Just four days had passed since the end of the 3rd Test at Old Trafford, and still there seemed ample time for bickering and controversy around this Ashes series. The major story broke on an Australian TV channel, which claimed that England batsman Kevin Pietersen was using some form of silicone tape to prevent the thermal imaging part of the Decision Review System (DRS) picking up nicks, thereby stopping Pietersen being given out caught behind. Understandably, the English batsman and his colleagues reacted angrily to these claims, as accusations of cheating are rarely taken in good spirits. Cue several character references from fellow team-mates, including his captain Alastair Cook, who claimed he 'would never do something like this'. This means little to me, as how many times have we heard glowing character references from fellow sportsmen, only to to discover that they were guilty as accused? The debacle involving the spot-fixing with the Pakistan cricket team is a good example of this, as all were defended vehemently, but still convicted. The argument that makes me certain the accusations were untrue, apart from the Australian team's clear lack of outrage, is that putting tape on his bat would not actually help him avoid getting out much. Whilst it would aid him avoiding the caught-behind claims, it would hinder the third umpire in cases of lbw, as the smallest nicks on the bat would should that the decision should be reversed. Unless Pietersen was certain that he was not going to be trapped lbw, which he could not have been, then to put tape on his bat would seem a ridiculous thing to do.
As per usual, not a week goes by where the DRS system isn't questioned or queried. This four day break is no exception. After the dismissal of Usman Khawaja in the first innings of the 3rd Test, where the ball was clearly shown not to have hit his bat, the Australian PM tweeted his disapproval of the decision. The lack of trust of the DRS system has become so bad amongst the players that they are even starting to walk instead of reviewing. A case in point would be Tim Bresnan, who was equally shown to not have hit the ball in replays. However, due to what can only be imagined as a lack of faith in DRS, and its ability to reverse the decision, he opted to walk instead. These incidents led ex-England captain Michael Vaughan to call for the immediate removal of the DRS system, a move supported by many ex-cricketers. I think that any technology in sport is a good thing. Notice that in cricket, the errors are not being made by the technology, they are being made by the human operating it. A more sophisticated, or trusted system is certainly needed to ensure that human error is reduced to a minumum.
Moving onto events in Durham, Day 1 began with England winning the toss and electing to bat. However, after five days of Australian dominance at Old Trafford without reward, the Aussies got off to a similar start in the north east. Joe Root, who has failed with the bat on all but one occasion this tour, fell for 16 as England toiled. Cook and Trott began to anchor the innings, taking them to 107-1 by 2:30. Then, just as it seemed that a half-century was on the horizon, Trott edged Nathan Lyon to Usman Khawaja. The Australian spinner would prove to be a thorn in England's side for the rest of the day. Cook and Pietersen then continued to pile the runs on, taking Cook past 50, only for Pietersen to get himself in and then out, for 26. With England on 149-3, in form Ian Bell came to the crease to partner Cook. At first glance, this appeared a partnership that would take England to a very respectable total. In reality, it last a matter of moments, as an lbw shout on Cook handed Jackson Bird his maiden Test wicket. Bell lasted little longer, chipping a simple delivery to Harris at long on, leaving England with the tail exposed at 155-5. Prior and Bairstow set about their recovery effort, with both needing to find some kind of form. Instead, Prior only managed 17 before perishing to Siddle, whilst Bairstow accrued 14, before an lbw to Lyon got rid of him. Broad went for a duck in the following over, and with England on 197-8, there was a real possibility that they wouldn't make it past 200. Tim Bresnan and Graham Swann began bringing the run rate up, pushing England past the 200 mark, before Swann eventually had to go for 13. The final pairing remained firm until the close, leaving England on a perilous 238-9. Not bad considering they had a middle order collapse, leaving them at 197-8.
England's batting order did not last long on Day 2, with the pair failing to add to their overnight score, and Anderson losing his wicket to Bird in the second over. Australia's response started badly, with David Warner gone early for just 3, before Usman Khawaja swiftly followed for a duck. That brought Michael Clarke to the crease. After a couple of shots to get himself set, it appeared as though England would be in for another tough afternoon. But then we witnessed something that rarely happens: an error from the Australian captain, gifting Broad his wicket for just 6. Australia were rocking at 49-3, but Chris Rogers's innings was the anchor for the Australian team. Gritty and, at times fortunate, the opener remained composed as others lost theirs. Steve Smith had the briefest of cameos before departing for 17, bringing former opener Shane Watson to the crease. This partnership proved to be crucial to the success of the Australian batsmen. As Rogers edged Broad repeatedly, he managed to scramble his half-century, with Watson keeping a positive strike-rate at the other end. At tea, Australia had dragged themselves to a respectable 148-4, and put themselves within striking distance of England's first innings total. The onslaught continued after the break, but both batsmen remained firm, with Watson eveuntually bringing himself to a half-century, and Rogers putting himself on the cusp of three figures. When Watson did go to the bowling of Broad for 68, Australia had managed to get themselves to within 35 of England's total, and with 5 first innings wickets still in hand, they looked well placed to give themselves a good lead. A nice moment followed, with all sides of the ground rising to salute Chris Rogers's maiden Test hundred. His tenacity and determination had prevented the seemingly inevitable collapse of the Australian batsmen, and had led his side to 222-5 at the close of play, just 16 runs behind.
