England's dwindling team spirit exposed

To lose by an innings within three days was a really feeble effort, but such is the mental state of the players, and the lack of cohesion within the team, that it is not a surprise.
An example of the chaotic thinking was Kevin Pietersen's move to number four this afternoon.
It was not before time - he should have been batting there throughout the series - but this happened half way through this match, and only after it had been written that he had declined the request to bat there in the first innings.
He looked thoroughly aloof when he walked out to bat, and a loose drive resulted in his being bowled for only a single.
This, combined with the discovery that up to five players opted to do their own thing on Christmas Day rather than enjoy the time honoured tradition of spending Christmas lunch together, paints a picture of a group devoid of real team spirit in the true sense.

All criticism of England has to be tempered with a respectful nod to the Australians for the focused, determined and disciplined cricket they have played ever since losing the Ashes last year.
This has to be the legacy of England’s disastrous tour - either they take heed of the way the Australians coped with their defeat, or they will learn nothing from this.
All we ask of Andrew Flintoff's men in Sydney is that they play with every ounce of pride, purpose, commitment and consistency that has been lacking thus far.
There is no shame when, having given everything, you lose to a better opponent. But the players need to show the doubters that they have spirit.
The fact is, though, that 5-0 beckons for only the second time in Ashes history. For Australia, this will bring redemption. For England: humiliation and recrimination.

BBC special blog production

FOURTH TEST, MELBOURNE, DAY THREE: AUSTRALIA 419 bt ENGLAND 159 & 161 by an innings and 99 runs

Australia bundled England out for 161 to win by an innings and 99 runs inside three days in the fourth Ashes Test.

Scorecard

The Aussies were dismissed for 419 in the morning, with Sajid Mahmood taking 4-100, but ran through the tourists.

Brett Lee took four wickets, Stuart Clark three and Shane Warne - in his final Test on his home ground - two.

The result puts Australia 4-0 up and needing a win in Sydney next week to clinch the first Ashes whitewash since England lost 5-0 to them in 1920/21.

That looks a distinct possibility based on the domination the Aussies enjoyed at the MCG.

England briefly rallied in the morning, with Andrew Symonds adding only two to his overnight 154 before getting a thick edge behind trying to play an expansive drive off Steve Harmison.

Mahmood then had Clark and Glenn McGrath caught close in and Chris Read finished with six catches after the Lancastrian had suffered at the hands of Warne, who made an entertaining 54-ball 40.

From then on, however, it was once again a tale of the visitors being exposed by accurate bowling on a pitch that had become easier to bat on.

McGrath consistently seamed the ball away just outside off-stump in a probing opening spell and should have had Alastair Cook lbw after the youngster passed 1,000 runs in his first calendar year of Test cricket.

The veteran paceman rapped him on the pad with a straight delivery that held its line but umpire Rudi Koertzen somehow ruled in his favour.
Fellow metronome Clark accounted for him soon after lunch anyway when a lazy drive led to an inside edge into middle-stump and McGrath then nipped one back into Ian Bell to win only the second lbw verdict of the match.

Clark was asking plenty of tough questions with a combination of swing and movement off the pitch.

Even Kevin Pietersen, moved up the order to four, had no answer to a beauty which jagged back in and went through a big gate.

Paul Collingwood and Andrew Strauss (31) drove loosely at Lee either side of tea, while Andrew Flintoff was undone by one that Clark angled in and was adjudged leg-before.

From then on it was a question of how long the tail could defy Warne.

The great leg-spinner rolled back the years to unfurl a series of vicious leg-breaks, googlies and the once-deadly flipper.

Mahmood and Harmison were lbw after being bamboozled by the flipper and slider, while Chris Read's bat was beaten at will during his 77-ball 26.

Monty Panesar cheered the sizeable English contingent in the crowd by delightful flicking Lee off his pads for four and driving Warne past mid-on for another boundary.

That joy was short-lived and he fended a vicious Lee delivery to Michael Clarke at fourth slip.

With shadows enveloping the outfield in the evening, Lee cleaned up Matthew Hoggard to wrap things up and end England's misery.

Bowling plans leak angers England

England's embarrassment was increased on day two of the fourth Test after their bowling plans for each Australian batsmen were leaked to the media.

The plans are prepared by team analyst Mark Garaway before each match and pinned up in the dressing room.

But a copy turned up in the hands of ABC Radio and was read out on air as England tried to break a stand between Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

They put on 279 to help Australia into a 213-run lead at close of play.

