England 332 and 373 for 9 dec beat Australia 160 and 348 (Hussey 121, Ponting 66, Swann 4-120) by 197 runs

On the fourth day of the deciding test England reclaimed the Ashes with resounding 197-run win over Australia.

England started the forth day of the fifth test seeking to break the back of the Australian batting line up if not completely bury it. Australia on the other hand, resuming at 0-80, sought to knuckle down and edge slowly towards the mammoth 546 that England had set it to win. It was England, however, who got off to the better start.

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Whether its his dickey knee, his living in run down apartments in Pretoria or his frustration at not being able to get Tania, the 21-year-old Auckland travel courier into the sack, Simon Hughes search for hard and fast pitches and even faster girls, makes his cricketing tales some of the best going around.

With rain interrupting much of the third Ashes test at Egbaston, it is a good time to consider other ways of keeping yourself entertained for those times when you’re waiting for the clouds to clear and the outfield to dry out. If you’ve ever been sitting in a ground eagerly anticipating a riveting days play only to see drizzle set in after half an hour you’ll know how endlessly frustrating this is for spectators, let alone players.

Such times can present the perfect opportunity to pick up one of the many books that are published each year on cricket. While a lot of cricket books are usually little more than prosaic accounts of cricketing tours and players careers – and are usually thought of as nothing more than stocking fillers – every now and then along comes a truly funny and interesting account of the game that is so engrossing you don’t particularly mind if play’s delayed a little longer. When I think of such books, one of the first that comes to mind isn’t even written by a test cricketer.

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The Sky coverage of the Ashes has been widely applauded, but for English fans seeing test live test cricket does not come easy.

For any cricket lover the current Ashes series must rate as a highlight on the cricketing schedule and so far this current series has delivered on the pre-series anticipation. Like many others I have been pretty much glued to the couch each evening over the last fortnight, and it is only now, with a break between the second and third tests, that have I found time for many a domestic duty that really should be carried out on a nightly basis.

In addition to the gripping nature of the cricket played so far, the nightly ritual has proved to be even more absorbing for the fact that I have enjoyed immensely the coverage provided by Sky Sports. Listening to the host of ex-England captains (Beefy, Gower, Athers, Nas etc), the (adopted Englishmen?)  great West Indies quick Michael Holding and the twisting and turning Lanky tones of Bumble has added much to the fascinating start to the series.

While, for the most part, my attention during the coverage has only strayed to consider how much saliva Ponting rubs into his hands each day, it is hard not to notice the vast difference between English cricket grounds and their Australian counterparts.

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The Ashes Series 2009 Build-up

England is desperate to reclaim the ashes this northern summer. But it would seem that English cricket administrators are making the job harder for their national side by allowing key Australian players to play county cricket in the lead up to the much anticipated series. Jeremy Loadman reports.

Former England captain, Alec Stewart, and current England skipper, Andrew Strauss have aired their frustrations that in the build up to this year’s Ashes series, some Australian players will be playing for English domestic sides in the county championship. Unsurprisingly, both Stewart and Strauss, see this as giving the tourists an advantage by having players in the side who are acclimatised to English conditions and who have good match fitness under their belt.

Stuart Clark and Phil Hughes will play for, Kent and Middlesex, respectively. While giving any Australian a leg-up prior to an Ashes series is hardly desirable from England’s point of view, it is the case of Stuart Clark that is causing the English the most concern.

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