A devastating spell of fast bowling from Brett Lee at Lord’s on Saturday helped Australia to a seven wicket win and an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series against England.

Lee claimed five for 49 from nine overs to restrict England to just 220 all out from 46.3 overs after they had won the toss in good batting conditions on a sunny morning. It was the ninth time Lee had taken five wickets in a one-day international.

Captain Andrew Strauss continued his good form over the English summer with a top score of 63 in 75 deliveries but he was the only England player to craft any substantial innings.

Australia reached 221-3 in reply with 6.2 overs remaining.

“Our batting hasn’t fired for four games,” Strauss told a news conference. “A few of the guys are low on confidence and one-day cricket is not a game where you can scratch around for too long. You have to play in a positive fashion.

“We have had some partnerships but no telling partnerships and no telling scores. The batting group has got to be better, it is as simple as that.”

Michael Clarke, who stood in as captain in the first three matches when Ricky Ponting took a break in Australia, finished the match with an unbeaten 62, while opener Tim Paine made 51 and Ponting stroked 48.

While Australia will be seeking a 7-0 whitewash after losing the Ashes series 2-1, England need to regain credibility and confidence before the ICC Champions Trophy begins in South Africa later this month.

Lee, who missed the entire Ashes series through injury, made the initial breakthrough when he had Joe Denly caught at first slip for 11. He later bowled Matt Prior (29), Luke Wright (12), Adil Rashid (4) and Stuart Broad (2) with dipping, swinging yorkers in excess of 145 kms an hour.

England lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs in 22 balls. Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz claimed two for 23 from 10 accurate overs that strangled the England run rate.

Strauss was out top-edging a slog-sweep off Hauritz, while Owais Shah was caught for 39 from a Shane Watson full toss that he felt should have been called a no-ball.

“That meant a lot, to take a five-for and to get it at the home of cricket at Lord’s is a very special moment,” Lee said.

“You always treasure the fact you get to play at Lord’s. It is something that is very special in my career.”

“Now being 4-0 up and after winning the series this next game is very important. The chance to win the next three is something that we will be eyeing up but we don’t want to look too far ahead and become complacent.

“It would be easy to think with the series won that we have done the hard work, but the hard work starts now.”

The 2nd ODI in the Natwest Series between England and Australia takes place at Lords on Sunday. The Australians are 1-0 up in the 7 match series after a thrilling win in the opener.

Before we get into the preview, let’s begin with a quick recap of what happened in the 1st ODI at the Oval on Friday.

Callum Ferguson was man of the match, his 71 helped the Aussies to a total of 260 after they were asked to bat first. England were always in the chase but lost momentum as regular wickets fell. In the end, a spirited effort from the impressive Adil Rashid saw them get close, but not close enough. Australia won by 4 runs.

Lords, London

First of all, here’s a link to the weather forecast and bear in mind this is a day game.

England have won 3 of their last 4 ODI’s at Lords. In 2008, the Proteas were beaten by 7 wickets here whilst New Zealand beat the hosts by 51 runs. In 2007 England beat West Indies by 7 wickets and India by 79 runs.

When the sides met here in 2005, a century from Ponting helped Australia canter to a 7 wicket win.

The Toss

In 6 of the last 7 ODI’s the captain wining the toss has chosen to field but his team has only gone on to win the match 3 times.

The Teams

After a close game, both sides may well go in unchanged. Ponting will not return whilst the 4th ODI so Michael Clarke will continue as captain.

The Verdict

By the look of the stats, the toss may not have too much bearing on the result. I think it’s possible that Australia may have more to come as some of their players have played very little cricket but as England got so close to them at Lords, it hardly justifies taking such a short price.

The 3rd ODI takes place at Southampton on Wednesday 9th September and remember we will be previewing all the matches on CricketPulse.

England won an Ashes Test at Lord’s for the first time in 75 years as they beat Australia by 115 runs in the second Test on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Australia, set a record 522 to win, were bowled out for 406 on the fifth and final day with fast bowling all-rounder Andrew Flintoff taking five wickets for 92 runs and off-spinner Graeme Swann four for 87.

England, who clung on for a draw in the first Test in Cardiff, made a sound start with captain Andrew Strauss scoring 161 in a first innings total of 425.

Swing bowler James Anderson then took Test-best figures against Australia of four wickets for 77 runs as the touring team were bowled out for 215 in reply.

Strauss decided against enforcing the follow-on and, thanks to brisk fifties from Paul Collingwood and Matthew Prior saw England make 311 for six before he declared their second innings before play on Sunday.

Australia were then left needing to set a world record for the highest fourth innings total to win a Test, surpassing the 418 for seven made by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2002/03, to win.

