Australia vs England Live Cricket Score, Ashes 2013-14, 4th Test, Day 1: England 226/6 at stumps
Ashes 2013-14, 4th Test, Day 1: England 226/6 at stumps
Kevin Pietersen in action on Day One © Getty Images[/caption] Dec 26, 2013 Eng 226/6 | Overs 89 | Pietersen 67*, Bresnan 1* Johnson bowls a bouncer and Bresnan fends it away on the leg side. The ball just falls away from the leg-slip fielder. Siddle then bowls a full delivery and Pietersen hits it through mid-off for a four. Australia are one over short and Day One ends with 89 overs bowled. At stumps, England are at 226 for six. It was a hard day for England and Australia will feel better as they picked up a few wickets with the second new ball. Pietersen is still there and England's hopes lie on him. Eng 220/6 | Overs 86 | Pietersen 62*, Bresnan 0* | OUT! Bairstow 10 (17) Word has come in that Pietersen was just feeling nauseous and did not swallow any fly. Johnson bowls a bouncer and Bairstow goes for the hook and gets a thick top-edge. The ball goes over the wicketkeeper and over the boundary for a six. Two balls later, Bairstow is bowled by Johnson. The new ball is doing the trick for Australia late in the day.
Eng 205/5 | Overs 82 | Pietersen 55*, Bairstow 2* | OUT! Stokes 14 (23) Siddle gives Stokes room outside off-stump and he cuts it in-between cover and extra-cover for two runs. Lyon drags one short and Stokes drives off the back-foot to get a four through the covers. Next ball, he comes down the track and lofts Lyon for a six down the ground. The new ball has been taken after the 80th over. Johnson will bowl the first over with the new ball. And he strikes as he dismisses Stokes. The ball was pitched on a good length and it moved away slightly. Stokes was stuck in his crease and he edged it to Watson at first slip. Johnson has moved ahead of Ray Lindwall in the Australian all-time wicket-taker's list in Test cricket with Stokes' wicket.
Eng 184/4 | Overs 77 | Pietersen 50*, Stokes 1* England's lone centurion in the series, Ben Stokes, is the new batsman in. Harris bowls a short delivery and Pietersen pulls it to George Bailey at short mid-wicket. The ball is travelling quickly, but Bailey got both hands to it and fumbled. He juggles a few times before the ball drops away from him. Pietersen also swallows a fly at the MCG and that is causing him some discomfort. Next ball, he pulls one over the wide mid-on region for a four. Again the flies are causing Pietersen a problem. There is a break in play as the England team physio tends to Pietersen's problem. Stokes gets off the mark with a push towards mid-on off Lyon. Pietersen gets to his 35th Test half-century with two off Siddle.
Eng 173/4 | Overs 73 | Pietersen 40* | OUT! Bell 27 (98) Pietersen gets a run off Harris's first deliveries. Bell the plays four dot balls. Harris then bowls a length delivery and Bell is rooted to his crease and pokes at the it. The ball gets the edge of the bat and Haddin takes the catch behind the wicket. The ball actually moves away after pitching and that is what got Harris the edge.
Eng 172/3 | Overs 72 | Pietersen 39*, Bell 27* Siddle is angling it into Pietersen from wide of the stumps at the non-striker's end. Lyon bowls one straight and Bell flicks it away towards the short fine-leg region for two runs. He then finds the inside edge of Bell's bat and the ball goes wide of short-leg. The batsmen run two. The batsmen are playing the cut shot off Lyon quite well, but they are hitting them straight to the fielders. Pietersen hits one hard to mid-off and takes off. He dives in to complete the single as the throw just misses the stumps. Bell finally gets a cut shot off Lyon into the gap for two.
Eng 160/3 | Overs 66 | Pietersen 35*, Bell 20* Siddle bowls a maiden over to Pietersen. Lyon continues and he is bowling from round the wicket to both the right-handed batsmen. Bell is unable to get him away on the off side as Clarke has employed a tight field. Bell does get one in-between short cover and point for two runs. Siddle then bowls one straight and Pietersen works it away behind square on the leg side while closing the face of the bat. He gets two runs for that. In Siddle's next over he bowls on Pietersen's pads again and he flicks it towards mid-on for a single.
We have the official WORLD RECORD attendance @mcg #ashes pic.twitter.com/z9kybmGW51 — BBC TMS (@bbctms) December 26, 2013 Eng 150/3 | Overs 60 | Pietersen 28*, Bell 17* Welcome back for the final session on Day One at the MCG. Johnson bowls the first over after the break. He bowls a back of a length delivery and Pietersen whips it away behind square on the leg side for a single. Lyon then drags one short and Bell rocks back onto his back-foot and pulls it away for a four through square-leg. Pietersen sweeps Lyon behind square on the leg side and that brings up England's 150.
