England 361 and 349/7dec (114.1 overs)
Australia 128 and 235 (90.3 overs)
England won by 347 runs
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Published on Cricinfo - http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013/content/image/653943.html?object=566933;page=1
Despite a brief period where Usman Khawaja and Michael Clarke looked comfortable at the crease, it was all too familiar with Australia collapsing once again to be all out for 235. This handed England a massive 347 run win to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Unfortunately Joe Root could not get to his double century early on Day 4 with him falling to an adventurous ramp shot. He was finally dismissed for an excellent 180. Watson started in typical fashion with some good shots however his innings ended in all too predictable fashion with an lbw while trying to hit across the line to a straight delivery. This time he didn't refer it though, which if he did probably would have caused riots in Australia. Rogers again failed this time leaving an elementary straight ball from Swann which bowled him. Rogers is one of the most capable batsman in this side with his experience in English conditions, but his series to date has been disappointing. Hughes was out lbw to give him 2 a grand total of 2 runs for the test match. Clarke joined Khawaja at the crease and despite an early missed stumping chance off Clarke, the two played quite smoothly. They put on 98 for the fourth wicket before no other than Joe Root came into bowl and dismissed both of them within minutes of each other. It continued a golden test match for the young man who's bowling has proved quite handy in the series so far.
Australia's tail wagged again with the bottom four combining for 85 runs. Siddle and Pattinson impressed in particular with them facing 62 and 91 balls respectively. There was some controversy (of course) surrounding Agar's dismissal with the not out decision being overturned despite no mark apparent on Hot Spot. I presume the third umpire thought that the audio was convincing enough, but it was certainly a strange decision.
Australia were completely outplayed in this test and their batting was so insipid that it's hard to imagine Zimbabwe doing much worse. They have players with batting ability but the lack of determination to build a long innings is seriously letting them down. You only need to compare Phil Hughes who made 2 runs in this test to Joe Root who scored 180 in one innings alone to understand the difference in the two teams. With England 2-0 up, there is no longer any doubt about who is going to win the series. The only doubt now is whether it's going to be 5-0 or not.
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