The final day started off with an altercation between Kevin Pieterson and Mitchell Johnson when the former hit a ball at the Australians during the pre-match practice session. This tension spread to the turf and until the end of the match, few more spats happened. This gave new vigor to the match which lacked energy when it commenced.
England started off the final day with tremendous pressure of having to save the match. Australia ran into the English top order, confining them to 55 for 4 wickets at drinks. Pieterson was the first man to go after missing a straight one from Hilfenhaus, who bowled extremely well right throughout this test match. England found itself in deep trouble after Strauss was caught behind by Brad Haddin off Nathan Hauritz. They went in to lunch with a sorry-looking scorecard of 102 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. In the 50th over, Flintoff edged a Johnson delivery to captain Ricky Ponting which resulted in yet another verbal exchange. As soon as Flintoff perished, victory looked apparent for the Australians and they bowled with zest to knock England out.
Peter Siddle bowled a fiery spell against Greame Swann, who looked rather uncomfortable against his short deliveries. Siddle targeted his head couple of times and the English physio had a busy 5th day nursing these blows. Few times, when the ball hit Swann’s helmet and gloves, Siddle got elated and sent few pleasantries at the batsman. Even amidst these tense moments, Haddin and Swann shared a grin, which you would see very rarely in the Ashes. After a long and hard battle, Swann was finally trapped in front of the wicket by Hilfenhaus. This dismissal almost sealed an Australian victory, with 18 odd overs to bowl. However, Collingwood had other plans in mind and he was well supported by a defiant Anderson who worked hard to save his wicket. Finally, Peter Siddle sent back Collingwood after a match-saving innings from the latter.
Tension loomed large over Cardiff as dusk began to fall. Australia juggled their bowlers in pursuit of that odd wicket, but was denied it by a determined Panesar and Anderson. In the end, it can be termed as England sealed a draw. However the Australian captain was miffed at the on-field disruptions by the physio and the 12th man, which eventually lost an over for Australia and also a victory.
Cardiff test started off as an ordinary test match yet had everyone on the edge of their seats at the end. Now as the teams move towards the home of cricket at Lords, the flow of adrenaline has intensified and the on field tiffs will set ablaze this exciting test series.
Both teams were matched even on papers before the start of the series and now Australia hold a slight edge for the intensity at which they are playing. It would be an uphill task for the English men to reclaim the Ashes urn against this defiant Australian outfit.