90000 in the MCG pic.twitter.com/q2zDhbl3u3 — Jonathan Agnew (@Aggerscricket) December 26, 2013 Eng 135/3 | Overs 54 | Pietersen 20*, Bell 11* Lyon continues and Pietersen finally gets a run to move to five. It took him 26 deliveries to get from four to five. Bell takes cue and gets two runs behind square on the leg side. He then takes a single next delivery before Pietersen also takes a single. That was five runs from that over and the most expensive for a while. Pietersen gets very lucky now. Harris bowls a bouncer and Pietersen hooks, not in complete control. Coulter-Nile at fine-leg takes the catch, but loses balance and jumps over the boundary line. He tries to throw the ball onto the field, but he is not in control as he is in mid-air and ends up throwing the ball into the crowd. So, that is six for Pietersen. Lyon bowls an off-spinner from round the wicket to Pietersen and it misses everything as it runs away behind Haddin. The batsmen run two as the ball stops centimeters in front of the boundary line. That is tea on Day One.
Eng 110/3 | Overs 48 | Pietersen 4*, Bell 4* Bell Gets off the mark with a single as he guides the ball wide of the slips off Harris. This is unusual as Pietersen seems to have gone into a shell. Watson and Harris bowl two very tight overs and concede a total of three runs. Watson begins his run-up and pulls up with what looks like a strain in his hamstring. Lyon will complete Watson's over. Watson has gone into the dressing room for treatment. Nathan Coulter-Nile comes in as the substitute.
Haddin has taken 50 dismissals this year to go with his 500 plus runs. He is the 3rd Australian keeper to do the 500 /50 double #ashes — BBC TMS (@bbctms) December 26, 2013 Eng 106/3 | Overs 43 | Pietersen 4*, Bell 0* | OUT! Root 24 (82) Johnson bowls a back of a length delivery and Root edges it while defending off the back-foot. The ball does not carry to Clarke at second slip. Root did play it with soft hands, hence less carry. Drinks were taken in-between as well. Siddle bowls a maiden over to Pietersen. He did not comfortable at playing Siddle in that over. Harris has been brought back into the attack and he strikes first ball. He bowls an out-swinger at good length and Root is drawn into playing a defensive shot. But he only edges it to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Ian Bell is the next batsman in.
Eng 104/2 | Overs 40 | Root 22*, Pietersen 4* Kevin Pietersen is the new man in. Root plays a Johnson delivery on the off side and takes a quick single. Clarke immediately brings in Peter Siddle into the attack, replacing wicket-taker Watson. Root takes a single of the first ball. Pietersen survives five deliveries from Siddle. Johnson bowls a short ball to Root at 151 kmph. Siddle bowls one on the pads to Root and he gets a leg-bye on the on-side. With that run, England have reached the 100-run mark. Johnson then bowls a maiden over to Root. Pietersen finally gets off the mark with a pull off Siddle over mid-wicket for four. It took him 13 deliveries to get his first runs. The next ball goes in-between bat and pads and misses the off-stump by a whisker.
Eng 96/2 | Overs 34 | Root 19* | OUT! Carberry 38 (103) Watson bowls wide outside off-stump and Carberry has cut that for a four towards the third-man region. He may not have been in full control of that shot. Watson comes from round the wicket and bowls an out-swinger to Carberry and he leaves the ball. Then Watson angles one into Carberry from the same line. The ball pitches on a good length and comes in sharply. Carberry leaves the ball and it clips the bails. Carberry cannot believe his luck, but a great ball from Watson.
Eng 92/1 | Overs 33 | Carberry 34*, Root 19* Welcome back. Watson continues after lunch. He bowls five dot balls to Root and then pitches the last delivery full. Root punches it straight down the ground in-between the bowler and mid-on for a four. Harris comes in from the other end and bowls wide of leg-stump to Carberry. The ball races away for four byes. Root then punches one to long-off and runs three. Watson bowls a maiden over to Root. Harris then concedes four runs off his over as both Carberry and Root run well between the wickets. Watson bowls another maiden over to Root. Johnson comes into the attack. He bowls short and wide and Carberry cuts it behind point for a four.
