Cricket: Stuart carrying England to Ashes glory

England are within touching distance of the Ashes.

On a dramatic day they turned the series against Australia on its head. All they must do now - and all is a very considerable amount indeed - is keep their nerve and apply their skills to their utmost and some time this weekend the terracotta urn which continues to be the cause of all the fuss will be in their possession once more.

This series had already witnessed one compelling spell of fast bowling by England and on the second day of the fifth npower Test here it saw another of still more resplendent vintage. This time it was not Andrew Flintoff, the hero of Lord's, but the new kid on the all-round block, Stuart Broad.

It is not quite a done deal (if the Ashes were a house, England would be on the verge of exchanging contracts) and, until the last ball is bowled, concerns must remain, the extent of which were demonstrated by the crucial early loss of English second-innings wickets when Mitchell Johnson looked equally lethal. The first-innings lead, however, was 172, a margin rude with health for the home side, and when it went beyond 200 Australia were already looking decidedly sickly.

Broad delighted a crowd hardly able to take it in. In an insistent, constantly probing spell which made full use of a capricious pitch and Australia's doubts about it, he not only undermined the opposition's innings but probably turned the rubber irrevocably England's way. For its timing as well as its skill, it was up there with the greatest of all Ashes bowling. He was aided by the off-spinner, Graeme Swann, who was equally effective, equally enthused by the occasion.

The surface was unquestionably part of the cause of Australia's downfall n as it was for the home side's early wickets in the evening n and England were similarly helped on their way to a likely reception at the palace by two abject umpiring decisions, one of which was not leg before because the batsman hit it and one of which was not out caught because the batsman did not hit it.

But neither of those elements was to blame for Australia's third first-innings failure of the series. As England had at Headingley a fortnight earlier, they froze, dogged by their suspicions about a pitch which was behaving on the second day as if it had been played on for half a lifetime. In short, Australia felt the pitch had been rigged to ensure that there could be no draw and they were deeply affected by it. They might have expected to be on the wrong end of some crass umpiring n the unfortunate guilty party on both occasions was Asad Rauf n but it cannot have helped their state of mind. England were out to get them.

Broad finished with 5 for 37 from 12 consecutive overs in the prolonged post-lunch session. It was the 237th time an England bowler had taken five wickets or more in an innings against Australia but few of the previous 236 n including his own haul at Leeds n can have been so thrillingly influential.

Had England fielded two spinners, as had seemed probable and might have been advisable given the nature of the surface, Broad could have been omitted. As it was, he was the fifth of England's five bowlers to be given a bash. By then, Australia had survived some early scares and had progressed rather jauntily to 73 without loss, positioning themselves for a tilt at England's adequate but hardly formidable total of 332.

Then Broad arrived. He was given immediate confidence by winning a justified lbw verdict against Shane Watson in his first over and shortly after he dislodged the cream of Australia's batting. To a spellbound audience which could hardly credit what was unfolding before it, Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke all succumbed to Broad in the space of nine balls without him conceding a run.

He bowled full, straight and within himself. Ponting, uncommonly nervous and agitated, a man who knew what he had to do but had forgotten how to do it, chopped on from an inside edge with his feet stuck in the crease. Hussey was undone by the third ball he faced cutting back into him, removed for a duck for the second time in the series and then, wicket of wickets, Clarke, the batsman of the series, reached for a cover drive and was snaffled by Jonathan Trott standing at short extra for precisely such a misjudgement.

Swann could be thankful both for Broad's incisions and for the official help provided in the case of two of his four wickets. But that could not detract from some wise off-break bowling which used the turn off the pitch judiciously. If Marcus North and Stuart Clark would be considered unlucky, he was simply too adroit on the day for Simon Katich and Mitchell Johnson. Katich, who was Australia's top scorer, was caught at short leg off bat and pad, Johnson edged behind a turning off-break pitched wide of the stumps for Matt Prior to take a smart catch which he might not have reached in some of his dog days.

There was plenty of time for England to extend their lead, plenty too for the tourists to keep the Ashes flame flickering. Naturally, they chose the latter course. Alastair Cook tamely touch a non-turning off break but Johnson worked up some serious pace. He dispatched a wary Ian Bell prodding to short leg and Paul Collingwood with a vicious lifter. The game was still on.

ENGLAND: 332 & 58-3

AUSTRALIA: 160

- THE INDEPENDENT