The Ashes, Final test, Sydney : Australia complete Ashes whitewash
Jan 05, 2007
Australia completed the most emphatic Ashes series victory in 86 years on Friday, sending bowling greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath into test retirement with a 5-0 series sweep of England.
The Ashes, Final Test, Day Four : Australia 393 & 46-0 beat England 291 & 147 by 10 wickets
The Ashes, Final test, Sydney : Warne puts Australia on course for series sweep
Jan 05, 2007
Kevin Pietersen remains the only recognised batsmen standing between Australia and an historic 5-0 Ashes sweep after another vintage Shane Warne performance against England.
The Ashes, Final Test, Day Three (stumps) : England 291 & 114-5; Australia 393
The Ashes, Final test, Sydney : England seeking to avoid Ashes sweep
Jan 03, 2007
England were 234 for four after winning the toss at stumps on the opening day of the fifth and final Ashes cricket Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground here on Tuesday.
The Ashes, Final Test, Day One (stumps) England 234-4 v Australia
Ashes Final test, Sydney : Rain delays start of final Ashes Test
Jan 02, 2007
The start of the fifth and final Ashes Test between Australia and England was delayed by half an hour because of heavy overnight rain in Sydney on Tuesday.
The exodus of Australian cricket veterans continued Monday, with opening batsman
Justin Langer confirming
he will join bowlers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in test
retirement after the last Ashes match against England.
Langer, 36, said the fifth test starting Tuesday in Sydney would be his last.
"There hasn't been a waking moment for the last 20 years where I haven't thought about playing test cricket and wearing the baggy green cap, so this is a tough moment," he said. "There hasn't been a moment where test cricket hasn't been on my mind."
Langer has scored 7,650 runs at an average of 45.27, including 23 centuries, in 104 test matches. He has shared 14-century partnerships with opening partner Matthew Hayden.
He is the fourth long-standing member of the Australian side to announce his retirement this summer, joining all-time leading wicket taker Warne, all-time leading paceman McGrath and fellow West Australian batsman Damien Martyn.
Langer made his test debut against the West Indies in Adelaide in 1993, but did not hold a permanent place in the starting XI until 2001-02.
He and Hayden first opened together in the final test of the 2001 Ashes series and have been a fixture at the top of the Australian order ever since.
Australia leads the test and limited-overs world rankings, is a two-time defending World Cup champion and won all 10 test matches it played in 2006.
England vs Australia Fourth Test at Melbourne
Ashes 4th test, 3rd day: England thrashed by an innings and 99 runs
Dec 28, 2006
Australia bundled England out for 161 to win by an innings and 99 runs inside three days in the fourth Ashes Test.
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.
The Ashes Series, Fourth Test, Melbourne, Day Three : Australia 419 bt England 159 & 161 by an innings and 99 runs
Ashes 4th test, 2nd day: Hayden and Symonds put Australia in control
Dec 27, 2006
Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden both smashed centuries and shared a 279-run partnership to put Australia in complete control of the fourth Ashes test against England.
The Ashes Series, Fourth Test, Melbourne, Day Two (close) : England 159 allout & Australia 372-7
The Ashes is a Test cricket contest played between England and Australia.
It is one of cricket's fiercest and most celebrated rivalries and the oldest in international cricket dating back to 1882.
It is currently played at approximately two yearly intervals, alternately in England and Australia.
The Ashes are "held" by the country which last won a series and to "regain" them the other country must win more Test matches in a series than the country that "holds" them.
If a series is "drawn" then the country holding the Ashes retains them.
The last Ashes series was played in England in 2005 when England regained The Ashes after a gap of 16 years by winning the series 2-1.
The next Ashes series will be in Australia in 2006-07 and the next series in England will be in 2009.
The series is named after a satirical obituary published in The Sporting Times in 1882 following the match at The Oval, in which Australia beat England in England for the first time.
The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
The English media dubbed the next English tour, to Australia (1882-83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.
A small terracotta urn was presented to the England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women at some point during the 1882-83 tour.
The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump.
The urn is not used as a trophy for the Ashes series, and whichever side "holds" the Ashes, the urn remains in the MCC Museum at Lord's because of its age and frailty.
Since the 1998-99 Ashes series, a Waterford crystal trophy has been presented to the winners.
Australian Cricket History
Australia - World beaters!
The Australian cricket team is one of the leading international teams in world cricket. Australia was one of the first two Test nations (with England) and have an outstanding recent Test record and in the one dayers were World Champs in 1987, 1999 and 2003. They are also the leaders in the current ICC Test Nations table.
Dates in history of Australian cricket
November, 1868: 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England 15
March 1877: Test debut
28 December 1934: Women's Test team debut
5 January 1971: ODI Debut
23 June 1973: Women's ODI team debut
8 November 1987: Won 4th edition of Cricket World Cup by defeating England in the final match at Eden Gardens, Calcutta.
20 June 1999: Steve Waugh lifts the World Cup
23 March 2003: Ricky Ponting lifts the World Cup
England Cricket History
England
The England cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales, operating under the auspices of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The sport of cricket evolved in England, and England is a founding Test cricket, One-day International and Twenty20 nation
Dates in history of England cricket 15
March 1877: Test debut 5
January 1971: ODI Debut
25 September 2004: England reached the final of the ICC Champions Trophy
12 September 2005: England regained The Ashes
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