London, July 20: Australia might have made an effort to save the second Ashes Test, but off-spinner Graeme Swann believes that England will knock off the remaining five wickets on the final day today and win a Test at the Lord’s for the first time in 75 years.
Australia, who were left with a herculian task of chasing a mammoth 522 runs to carry on their proud record of not losing a Test at Lords since 1934, struggled yesterday after all-rounder Andrew Flintoff took the initial crucial wickets.
However, a gutsy unbroken stand of 185 by Aussie vice-captain Michael Clarke (125) and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (80) steadied the Australian second innings, taking the score to 313 following the visitors’ poor 128 for 5 yesterday.
”There wasn’t any panic out there,” Swann said. ”I don’t think you panic until- as in that Edgbaston Test in 2005- you’re counting the runs down with 10 to win and bowling full-tosses; stuff like that.
”You never expect the Australians to lay down and die,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The Daily Telegraph’.
The right-arm spinner further believes that despite the highly-praised partnership of Clarke and Haddin, the hosts’ bowlers will be able to seperate the duo with the new ball on the fifth and final day.
”We were on cloud nine at one stage, and though they put on a very good partnership, if you had said we would take five wickets in the day we would probably have accepted that.
”I think we’ve got the momentum because we’ve got that new ball. And the partnership has been broken by the fact that everyone has to go to bed now. We have already seen how Andrew Strauss came back on the second morning after batting faultlessly the day before, and he got cleaned up straight away,” he added.
Australian coach Tim Nielsen heaved praise on Clarke for his gutsy innings of 125 and said this was one of his finest innings for his country.
”Michael just keeps getting better and better,” Nielsen said. ”The great thing is that when Ricky, as our captain and leading batsman, missed out, he has stood up for us and shown his class as a Test match batsman,” he added.
—–Agencies