Tom's Ashes report

The Ashes Test 2 Day 5 review by Tom T  

England bowled out Australia for 304 to win the second Test in Adelaide in emphatic fashion by an innings and 71 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the Ashes.

The expected rain failed to save the Australians as they resumed in warm sunshine 137 runs behind on 238-4.

After Michael Hussey fell for 52 in the sixth full over, Anderson struck twice with successful bowls.

Swann took the final wicket an hour before lunch by bowling Peter Siddle to finish with figures of 5-91.

It was an AMAZING performance from England, with almost everything going according to plan from the first over of the match, when Trott ran out Katich and Ponting was caught at slip off the next ball.

There was a brief moment of concern on the final morning when wicketkeeper Matt Prior failed to cling on to a thin edge from Hussey three balls after the left-hander had recorded his 23rd Test fifty, making fears that the man known as 'Mr Cricket' might somehow help Australia scrape a draw.

But 10 balls later Prior was relieved to see Hussey heading back to the pavilion.

The Australian attempted an out-of-character pull at the impressive Steven Finn, who used the new ball cleverly in the absence of the injured Stuart Broad, who has been ruled out of the series.

Hussey was not in control of the shot as the ball bounced higher than he expected and he could only top edge straight to Anderson at mid-on.

England still had to contend with Haddin, who had made a battling half century in the first innings.

However Anderson soon took his revenge when a great ball moved away and caught the edge, giving Prior a routine catch behind the stumps.

Harris offered no shot to the next ball, which swung back the other way, and was given out lbw, a decision confirmed after a referral to the TV umpire.

He became only the second Australian, after legendary wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, to be dismissed for a king pair - out first ball in both innings - in a Test match.

North was the only senior batsman left and well though he played for 22, he was sent on his way after England referred an lbw appeal by Swann and replays showed the ball would have gone on to hit the middle stump.

Australia were failing dramatically.

On that day England lost nine wickets for 60 runs, a feeling Australia became increasingly familiar with as North departed to become the fourth wicket to fall in the space of six overs for the addition of only 25 runs.

Doherty's unhappy match ended when he was bowled by Swann, who ended the contest with a perfect off-break that turned in between Siddle's bat and pad to give England their 100th Test victory against Australia, their first win against them by an innings for 24 years.

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The final wicket also gave Swann, playing only his 26th Test, his 10th five-wicket haul, making him the second England spinner to reach the mark.

For Australia, the rain they had hoped for did eventually arrive late in the afternoon but by then the England celebrations were underway

And, needing only to draw the five-match series in order to retain the Ashes, it is the tourists who are very much in a powerful position as the series moves to Perth for the third Test beginning on 16^th December.