Eng 71/1 | Overs 27 | Carberry 26*, Root 11* Johnson bowls one way wide of leg-stump to Carberry and the ball races away to the boundary for four byes. Johnson then bowls one short and Carberry pulls it over mid-wicket for a four. Siddle bowls a tight over and it is followed up with another good over from Johnson. Harris replaces Johnson and gives away only one run. Shane Watson has been brought into the attack and he too bowls a good tight over. The last ball of his over is full and just moves away from Root. He misses the line of the ball, but the ball misses the edge as well. Harris bowls from round the wicket to Carberry and he offers no stroke to a ball that comes in sharply. The Australians appeal as the ball hits the pads. Umpire Aleem Dar says not out and Clarke asks for the review. The replays show that the ball would have gone above the stumps. That is lunch on Day One of the Boxing Day Test.
Michael Carberry becomes the first English player to reach 200 runs in the series #ashes — BBC TMS (@bbctms) December 26, 2013 Eng 58/1 | Overs 21 | Carberry 21*, Root 7* Cook's wicket makes Clarke immediately bring back Johnson. Root plays a back of a length delivery from Johnson behind gully for two runs. And that gets England's score over the 50-run mark. Siddle bowls a testing over to Carberry and Root. Johnson slides one across Root and he guides it away for a four through gully. Siddle is going a little wide of the stumps and angling it in towards the right-handed Root. But the ball keeps moving away after pitching on a good length. Root does not seem comfortable playing siddle.
Alastair Cook in #Ashes in Aus 2006/07:5 mts, 276 runs (ave 27.60) 2010/11:5 mts, 766 runs (ave 127.67) 2013/14:4* mts, 181 runs (ave 25.85) — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 26, 2013 Eng 49/1 | Overs 17 | Carberry 19*, Root 1* | OUT! Cook 27 (47) Siddle bowls after the drinks break and concedes two runs. Lyon continues and bowls a maiden over to Carberry. Siddle gets the first breakthrough of the innings. He bowls a length delivery that moves away and Cook tries to work it away on the off side, but edges it to Clarke at second slip. Joe Root is the new batsman and gets off the mark straight away with a single towards backward-point.
Pitch playing great ... No swing... No Seam.. True Bounce ... No pace ... England should make a bug un... Should... #Ashes. — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) December 26, 2013 Eng 44/0 | Overs 14 | Cook 25*, Carberry 18* Harris bowls a maiden over to Cook. Michael Clarke brings in Nathan Lyon into the attack. The notion is probably due to the fact that both Cook and Carberry are left-handed batsmen. Off-spinner Lyon will take the ball away from them. He starts with a maiden over to Carberry. Harris bowls another maiden over to Cook. Lyon bowls one too short and Carberry frees his arms and cuts it for a four towards point. The ball is spinning quite a bit fro Lyon. Siddle replaces Harris. He bowls one short and it is quite close to Carberry, who cuts and gets a thick edge. The ball flies in-between third slip and gully for a four. Siddle bowls one on Cook's pads and he flicks it away for two runs through mid-wicket. Lyon bowls a maiden over to Carberry. Drinks.
Eng 28/0 | Overs 8 | Cook 21*, Carberry 6* Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry walk out into the middle at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test match. Ryan Harris will begin proceedings for Australia. Only a leg-bye comes off the first over. Mitchell Johnson will share the new ball with Harris. Cook gets two twos in consecutive deliveries to get his first runs of the match. Johnson then bowls one short and wide and Cook cuts it for a four behind point. In Johnson's next over, he bowls a full delivery and Cook drives it for a four on the off side. Next over, Harris bowls a length delivery outside off-stump and Cook tries to leave it, but the ball hits the middle of the inverted bat and goes in-between the slips for another four. Peter Siddle replaces Johnson. Cook plays another cover drive and gets three runs. Harris then finds the edge of Carberry's bat, but Steven Smith drops a tough left-handed catch at third slip. Siddle bowls one straight to Carberry and he hits that down the ground for his first four.
Australia are unchanged for 4 tests in a row for the first time since 2004 when coach Darren Lehmann was still playing for Australia #ashes — BBC TMS (@bbctms) December 25, 2013 Australia captain Michael Clarke has won the toss and elected to field first in the fourth Ashes 2013-14 Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday. The Aussies have gone in with an unchanged side that has won the first three matches of the series. England have made two changes to their starting XI from the third Test in Perth. Jonny Bairstow comes in for wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Monty Panesar replaces the recently retired Graeme Swann. Stuart Broad is fit to play the Test. Teams: Australia: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (c), Steven Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon. England: Michael Carberry, Alastair Cook (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.
Hello I am Shrikant Shankar and welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the Ashes 2013-14. Australia won the first three Tests and have taken a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. The two teams enter the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Boxing Day. Can Australia make it 4-0? Or can England win their first match of the series? Or is there a possibility of a draw? All these questions will be answered over the course of the next five days.