Warne-out England in Ashes tailspin

ENGLAND retreated slowly from the Adelaide Oval shocked and demoralised at how quickly their hopes of retaining the Ashes were demolished in one session of mayhem.

Having bounced back most impressively from their opening Test mauling in Brisbane to dominate the opening two days of this Test, the last outcome they probably considered was a stunning victory by Australia in the closing minutes of the game.

Resuming the final day 97 runs ahead at 59 for one, England knew that a solid performance during the opening session would all but end Australia’s slim hopes of securing a sensational final-day triumph.

But instead of determined resistance, England were unable to prevent Shane Warne spinning his magic from the Cathedral End in a stunning exhibition of leg-spin bowling.

Bowling unchanged from the Cathedral End of the ground throughout England’s innings yesterday, he claimed incredible figures of 27-11-29-4 as England lost their last nine wickets for 60 runs and slumped to 129 all out.

It was a knockout blow which even a team with England’s capacity for bouncing back may struggle to overcome.

However, captain Andrew Flintoff refuses to accept the inevitable until it is mathematically impossible for England to level the grudge Test series.

“It’s a big challenge for us now — we’re two behind in an Ashes series with three to play, but we can’t mope around too much,” said Flintoff.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has hailed his side’s amazing victory as “one of the all-time great Test wins”.

The match looked destined to finish in a draw until a dramatic fifth day that dawned with England knowing full well that a solid batting performance would all but end Australia’s slim hopes of claiming an unexpected triumph.

But Flintoff’s team lost nine wickets for 70 runs to be dismissed for a paltry 129, and Ponting’s men, chasing a target of 168, secured victory by reaching that total for the loss of four wickets with just 19 balls remaining.

“That’s the best Test win I’ve ever been a part of,” enthused Ponting.

“To turn a Test match around like that, it just doesn’t happen.

“I’ve played enough and Warney’s played enough to know that you have to do something exceptionally well to be able to turn a Test match around that way, and our cricket over the last three days has been as good as you’ll ever see.

“No doubt we were a long way behind after day two. But we’ve dug in, we’ve done the hard work and we’ve ended up winning the game.

“It’s one of the all-time great Test wins as far as I’m concerned.”