England, aided by some favourable umpiring decisions, reduced them to 128 for five before a sixth-wicket stand of 185 between Michael Clarke (136) and Brad Haddin (80) revived Ashes-holders Australia’s hopes.

But Flintoff removed Haddin with his fourth ball Monday and from then on wickets fell steadily before Swann bowled Mitchell Johnson (63) to wrap up the match shortly before lunch.

The third Test of the series starts at Edgbaston on July 30.

Michael Clarke survived some fiery new-ball bowling to keep England at bay with an unbeaten century that gave Australia hope when all seemed lost in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on Sunday.

Australia were 313 for five when bad light forced an early close on the fourth day with 12 overs left.

They needed a further 209 runs to achieve what would be a new Test record fourth innings victory total of 522 on Monday’s final day.

England, by contrast required five more wickets if they were to beat Australia in a Test at Lord’s for the first time in 75 years and so go 1-0 up in the five-match series following last week’s drawn opener in Cardiff.

But first they needed to separate Clarke and wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, 80 not out, who’d so far shared an unbroken stand of 185 for the sixth wicket.

If Australia reached their target they would surpass the current fourth innings record victory total of 418 for seven made by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2002/03.

After tea, Haddin – who made a hundred in Cardiff – completed a 95-ball fifty with a single against off-spinner Graeme Swann.

And next ball Clarke went to his 11th Test hundred and first at Lord’s when he pushed Swann for two.

He reached the landmark in 159 balls, his first fifty coming in 58 but his second in 101 as Clarke concentrated hard.

It had looked Sunday as if England might wrap up victory with more than a day to spare as they reduced Australia to 128 for five.

But they encountered more than three hours of stylish resistance from the sixth-wicket pair, especially Clarke, who made 83 in Cardiff and 91 in the Lord’s Ashes Test four years ago.

England took the new ball as soon as it became available after 80 overs with Australia 287 for five on a still-good batting pitch.

James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff both went close but the Lancashire duo were denied a breakthrough.

England, after captain Andrew Strauss declared on their overnight score of 311 for six, had the rub of the green with umpiring decisions.

Flintoff, who before this match said he would retire from Tests at the end of the Ashes, struck twice to reduce Australia to 34 for two before lunch.

But controversy surrounded both wickets, with veteran umpire Rudi Koertzen, standing in his 100th Test, missing a no-ball in the lead-up to Simon Katich’s exit and then giving Phillip Hughes out to a disputed slip catch by Strauss.

Replays showed the fast bowler had overstepped the crease, an action which should have seen South Africa’s Koertzen call no-ball and so cancel out the wicket.

Ashes-holders Australia then saw Hughes, their other left-handed opener, on 17 edge Flintoff to first slip Strauss.

The 20-year-old started to walk off but was told to stay by Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who on Saturday had seen England’s Ravi Bopara reprieved after the umpires referred a low catch to TV umpire Nigel Llong.

But this time around Koertzen, after asking West Indies’ Billy Doctrove if the ball had carried, gave the decision without calling for Llong’s assistance.

There was no debate when Ponting played on to paceman Stuart Broad for 38.

It was all a far cry from Cardiff where Ponting made a majestic 150 and Australia were only denied victory by a last-wicket stand between tailenders Anderson and the now dropped Monty Panesar.

Swann then got in on the act with two wickets for two runs in 19 balls.

He removed left-hander Michael Hussey with the aid of Paul Collingwood’s sharp slip catch.

Hussey was given out by Doctrove although replays suggested the ball may have missed the outside edge, although Swann’s dismissal of Marcus North, bowled between bat and pad, was far more conclusive.

One concern for England, which could have consequences for the rest of the series, was that star batsman Pietersen, who has been troubled by an Achilles injury, spent much of Sunday off the field.

England captain Andrew Strauss made the most of some poor Australia bowling with a century on the first day of the second Ashes Test here at Lord’s on Thursday.

England at tea were 255 for two with Strauss, who’d won the toss, exactly 100 not out on his Middlesex home ground and Kevin Pietersen unbeaten on 22 as the hosts pursued a first Test win over Australia at Lord’s in 75 years.

Strauss, together with fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook (95), shared a record-breaking first-wicket stand of 196 before completing his 18th Test century and fourth at Lord’s off 178 balls with 15 boundaries.

Mitchell Johnson did separate England’s openers but figures of one wicket for 77 runs in 11 overs were testament to the left-arm quick’s waywardness.

Swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus, the one member of a four-man attack, depleted when Nathan Hauritz had to go off the field injured, to maintain some control, dismissed Ravi Bopara and at tea had figures of one for 49 off 20 overs.

England, who had to survive a top-order collapse before clinging on for a draw in last week’s series opener in Cardiff, resumed after a lunch in a commanding position of 126 without loss.

