The Ashes Cricket
Australia Cricket Players
Adam Gilchrist | Allan Border | Andrew Symonds | Brett Lee | David Boon | Donald Bradman | Glenn McGrath | Jason Gillespie | Justin Langer | Mark Taylor | Mark Waugh | Mathew Hayden | Ricky Ponting | Shane Warne | Steve WaughThe Ashes series 2006-07
Schedule
The Ashes Cricket Series 2006-07
England Vs Australia Fourth Test at Melbourne : Day 1
Ashes 4th test, 1st day: Australia 48-2 at stumps in Melbourne Test
Dec 26, 2006
Australia was 48 for two in reply to England's first innings total of 159 at stumps on the opening day of the fourth Ashes test on Tuesday.
Matthew Hayden was unbeaten on 17 with captain Ricky Ponting yet to score after Andrew Flintoff dismissed Justin Langer for 27 and night watchman Brett Lee for a duck in successive deliveries. Shane Warne had earlier captured five wickets for 39 runs, including his 700th test victim, as England collapsed to be all out in less than 75 overs after tea in front of a near-record crowd of 89,155 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Warne reached the 700-wicket milestone when he clean bowled England opener Andrew Strauss for 50 after lunch then added the scalps of Kevin Pietersen, Chris Read, Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar to complete his 37th five-wicket haul in tests. Australia won the first three matches of the five-test series to regain the Ashes they lost in England last year.
The Ashes Series, Fourth Test, Melbourne, Day One (close) : England 159 allout & Australia 48-2
England vs Australia Fourth Test at Melbourne : Day 2
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.
Symonds cracked an unbeaten 154 while Hayden belted 153 as Australia recovered from the loss of three early wickets to reach 372 for seven by stumps on the second day, leading by 213 after England were dismissed for just 159 on Tuesday. The pair came together before lunch with Australia seemingly in a spot of bother at 84-5 and flayed England's bowlers for the best part of five hours before Hayden was dismissed shortly before the close.
The Ashes Series, Fourth Test, Melbourne, Day Two (close) : England 159 allout & Australia 372-7
England vs Australia Fourth Test at Melbourne : Day 3
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
The Ashes Cricket 2006-07
England Vs Australia Fourth Test at Melbourne
Scores
England won the toss and decided to bat
|
159 all out (74.2 overs)
|
161 all out (65.5 overs)
|
|
419 all out (108.3 overs)
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
| A J Strauss | b S K Warne | 50 |
132 | 2 | 0 | |
| A N Cook | c A C Gilchrist | b B Lee | 11 |
37 | 0 | 0 |
| I R Bell | lbw | b S R Clark | 7 |
30 | 0 | 0 |
| P D Collingwood | c R T Ponting | b B Lee | 28 |
82 | 4 | 0 |
| K P Pietersen | c A Symonds | b S K Warne | 21 |
70 | 0 | 0 |
| A Flintoff | c S K Warne | b S R Clark | 13 |
31 | 1 | 0 |
| C M W Read | c R T Ponting | b S K Warne | 3 |
17 | 0 | 0 |
| S I Mahmood | c A C Gilchrist | b G D McGrath | 0 |
9 | 0 | 0 |
| S J Harmison | c M J Clarke | b S K Warne | 7 |
12 | 1 | 0 |
| M S Panesar | c A Symonds | b S K Warne | 4 |
19 | 0 | 0 |
| M J Hoggard | not out | 9 |
10 | 1 | 0 | |
| Extras | 3nb 2b 1lb | 6 | ||||
| Total | all out | 159 | (74.2 ovs) | |||
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
| J L Langer | c C M W Read | b A Flintoff | 27 |
29 | 3 | 0 |
| M L Hayden | c C M W Read | b S I Mahmood | 153 |
265 | 13 | 2 |
| B Lee | c C M W Read | b A Flintoff | 0 |
1 | 0 | 0 |
| R T Ponting | c A N Cook | b A Flintoff | 7 |
28 | 0 | 0 |
| M E K Hussey | b M J Hoggard | 6 |
20 | 0 | 0 | |
| M J Clarke | c C M W Read | b S J Harmison | 5 |
5 | 0 | 0 |
| A Symonds | c C M W Read | b S J Harmison | 156 |
220 | 15 | 1 |
| A C Gilchrist | c P D Collingwood | b S I Mahmood | 1 |
8 | 0 | 0 |
| S K Warne | not out | 40 |
54 | 6 | 0 | |
| S R Clark | c C M W Read | b S I Mahmood | 8 |
24 | 0 | 0 |
| G D McGrath | c I R Bell | b S I Mahmood | 0 |
6 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | 9nb 1w 6lb | 16 | ||||
| Total | all out | 419 | (108.3 ovs) | |||
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
| A J Strauss | c A C Gilchrist | b B Lee | 31 |
107 | 2 | 0 |
| A N Cook | b S R Clark | 20 |
46 | 1 | 0 | |
| I R Bell | lbw | b G D McGrath | 2 |
11 | 0 | 0 |
| K P Pietersen | b S R Clark | 1 |
8 | 0 | 0 | |
| P D Collingwood | c J L Langer | b B Lee | 16 |
38 | 0 | 0 |
| A Flintoff | lbw | b S R Clark | 25 |
45 | 2 | 0 |
| C M W Read | not out | 26 |
77 | 1 | 0 | |
| S I Mahmood | lbw | b S K Warne | 0 |
2 | 0 | 0 |
| S J Harmison | lbw | b S K Warne | 4 |
26 | 0 | 0 |
| M S Panesar | c M J Clarke | b B Lee | 14 |
19 | 2 | 0 |
| M J Hoggard | b B Lee | 5 |
20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Extras | 4nb 1w 12lb | 17 | ||||
| Total | all out | 161 | (65.5 ovs) | |||
|
|
Umpires: Aleem Dar, R E Koertzen
The Ashes Cricket 2006-07
England Vs Australia Fourth Test at Melbourne
Venue : Melbourne
One of the outstanding sports venues in the world, built next to Melbourne's skyscrapers and office blocks, the MCG can house over 100,000 spectators. It was the centrepiece for the 1956 Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games and hosted Olympic football in 2000. The light towers, installed in 1985, are the highest at any sporting venue. There were some difficult wickets here in the 1980s and 1990s, but nowadays it usually produces a nigh-on ideal wicket for Tests - true bounce and some pace.Almost as unpredictable as the Melbourne weather, but the 1986-87 Ashes was sealed with a win here - Gladstone Small was one of the heroes.
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 cricketNovember, 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