da apostebet： Ricky Ponting shrugged off his Ashes blues to make a long overdue and superbcentury at Headingley to give Australia another sizzling success tocelebrate in the Fourth npower Test Match
da apostaganha： Kate Laven16-Aug-2001Ricky Ponting shrugged off his Ashes blues to make a long overdue and superbcentury at Headingley to give Australia another sizzling success tocelebrate in the Fourth npower Test Match.It was the fifth Australian century of the Ashes series but for Ponting, whohas been through one of the most miserable phases of his career with just 50runs from five Test innings, it was a spectacular return to form and showedboth courage and ruthless spirit in his bid for a century.It was courageous because he arrived at the crease with Australia in anunusually tentative position at 42 for two after Adam Gilchrist’s decisionto bat first on a pitch that looked to favour the bowlers, was in danger ofbackfiring.With so few runs in his tank this summer, it was a pressurised situation forPonting but his destiny became almost preordained when the third delivery ofhis innings from Andy Caddick flew off his bat and carried to MarkRamprakash at third slip.Or did it? The umpires were unsure and referred to their third set of eyes,Neil Mallender who watched the catch over and over again and ruled that theball had not in fact carried to the fielder.It was an impossibly close call but from that point, Ponting, who was yet toget off the mark, was ruthless in his pursuit of runs, grabbing theopportunity as the Australians do in lucky breaks, with unrestrained zeal.By tea nine overs later, he had already notched up 32 runsThe hundred was not long in coming. Less than three hours later, havingfaced 113 deliveries, he flicked Alan Mullally to square leg and ran thesingle. He had struck three sixes, one off each of England’s frontlinebowlers, as well as 11 fours, most of them immaculately and deliciouslypulled through the leg side.He shared a magnificent double hundred partnership with Mark Waugh whodeparted for 72 at the close having continued his rich vein of form thatstarted pretty early into the tour.Looking at Australia’s total at the close, 288 for four, one would neverhave guessed that 23 overs had been lost from the scheduled day’s play. Heavyrain had greeted a large Yorkshire crowd first thing, postponing play untilafter lunch.Australia are no longer fighting to retain the Ashes after their triumph atTrent Bridge but are now battling to make it a 5-0 ‘greenwash’. As a result, they started cautiously until they had a better measure of the pitch, a green top with patchy brown ends, that at the toss had everyone guessing.England dropped two catches to help Australia’s openers on their way.Matthew Hayden was missed by Marcus Trescothick at gully, which marked theend of Trescothick in that position for the day. Mullally then missed Michael Slater for 11 at square leg which would have made the score 23 for two.Neither miss proved particularly expensive with both openers departingshortly afterwards to Andy Caddick, who proved the most attacking bowler inEngland’s otherwise ragged effort.But the loss of Hayden leg before brought together Waugh and the mightyPonting. The entertainment became enthralling, as both were allowed to playtheir shots and Nasser Hussain struggled to find the best option forbringing the show to a close.None of his pace bowlers responded with any great commitment to accuracy orplanning and so he turned to his bit parters, Mark Butcher and MarkRamprakash who unwittingly may have set up the opportunity for Alex Tudorten overs from stumps.Having made a sparkling 144 from 154 balls, Ponting finally edged Tudor toAlec Stewart and an excellent third-wicket partnership was over, finishingeight runs short of Australia’s record at Headingley, set in 1930 by Sir DonBradman and Alan Kippax.By this time, the bowlers were looming in the shadows and many of the crowdhad dispersed, possibly disheartened by another frustrating Englandperformance but they missed a remarkable last innings setback for thetourists.With three balls left of the day’s play, Caddick surprised Waugh with a ballthat lifted and the squirted up and came down in the hands of Ramprakash, tobring an amazing day’s play to a close.