ABC claim the plans were e-mailed to them by a source, but England believe they must have been taken from their team room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"We don't know at this stage whether the document was taken from the dressing room or from another part of the ground.

"We're talking to the ICC security manager and we're also talking to Cricket Australia, who are as disappointed about this as we are," England media spokesman Andrew Walpole.
England seam bowler Matthew Hoggard described the leak as "very disappointing".

"We have detailed plans of how we want to get each batsman out. We've got them on an A4 piece of paper.

"It's laminated and we've got colour co-ordination and unfortunately someone has take a copy of it and handed it to the Australians.

"You would have thought the security in international cricket was tighter than that, but unfortunately it's been leaked," he said.

The International Cricket Council is aware of the matter but has not been asked to look into it by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The document advised England's bowlers to keep Hayden tied down with dot balls and to position a catcher on the edge of the pitch - but neither strategy was effective during his innings of 153.
It also suggested that Symonds was susceptible to short-pitched bowling, but despite being tested out with an occasional bouncer, he was never once tempted to play the hook shot and was unbeaten on 154 at close of play.

England's plans were, however, spot on as far as home skipper Ricky Ponting was concerned as he pulled a catch to Alastair Cook just in front of square, exactly where Garaway had picked out a potential weakness.

ABC commentator Jim Maxwell insisted they had done nothing wrong in bringing the plans to the public's attention.

"I don't think it was particularly mischievous to read it out - I can't see how any harm has been done. If this gets out into the open it's not earth-shattering news, is it?

"As we said at the time, whatever the tactics were, they weren't working," he said.

And former England skipper Mike Gatting played down the significance of the issue.

"It is nice to have plans in case you need to refresh your memory, but bowlers know what they have to do. They go through it in their minds," he told BBC Five Live.

"It's all in the brain. People are making too much of it."

Hayden was equally dismissive, saying: "Generally you have to bowl the ball at the top of off stump. The best bowlers of all time have exploited that option.

"Glenn McGrath is relentless with his lines and lengths - it's not rocket science."

England's bowling plans revealed

England's plans for how to bowl to each Australian batsmen were leaked to the media during day two of the fourth Test in Melbourne.

A copy was read out on ABC Radio as England tried to break a stand between Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

Read the full transcript here.

Australia - Ashes - 4th Test 06

Name: HAYDEN
Line: Off/4th
Other: LBW - Nick* from 4th stump on FF - Bumper Ct hooking (leg stump) - Dot balls (ego) - Straight catcher on edge of pitch/Extra cover catching - Wider 1st slip.


Name: LANGER
Line: Off/4th
Other: Early bumper - Drive man at extra (confuses him) - Catching position of Belly @ Adelaide (pace of pitch?) - If swing or turn short leg - Spin outlet is loft over mid on

Name: PONTING
Line: Chan. 1/8Channel? 3/8
Other: Tries to impose early with drive (nick/drive man) - Yorker?? (LBW - CT flicking through MW) - Pulls in front of square in air (depth) - 5th slip when 1st in - Straight mid on - Tight cover early on - Backward point deeper if set???

Name: HUSSEY
Line: Off
Other: Vulnerable to swinging ball - Loves to leave! - LBW early/nicks* from 4th - Yorker?? - Pulls in front of square in air - Hits flat pull straight MW off spinners

Name: CLARKE
Line: Off/4th Height: Past rt ear**
Other: Nick behind - Bwld driving - High early RO% - Drives uppish through str. cover/mid wkt (weak grip) - Poor puller from straight


Name: SYMONDS
Line: Off/4th Height: Early straight**
Other: No feet early (LBW ½ Ct Driving) - Test dismissals Ct behind/slip, LBW ½ attacking spin - Bouncer essential***

Name: GILCHRIST
Line: Off/4th
Other: Nick behind from close - Hits up from B/length - Around wicket - Got away with it on slow deck (Adelaide) - Gully 5 back (Bell)

Name: WARNE
Line: Blank
Other: Throat bouncer (surprise) - Force back - Mix pace?? - Hits flat over mmid on v spin/sweeps flat in front of square - Extra cover close catch - Catch just in front of square

Name: LEE
Line: Straight
Other: Nicks* from straight - backaway cut to third man - Follow him

Name: CLARK
Line: Straight
Height: Straight**
Other: Yorker - Early bumper essential - Exposes leg stump - High bwld%

Name: MCGRATH
Line: Straight
Other: Early bumper - Slower ball - High R/O% - High spin dismissal %

* Printed as "knick", assumed to be "nick".
** Bowling height is colour coded and the document has been reproduced in black and white but where there are extra notes, these have been included.
*** Printed in bold.

