register to 888sport
888sport time:

Preview Based News

Australia in driving seat

Author: Rose Young
Date: 13/07/2009

Australia are in complete control of the first Ashes Test after England produced a shocking display with both the ball and the bat on the fourth day at Cardiff.

Insipid bowling allowed Marcus North (125 not out) and Brad Haddin (121) to add 200 runs for the sixth wicket before the tourists declared and they then restricted England to 20-2 before rain ended play early.

Four Australian batsmen reached centuries, Haddin and North following the example of captain Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich earlier in the innings.

The tourists eventually declared their first innings on a massive total of 674-6 when Haddin holed out to Ravi Bopara at deep midwicket off Paul Collingwood's bowling.

But so poor was England's bowling that it seemed as though they had been expecting the fourth day to be a wash-out and they appeared to have no plan of action.

Before the rain came Alastair Cook was plumb lbw to Mitchell Johnson for six but Bopara (one) was unfortunate to be given out in the same manner to Ben Hilfenhaus when the ball appeared to strike him too high on pads.

With the weather set fair for Sunday, England will have to produce a backs-to-the-wall display if they are to salvage a draw from the game and restore some pride.

Can England hold on and claim a draw in the first Ashes Test? - Latest Cricket Betting

Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez won the eighth stage of the Tour de France after pipping Sandy Cesar in a sprint finish on the road from Barcelona to St Girons.

Rinaldo Nocentini has retained the yellow jersey after finishing in the peloton alongside closest rivals Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.

Mark Webber is on course to claim his first ever victory after enjoying a successful qualifying session for Sunday's German Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver coped best with the weather conditions which caused the middle 15-minute session at the Nurburgring to be dominated by rain.

However, it stayed dry for the final session as Webber outpaced the Brawns of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

In rugby league, online betting favourites St Helens returned to the top of the engage Super League but they were made to fight all the way by derby rivals Warrington before running out 26-40 winners.

A Garreth Carvell try on 51 minutes had put the Wolves 24-18 ahead but Saints finished strongly to cross the whitewash four further times in the second period.

Teenage scrum-half Kyle Eastmond, replacing broken jaw victim Sean Long, was the star of the show as he created tries for Ade Gardner, Lee Gilmour and Paul Wellens before crossing the line himself with 10 minutes remaining to effectively seal the result.

Huddersfield maintained their position amongst the leading pack after a 32-16 win against Harlequins, while at the bottom of the table Celtic Crusaders gained a rare win as they overcame fellow basement boys Salford 25-12.

online betting