Strauss was 47 not out and Cook, batting with rare panache, 67 not out with 56 of his runs in the first session.

Off-spinner Hauritz was twice slog-swept for four in three balls by Cook.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting was in something of a quandry.

And he was faced with a real problem when Hautritz had to leave the field midway through an over after dislocating the middle finger of his right, bowling hand when he failed to hold an extremely tough return chance off a low, hard-hit Strauss drive.

Even Hilfenhaus was pulled for four by Cook when he erred in dropping short.

Wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, who’d been having a difficult match, let through four byes off part-time spinner Marcus North.

And even Ponting, normally a brilliant fielder, saw the ball go through his legs to the delight of the crowd.

Ponting returned to Johnson, whose first eight overs had cost 53 runs.

But his first ball back was square cut for four by Strauss and when he dropped short, Strauss cut him over the slips for four more.

When Strauss and Cook took their stand before 182 they’d surpassed the England’s first-wicket partnership record against Australia at Lord’s set by Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe back in 1926.

However, there was to be no 10th Test century for Cook, lbw to an unusually straight Johnson delivery that kept a touch low, having faced 147 balls with 18 fours.

Bopara looked stylish while making 18 but, playing down the wrong line, was plumb lbw to Hilfenhaus and England were 222 for two.

England remain optimistic Andrew Flintoff will be fit enough to play in the second Test against Australia at Lord’s after the all-rounder’s latest injury setback.

Fast bowler and middle-order batsman Flintoff twisted his right knee while fielding during the drawn first Test in Cardiff last week.

He tore the meniscus of the same knee in April while playing in the Indian Premier League and then underwent an operation which ruled him out of England’s early season home series against the West Indies and the World Twenty20.

England coach Andy Flower, speaking to reporters at Lord’s here on Tuesday, told reports that Flintoff, 31, had undergone a scan on Monday and that initial indications from the medical staff were encouraging.

“He saw his surgeon, I think it was the surgeon who operated on his knee quite recently. His surgeon was quite optimistic about him playing in this game,” said Flower.

But with the second Test starting on Thursday, England don’t have much time left to finalise their plans and such is Flintoff’s importance to balancing their team that his absence could pose several problems for the selectors.

“He won’t bowl today (Tuesday) but he’ll have a bat and a bowl tomorrow (Wednesday) and we’ll assess it and make a decision then,” former Zimbabwe batsman Flower explained.

He added that Flintoff had had an injection on Monday to aid his recovery.

“The suggestion is he should be okay,” Flower said. “But we can only make that decision tomorrow (Wednesday).

“I think with Fred (Flintoff) and his injury record we are always concerned to be honest, because his body is in that sort of state at this time in his career when he seems vulnerable a lot of the time.

“We can’t get away from that. But he is a hell of a player and we want him in our side when he’s fit.”

Looking ahead, he said: “We’ve got to talk through the options and we’ve done that already. Frustrating or not, that’s how it is. There’s no point getting too het up about it.”

England have added fast bowler Stephen Harmison to their squad, ostensibly as cover for Flintoff, although Ian Bell could come in it is the batting that the selectors decide needs strengthening.

Whatever line-up England do settle on, history is against them. Australia have not lost a Test at Lord’s since 1934.

Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle said it was a dream come true to be at Lord’s and that he could not wait to play his first Test at the ‘home of cricket’.

Siddle is widely expected to keep his place in the Australia side that drew the Ashes series opener in Cardiff last weekend after some fiery spells on a placid pitch when the ground stages the second of the five-match series starting here on Thursday.

For some players the history associated with Lord’s can be overwhelming while, on a more practical level, the eight foot slope across the ground can make life tricky for newcomers be they batsmen or bowlers.

Australia has a longstanding love affair with Lord’s, having not lost a Test at the north-west London venue since 1934.

And now 24-year-old Victoria quick Siddle hopes he too can join the likes of Australia pace predecessors Bob Massie, who took 16 wickets on his Test debut here in 1972 and Glenn McGrath, who 12 years ago took eight for 38, in making his mark at Lord’s.

“The boys are keen to get out and get a feel of this famous ground, because half of us have not played here before,” Siddle said as he took in his new surroundings for the first time on Tuesday.

“I have spoken to many people about the ground, including ‘Pigeon’ (McGrath) and the first thing I looked at was the slope, where the wickets were placed, and it is really something. You can’t really believe what it is like until you see it for yourself.

“It is amazing to be able to get out and have a look around.

“I cannot wait to run out there on the first day.”

Siddle added: “We have spoken about the tradition of it, how famous it is to play here at this ground, and we thrive on that.

“It is the Boxing Day Test back home (in Melbourne), and then it is the Lord’s Test when we come over here.

“We love playing here and just want to do well.

