Australia's captain Ricky Ponting celebrates after reaching 100 on the second day of the first cricket test match between England and Australia in Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 9, 2009. AP Photo/Jon Super
Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting have started burying their demons from the 2005 Ashes series by scoring centuries and grinding England into the Cardiff turf.
Katich (104no) and Ponting (100no) knuckled down to put on 189 and completed a great day for Australia by scoring their hundreds just before stumps on day two of the first Test.
The unbeaten second wicket stand lifted Australia to 1-249 in reply to England’s 435.
Katich reached his maiden Ashes hundred in the third last over of the day by hooking Andrew Flintoff to fine leg and raised one hand as he strode down the pitch.
The skipper had some nervous moments in the 90s in the final over of the day before finally pushing Flintoff (1-48) for a quick single off the second-last ball to bring up his 38th Test ton.
He kept on going after completing the run, sweeping around to acknowledge his teammates in the stands.
The pair’s dogged performances came as England’s personnel problems mounted in the field at Sophia Gardens with concerns over the fitness of seamers Flintoff and Stuart Broad.
The injury-plagued Flintoff moved gingerly in the field late in the day while Broad needed treatment on a calf muscle.
Ponting reached a major milestone during his innings in becoming the fourth batsman in Test history to score 11,000 runs by pulling Broad for a couple to move to 41.
He joined India’s Sachin Tendulkar (12,773), West Indian Brian Lara (11,953) and is now 114 runs behind Australia’s top runscorer Allan Border (11,174).
After Flintoff took care of Phillip Hughes (36) in an inspired opening spell, Katich and Ponting dug in on a slow pitch with the left-hander enjoying a life on 10 and having a confident lbw shout turned down on 56.
Flintoff had precious little support with questions remaining about the temperament of James Anderson (0-57) while spinners Graeme Swann (0-49) and Monty Panesar (0-31) rarely threatened despite a turning deck.
Flintoff claimed first blood against Hughes in a rousing post-lunch spell, the big Lancashire lad steaming up and unleashing a barrage of short balls – four in all – at the 170cm opener in his first over and directed a few words at him.
The right-armer has been a shadow of the player of the 2005 series in the past two years but he was spoiling for a fight on Thursday.
He almost claimed Katich’s wicket but failed to cling onto a low return catch. That really hurt the home side.
Flintoff then directed that anger into his assault on Hughes by continuing to try to square him up as Australia’s opening stand passed 50.
The all-rounder blunted one of Australia’s main left-handed weapons in Adam Gilchrist by bowling around the wicket four years ago.
This time around he went the other way, coming over the wicket to cramp up Hughes in his unorthodox open stance with Australia at 0-60.
Just the third ball after making the switch, he squeezed Hughes for space and had him inside-edging the ball behind with gloveman Matt Prior taking a fine diving catch to his right.
Flintoff theatrically stood to the side of the pitch with his arms out-stretched to soak up the applause but, by the end of the day, England needed more from his teammates.
Swann (47no) earlier tormented Australia’s inexperienced Ashes attack as England’s tail added 99 runs in 16.5 overs in the morning session.
© AAP 2012Snapshot of day two of the first Ashes Test at Sophia Gardens:
SCORE – In reply to England’s 435, Australia are 1-249 at stumps.
MEN OF THE MOMENT – Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting. The surviving members of the 2005 series loss both posted hundreds just before the close to bat Australia back into the contest.
KEY MOMENT – During an inspired spell of fast bowling, Andrew Flintoff tries to bend his creaking body to collect a low return catch off Katich on 10. He just fails to drag it in and Katich goes on to add another 94 runs for the day.
STAT OF THE DAY – 11,060. The number of Test runs that Ricky Ponting has scored after becoming the fourth batsman to break the 11,000-run barrier.
QUOTE OF THE DAY – “Those of us who went through what happened four years ago, it hurt and you can’t forget that hurt. From that point of view there are a few of us that are really keen to make amends.” – KATICH.
SUMMARY – Australia regain momentum after England won the morning session with Graeme Swann (47no) and the rest of the tail peeling off 99 runs in 16.5 overs. After Flintoff accounted for Phillip Hughes, the old heads of Katich and Ponting dug in to produce an unbeaten second wicket stand of 189.
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Spiro Zavos said | July 10th 2009 @ 8:35am | Report comment
England made the mistake of trying to bounce of Philip Hughes. Hughes is clearly out of form, for whatever reason. The balls he middled scooted away for boundaries. But he wasn’t timing any legside shots (a techincal problem according to Ian Chappell on radio) and he missed some off-side shots. He eventually was dismissed by Andrew Flintoff after a scratchy inning.
But the effort Flintoff exerted in trying to bounce Hughes reduced his effectiveness and softened up the ball. This enabled Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting to score their unbeaten centuries and put Australia in the position where, if the runs continue to flow, they’ll have the chance to bowl at England in their second inning with a lead of 150 plus.
The new ball tonight (our time) will be crucial. If Ponting (now with 38 Test centuries and confirming his all-time great standing) and Katich, the silent achiever, kick on England are in trouble.
On the first day I was impressed with the field-settings and the plans the bowlers used to try to dismiss the various England batsmen. Praise is due to the coaching staff for getting the bowlers up to speed. England did score well over 300 runs on the day at about 4 an over. Now we know why. Once the ball goes soft, the pitch is easy to bat on and the boundaries are relatively short, especially behind the wickets.
