James Anderson took five wickets for the second time in the match as England just held their nerve to win the first Ashes Test against Australia by 14 runs at Trent Bridge yesterday.
When Australia lost their ninth wicket on the fifth and final day, they were 80 runs adrift of their victory target of 311 and all but out of the match.
However, by lunch they were 291-9, just 20 runs away from a stunning upset, with Brad Haddin 69 not out and James Pattinson unbeaten on 22.
Photo: AFP
However, the third over after lunch saw Haddin, on 71, caught behind by opposing wicketkeeper Matt Prior off man-of-the-match Anderson’s full-length delivery
England, in a Test full of controversial umpiring decisions, first had to challenge Pakistani on-field umpire Aleem Dar’s original not out verdict.
Third umpire Marais Erasmus, using Hot Spot technology, overturned the call and that meant Ashes-holders England went 1-0 up in this five-match series ahead of the second Test at Lord’s on Thursday.
Photo: Reuters
Pattinson finished on 25 not out after a last-wicket stand of 65.
It was the second remarkable last-wicket Australia stand of the match after their first innings 163, a 10th wicket Test record featuring teenage debutant Ashton Agar’s 98 — the highest score by a Test No 11.
England spearhead Anderson, who took four wickets for 12 runs yesterday, finished with an innings return of 5-73 and a match haul of 10-158.
Photo: AFP
All was going well for England earlier yesterday when a sensational new-ball spell saw Anderson take three wickets for six runs as Agar (14), Mitchell Starc (one) and Peter Siddle (11) were all caught by England captain Alastair Cook at first slip to leave Australia nine down.
However, when Pattinson swept off-spinner Graeme Swann for six, Australia needed just 31 more runs for victory.
Jonny Bairstow then had a chance to run out Haddin, but his throw from cover-point missed the stumps.
Photo: Reuters
Haddin, with 26 needed to win, was dropped on 64 by a diving Steven Finn, running round in the deep, off Swann.
Australia resumed yesterday on 174-6 still needing a futher 137 runs to win after they lost three wickets for three runs late on Saturday.
However, the fact that 19-year-old Agar, promoted to No 8, was still there was a warning to England not to underestimate Australia’s tail.
Haddin, 11 not out overnight, continued to mix aggression with defense, and took Australia to 200 when he cover-drove fast-medium bowler Anderson for four.
Anderson, one of only four England bowlers to take more than 200 Test wickets, had eventually dismissed left-hander Agar, who edged to Cook.
Australia’s 207-7 soon became 211-8 when Starc, who has a Test-best score of 99, managed just a single before he too fell to the Anderson-Cook combination.
The pair almost had their third wicket when Siddle on 10 got an edge only for Cook to drop the chance.
However, Siddle added just one more run to his total before he edged a full-blooded drive off Anderson and Cook, going high to his right, held a sensational catch.
England had put themselves into a strong position thanks to a seventh-wicket second innings stand of 138 between Ian Bell (109) and Stuart Broad (65).
However, Broad was controversially given not out on 37 despite edging the ball to slip — one of several contentious decisions in this enthralling match.
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