England win Ashes Test at Lord's
Date released: 20 July 2009
The fifth and final day of the Ashes Test at Lord's. Australia need 209 to win; England need five wickets. Follow every ball live with Lords.org.
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Match summary
Australia: 215 & 406
England: 311-6 & 425
England win by 115 runs
Batsmen (runs): Mitchell Johnson (63) & Ben Hilfenhaus (4)
Bowlers: Pavilion End: Andrew Flintoff
Nursery End: Graeme Swann
2:53pm: Well that was fun. Fresh from being nearly run over by Princess Anne (arriving just after the last wicket fell) the two post-match press conferences were unsurprisingly different.
Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were all stiff jawed resolution to improve after being, in Ponting's words, "out-played".
Andrew's Strauss and Flintoff were both delighted. Read more:
Flintoff: Lord's 'means a lot'
And thank you all again for following the match with Lords.org and for all your emails, we read every one.
See you in September for the ODIs when we'll have more of the best and fastest live online coverage direct from Lord's.
12:49pm: We're off to the post-match press conference - we'll bring you all the latest from that too - stick with Lords.org. We'll be back soon!
12:44pm: The full-house at Lord's, they're all on their feet. England are celebrating in the middle, high-fives and back slaps all-round.
Flintoff has a stump in his hand and he's drinking it in - this was his last ever Test at Lord's.
England go 1-0 up in the Ashes Series - how crucial could this win be?
England win the Ashes Test at Lord's
They win against Australia at Lord's for the first time in 75 years. The margin 115 runs in the end.
12:39pm 107th over: The fielders are in for Hilfenhaus and back on the rope for Johnson - its clear where England think the final wicket will come from.
Two balls to go - the fielders close in... and Swann's bowled him!
Australia 406 all out - Johnson - b. Swann - 63
12:34pm 106th over: Flintoff wants more - he's bowling again, Johnson on strike. Run off the face of the bat for two.
A brace of rapidly run twos and Strauss brings the field up. Attempted yorker again from Flintoff, Johnson blocks it out and it runs back past the bowler for four. That brings up Australia's 400.
12:32pm 105th over: England need one wicket to win. Swann to Johnson, bowling amidst the roaring applause still ringing around for Flintoff.
Johnson clips that away for one, for his 50. He's batted well but you have to think now it's in a losing cause. It would be beyond miraculous if Australia win from here. They need 130 more to win.
12:25pm 104th over: Flintoff doesn't even glance at Strauss - his sunhat's off and his jumper is handed over to Rudi Koertzen - he wants that fifth wicket, badly.
Just the one run from the over - not the one wicket Flintoff wanted. Last ball... no ball! He'll go again...
Magical stuff! Flintoff's got him! He drops to one knee on the pitch and his team-mates swarm to him.
Australia 388-9 - Siddle - b. Flintoff - 7
A debut for our five-for icon and it's for Andrew Flintoff. You couldn't make this stuff up. All of the crowd are on their feet for Flintoff, even the Australians. Marvelous.
12:22pm 103rd over: Swann bowls to Johnson - he's just six runs from his 50.
England move fielders in, hoping to tempting Johnson to swing... he does, it's over Broad at mid wicket and that's four.
12:17pm 102nd over: Flintoff's scented blood and with Siddle on strike he takes the ball to bowl this over.
Siddle off the strike first ball, a single. Johnson drives that right back down the ground - four moves him to 43.
Siddle sees out the over. Will that be Flintoff's final over?
12:13pm 101st over: Swann to bowl this over but it would take a brave man to pry the ball from Flintoff's hand in the next over.
Johnson scores another boundary from the first ball of this over. Strauss and Swann have a long chat before the next ball.
Caught and bowled chance - Johnson drilling that one back at Swann who dived but just couldn't hold on. A single means Siddle will face about two balls of this over.
12:06pm 100th over: A seventh over for Flintoff as England look to press their advantage.
Bowled him! Flintoff jagged that one in, Hauritz left it and his stumps are in a mess!
Australia 363-8 - Hauritz - b. Flintoff - 1
Four for Flintoff now. Fairytale stuff surely... but could he get a five-for on his last Test outing at Lord's?
Flintoff is being cheered into the crease for every delivery now. Siddle digs out a yorker and it squirts away for four.
11:59am 99th over: Broad's removed at the Nursery End, where he has struggled. Graeme Swann comes on.
Goodness me, Swann has cleaned Clarke up second ball! Clarke skipped down the wicket, completely missed it and loses his off stump.
Australia 356-7 - Clarke - b. Swann - 136
Clarke gets a standing ovation - he batted magnificently for his 136, he'll be on the Lord's Honours Board but that will come as scant consolation if England seal victory here.
Four men around the bat for Hauritz. Four runs off the bat for Johnson - punched through the off side.
11:53am 98th over: This will be Flintoff's sixth consecutive over.
