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.

After an inauspicious start to the day, the England Cricket team now find themselves firmly in charge over the Australian visitors at the end of the second day’s play at Lord’s.

England’s hero from the first captain Andrew Strauss, was out the second ball of the day to a delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus hitting his off-stump. Strauss had amassed a total 161.Wickets fell in each of the next two overs with Graeme Swann (4) and Stuart Broad falling for 16 to Peter Siddle and Hilfenhaus respectively. Then Anderson returned with another cameo batting performance in which he contributed 29 runs to a last wicket stand of 47 ,England having had somewhat of a mini collapse  losing wickets in each of the three opening overs. England were eventually dismissed for 425 all out in the morning session.

England  fast bowler James Anderson then took centre stage when he struck with the third ball of his second over. Phillip Hughes gloved an attempt to  hook  to Matt Prior behind the stumps. He then captured the important wicket of  the innings when Australia captain Ricky Ponting was controversially caught at first slip by Andrew Strauss for two. Anderson’s original shout for lbw looked a good, however  umpire Rudi Koertzen, after consulting his colleague Billy Doctrove, ruled that Ponting had been caught. By now Anderson was bowling from the Nursery end with pace, aggression and late movement he then took four for 36 from 17 overs, supported most ably by the born again Andrew Flintoff.

For the first time ever at a Lord’s test match ,the floodlights were switched on  and for once with the rain coming to the Aussies aid  with the help of two rain they eventually reached 87 for two at tea with Simon Katich on 40 and Michael Hussey on 37.The left-handers continued after the break in an unaccustomed cautious manner, Hussey being the more adventurous, playing with fluent drives and deft flicks of the bat. The pair made a steady if unspectacular progress  to advance the Australian total to 103, when Stuart Broad took a hugely impressive  diving catch at fine-leg off Graham Onions to dismiss Katich for 48. Flintoff took a piece of the action by bowling Hussey for 51 and Michael Clarke (1) caught by Alastair Cook at short mid-wicket off Anderson.

Cook took two further leg-side catches off mistimed hooks from Mitchell Johnson (4) and Brad Haddin (28) and Australia were in deep trouble at the close. Pace bowler James Anderson had produced probably  his best bowling for England to date against Australia to help restrict the visitors to 156 for eight. and when play was called off for bad light, Australia still needed 70 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Australia have not lost a Test at the headquarters of world cricket since 1934, but a revitalised England bowling attack had humbled the cream of the Australian batting order to put them in a dominant position on the second day of the 2009 Ashes test at Lords. However you can never write off the Aussies and there are still three days to go and the hosts will have to keep their wits about them. The 2009 Ashes, is proving to be every muchh as enthralling as the  2005 Ashes, promising many more twists and turns before the famous Urn is presented to the winning team .