The Reverse Sweep

4th Test: Melbourne - Preview: Can England reprise glory of 1986?

 
The last time England retained the Ashes down under was in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in 1986 when they crushed Australia by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. With the debacle at Perth now behind them, Andrew Strauss' side has a second opportunity to retain the urn at the same Melbourne Cricket Ground over the coming days.

In the lead-up to the 4th test there has been much speculation about the late switch to a much greener looking pitch, which has given hope to Australians that Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris will find a similarly helpful, fast and bouncy wicket to the one that suited them so much at Perth. This is probably wishful thinking on behalf of the home side and the usual slow Melbourne pitch is a much more likely proposition.

This means that Australia will have to think hard about the make-up of their side. Do they risk going in again with four specialist quicks and the part-time spin of Steve Smith? Or do they hand Michael Beer a test debut in place of either Peter Siddle or Ben Hilfenhaus? Dropping the former would mean that Australia would lose its chief snarler in what appeared to be a new 'in your face' approach in Perth.

England also have decisions to make as to the make-up of the bowling attack, although Andy Flower confirmed earlier this week that they will stick to their four-man bowler approach in the absence of a world-class all-rounder. This is no surprise especially as Matt Prior isn't in the form to justify an elevation to number six.

Likely line-ups

England are likely to be unchanged although Tim Bresnan or Ajmal Shahzad may come in for Steve Finn if the latter is deemed to need a rest by the England management. other than that the only change could be Ian Bell being promoted to five ahead of Paul Collingwood.

For Australia, Ricky Ponting is almost certain to play despite a broken little finger and surely they won't repeat their error of The Oval 2009 by going in without a specialist spinner? If Beer does get the nod, expect Siddle to be the one carrying the drinks. Australia also has the option of bolstering the batting by playing Ponting's stand-by Usman Khawaja instead of Smith at number six.

Look out for…

We tipped Kevin Pietersen to end his long quest for a century in our preview of the Adelaide Test and despite crashing back down to earth in Perth, we fully expect him to reach three figures here again in Melbourne.

Ricky Ponting is too great a batsman not to stamp his influence on this series and despite his broken digit and poor run of scores, we would be very surprised if he doesn't make a significant score on the biggest of stages.

Finally, Graeme Swann had a quiet game in Perth after his seven wickets in Adelaide, but the surface at the MCG is likely to suit him better and we wouldn't be surprised to see him star in the 2nd innings. Australia may come to regret not picking their best spinner - the in-form Nathan Hauritz instead of the untried Beer.

Previously at Melbourne

Scene of the first ever Test match in 1877, there have been 53 encounters between England and Australia at the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia has the advantage with 27 wins to England’s 19 and perhaps a clue to the outcome of the 2010 edition is that there have only been 7 draws.

2006 – Australia won by an innings and 99 – England suffered a Boxing Day hangover as they were bundled out for just 159 with Warne taking his 700^th Test wicket. England struck back by reducing Australia to 84/5 before Hayden and Symonds both reached 150. England then capitulated for a second time for 161 for yet another woeful defeat on the most dispiriting of tours.

2002 – Australia won by five wickets – Justin Langer hit 250 as Australia amassed a powerful 551/6 and then England only managed 20 more runs than Langer made on his own. They did better after following on with Michael Vaughan scoring a sparkling 145 as England at least set Australia a target. They then restored further pride by taking five wickets as Australia stumbled over the winning line.

1998 – England won by 12 runs – A pulsating test match with a dramatic climax. Rain ruined day one but Alec Stewart scored a captain’s hundred as England made 270. Steve Waugh (122) then masterminded runs from the tail as Australia led by 70. And when England could only make 244 in their second innings and Australia reached 130/3 in pursuit of 162 all seemed lost. Step forward Dean Headley – who engineered a spectacular collapse and a famous England win.

1986 – England won by an innings and 14 – Mike Gatting’s side secured the retention of the urn with a crushing victory in the Boxing Day Test. Gladstone Small and Ian Botham took five apiece as Australia could only muster 141. Then Chris Broad’s third successive hundred provided the bedrock of England’s 208 1^st innings lead. Phil Edmonds and John Emburey then spun England to victory.

1982 – England won by 3 runs – The forerunner to Edgbaston 2005. An extremely tight match saw all four innings total between 284 and 294. When Australia were 218 for nine chasing 292 all looked lost for the home side. But Border and Thomson took them to within sight of the finishing line before that man Botham struck inducing an edge from Thomson that Tavare parried into the hands of a grateful Miller.

Prediction

If the weather holds true then the MCG is a result wicket and we fully expect England to win a tight encounter and therefore retain the Ashes with the final test in Sydney still to come.

Where next?

Dear Santa...

Read KP's Ashes Diary exclusively at the Reverse Sweep

Dean Headley's 15 minutes of fame

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests of them all: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Ashes 100-1: 12 - The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests: Part 3 of 3

 
Today we conclude our mini-series of the 25 greatest Ashes tests of all time (see also Part 1 and Part 2 of the Greatest Ashes Tests ever) with the final nine starting in 1977 and ending in 2009.

Centenary Test, Melbourne, 12-17 March 1977 - Australia won by 45 runs: Not strictly an Ashes Test as the urn wasn't at stake, but this match staged to commemorate the first-ever Test exactly 100 years earlier was a classic. Australia were shot out for 138 before Lillee turned the table on England with six for 26 as England could only muster 95. Rod Marsh then struck 110 as Australia set England a mammoth 463 for victory. Amazingly they got close and at one point were 346 for four. But when Randall fell for a brilliant 174 the end was nigh and Australia scraped home by 45 runs - the same margin as in that first test 100 years before.

3rd Test, Headingley, 16-21 July 1981 - England won by 18 runs: For the first three days, England were completely outplayed and followed on. It seemed inevitable that Australia were about to go 2-0 up in the series. Then Botham with able support from Dilley and Old smashed 149 not out and Willis roared in with eight for 43 to enable England, who at one point had been 500/1 for the win, to score an amazing victory.

4th Test, Edgbaston, 30 July-2 August 1981 - England won by 29 runs: Lightning struck twice for Australia in the very next match when they looked like winning a low scoring encounter at Edgbaston. Set 151 to win, they eased to 87 for three before Botham produced his second miracle of the summer grabbing five for one in 28 balls to secure a 29-run victory.

4th Test, Melbourne, 26-30 December 1982 - England won by 3 runs: An extremely tight match saw all four innings total between 284 and 294. When Australia were 218 for nine chasing 292 all looked lost for the home side. But Border and Thomson took them to within sight of the finishing line before that man Botham struck inducing an edge from Thomson that Tavare parried into the hands of a grateful Miller.

4th Test, Melbourne, 26-30 December 1998 - England won by 12 runs: England were 2-0 down and the Ashes had already gone coming into the Boxing Day Test. But some unlikely seasonal cheer came their way when Australia collapsed chasing 175 - sliding from 130 for three to 162 all out. Dean Headley had his moment in the sun with six wickets whilst Steve Waugh scored 122 not out and 30 not out.

2nd Test, Edgbaston, 4-7 August 2005 - England won by 2 runs: The best test in history? McGrath and that cricket ball. Ponting wins the toss and inexplicably puts England in. England score over 400 on day one and lead by 99 on 1^stinnings. The Aussies fightback but a last wicket stand of 51 from Flintoff and Simon Jones enables England to set the Aussies 282 to win. A magical over by Flintoff accounts for Langer and Ponting. A magnificent slower ball from Harmison bamboozles Clarke. Lee with Warne and then Kasprowicz take Australia to the precipice of victory before Harmison and Geraint Jones combined to win the day for England. Flintoff consoles Lee. Breathtaking.

4th Test, Trent Bridge, 25-28 August 2005 - England won by 3 wickets: England dominated the match with a century from Flintoff and five wickets for Simon Jones. But in pursuit of only 129 for victory after Australia had followed on, panic set in against an inspired Warne and Lee. Giles and Hoggard were the unlikely heroes that steered England home.

2nd Test, Adelaide, 1-5 December 2006 - Australia won by six wickets: Disaster and ignominious defeat for England and glory for Australia. A double-hundred for Collingwood and 158 from Pietersen saw England declare on 551 for six. Hoggard took seven wickets as Australia conceded a 38 run lead - it should have been more but Giles dropped Ponting and the Australian captain cashed in with 142. With a draw the most likely result, England caved in on the last day to be all out for 129 with an inspirational Warne pulling the strings and Australia cantered to victory and ultimately a 5-0 series win.

5th Test, The Oval, 20-23 August - England won by 197 runs: With the series level at 1-1, the momentum was with Australia after a crushing win at Headingley in the 4th Test. But Strauss won a crucial toss and led from the front with 55 and Bell top-scored with 72 as England scored 332. Then with Australia cruising at 73 for o, Stuart Broad (five for 37) bowled an inspired spell as the tourists were reduced to 111 for seven and finally 160 all out. Jonathan Trott then struck a composed hundred on debut with Strauss hitting his second fifty of the match to help set Australia an unlikely 546 for victory. At 217 for two, England were nervous but Flintoff's run out of Ponting proved to be decisive and the Ashes had been regained.

Where next?

