English cricket team in Australia in 2002-03
Encyclopedia
England XI v Western Australia
England XI v Western Australia
England XI v Queensland
England XI v New South WalesNew South Wales BluesThe New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, 6 December 2002
New South Wales won by 6 wicketsEngland XI v Prime Minister's XI, 10 December 2002
The Prime Minister's XI won by 4 wicketsEngland XI v Sir Donald Bradman XI, 8 January 2003
Sir Donald Bradman XI won by 6 wickets1st Test
The first Test of the series began with what many regard in hindsight as one of the worst captaincy decisions of all time, as England captain Nasser HussainNasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
won the toss and chose to send Australia in to bat. Australia's batsmen took advantage of several dropped catches and other mistakes in the field to amass a staggering 364 for 2, with Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
contributing 123 before being bowled by Ashley Giles
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
, and Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden AM is a former Australian cricketer, and was signed to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL until the 2010 season. Hayden is a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, known for his ability to score quickly at both Test and one day levels.Hayden holds the record...
finishing the day on 186 not out. England's woeful day in the field was capped by a severe injury to young bowler Simon Jones
Simon Jones (cricketer)
Simon Philip Jones MBE is a Welsh cricketer, who played internationally for England. Formerly playing his county cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and then Worcestershire before moving in September 2009 to Hampshire. He is currently on a month's loan with his first county, Glamorgan...
, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
while sliding to field a ball and was forced to withdraw from the tour.
England fought back strongly on the second day of the Test. Hayden advanced to 197 before gloving a catch to Wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
Alec Stewart
Alec Stewart
Alec James Stewart OBE is a retired English cricketer, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team...
, and the Aussies' last eight wickets fell for just 128 runs despite a fighting 57 from Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
. Giles added three more wickets to his total and Andy Caddick took three in the day, including the key mid-order wicket of captain Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
for just 7. The batsmen then took the fight to the Australian attack with a determined performance, Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
and Mark Butcher
Mark Butcher
Mark Alan Butcher is a former English Test cricketer, who played county cricket for Surrey from 1992 until his retirement from the sport in 2009. He was a left-handed batsman, and occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler....
sharing an unbroken century partnership to take England to 158 for 1 at stumps. This was a strong start, but 135 runs were still needed just to avoid the follow-on.
The Australian bowlers put themselves back in control on the third day. Butcher and Trescothick were both out early in the same over to Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
. Hussain and John Crawley
John Crawley
John Paul Crawley is a retired English professional cricketer, who represented England in 37 Test matches. He is regarded alongside his near contemporaries Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash as a hugely talented player who failed to realise his full potential at international level.Crawley is a...
managed to stabilise the England innings and advanced steadily to 268 for 3. However, England lost their last six wickets for a paltry 57 runs as the tail collapsed around Crawley, leaving him on 69 not out at the end of the innings. Australia started their second innings positively but lost both Justin Langer
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer AM is a former international cricketer who represented Australia in 105 Test matches and the current Assistant Coach and Batting Coach of the Australian cricket team. A left-handed batsman, his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most successful of all time...
and Ponting to Caddick by the end of the day. A solid partnership between Hayden and Damien Martyn
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
saw each advance to 40 not out by the close.
Australia advanced to a commanding lead on the fourth and final day, Hayden becoming only the fourth Australian to score a century in both innings of a Test match with his 103. Waugh once again went cheaply but Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
weighed in with 60 not out from just 59 balls to take the Aussies to 296 for 5. Giles and Caddick were the only England bowlers to have any success: Giles taking the wickets of both Hayden and Ponting to finish with figures of 2 for 90 and Caddick taking 3 for 95. Waugh's declaration left England an imposing target of 464 runs for victory. It was a target that quickly looked far out of reach as England crumbled to 79 all out in just 28 overs, with only Mark Butcher's 40 troubling the scorers. Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...
departed LBW
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
to McGrath on just the third ball of the innings and Trescothick soon followed, caught at slip off Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
. Brief partnerships between Hussain and Butcher, then Butcher and Craig White
Craig White
Craig White is an English former first-class cricketer, and latterly cricket coach.-Life and career:...
were soon taken apart by strong bowling from McGrath (4 for 36) and Warne (3 for 29).
2nd Test
The second Test at AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
started much more positively for England, who had made several changes to their side, bringing in spinner Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (cricketer)
Richard Kevin James Dawson is an English first-class cricketer, who plays primarily as an off-spinner....
