The Ashes 2013: 5th Test, Day 5 - Heroes of the Day

Stuart Broad (9 runs off 16 balls – 1 four; 4/43 in 10 overs)

The Nottinghamshire fast bowler couldn’t do much with the bat in the first innings, making only nine before being castled by Mitchell Starc. He hit back with a fiery bowling spell, sending back four Australian batsmen without a fuss before Clarke declared the second innings.

Broad started the slide by having Haddin edging to Prior behind the stumps for a golden duck, before removing Faulkner in the same manner. He then had first-innings centurion Steven Smith holing out to Swann at long-on before shattering Ryan Harris’s stumps with a good-length ball on middle.

A fine performance from the young bowler- this should also give him a lot of confidence going into the return series.

James Faulkner (4/51 in 19.4 overs; 22 runs off 22 balls – 1 four, 1 six; 2/47 in 8 overs)

After a lacklustre bowling performance on the third day, Faulkner used the conditions well as he picked up a total of six wickets in the entire game.

First up, he removed the well-set Ian Bell for 45, with Haddin taking a smart catch. He then dismissed Matt Prior and James Anderson before bowling Graeme Swann to pick a four-wicket haul in his debut Test.

With the bat, the southpaw scored a run-a-ball 22, dispatching a length delivery from Broad into the stands before the bowler took him out.

In England’s second innings, he removed captain Cook and the dangerous Jonathan Trott to finish with 2/47 and match figures of 6/98. It was a good debut for the young man nevertheless!

Michael Clarke – A sporting declaration

Michael Clarke

With wickets falling around him in pursuit of quick runs for setting a near-impossible victory target, skipper Michael Clarke did the only logical thing he could do – at the tea break, he declared Australia’s second innings closed.

The target set was 227 from a minimum of 44 overs – and Clarke was banking on his seamers Harris, Faulkner, Starc and Siddle to deliver the goods.

He knew they had lost a day to rain, effectively upsetting his plans of achieving a consolation win, but he went for it nonetheless – a golden opportunity had presented itself. Unfortunately, a rapid-scoring Kevin Pietersen and the equally stylish Jonathan Trott spoiled his hopes.

Despite picking up the wickets of both the English batsmen, Ian Bell gathered some quick runs in the company of debutant Chris Woakes. Clarke must have been relieved to leave the field after umpires took a call on fading light. Nevertheless, it was a sporting declaration that made the likelihood of a firm result possible. Good thinking, ‘Pup’.