Short again from Flintoff and again Johnson looks like he lost sight of that one trying to rear back out of the way and it hits on the handle of the bat.
Another no ball from Flintoff - his seventh. End of the over.
Australia need 166 more runs to win - England need four wickets.
11:48am 97th over: After a loose couple of overs, Broad is finding his line from the Nursery End now. He's used to bowling at the Pavilion End but he's got Johnson playing and missing now.
As I type that, Johnson carves Broad for four - 350 up for Australia.
Three from the last ball of the over has Johnson galloping into the 20s.
11:45am 96th over: Flintoff has Johnson playing and missing again with his first delivery of this over.
Johnson has to jump up to try and play that one down and almost drops the ball on his stumps. This could be Flintoff's penultimate over - he bowled mostly in six or seven over spells previously.
Johnson moves off the strike with a very well run three.
11:39am 95th over: Broad again from the Nursery End, Clarke facing. Another single for Clarke moves him to 130. Broad will come round the wicket to the left-handed Johnson.
Edged again... did it carry to the slips? It just bounced safely between Strauss and Flintoff. They run one.
That's a lovely drive from Clarke, he steps into that one and drills it through the diving James Anderson at extra cover.
11:34am 94th over: First ball from Flintoff is short again but well played by Johnson who gets on top of it to drop it down safely.
Johnson swinging and missing and clipped off his shoulder there. Great stuff from Flintoff.
Johnson pivots and pulls that square... and that's four. Great shot.
11:30am 93rd over: Anderson's taken off, Stuart Broad will bowl from the Nursery End now.
A mid-over single for Clarke. And one for Johnson now from the fourth ball.
11:24am 92nd over: Flintoff's hit Clarke on the pads again - a half-hearted appeal but it was very high. A single from the next ball brings Johnson onto the strike.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, Flintoff's first ball to Johnson is short - the Australian swaying out of the way.
No ball from Flintoff, but it was full, Johnson lost it and is hit, hard on the pads. Surely LBW had he not over-stepped.
Two for Johnson from the next ball. Flintoff's full again from the next and Johnson carves it away for four into the off side, great shot.
11:20am 91st over: Johnson scrambled a bye on the last ball of that previous over, so he'll face the first ball of this one from Anderson.
The left-handed Johnson defending well. He's off the mark from the last ball of the over a driven four - just beats Cook to the rope.
11:13am 90th over: Just the one run so far this morning and this over will be 'Freddie time' again.
Full and fast from Flintoff, Clarke jams it out but he's waving his bat at the dressing room - looks like he's broken it, a split in the end. New bats coming out for him.
"Ooohs" around Lord's as Flintoff hits Clarke - ouch. Short and high and Clarke's hit on the glove. At 90mph+ that's going to hurt.
More "ooohs", Clarke playing and missing now, he's looking unsettled by this hostile Flintoff spell. Next ball he gets a single to get off the strike at last.
Johnson's edged that! But it drops short of Collingwood in the slips this time.
11:10am 89th over: Anderson to Clarke. The Aussie vice-captain has an even more crucial role to play now.
First run of the morning, off his toes by Clarke for a single.
Pressure on Johnson too. Much has been made of his poor performance with the ball - he really owes Australia an innings here.
11:03am 88th over: Flintoff to Haddin now. This really is Test Match cricket at it's best. Mesmerising stuff.
Third ball and Flintoff raps Haddin on the pads, edged onto his legs by Haddin. A massive smirk from Flintoff, staring at Haddin.
He's got him! Andrew Flintoff just stands mid-way down the pitch as Collingwood takes the catch in the slips and Flintoff's mobbed!
Australia 313-6 - Haddin - c. Collingwood b. Flintoff - 80
Generous applause for Haddin, he batted marvellously yesterday but couldn't add to his score today.
Short leg, three slips and two gullies there for Flintoff bowling to Johnson. A wicket maiden for Flintoff - every over he's taken a wicket has been a maiden. Brilliant.
11am 87th over: James Anderson warming up at the Nursery End - Andrew Flintoff's marking out his run-up at the Pavilion End. This will be crackjack stuff... hold on to your mouse!
First ball... on the pads! England are appealing! Umpire Doctrove is motionless though.
England are appealing for everything! That next ball is down the leg side, off the pad, but thoughts of a bat have the crowd roaring again.
Another zipping delivery - more appeals, more shaken head by Doctrove. A maiden from Anderson - great over.
10:56am: Here come the umpires - warmly applauded on to the field. The players are gathering in the Lord's Long Room... and here they come, England led out by Andrew Flintoff get a huge cheer.
Here come the Aussies too a big clap for them too.
Clive Radley MBE 10:50am: MCC coach and former Head Coach - Clive Radley MBE will ring the five minute bell today.
10:45am: Just 15 minutes to go... Lord's is filling up nicely but is eerily quiet. Fans of both sides filled with nerves.
10:32am: All the players are off the field now - using this last half hour to get ready for what will be a massive day's cricket.