“We have all seen the greats here, and when Glenn McGrath took eight wickets, it was one of the greatest pieces of bowling I have ever watched.

“To get the opportunity to run out there now and hopefully replicate something similar is great.”

Australia are again set to be without fast bowler Brett Lee after the veteran missed the drawn series opener in Cardiff where England’s last-wicket duo of James Anderson and Monty Panesar survived for the final 40 minutes to deny Ricky Ponting’s Ashes holders what had seemed a certain win.

“It is a shame we could not finish it off in Cardiff, but there were some good efforts with the bat and ball and we are now looking forward to this next Test,” Siddle said.

The Ashes series moves on to Lords, London this week as the 2nd test between England and Australia gets underway on Thursday. After a tremendous rearguard action by England on day 5 in Cardiff, the sides are all square as we head to London.

Live Cricket Score

The majority of people reading this preview would not have been born when England last beat Australia in a test match at Lords.  The majority of people who saw the England tail enders Monty Panesar and Jimmy Anderson take England to a draw in the first test will still be pinching themselves. That’s what they did though and its all square with 4 to play.

England’s bowling was a major let down at Cardiff, they managed to take just 6 Australian wickets in 181 overs with the 5 front line bowlers all conceding over 100 runs. Flintoff looked dangerous at times but the Australian batsmen were successful where England’s batting failed – they turned starts into big scores and took control of the test match. With 4 centurions (Ponting, Katich, Haddin and North) and an 83 from Michael Clarke, England need to have a serious think about how, and who, can help them take 20 wickets in a test match to turn things in their favour.

The Venue, Lords:

Back in 2005, Australia were comfortable winners against England. It was a low scoring test match with Australia making just 190 after winning the toss and electing to bat. Harmison was chief destroyer with 5 wickets. England couldn’t capitalise though and they were dismissed for just 155 in 48 overs as McGrath, Lee and Warne ripped through the batting order. Australia turned up the pressure from then on; Michael Clarke made 91 in a 2nd innings total of 384 leaving England with a mountain to climb. It never looked likely and so it proved as England were all out for 180 and Australia ran out winners by 239 runs. It was the first match in the 2005 series, a series which Australia went onto lose.

Following the 2005 Ashes Test, Lords witnessed England play out 6 consecutive drawn test matches against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, India, New Zealand and South Africa. The most recent Lord’s test match took place earlier this year when England broke the sequence of drawn games with a comprehensive 10 wicket win over a rather dispirited looking West Indies side.

With the draw always starting a pretty shot price in test matches, let’s take a closer look at the circumstances which led to that series of drawn matches.

England v Sri Lanka 2006 – England declared at 551/6 and looked to be in control after dismissing Sri Lanka for just 192. Think again, Sri Lanka following on, batted out the remainder of the test to reach 537/9 before bad light ended play on the 5th day. In all, just short of 400 overs were bowled.

England v Pakistan 2006 – England 1st innings, 528/9 declared, Pakistan 1st innings 445. England 2nd innings 296/8 declared, Pakistan 2nd innings 214/4. In all 435 overs were bowled.

England v West Indies 2007 – England 1st innings 553/5 declared, West Indies 1st innings 437. England 2nd innings 284/8 declared, West Indies 89/0. In all, 346 overs were bowled as rain and bad light halted proceedings.

England v India 2007 – England 1st innings 298, India 201. England 2nd innings 282, India 2nd innings 282/9 (target 380). In all 343 overs were bowled as England were denied victory by rain.

England v New Zealand 2008 – Less than 290 overs were bowled as the weather once again spoilt the contest as play was halted midway through the 3rd innings of the match.

England v South Africa 2008 – England 1st innings 593/8 declared, SA 1st innings 247,. SA following on, 393/3. Over 400 overs were bowled but t was a tremendous 2nd innings from the Proteas which was responsible for the draw rather than the weather.

Looking at the above data, big 1st innings totals are commonplace at Lords for whoever wins the toss and it isn’t always bad weather which influences the outcome. After both England and Australia batted well in their 1st innings of the opening test match in Cardiff, we could well see another huge first innings total.

Team News:

England are likely to ditch the twin spin option which failed at Cardiff. Monty Panesar will probably make way from the starting XI. Graham Onions (who took 7 wickets here against the West Indies) or Steve Harmison would be the most likely replacement. There is also a doubt over Andrew Flintoff who a has knee problem

Squad: A Strauss (capt), J Anderson, I Bell, R Bopara, S Broad, P Collingwood, A Cook, A Flintoff, S Harmison, G Onions, M Panesar, K Pietersen, M Prior (wkt), G Swann

Australia probable line up: 

With Brett Lee already ruled out whilst at least the 3rd test, barring any further injury problems, Australia are highly likely to go into the test unchanged.

Squad: Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Marcus North, Peter Siddle.