, Steve Harmison
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison MBE is an English cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODI's, and 2 T20's. He also plays county cricket for Durham....
and Robert Key
Robert Key (cricketer)
Robert William Trevor Key is an English cricketer. He is the captain of Kent County Cricket Club, and a former member of the England Test match and One Day International sides....
for the injured Ashley Giles
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
, Simon Jones
Simon Jones (cricketer)
Simon Philip Jones MBE is a Welsh cricketer, who played internationally for England. Formerly playing his county cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and then Worcestershire before moving in September 2009 to Hampshire. He is currently on a month's loan with his first county, Glamorgan...
and John Crawley
John Crawley
John Paul Crawley is a retired English professional cricketer, who represented England in 37 Test matches. He is regarded alongside his near contemporaries Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash as a hugely talented player who failed to realise his full potential at international level.Crawley is a...
. Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
won the toss and this time decided to bat, a decision that looked good as England advanced to 295 for 4 by the end of the day. However, this confident score was largely built around a massive 177 from Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...
, who was finally out to the last ball of the day, edging Andy Bichel
Andy Bichel
Andrew John Bichel is a retired Australian cricket player and was the bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2009 Indian Premier League....
to slip. No other England batsmen passed fifty, and Vaughan himself was lucky to escape dismissal on just 19 when he seemed to have been caught off Bichel by Justin Langer
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer AM is a former international cricketer who represented Australia in 105 Test matches and the current Assistant Coach and Batting Coach of the Australian cricket team. A left-handed batsman, his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most successful of all time...
– TV replays proved inconclusive. Key looked unimpressive, making just 1 run off 22 balls, and was soon put out of his misery by Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
.
Australia took firm control of the match on the second day after a strong performance with both ball and bat. England crumbled from their strong overnight position to 342 all out, losing their last seven wickets for just 47 runs. Mark Butcher was caught behind off Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
having added nothing to the overnight total, and England's tail was quickly dismissed by Gillespie (who finished with 4 for 78) and Warne (4 for 93). The English bowlers were next to suffer as the Australians advanced to 247 for 2 at stumps with Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
undefeated overnight on 83. Matthew Hoggard
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
and Andy Caddick were both smashed around the field and it was left to Craig White
Craig White
Craig White is an English former first-class cricketer, and latterly cricket coach.-Life and career:...
and Dawson to make the only breakthroughs in the afternoon, White having Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden AM is a former Australian cricketer, and was signed to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL until the 2010 season. Hayden is a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, known for his ability to score quickly at both Test and one day levels.Hayden holds the record...
caught on 46 and Dawson striking to have Justin Langer
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer AM is a former international cricketer who represented Australia in 105 Test matches and the current Assistant Coach and Batting Coach of the Australian cricket team. A left-handed batsman, his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most successful of all time...
caught behind on 48.
The situation worsened for England on the third day. Ponting and Damien Martyn
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
batted through the morning session to take their overnight partnership for the third wicket to 242 before Martyn was caught off Harmison for 95 shortly after lunch, and Ponting went on to convert his overnight 83 into 154 before holing out to White. Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
, Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
and Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
fell quickly but expensively, Waugh making 34 runs from just 40 deliveries. A 77 run eighth-wicket partnership between Bichel and Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
off just 14 overs advanced the Aussies to a commanding 552 before Gilchrist was out miscuing a hook off Harmison and Waugh declared the innings. Needing 211 to avoid an innings defeat, England got off to a nightmare start as they collapsed to 36 for 3 by the close of play, losing Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
LBW to Gillespie for a duck, Butcher LBW to Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
shortly afterwards and finally Hussain clean bowled by Bichel.
England began the fourth day hoping for rain, but despite several short delays for weather the Aussies completed the innings victory with a day to spare. Key completed a miserable debut as he was caught at mid-wicket off Bichel for 1 in the third over of the morning, and though Vaughan and Alec Stewart
Alec Stewart
Alec James Stewart OBE is a retired English cricketer, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team...
looked to stabilise the innings their partnership was broken when McGrath took an impressive catch to dismiss Vaughan off the bowling of Warne. Stewart, supported by a defensive Craig White, continued to make his 41st Test half century but the two fell in successive balls to leave England in hopeless circumstances. The tail fell to leave 159 all out, McGrath taking 4 for 41 and Warne 3 for 36, giving the Aussies a crushing victory by an innings and 51 runs.