Fourth Ashes Test – Final Day

– Aussies 2nd Innings 241 for 7 – Trail by 90 with England an Innings in hand
Says it all really
England yesterday didn’t manage to kick on to a very big score in the face of some very good bowling by Starc – Root as I feared went early for 130 – a very good innings regardless – Wood 28 hung around for a bit and gave Johnson a bit of stick before being bowled by a good one from Starc – the lower middle order of Stokes 5 Buttler 12 were out in relatively short order before Ali 38 and Broad 24 came together to push the lead to over the 300 mark – A surprise declaration by Cook just before lunch – To everyone – Aussies were contemplating their lunch and Sky hadn’t got any adverts lined up leaving David Lloyd to mumble even more inanely than normal to cover the gap. Then the comic/sad sight of Rogers attempting to waste time and hasten the lunch interval
After lunch it was looking like the Aussies might make a fist of making a comeback – Warner in particular looking relatively comfortable – England, particularly Broad bowled very well without any luck and for the first time in the match England’s catching let them down. A flurry of Wickets before tea (not to mention Woods no ball) by Stokes with some help from Broad – Rogers 52, Warner 64 are followed in short order by Marsh 2 and Smith 5. Clarke survives to tea and after tea there is a bit of a lull – England swinging the ball both ways but Clarke and Voges prodding and missing – Wood removes Clarke 13 – Cook and Bell combining for the catch – Neville and Voges dig in before Neville 17 leaves one swinging into his pads from Stokes and is out lbw – Stokes gets his “Michelle” by removing Johnson before bad light stops play just before the Close
Today is the day that England are going to take the Ashes back
– there ive said it and acknowledge it – there may be a few more turns and twists but it is going to happen – when England won the Cardiff Test I was pleasantly surprised by how competitive they were against what looked like an undercooked team – Lords reaffirmed my opinion that the Aussies shouldn't be taken lightly – however through Edgbaston and now at Trent bridge I've come to realise that that whilst England have played good cricket it is the Aussies that are
uncompetitive. 