Slightly biased match report
England Recover To Tie Thriller
Sat 02 Jul, 9:09 PM
Ashley Giles completed a stunning England fightback in today's NatWest Series final by scrambling a two off the final ball to claim a dramatic tie and deny Australia victory at Lord's.
Needing to score an unlikely three off Glenn McGrath to overhaul Australia's total of 196, Giles edged an attempted drive off his bat and pads and down to third man.
Giles sprinted towards the other end, only for Brett Lee to mis-field and allow him to return for the second run which brought scores level.
Under the rules of the tournament, it left the two sides sharing the honours despite England losing one less wicket after finishing on 196 for nine.
It was the most dramatic of finishes and only the second tie England have ever been involved in.
The captivating action completed an enthralling match which underlined the determination of both sides to claim an important victory in the build-up to this summer's Ashes series.
The competition is in its last year following a decision to split next summer's schedule into two separate one-day series against the touring sides.
And England thought their chances of snatching a remarkable victory were gone after Paul Collingwood and Geraint Jones, who had shared a 116-run sixth wicket stand, fell within an over of each other.
Their exits left England's lower order needing 36 for victory.
It seemed a daunting task, but Darren Gough hit a quickfire 12 off 13 balls to leave England requiring 10 off the last over, which appeared beyond them until Giles' last ball scramble prevented an expected defeat.
England's prospects were looking bleak from the start of their run chase, with McGrath and Lee delivering stunning new-ball bursts by utilising the overhead conditions.
The pace pair tore through England's top order and, between them, claimed five wickets for 22 runs in only 36 balls.
Inevitably it was McGrath who prompted the collapse by slanting the ball across opener Marcus Trescothick, who pushed outside off stump and edged low to Ricky Ponting's left at second slip.
Andrew Strauss had his stumps re-arranged by Lee in the next over with a vicious inswinger, and captain Michael Vaughan was bowled off the bottom edge attempting to pull McGrath, a shot which could be regarded as irresponsible considering the situation.
Promoted to bat at four, Kevin Pietersen had his opportunity to dominate from higher up the order, but this situation was probably not what coach Duncan Fletcher had envisaged when England conceived the idea.
Facing a swinging and seaming new ball, Pietersen drove McGrath to the cover boundary but Lee's pace induced him into a tense push outside off stump which caught the edge and was his undoing.
Andrew Flintoff followed three overs later to a similar shot, leaving Collingwood and Jones with the responsibility of pushing on the scoring.
Collingwood was fortunate to survive on four when he edged McGrath behind and Ponting missed out on a diving catch, while Adam Gilchrist missed a difficult chance standing up to the seam bowling of Andrew Symonds when he had reached 19.
But England's sixth-wicket pair otherwise showed remarkable resolve and patience during their stand. They firstly rebuilt the innings before both players began to hit out as the required run-rate hit seven an over.
Collingwood was the less aggressive of the pair and hit only four boundaries during his 116-ball innings, but he ran between the wicket well to try and put Australia under pressure in the field.
It was a tactic that worked for long periods until, having been frustrated by two dot balls from Mike Hussey's medium pace, Collingwood pushed to extra cover and set off for a single.
He was sent back by Jones and slipped when attempting to beat Symonds' accurate throw to the wicketkeeper.
Jones followed in the next over when he was given leg before to a full toss from left-arm leg-spinner Brad Hogg which landed at the bottom of his shin. He had hit three sixes and four fours.
That appeared to finish England's victory hopes, but they remained determined not to give the world champions an edge so close to the first Ashes Test at this same venue on July 21, and the end result left the Australians deflated and the hosts in raptures.
England had performed admirably to bowl Australia out earlier, particularly after the tourists were given a flying start by openers Matthew Hayden and Gilchrist.
The pair raced to a half-century partnership and hit Simon Jones out of the attack. His opening three-over burst with the new ball cost 29 runs, with Gilchrist hitting four successive boundaries off his second over.
Having been given such a solid platform, however, Australia allowed England back into the final.
Hayden gifted them a breakthrough in the seventh over when he mis-timed a front foot drive off Gough and looped the ball straight to mid-off.
Lifted by that success following the earlier onslaught, England then capitalised.
Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff both provided encouragement for the Ashes series by delivering superb spells, prompting the loss of five wickets for 93 runs in the next 17 overs.
Despite both Harmison and Flintoff claiming three-wicket hauls, England were unable to prevent Mike Hussey hitting an unbeaten 62, a contribution which set up the most thrilling of all Lord's final finales.
A tie feels like a victory, when for most of our batting display i thought we'd lost. I.e. as soon as the first wicket went down to the last bowl of the match. :beer: