Cricket/Fourth Test: England hit Australia like a juggernaut yesterday evening. They were inspired by Andy Flintoff's stupendous century and 85 imaginative runs from Geraint Jones that saw them from 229 for four overnight to 477, their highest Ashes total here for 67 years.
Then Matthew Hoggard, finally coming to the fore, and Simon Jones, both wobbling the ball disconcertingly at a heady lick, tore into the Australian order, reducing the visitors to 22 for the loss of Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn.
Later Flintoff pounded down his own particular brand of brutality, genuine world-class pace bowling, and bruised Justin Langer's forearm once more. Langer, who had been masterly at playing late for more than an hour and a half, then pushed stiffly forward at Hoggard who was finding late movement with the lacquer gone from the new ball. The ball took his inside edge, hit the pad and ballooned in the air where Ian Bell, alert at short leg, made good ground forwards and held a sprawling catch at the batsman's feet. Had Bell then managed to cling on to a sharp chance offered second ball by Simon Katich, Australia would have been 58 for five and facing utter humiliation.
With England pushing hard, men encircling the batsmen like crows after carrion, Katich and Michael Clarke, playing with enterprise although not without luck, came within a whisker of seeing Australia through to the close with a fifth wicket stand of 41. But Michael Vaughan brought Steve Harmison back for one last effort and from the third ball of what would have been the final over he rapped Clarke on the pads and Steve Bucknor raised his finger one last time. At 99 for five Australia are 177 runs from avoiding the follow on and in deep, deep trouble.
England's was a world away from another insipid performance by the Australians that had seen them take the wicket of Kevin Pietersen early on but then suffer as Flintoff and Jones took the game away from them with a sixth-wicket partnership of 177 at more than a run a minute.
Four times now, in 19 matches together, they have run up a century stand, none of them more important than this.
Flintoff is a colossal figure now in world cricket, arguably the most influential player in the game. His innings yesterday showed composure and, until he stepped across his stumps and attempted to hit Michael Kasprowicz over square leg and into the Fox Road stand, was without obvious blemish. By then he had been at the crease for almost three and a half hours, having hit 14 fours and the single six that had taken him to his half-century. Flintoff now has made five Test match hundreds, none of them more accomplished than this.
Jones might, by all that is right, have progressed to a century himself and was receiving the usual stout support from Ashley Giles when he mistimed a flick to the leg-side and saw Kasprowicz dive to take a welcome return catch.
But what of Australia? This is a side wilting in the face of aggressive cricket of a kind that they have so often inflicted on hapless opponents.
For this unit, it appears to have been a tour too far. Much of this has to be placed at the door of the Australia coach John Buchanan. This fellow has sought to elevate the art of coaching to levels that supercede the accepted standards, that he wants to pick the brains of Clive Woodward tells much. But in seeking to pay attention to the minutiae of the game, unduly so perhaps, he appears to have lost sight of the fundamentals that take the best players to the top in the first place.
The overall standard of Australian fielding has plummeted as might have been anticipated once Mark Waugh retired, limbs lost their elasticity and reactions their edge. Batsmen have shown little appetite for application against the moving ball.
For bowlers, it is discipline that is required, McGrath's performance at Lord's now looking like the discovery of a rare species thought extinct. Against that background it is not easy for any captain to set fields.
Who has been coaching these skills? Where have they been learning the art of reverse swing that has been the most potent of England's weapons? Ponting has at least acquiesced to England's superiority, his leadership yesterday lacklustre.
Buchanan has taken considerable credit for the successes of the Australian team over the past six years, and for its decline he must be equally culpable.
ENGLAND (overnight 229-4)
M Trescothick b Tait 65
A Strauss c Hayden b Warne 35
M Vaughan c Gilchrist b Ponting 58
I Bell c Gilchrist b Tait 3
K Pietersen c Gilchrist b Lee 45
A Flintoff lbw b Tait 102
G Jones c & b Kasprowicz 85
A Giles lbw b Warne 15
M Hoggard c Gilchrist b Warne 10
S Harmison st Gilchrist b Warne 2
S Jones not out 15
Extras (b-1, lb-15, w-1, nb-25) 42
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Total (all out, 123.1 overs) 477
Fall: 1-105 2-137 3-146 4-213 5-241 6-418 7-450 8-450 9-454.
Bowling: Lee 32 2 131 1; Kasprowicz 32 3 122 1; Tait 24 4 97 3; Warne 29.1 4 102 4; Ponting 6 2 9 1.
AUSTRALIA
J Langer c Bell b Hoggard 28
M Hayden lbw b Hoggard 7
R Ponting lbw b S Jones 1
D Martyn lbw b Hoggard 1
M Clarke b Harmison 36
S Katich not out 20
Extras (nb-6) 6
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Total (for five wickets, 30.3 overs) 99
Fall: 1-20 2-21 3-22 4-58 5-99.
Bowling: Harmison 5.3 1 25 1; Hoggard 11 3 32 3; S Jones 9 3 22 1; Flintoff 5 0 20 0.