Unfortunately for Australia, Day 3 is where the momentum shifted. Just as England lost a wicket in the second over of the second day, Haddin went to Swann in the second over of the 3rd. An even bigger wicket fell just moments later. With England still leading by 5, Chris Rogers nicked Swann to Matt Prior (after a neat bit of work from the keeper). After such a fantastic innings, it was a shame to see such a soft dismissal. Not that England cared. With the tail now exposed, Siddle, Lyon and Harris all went before lunch, finishing the Australian innings on 270 all out, with a lead of just 32. England's response was once again checked by terrific Australian bowling, with Ryan Harris the key man. After dispensing of Root for just 2 with a stunning delivery, the seamer then got rid of Cook and the dangerous Trott in quick succession. With England on 49-3, a partnership was desperately required if they were to stand any chance. Pietersen and Ian Bell were that partnership, securing the innings and taking England to tea on 123-3, with a lead of 91. The pair stayed firm after the interval, leading Bell to yet another half-century. Pietersen looked set to follow the Warwickshire man to 50, but a poorly played shot to a Lyon delivery left him nicking through to Haddin, bringing an end to the 106 run partnership. The out of sorts Bairstow was next in, and he got off to a positive start, making it to 18 before a bizarre decision. Despite the light looking perfectly fine, the umpires decided that it wouldn't be safe to continue, and took the players off for a farcical 7 minutes. After the restart, Bairstow managed to add a further 10 runs before he perished, but Bell, like Rogers the day before, had to wait until into the evening to secure another century in this Ashes series. This fantastic innings enabled England to get to 234-5, 202 runs ahead. This set the final two days up nicely to be a close contest.
Day 4 proved to be the pivotal one, and ensured that England would not just retain the Ashes, but win the series. It did not start all that well, with overnight hero Bell having to depart for 113, before Prior went the very next ball for a golden duck, leaving Harris on a hat-trick. After defending that delivery, Broad could only make 5, before Harris did for him. Tim Bresnan added valuable runs as England moved past 300, and closed in his own personal half-century. However, he eventually fell just 5 runs short c&b to Lyon, but left England handily placed. Swann added the final few runs before Anderson was bowled by Lyon, meaning that England's innings came to a close on 330, setting Australia a target of 299 to win the 4th Test. In response, Australia started well, with both Warner and Rogers passing 30 comfortably. At 100-0, Australia looked to be in pole position, with Warner past his half-century, and Rogers on the brink. However, on 49, Rogers clipped a Swann delivery off his legs and into the hands of Prior. At tea, Australia seemed firm on 115-1, however few could have predicted the collapse that was to unfold. Even immediately after tea, Australia were adding the necessary runs, getting to 147-1, nearly half-way to their target. Swann then took the wicket of Khawaja, before Bresnan took the big scalp of Warner for 71. This set about an incredible turn of events, with one particular man taking the fore.
That man was seamer Stuart Broad. After an impressive first innings 5-fer, the bowler continued his form into the second innings. He began with the biggest wicket of them all, with a stunning delivery getting rid of the pivotal wicket of Michael Clarke. Next over, Steve Smith pulled back onto his stumps from another outstanding Broad delivery. After Bresnan took the wicket of Watson, Broad polished off the tail with no mercy. After Haddin was trapped lbw for 4, Harris went for 11 for the same reason. At 199-8, it seemed only a matter of when and not if England would reclaim the Ashes, meaning that Broad could bring up an incredible 10 wicket haul. He even managed to better that, taking the wickets of both Lyon and Siddle, to finish off the Test with a career-best 11 wickets, and sending the Chester-le-Street crowd into delirium.
This Australian collapse will also worry coach Darren Lehmann, and the entirety of the population down under. With the return Ashes series just a matter of months away, there will be much work for the Aussie staff and players to do if they are to stand a chance of reclaiming the urn on home soil. For me, I think that the Australian years of dominance are emphatically over, and though I do not expect a 5-0 victory down under like many commentators, I full expect the England side to retain, at least, the Ashes when they make that long journey this winter.
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