Daily Cricket News

Batsmen dominate in Ashes tour match

Hobart: Ian Bell made a century and Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood half centuries as England continued its impressive Ashes buildup on day two of its tour match against Australia A.

Bell was 121 not out and Collingwood 74 at stumps on a rain-affected day as England moved to 335-5 in reply to Australia A's first innings of 230.

Bell's century came from only 113 balls and he had hit 16 fours and a six while Collingwood, with whom he formed an unbroken 198-run partnership, had faced 128 balls. Cook scored 60 from 70 balls with seven fours.

Bell, Collingwood and Cook continued the strong form of England's top order batsmen ahead of the first Test against Australia starting at Brisbane on November 25. Captain Andrew Strauss has two centuries on the tour already, while Cook had played himself into form with a century and a 50 in his past two innings.

Strauss made 10 in this innings, while Kevin Pietersen was bowled for 5 but Jonathan Trott made a solid 41 in an 87-run third wicket stand with Cook.

The match, which was affected by rain in its first and last seasons on Wednesday, continues until Saturday.

Australia's buildup to the first Ashes Test progressed more uncertainly than England's on Wednesday.

All-rounder Mitchell Johnson provided a rare bright spot, completing an unbeaten 121 for Western Australia in its Sheffield Shield match against Victoria.

The fast bowler and free-swinging lower-order batsman, regarded as the central figure in Australia's Ashes attack, batted with ease and aggression, hitting his 121 runs from 143 balls with 18 fours and a six. He then took 1-18 from 7 overs.

Otherwise, it was not a day too boost confidence in Australia's Ashes prospects. None of Australia's batsmen, named in an expanded 17-man squad for the first Test, took the opportunity on Wednesday to bat themselves into the Test side.

Captain Ricky Ponting ground out a dogged 27 from 53 balls for Tasmania against New South Wales while Shane Watson had scores of 6 and 15 and Simon Katich made 1 and 36 in the same match.

Mike Hussey made an 18-ball duck in the Western Australian innings in which Johnson starred. The failure increases pressure on Hussey to hold his place in Australia's middle order. Marcus North made 17 from 51 balls for Western Australia.

Former Test fast bowler Damien Fleming said a failure by selectors to make hard calls after the 2009 Ashes series loss to England had led to Australia's decline as a Test power.

"We lost the Ashes in 2009, no one got dropped, nothing there. I could've lived with Mike Hussey being dropped there," Fleming said.

"From that Ashes defeat it was a chance to get some young players in with leadership potential so when Ricky Ponting does move on or gets tapped on the shoulder, we have actual options.

"We've got ourselves into a position where there's no options besides Michael Clarke, and we're in a very vulnerable position with batsmen at five and six."

Clarke is not playing in the current round of Sheffield Shield matches because of a back injury.

Fleming suggested England's loss to India in a two-test series in India last month had further damaged the selectors' confidence.

"I reckon the team they picked for that first Test in India was the team they wanted for the Ashes, and what's hurt them is the form of certain players," he said.