Test Match Series: Australia v England

26-12-2006 at Melbourne, Day 2 of 5
England won the toss and decided to bat
England 1st Innings
159 all out (74.2 overs)
Australia 1st Innings
372 for 7 (96.0 overs)





Umpires: Aleem Dar, R E Koertzen
Australia: J L Langer, M L Hayden, R T Ponting, M E K Hussey, M J Clarke, A Symonds, A C Gilchrist, S K Warne, B Lee, S R Clark, G D McGrath
England: A J Strauss, A N Cook, I R Bell, P D Collingwood, K P Pietersen, A Flintoff, C M W Read, S I Mahmood, M J Hoggard, S J Harmison, M S Panesar.

BBC Sports

FOURTH TEST, MELBOURNE, DAY TWO (STUMPS): AUSTRALIA 372-7 v ENGLAND 159

Andrew Symonds hit a fine maiden Test century and Matthew Hayden plundered 153 as Australia ended day two of the fourth Test 213 runs ahead of England.

Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison struck in the morning to leave the Aussies on 84-5, 75 behind.

But Symonds (154) and Hayden added 279 before the latter and Adam Gilchrist fell to Sajid Mahmood before stumps.

Australia - 3-0 up in the series - closed on 372-7, with England looking weary and short of inspiration.

Interview: Australia's Andrew SymondsInterview: England's Matthew Hoggard

It was a complete turnaround from the first session, when the tourists put their Boxing Day batting misery behind them with a fine bowling display.

Flintoff and Hoggard caused Ricky Ponting and Hayden problems with a combination of probing lines and movement through the air.

Ponting skied a pull off Flintoff to Alastair Cook at mid-wicket before Hoggard, who was carrying a slight rib injury, comprehensively bowled the prolific Mike Hussey.

606 DEBATE: Your thoughts on the day's play

When Harmison produced a pearler that bounced and seamed away to have Michael Clarke caught behind in his first over, England were in charge.

However, with clouds gathering over the MCG, things stopped happening for them.

Hayden and Symonds did have to ride their luck early on, looking nervous outside off-stump.
And the stand could have ended two balls after lunch if Mahmood had hit the target from mid-off and run out Hayden.

But it was not long before the shackles which had previously prevented Symonds from blossoming as a Test player were cast off and he found the deep boundaries with embarrassing ease at times.

Hoggard was thrashed high over cover off successive deliveries and lofted brutally over mid-wicket and there were scenes of delirium when he battered Paul Collingwood over long-on to reach three figures against the country of his birth.

Symonds celebrated further by blasting Kevin Pietersen over deep mid-wicket and down the ground before bludgeoning Hoggard twice through the covers in awesome displays of his power.

Friend and fellow Queenslander Hayden was inspired by that aggression and also freed his arms.

He crashed left-arm spinner Monty Panesar down the ground for six and over wide mid-on to bring up his fifth century in the last six Tests at the MCG.

His increasing contempt for the bowling was illustrated when he dispatched the wayward Mahmood over long-on for a mighty six.

Mahmood returned late in the day to induce edges from Hayden and Gilchrist to the wicket-keeper and Collingwood at second slip.

And England did have reasonable shouts for lbw against Symonds on 52 and 142 from Panesar and Flintoff.

But by the end even the 31-year-old's mis-timed shots were flying away to all parts, with the force very much with him and his team.

FOURTH TEST, MELBOURNE, DAY TWO (Begins 2330 GMT): AUSTRALIA 48-2 v ENGLAND 159

England know the second morning will be crucial if they are to retain an interest in the fourth Test.

Australia resume on 48-2, trailing by 111 and looking to take another step towards an Ashes whitewash.

But Andrew Flintoff's dismissal of Justin Langer and Brett Lee with successive balls gave England hope.

"We got a couple of wickets at the end there and if we can get two or three in the morning then we're back in the game," said batsman Andrew Strauss.

"It is the sort of wicket you can go bang, bang, bang on and get two or three early in the morning.

"If we do that, we are right back in the game."

England's batsmen struggled on a rain-hit opening day as Shane Warne claimed his coveted 700th Test wicket and finished with his 37th five-wicket Test haul.

Overcast conditions are again forecast on Wednesday, although Melbourne should be warmer than on a decidedly bracing first day.

Matthew Hayden, who executed two powerful boundaries on his way to 17, and captain Ricky Ponting, who has yet to get off the mark, were the overnight batsmen.