Instant Replay: Amazing Adelaide

To sum it up bluntly, the hosts rocked up to the fifth and final day of that Test match expected to fight hard against an English side on the verge of a series-levelling win and perhaps, at best, scrap out a draw — what followed was an unthinkably dominant day for the Aussies that shook the series to its core.

Alex is back for episode six of Instant Replay, with The News’ Tyler Maher jumping on board to break down one of the most memorable cricketing days of their lives.

Overall thoughts?

Down 1-0 in the series, England hit the fifth day of the second Test at 1-59; while the lead of 97 wasn't enormous, with nine wickets in hand it certainly couldn't lose the game. But it batted with zero intent, plodding along at one run an over until a terrible umpiring decision had Shane Warne claim the wicket of Andrew Strauss. Two more wickets fell in the next 15 minutes seeing England's top-order completely wiped out at 4-73; from an unloseable position, its back was now against the wall.

Andrew Flintoff nibbled at a Brett Lee peach and fell meekly before lunch leaving his side 5-89 at lunch, remarkably having added just 30 runs in the first session. Warne got things going after lunch with two quick ones and Lee and Glenn McGrath combined for the remaining three, England all out for 129 and a lead of 167. If there were any saving graces, Paul Collingwood's unbeaten 22 came off 119 balls and nearly 200 minutes, so he certainly ate up some time. But upon reflection, England's 9-70 off 54 overs on day five was a pretty disgraceful effort.

With 36 overs to play for the final session, Australia's 168 would need to come at about 4.7 runs an over — things got more difficult when Justin Langer fell for seven, and by the time Matthew Hayden followed him back to the sheds it was 2-33. But that came at a run-a-ball, and with the legendary duo of Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey at the crease, a procession followed. Captain Ponting (who to that point of the series had gone 196, 60 not out and 142) continued outrageous form whacking 49 from 65 balls, but it was Hussey who steered the ship home, making an unbeaten 61 from 66 balls to push on with Michael Clarke (21 not out) to seal the six-wicket win.

Alex: When you break it down like that it sounds a bit easy — but that's how Australia made it look. What stood out about the game for you?

Tyler: There’s a lot to digest for just one day of cricket, but despite Ian Chappell stating early in the piece that “It’s pretty certain that it’s going to be a draw” you could just feel something in the air. Maybe it was the constant ribbing the likes of Tony Greig copped on commentary, but you knew this day was only going to need one moment for it to snowball into a classic. That moment came with Strauss being given out to a stinker of a decision, and with no DRS he had to go. From there, the rest is history.

The other clear factor for me was intent. England scored off only 13 of the first 100 deliveries of the day — and half of them were spitting, turning grenades from one SK Warne — or at least they looked like it with the Poms just trying to survive.

Alex: I'll ask what is truly one of the worst questions in sporting analysis — did Australia win this match or did England lose it?

Tyler: I think it was pretty clear England never attempted to win the game and in the process gave the Aussies exactly what they needed, a collective deer in the headlights to take pot shots at until they landed enough blows to create a miracle.

Best moments?

Alex: The entire fifth day almost blends into just six-plus hours of Australian domination, and in terms of picking out a defining moment — particularly when an Australian victory felt so inevitable throughout its innings — wasn't easy. But in terms of a statement of intent, they don't come much better than Langer smashing the second ball of the innings through mid-wicket for a boundary.

Tyler: There’s plenty of moments that stand out, but the most iconic for me is Mike Hussey’s guttural roar and punch of the air as he hits the winning runs. God I miss that cover drive. Special mention goes to the absolute park-cricket areas of Ian Bell getting run-out trying to bat for a draw, and Warne bowling KP around his legs to really turn England’s wobble into a full-blown implosion.

What aged well?

Alex: Standing out for me on the rewatch was how brilliant the atmosphere at the ground was — and how much it built throughout the day. Even throughout the first session as Australia picked up a few wickets the Adelaide crowd was still reasonably flat, but as the moment continued to build up, so did the attendance and noise level.

Tyler: Just how lucky we were to have an Australian team of that ilk together at the same time — looking down that scorecard was like a warm hug from the past. Hayden and Langer, Ponting, Martyn, Hussey, Clarke and Gilchrist is still one of the best top sevens you will ever see. Then you add Warne, McGrath and Lee — with Clark in his purple patch — and it’s a sight for sore eyes. I think no DRS aged well too despite the obvious shocking decisions. Just the feel of a wicket being celebrated fully straight away, or getting on with the game after a non-decision, was a viewing bonus.

Alex: I can't agree regarding the lack of DRS — I was probably inclined to put it in the next category. From the moment the umpire gave him, Strauss’ head dropped and you knew full well it was just a shocker. Strauss didn't even argue, he just looked crestfallen — he hadn't been legitimately dismissed and, while that was just part of the game back then (and still can be today when a side has no reviews), he had no options in terms of appealing that decision.

What aged badly?

Alex: Was Australia's chase that hard? Is the epicness of the chase revisionist history at its finest? Perhaps I'm the one revising things, but 168 runs off 32 overs on an absolute road? The Australians made it look as easy as I'm making it sound.

Tyler: The boys’ club commentary team. Although Richie and Tony are greatly missed, there’s a clear divide between the level of commentary and analysis we have now across multiple platforms to what was produced in ’06.

Never forget?

Alex: I guess England shouldn't forget Test matches are played across five days, because it played pretty well for four of them. I'd forgotten what an absolute road the pitch was, and what good use England made of it, with 6-551 declared in its first dig. Paul Collingwood (206) and Kevin Pietersen (158) added 310 for the fourth wicket — this was the largest first-innings score by a team batting first that declared that went on to lose the match.

And Matthew Hoggard took 7-109 in 42 overs in a truly remarkable display given the state of the pitch. Before day five, he said he was looking to forward to bowling again later that day "like a knee to the groin".

Sliding doors?

Alex: England losing 3-4 to go from 1-69 to 4-73 sticks out as the biggest ‘'what could have been” moment, perhaps of the series. Fair enough, Strauss’ dismissal was a joke, he clearly didn't hit out, but then you had a calamitous mix-up between Collingwood and Bell that had the latter run-out, and Pietersen was bowled around his legs playing an attacking sweep pretty early in his innings. Some terrible decision-making crept in and punished England irreparably.But what about more generally — what happens if England hang on for a draw here and the series is 1-0 heading to the third Test? Could you see the lop-sided series being any closer?

Tyler: It was certainly demoralising. If England holds on there and takes some momentum into Perth, I reckon a few of the demons from losing in ‘05 start to rear their heads. Instead, the Aussies go on to a whitewash and manage to send off almost half the team into retirement on a high.