressive stroke play with excellent calling and running between the wickets Matt and Stuart gave the English a strong foundation from which to build. Unfortunately Captain Banks, after pulling Epps to the square leg boundary almost for six fell to Chris Price for 7 one ball away from the drinks break. Nevertheless England were well placed at the drinks break at 104 for 2.

Soon after the break Duncan Williams was also out to Price as the Aussies began to put the brakes on England. Michael Pocock was surprisingly economical given this was his first game of the season, and second eleven leg spinner Craig McIntyre also proved effective as England’s run rate was kept to five runs an over for the 20-30 over period of their innings. Ed James was run out for 9 and Nick Lynam, after threatening to explode with an almighty six into the trees was caught behind off Craig for 18. So England were 164-6 after 32 overs and in need of a turbo charge to finish on a winning total. Matt Biant was still there and continuing to hit the Aussie bowlers with aggression and intent. He was finally out for a top scoring 71 that included 3 sixes and 7 fours. After Biant was out England’s number 7, Eraj Siddiqui, took the baton and led the final assault on the Oz bowling. The last three overs yielded 32 runs with Eraj ending on 29 not out. And on the final ball Richard Lowe smacked his first delivery for four to close out the England innings – another auspicious sign of things to come! So England finished on 227 for 8 and Australia needed to score almost 6 runs an over to win.

The English team felt quietly confident at the lunch break but at the same time wisely did not assume anything. The Aussies had shown too many times in recent years, especially in the 2011 game, that they were ferocious competitors and could never be underestimated. Mention should be made of the pick to the Aussie bowlers. Tim Irwin did not take a wicket but his pace bowling was extremely economical (8/0/33/0). Chris Price took 2 wickets for 26 off 5 overs, and Pitman took 2 wickets for 41 off 6 overs. After the usual kid’s games and general festivities and fayre that always make this annual event so special and enjoyable England took the field and on the fourth ball he received from Eraj, Jim Pitman was given out LBW for 0. Matt McFadyen followed soon after, bowled by Armine Khan for 5. A radical strategy by the England think tank (messrs Banks, Biant and Read) had decided to have Armine open the bowling and keep the lethal Read back until the second half of the Aussie innings. This strategy worked as Armine, (5/1/19/2) bowling off a Wes Hall length run up but often delivering cleverly disguised slower balls, also dismissed the hard hitting Gordon Sterling, bowled for 23. But despite all the pressure Australia still managed to get to the 20 over drinks break with only 4 wickets down and 96 runs on the board. The English team knew that the Aussies were on track with their run rate and the dangerous David Bower was starting to play another big innings. (It was Bower’s fine 90 runs in 2011 that had led the Aussies to an improbable victory). Post drinks enter Stuart Read, England’s answer to both Michael Holding. Bowling with great pace and venom Read began to tilt the game in England’s favor. First he had Craig McIntyre brilliantly caught on the third man boundary by Stephen Kent who ran to his left and held on to a sliced ball that was heading over the ropes. Then he clean bowled Gary Epps, last year’s match winner, for only 2. Meanwhile Nick Lynam had Ian Ambrose well stumped by Ed James for 10. At 166 for 6 after 33 overs Australia were in trouble – behind the required run rate and six wickets down. But … the aggressive Bower was still bashing sixes and while he was in England could not afford to be in any way complacent.

With five overs remaining Australia still needed 38 runs to win at 8 runs an over. Price was magnificently caught by Richard Lowe at midwicket for 6 and then England got the breakthrough they so badly needed. The Marin Chairman’s unabashed roar indicated this as he clean bowled Bower for a superb 106, an innings that included 6 sixes. But just when England thought they had dealt the killer blow young Tim Irwin, playing like a top order bat, continued to bludgeon his way toward the 227 target. The final over arrived with Australia still needing 15 runs to win – totally doable in the context of the momentum they had generated. Up stepped off spinner Richard Lowe for his first over of the game. With instructions to bowl flat and at the wicket the Aussies scored off all of the first five balls of the over. Needing a six off the last ball to tie the game and retain the Ashes, Michael Pocock was only able to hit a boundary. Rarely does a boundary hit by the opposition team get celebrated so joyously. And that was it. England had won by 2 runs as Australia finished on 225 for 8! Man of the Match for England was Matt Biant for his aggressive 71 that formed the backbone of the England innings. And a no-brainer for MoM for Australia was Captain David Bower whose 106 almost won it for the Aussies. For England Stuart Read was the outstanding bowler with figures of 8/1/35/3. The strategy of holding him back until after the first twenty overs worked a treat. Opening bowler Eraj was unlucky not to get more than one wicket but nevertheless was economical early on (8/0/31/1). This in addition to his second top score of 29 not out. PJ bowled very well to contain the opposition batsmen and his figures of 8/0/47/0 would have looked much better if he hadn’t been hit for 15 in his last over. And although Nick was a little expensive he weighed in with two important wickets including that of Bower.

After 552 runs had been scored off 80 overs it all came down to the last ball of the day. What a finish! Congratulations go to both sides for a magnificent game of cricket. And thanks go to Raman Virk and Geoff Goddard for volunteering to umpire. Thanks also to Bhagya for scoring in the book and of course Margot for keeping the scoreboard ticking over throughout the game. Many thanks go to Zoe Matthews, Executive Director of the British American Business Council and Dawn Lillington, Executive Director of the Australian-American Chamber of Commerce, for organizing the tents, food, drink, entertainment and generally the event as a whole. And finally thanks to all the players on both teams for providing yet another riveting Ashes game!