A totally dominant England regained the Ashes with style and panache with a sweeping 197-run victory over Australia in the fifth Test at The Oval despite a superb rearguard battling century from Aussie batsmen Michael Hussey that looked like taking the game into a fifth day.
Australia made a good on start on Saturday evening boosting their confidence with a steady opening partnership of 80 knowing that both the target and the prospect of batting more than six sessions to secure the draw were out of reach. Simon Katich and Shane Watson resumed on another fine, hot English summers day with a capacity crowd anticipating an England victory. However this partnership lasted only another six runs and 15 minutes before Katich (43) misjudged an arm ball from Graeme Swann. The Aussie left-hander thrust his right pad out without offering a shot and was given out lbw.
Watson succumbed for 40 in the next over, also lbw, when an off-cutter from the young in form England bowler Stuart Broad thudded into his pads. An early end to the proceedings seemed likely with Broad exploiting the variable bounce and Swann getting the odd ball to grip and turn.
The Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting, was at his most determined, and his Partner in crime Hussey, at his most stubborn , were fighting hard against the powerful pair who had taken nine wickets between them in the first innings. Australia went to lunch with the score at 171 for two. Both may several errors but stayed at the crease.
Ponting reached his half-century in what will probably be his final Ashes Test on English soil, before edging Swann on to Collingwood’s left boot. Collingwood turned quickly but was unable to gather the rebound. Two runouts in the space of six balls followed and accounted for Australia’s two best batsman. Hussey called for a swift single after driving Steve Harmison to Andrew Flintoff at mid-on. Ponting (66), who hesitated, was run out a magnificent flat throw from Freddie, which struck the stumps at the striker’s end.
Clarke followed to a most bizarre dismissal in the following over without scoring when he played the ball on to the foot of Alastair Cook at short-leg. Strauss, running around to leg from first slip, seized the ricochet and flicked the ball on to the stumps with Clarke scrambling in vain to make his ground.
Hussey on 55 survived a chance to the unfortunate Collingwood before Marcus North was stumped by Matt Prior off Swann for 10. Hussey and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin kept Australia’s hopes alive with a steady and professional seventh wicket partnership of 91 off of 135 balls. Haddin used deft footwork to cancel he bounce, cutting and gliding his way to 34 before hoisting Swann to Strauss in the unaccustomed position of deep mid-wicket.
Mitchell Johnson fell for a duck caught at second slip by a grateful Collingwood off Steve Harmison. Peter Siddle was out to the same bowler for 10 and Stuart followed next ball to put Harmison on a hat-trick, but it was to Swann that perhaps rightly fell the honour of taking the final wicket as he was the most successful of the bowlers with figures of four for 120 from 40.2 overs. Only Hussey of the Australian batsmen had defied the England attack for any length of time, scoring his 10th Test century. He was the last man out, caught at short-leg by Alastair Cook for 121 in five-and-a-half hours at the crease.
A capacity Oval crowd basking in the late August evening sun joyfully erupted into scenes mirroring those of The 2005 Ashes Test four years ago when a draw was enough to bring the Ashes back after 16 long years. “It’s a special moment for us, we had to dig deep in a very hard series. It has not sunk in yet,” said the England captain Andrew Strauss. Whilst his opponent Ricky Ponting, the Australian team magnanimous in defeat said “We have not been good enough. Full credit to England and Andrew Strauss for the way he has led the team,”
To borrow the adage from their football colleagues, at the beginning of the 2009 Ashes series, the English cricket supporters were looking for cricket to come home, well due to the magnificent effort put in by all of the 2009 England Ashes cricket squad ,cricket truly has come home and the famous Urn has been returned to home soil.