Australia took what appeared to be a calculated risk after accepting an offer of bad light when well set on the second day of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval in London on Friday.
At stumps, Australia — in a match they have to win to level the series at 2-2 and so retain the Ashes they have held since 1989 — were on their tea score of 112 without loss, 261 behind England’s below-par first-innings 373 after no play took place in the final session with 37 overs lost.
Justin Langer, dropped once, was 75 not out and fellow left-handed opener Matthew Hayden 32 not out.
The duo’s first three-figure stand of the series was well in excess of their previous best of 58 in the drawn third Test at Old Trafford as they gave England a reminder of Ashes contests past.
But after tea they took the light, which was the sole reason for the players staying off the field for nearly an hour-and-a-half. It then started to rain as well and initially this appeared to aid England in their quest to win their first Ashes series since 1986/87.
Langer defended the decision after stumps, telling reporters: ”We spoke about it briefly at tea-time. I asked Ricky [Ponting, the Australia captain] and Gilly [vice-captain Adam Gilchrist] what their thoughts were and they felt it was the same as any other Test match.
”When we walked out to bat, it was very dark. Andrew Flintoff was reverse-swinging the ball just before tea and we felt it was best to play him in the best conditions possible,” the 34-year-old West Australian added.
”Unfortunately it hung around for the whole session. But at this stage, we’ve only lost half-an-hour, an hour. The way this series has gone, most Tests have been decided in four days.
”Take it from me, we were none for a hundred, we’d have loved to keep batting. But, at the end of the day, the reality is when you weigh up the options, every time it comes up, the question is if you do lose a wicket early, the new batsman has to come in against a reverse swinging ball.
”It was very dark after tea. We’ve seen Flintoff bowl well in dark conditions against the new batsman.”
England left-arm spinner Ashley Giles admitted he’d been taken aback by Australia’s move.
”We were ready to start and we were a little bit surprised and shocked. Of course I hope they live to regret it, but there’s three days left in this Test match, there’s a lot of time. We can’t, and Ricky Ponting can’t, afford to cloud watch.”
After leg-spin great Shane Warne took six for 122 in England’s first innings, there was still an opportunity for Australia to build a commanding total that would give their star bowler plenty of runs to play with later in the game.
Australia’s best first-innings total in the series so far had been the 308 they made in England’s two-run second Test win at Edgbaston.
But here they had laid the foundations for a big score on a perfect batting pitch against an attack minus Simon Jones, who had taken 18 wickets at 21 apiece in the first four Tests of the series.
The Glamorgan quick was missing because of an ankle injury and England, who had called up fast-bowler James Anderson into their squad, instead chose all-rounder Paul Collingwood, a medium-pacer, as Jones’s replacement.
England had clearly hoped for runs from Collingwood, but he scored seven.
Langer was 16 not out and Hayden, who hadn’t scored more than 70 in his last 30 Test innings, unbeaten on two, when Australia began after lunch on 19.
With a becalmed Hayden taking 53 balls to get to double figures, it was left to Langer to do the bulk of the scoring in a reversal of their usual roles.
The balance of England’s attack placed a heavy responsibility on Giles to ensure England’s front-line quicks did not have to carry too heavy a burden.
But Langer, looking to disrupt England’s plans, drove Giles’s second and fourth balls for six as 14 runs in all came off the bowler’s first over.
That over also saw Langer complete a 63-ball 50 with two sixes and six fours.
Giles was immediately replaced by Collingwood, with the spinner switching ends.
Collingwood almost proved a partnership breaker when Langer, on 53, tried to cut a ball that was too close to him and Marcus Trescothick, at slip, failed to hold on to a difficult one-handed chance high to his right.
Earlier, Warne — the only man to have so far taken 600 wickets and playing his last Test in England — saw his latest haul gave him 34 wickets for the series.
That equalled his best for a Test campaign in England, in the 1993 six-match encounter.
England, who began Friday on 319 for seven, saw their last three wickets add 48 runs but on such a fine surface and fast outfield they would have wanted at least 400. — Sapa-AFP