On the second day though, Australia seemed to loss the plot. And England got away from them, especially the uninhibted hitting of Swann. What does one make of this? The second inning will provide answers to this question.
Nathan Hauritz picked up 3 wickets, and lost a wicket to a no-ball. How a spinner can bowl a no-ball is beyond my understanding. Clarrie Grimmett apparently, in a career that extended over 20 years did not bowl one no-ball in first class cricket. My feeling about Hauritz is that he does not put enough arm on the ball. He floats it down to the batsman rather than darts it down. He gets the ball above the eye-line a lot, which is good. But batsmen generally have too much time to swat his balls away. When he put extreme spin and a slightly faster trajectory on a ball to Panesar, he dismissed the stubborn number 11 easily.
I’d like to see more twist and arm in his bowling, along with the flight, in his bowling. Once he gets this he will be a much better bowler. If he gets it during England’s second inning, he could be a handful for them.
Brett McKay said | July 10th 2009 @ 8:52am | Report comment
A pair of patient, grinding, rewarding tons to swing the balance back Australia’s way. I was hoping above hope at the start of the innings that Australia could peg England’s lead to less than 200 by stumps, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be done one down.
Both Katich and Ponting were the epitomy of determination and concentration, especially against the spinners. They kept out what they needd to, and put away what they could. Shot selection looked very deliberate from both – Ponting didn’t play the pull as much as he does, and Katich seemed intent to push singles. Patient, determined batting.
Just as Peitersen and Collingwood did as they got “in”, Katich and Ponting now have the chance to bat the opponents out of the game. It’ll be interesting tonight to see how bad or not so bad the injury concerns for Flintoff and Broad are, and likewise, how Andrew Strauss adjusts his attack with perhaps a lessened role from his spearheads.
SouthernWaratah said | July 10th 2009 @ 9:14am | Report comment
Hughes will be kicking himself. He only needed to put his head down for a few overs and Flintoff was out of the attack. He’s young – he’s already figured it out I’m sure.
davido said | July 10th 2009 @ 9:57am | Report comment
Unfortunately it is going to be difficult to not draw this match.
Our bowling seems as sharp as a wet lettuce on a humid day. I just dont think we can take ten wickets in a day.
Jameswm said | July 10th 2009 @ 9:58am | Report comment
Spiro – rather than arm, I’d say it’s shoulder and follow-through that Hauritz needs. That’s what gets you most of the energy on the ball.
And unlike you Spiro – I didn’t think Hughes’s innings was that scratchy. I barely recall him playing and missing, and his pushes were timed beautifully and racing away to the boundary. I agree though it was a mistake to try to bounce him out – the two from Harmison in the previous match would have got just about anyone, and if you get the line slightly wrong, he will punish you.
I am not convinced he will have a long and fruitful career if his back foot continues to move towards square leg. He gets too square on, which makes it too hard to play on-side shots. He does have a very good eye and fast hands though. But he is restricting his effectiveness. Time will tell.
Ponting did what I wanted him to – knuckle down, don’t go for the big drives early, and grind it out. When he goes in to bat with this frame of mind, he usually makes a century.
I was screaming at the TV when Ponting persisted with Hauritz against Swann. “Stop screaming”, my wife said. “We’re losing the test right now”, I replied.
Swann was having fun and being cheeky, and we needed Johnson and Siddle to be bowling at his throat. That would take the smirk off his face – Hauritz’s off-spinners certainly didn’t. And for those glad Lee isn’t playing, this is where he does his best work – 153kmh late reverse-inswinging yorkers are too much for nos. 9-11.
It’d be great for us to be 350 at lunch and only 1 or 2 down. There is an awful lot of batting to come, but I’d really like us to pile on 600, which will probably take until an hour into the following day. That’s a lot of runs of course, but it’s the only way to put us ahead. I don’t think 500 will be enough.
Finno said | July 10th 2009 @ 10:26am | Report comment
We need a spinner and I have trouble believeing that Hauritz is or best spinner, I think Warne should announce a come back just to stir the pomps.
Harmison got Hughes out twice with the short ball hence the short stuff, he played soem wonderful strokes and Im really looking forward to him playing some good innings, I like him as he isnt going to doe wondering
Punter and the Grub just great test cricket, it would be great if both of them could pile on another hundred get up over 300 then let the other play some shots. I cant see it happen and it might be used get the Australians some good exposure to Panesar, Swann and Anderson. I was disappointed by how the english tail wagged not a good sign, spose im use to the last 3 wicket falling for 10 -20 runs. It was a good effort to get over 430 odd. Would have liked to keep them under 400. This outcome of the 3rd day will give you the result of the Test Match..
LeftArmSpinner said | July 10th 2009 @ 10:30am | Report comment
every coach will tell you that if you get a start, you need to go on with it. starts are sooooo valuable. POnting and Katich did just that. the first innings of the first test, give them both barrels. no better time!!
SouthernWaratah said | July 10th 2009 @ 11:24am | Report comment
Hay Spiro! Is Stuart MacGill ever going to write another article? I quite enjoyed his first but that was a while ago….
Brett McKay said | July 10th 2009 @ 11:24am | Report comment
Actually James, that’s something we’ve discussed during the tour games – Ponting definitely put that wafty wave of the bat outside off away last night, which means he’s learned from his mistakes. A few times that he did play and miss outside off, but he was just beaten a good ball…
Benny said | July 10th 2009 @ 11:32am | Report comment
How rubbish are Anderson and Broad…so slow and predictable