Just the media on the outfield now and the slow-moving roller, trundling up and down the wicket - MCC's expert 'pilot' Adrian Morgan or 'Morgs' at the wheel.
10:23am: Slip catching practice now for England, as the Aussies head off the field.
England will want to be razor sharp in the field today. A dropped catch and it really could be "You've just dropped the Ashes..." time again.
10:08am: It's 'footy' all round now. England playing soccer, the Aussies kicking an Aussie Rules footy back and forth in a variation on a volleyball match.
Brett Lee the only Australia player not taking part - instead he's jogging around the outfield, presumably working on his fitness as he bids for a third Test recall.
10:01am: England's turn for a team huddle now - no man in the middle, instead coach Andy Flower is giving his final instructions.
How are your nerves? I can barely type! This should be an absolute thriller. You get the distinct feeling the first 10-15 overs could make a massive difference.
If England can get rid of either Clarke or Haddin you fancy their tails would be up and they could run through the tail.
If Clarke and Haddin can see off the shine off the new ball they're in with a real chance. 209 runs in a day is well within their abilities. Next man in Mitchell Johnson is a Test centurion and Peter Siddle and Nathan Hauritz batted well in the first innings too.
What do you think? Send us your emails - give your team a cheer - Live@Lords.org.
9:58am: Australia are in a group huddle at the Nursery End of the ground, captain Ricky Ponting in the centre of the large circle.
An inspired effort by the Aussies today and they could win this. From a situation where they were facing the follow-on that'd be an absolutely staggering effort.
As the circle breaks they get a huge reception from the Australia fans already packing into the Grand Stand at Lord's.
There are a load of yellow-shirted 'fanatics' in the Warner Stand too and the Australians are applauded all the way around that side of the ground too.
Bird's eye view - Lords.org coming to your from the Investec Media Centre 9:49am: Opinion is divided up here in the Investec Media Centre.
We just spotted former England captain Mike Atherton chatting to ECB chairman Giles Clarke. "An early wicket and we'll be done by lunch." is the, paraphrased, verdict of the former England skipper. Diplomatically, Clarke just smiled.
If England could uproot his namesake, Michael, they'd surely be much closer to victory.
9:42am: We've also had a lot of emails in to enter our free competition yesterday. We'll pick out a winner before the start of play today and keep an eye out for our free competition today with another great prize.
We'll tell you about today's competition at lunch. If the game lasts that long...
9:21am: Your emails - next, a bit of Aussie banter. Paul, in Adelaide, has written in to say:
"Your commentary says you will have to give the benefit of the doubt to Strauss.
"Since when is the benefit of the doubt given to anyone other than the batsman? There was more grass on the ball than Strauss' fingers. Bring on more third umpire involvement in decisions. It works in tennis and we are talking technology coping with speeds better than the naked eye. Clearly Strauss took it "one bounce two hands"."
You misunderstand us Paul - we didn't mean to question to age old cricket adage that the benefit of questionable decisions goes to the batsman - just that we weren't questioning the England captain's honesty.
He claimed the catch and it happened in a flash - though it was a close call we don't think there was any attempt to cheat by Strauss. Not sure Ricky Ponting will see it that way...
What do you think? Send us your emails - LIve@Lords.org.
9:15am: Your emails - first of all a question - which we're always happy to have and answer if we can - from Don who's following the Ashes from South Africa:
"What do the different numbers represent on the English cricketers’ shirts?"
Well Don, they're a chronological list of the order in which players were picked to play Test (and later ODI) cricket for England. For instance, the famous WG Grace was number 24 (not that they had the numbers on their shirts back then!).
We're up into the 600s now - recent debutants Tim Bresnan (643) and Graham Onions (644) are the latest additions. As they debuted in the same match it's done alphabetically - just as the list was when it was first drawn up just a few years ago.
Thanks for the question Don - hope that helps in your sports quiz! Got a question you've always wanted to ask about cricket?
Send us an email - here at the world's most famous cricket club, MCC, we have access to some of the game's leading experts - and we're Guardians of the Laws of cricket, no less.
9:03am: A quick weather update and then we'll get into your emails - you've been writing in your droves overnight.
The sun is shining at Lord's, the skies over the Pavilion (where the weather usually moves in from) looks fairly clear - blue skies and a few fluffy white clouds. Looking good for our scheduled 11am start.
8:53am: We're logged on and ready for day five of the Ashes. Ok, we're about two hours early but it's day five... of The Ashes... at Lord's! The match is finely poised - either side could win. How can we resist?
Give in to temptation - get yourself a work-like looking spreadsheet ready to pop-up when the boss walks past (pressing Alt & Tab is your friend) - but stick with Lords.org for the very latest action, as it happens at The Home of Cricket.
We're not boasting (well, maybe just a bit) but we were upto four minutes quicker than the BBC at times yesterday. Four minutes? The Ashes could be won or lost in that time! Stick with Lords.org.
