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Mission impossible England faces near-certain defeat at Lord's
Updated: Saturday July 21, 2001 1:56 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- England was battling to avoid another crushing defeat in the second test against Australia on Saturday as the home side, 214 behind after the first innings, closed the third day on 163 for four. Left-hander Mark Butcher led the resistance, ending on 73 not out after adding 96 for the fourth wicket with Mark Ramprakash. Alec Stewart was 13 not out, with England still trailing the tourists by 51 runs. Butcher's innings provided a rare high point for the home side after it was bowled out for 187 in the first innings, then produced a comedy-of-errors fielding performance as Steve Waugh's team hammered 401 in reply. Adam Gilchrist provided Saturday's fireworks with a quickfire 90, falling just short of his second successive century. Butcher stabilized the innings after England, thrashed in the first test and facing another innings defeat, lost Marcus Trescothick early when he edged Jason Gillespie to the keeper, then slumped to 50 for three at tea as captain Michael Atherton and Graham Thorpe fell in quick succession. Atherton was bowled round his legs for 20 as he failed to cover his stumps when sweeping leg-spinner Shane Warne, while Thorpe was lbw to pace bowler Brett Lee for two. The compact Butcher and Ramprakash, who brought up the 100 with a classical drive through extra cover off Warne, seemed to have survived a thorough examination before Ramprakash, on 40, went lbw shortly before the close to a Gillespie delivery that jagged back at him. Butcher, recalled for the first time in 18 months at the start of the series after England suffered a spate of injuries, rode his luck. The left-hander, who hit 10 fours, reached his first 50 in 27 test innings with a streaky edge over the slips off Glenn McGrath, followed by another nick to the third-man boundary. But he at least took the game into a fourth day. Australia won the first match of the five-test series at Edgbaston by an innings and 118 runs in three-and-a-half days. England's back-to-the-wall resistance was in stark contrast to Saturday morning's entertainment, with Australia scoring 123 off 28 overs before being dismissed shortly after lunch. The gods -- and England's butter-fingered fielders -- were clearly on Gilchrist's side as he was gifted four lives by the home team, for whom Andrew Caddick took five for 101. Australia, resuming on 255 for five, pressed on regardless as one catch after another was grassed. First Butcher spilled Gilchrist, then on 13, off a sitter at second slip from pace bowler Darren Gough's first delivery of the day. Gilchrist's other lives came when he had made 33 -- dropped off Gough again by the tumbling Ian Ward at point -- and 49, when he unleashed a slashing drive that went through Butcher's hands at gully. The worst miss of them all, however, came from Atherton, who somehow dropped a simple chance off Caddick when Gilchrist had made 73. Atherton ended up lying on his back, staring at the sky in disbelief. Those misses punctuated a 78-run stand for the sixth wicket between Gilchrist and Damien Martyn, who made 52. He reached his 50 with a classic extra-cover drive off Caddick before being caught behind two balls later as he inadvertently edged the ball trying to take evasive action. A 65-run stand between Gilchrist, who made 152 in the first test, and Lee followed for the eighth wicket. Gilchrist, cutting and driving with his trademark power, finally fell to Caddick, edging a lifter behind to give Alec Stewart his fifth catch. The Australian vice-captain hit 12 fours in his 121-ball knock. Gillespie came in at number 10 to bring up the 400 with the 50th boundary of the innings before he was bowled by Gough, who took three for 115. England has beaten Australia just once at Lord's in 105 years and 25 matches, while the tourists have won 17 of their last 19 tests, as well as the last six Ashes series.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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