Read all the articles of our Ashes 100 day countdown

Botham's Ashes

10 reasons why Andrew Flintoff was a true Ashes great

Dean Headley's one day in the sun  

Ashes 100-1: 70 - Darren Gough's hat-trick at Sydney

Back at number 98 of our Ashes 100-1 countdown we relayed our experience of the Boxing Day test of 1998 where Dean Headley's career peak helped inebriate us and the rest of the Barmy Army all the way through to the New Year celebrations in Sydney (see 98 - Deano's match). Boy, that was some hangover!

Next up was the final test in Sydney where a victory would see England square the series 2-2. The Ashes were already gone, but to leave Australia with a share of the spoils was more than any of us could have hoped for after the shambolic performances in Perth and Adelaide.

As usual, the England spectators we mingled with at the SCG were full of voice and ridiculous optimism and on day one Darren Gough fuelled our belief with one of the great Ashes moments. Just before the end of the day, England had clawed their way back after a big partnership from the Waugh brothers had put Australia in relative comfort at 319 for five, but with Headley accounting for Mark Waugh the scene was left to Gough.

Gough responded in typically charismatic fashion with a hat trick (which you can relive below). Healy was caught behind by Warren Hegg and then Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller both fell to reverse swinging yorkers. The roof came off a capacity SCG crowd as the celebrations from the Boxing Day test were reignited in a big way. Australia lost their last five wickets for three runs.

Of course England couldn't capitalise on Gough's achievement and were bowled out for 220 in response. But even then England could have turned things around if Michael Slater had been adjudged run out when the score was on 60 in Australia's second innings. Unfortunately, the umpires made a poor decision and Slater went on to hit a magnificent 123 out of Australia's 184. England got to 131 for three in chasing 287 but then folded and Australia won the match by 98 runs to hand retiring skipper Mark Taylor a win in his last match.

But the memory of Gough's hat-trick and the celebrations after will live long in the memory.  

Ashes 100-1: 98 Deano's match

Today we reach number 98 in our Ashes 100-1 countdown and appropriately we go back to Melbourne in 1998 and a former England fast bowler's one day in the sun and an alcoholic infused haze for the Reverse Sweep.

1998 was the year that I spent a memorable time travelling across Australia. I had been in Cairns when a thunderstorm saved England in the 1st test at Brisbane. I then suffered being mercifully ribbed by our Aussie ranger in Kakadu National Park as England were thrashed at the WACA before passing through Coober Pedy as Australia retained the Ashes with another win in Adelaide.

So it was by Christmas that my brother and I reached Melbourne and tickets were purchased for the Boxing Day test at the MCG. We weren't confident, but as English cricket fans we were used to being thrashed by the Aussies and at least we would get to enjoy cricket at one of the best sporting theatres in the world.

And we expected to get a tan into the bargain. Christmas Day had been spent on St Kilda's beach in glorious sunshine and 37 degree heat. So when we made our way to the MCG the morning after we expected more of the same. Big mistake. The temperature had dropped 20 degrees and it rained for most of the day. No cricket and no sun meant the only thing we left with were goose pimples.

Fortunately, the rest of the test match was a classic (see scorecard). England batted first and Alec Stewart hit a captain's knock of 107 as his side compiled a first innings of 270. In reply, Australia struggled to 252 for eight before that snake in the grass Steve Waugh batted with the tail for the umpteenth time against England to hit an unbeaten 122 and carry the Aussies to 340.

When Mike Atherton duly bagged a pair, the game looked up for England, but half centuries from Stewart, Nasser Hussain and Graeme Hick saw England set the Aussies 175 to win. Knowing Australia's poor record at chasing smallish totals and also their propensity for losing a match once they had secured the series, optimism was rife amongst the Barmy Army supporters we were sitting with. No doubt the regular flow of cold but tasteless Australian beer was fuelling our confidence.

However, optimism had dimmed somewhat when Australia reached 103 for two before Mark Ramprakash pulled off a remarkable catch to get rid of Justin Langer. That seemed to put some doubt into Australian minds and soon after Mark Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Ian Healy and Damien Fleming all fell in quick succession - all to Dean Headley who for one day at least played the part of a world-class fast bowler.

But the thorn in England's side Steve Waugh was still there and shepherding number nine (and debutant) Matt Nicholson to the winning target. With only 14 runs to get and three wickets still remaining, most of our hopes had gone. Then Headley (six for 60) struck again to have Nicholson caught behind by Warren Hegg before Darren Gough cleaned up Stuart McGill and Glenn McGrath in the blink of an eye.

England had incredibly won by 12 runs and we had witnessed a great test match with a pulsating conclusion. When we left we ground we were knackered, pretty drunk but elated - the game had finished after 7.30. The night stretched on long into the early hours as we drank numerous toasts to Stewart, Gough and Ramps, but most of all Headley. What a shame that injury and form consigned him to be one of cricket's one hit wonders.