Throng

Thursday 30th July 7.15pm

Five’s summer of cricket continues with highlights of the third Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston. All eyes will be on Andrew Strauss’s men as they aim to emulate the success of 2005. The action is presented by Mark Nicholas with commentary and analysis by Geoffrey Boycott, Ian Chappell and Simon Hughes. Throughout the summer, cricketing legend Richie Benaud joins the team to present the Saturday edition of the show.

One of the greatest fixtures on the English sporting calendar continues this week as England battle Australia in the third Test at Edgbaston. The home side look to repeat their series triumph of 2005 and erase painful memories of the 5-0 whitewash in Australia in 2006-7. Captain Andrew Strauss and new coach Andy Flower face the biggest challenge of their cricketing careers as they take on the Aussies.

England’s hopes of reclaiming the Ashes this time round will be boosted by the news that strike bowler Brett Lee is out of action. In an echo of the 2005 series that saw a key Australian paceman forced to withdraw at an early stage, Lee has been ruled out thanks to an injury picked up during a warm-up game against the England Lions. One of the few surviving members of the team that lost the Ashes four years ago, Lee suffered a tear to a rib muscle on his left side. He will now definitely miss the first Test in Cardiff, and may not be fully fit until the third Test at Edgbaston.

The first Test has already seen promising signs from England, who batted positively in the first innings. The home side’s confidence was evident after they took the unusual move of selecting two spinners. Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, surprised commentators by leaving out seamer Stuart Clark – the scourge of the England batting line-up in the 2006-7 series. This left Australia’s four-man attack looking relatively inexperienced, with only 35 caps between them – and none of them against England.

Nonetheless, Australia’s new boys showed signs of their potential, each man chipping in with important wickets at the beginning of day one. After this early wobble, Pietersen and Collingwood steadied the ship with a 138-run partnership – but wickets from Peter Siddle ensured the game remained evenly poised. When play began on day two, a late stand from Stuart Broad and James Anderson saw the home side reach a very respectable total of 435.

However, Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting both hit unbeaten centuries in the afternoon, bringing Australia’s score to a daunting 249/1. Despite the best efforts of Andrew Flintoff and Graeme Swann, only Ashes debutant Phillip Hughes had fallen by the end of day two. While he praises the performances of the Australian batsmen, Swann holds the absence of swing responsible for the failures of the England attack.

So far, the first Test has produced some enthralling cricket with momentum switching from side to side. However, the Cardiff pitch has come in for some criticism in light of its flat surface, which continues to produce little in the way of swing or bounce. On the other hand, the track seems guaranteed to produce a full five-day Test match – which is all the better for the club receipts. Cricket fans may be hoping that other grounds in the series offer up more in the way of excitement – provided England make use of it in their favour.