Australia thrashed England by an innings and 99 runs at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday, wrapping up a fourth straight
win in the Ashes series with more than two days remaining.
Australia secured victory after tea on the third day when they
bowled the tourists out for 161 to remain on course for a first 5-0
whitewash over their oldest rivals since 1920-21.
Fast bowler Brett Lee captured four wickets while Stuart Clark
grabbed three, Shane Warne two and Glenn McGrath one as Australia
registered their biggest win over England on home soil since 1954
and their biggest at Melbourne since 1937.
Warne, who will retire after next week's fifth and final test in
Sydney, was named man of the match after taking seven wickets and
scoring an unbeaten 40 in Australia's innings.
Warne became the first player to capture 700 test wickets when
he took 5-39 in the first innings and finished the match with 999
international wickets to his name.
England had trailed Australia by 260 runs on the first innings
after bowling them out for 419 before lunch but were unable to
muster enough runs to make them bat a second time.
England's batting, which had let them down badly in each of the
three previous tests, failed again with the innings lasting only
five hours and less than 66 overs.
In another collective abject display, only opener Andrew
Strauss, with a defiant 31 over almost three hours, and
wicketkeeper Chris Read (26 not out) took the fight to an
Australian attack that was as ruthless as England were inept.
Quick wickets
After polishing off Australia's tailenders then limping through
to lunch without loss, England lost Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin
Pietersen and Paul Collingwood in quick succession before tea then
their last six wickets in the final session.
Cook fell for 20 when he dragged a ball from Clark back onto his
stumps then Bell departed for two when McGrath trapped him lbw.
Pietersen was promoted up the order from five to four after
being left batting with the tail in the previous tests but the move
failed when he was bowled by Clark for one.
Collingwood made 16 before he drove Lee straight to Justin
Langer at short cover as England slumped to 90-4 at tea with the
last six wickets falling in the final session.
Strauss was caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist off Lee in the
first over after tea, Flintoff was given out lbw to Clark before
Warne trapped Sajid Mahmood (no score) and Steve Harmison (4) both
lbw.
Lee had Monty Panesar caught in the slips by Michael Clarke for
14 then finished off the match when he splattered Matthew Hoggard's
stumps.
Read had earlier joined Jack Russell and Alec Stewart as the
only English keepers to take six catches in an Ashes innings as the
tourists polished off Australia's innings.
However, Read, who was called into the England side for the
first time in the series after Geraint Jones was dropped, missed
out on matching the world record of seven when last man McGrath was
caught by Bell at gully off Mahmood, who finished with 4-100.
Andrew Symonds added just two runs to his overnight score of 154
when he nicked Harmison behind to Read with the total on 383.
Clark and Warne then added 34 for the ninth wicket before
Mahmood had Clark also caught by Read then McGrath caught by Bell
for a duck to finish off the innings after Australia had resumed on
372-7.
The fifth test starts in Sydney on Tuesday.
(China Daily December 29, 2006)