England seize control of fourth Ashes test

Melbourne: This game is a matter of timing. And unwittingly Chris Tremlett's timing has been perfect. While his colleagues were toiling away in Brisbane and Adelaide on strips of turf that could break a fast bowlers' heart as well as strain Stuart Broad's side, Tremlett was dutifully ferrying drinks, maintaining his fitness and bowling the requisite number of overs in the nets. (Nowadays they record to the last delivery how many balls have been propelled in practise, let alone in a match).

The first two Tests were nightmarish for the fast bowlers; then Perth provided a surface that they dream about: some encouraging grass and plenty of pace, which guaranteed those nicks would carry. At the WACA Tremlett grabbed his chance in Broad's absence. England may have batted ineptly and lost by a huge margin, but Tremlett's eight wickets in the match was the one obvious compensation.

That result may have confirmed an Australian theory. In 2010-11, as opposed to the previous five Ashes tours in this country, the home side appear to have come to the conclusion that they need a spicy pitch to prevail. Ricky Ponting's pacemen had been so easily neutered in Brisbane and Adelaide. It may be a coincidence, though I doubt it, that the pitches post-Adelaide have been livelier. One-nil-down Australia had to find a way to take 20 wickets. They had to be prepared to gamble a bit.

Whatever the reason, when Andrew Strauss called correctly there was unusual dampness in the surface even though the last few days in Melbourne have been dry and sunny.

Bad start

Once again Tremlett was on hand to exploit the conditions and his own good fortune. The shiny new, red Kookaburra was in his hand from the start. There was one brief tremor over Tremlett. His first four balls went for 10 runs. Phil Hughes, given a couple of wide deliveries, slapped two off-side fours and just for second we wondered if Perth had been a mirage.

There has always been some concern over Tremlett's steeliness for international cricket. He might have all sorts of fine, physical attributes as well as an uncomplicated action. But he does not snarl well; he has rarely given the impression that he is about to impose himself on a situation. Was he going to relapse and let Hughes dominate him?

From his next 67 balls, Tremlett gave away only 16 runs, while picking up four wickets. He deserved the tail and the scalps of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus because he had been the man to set the ball rolling on a wonderfully grey and dingy morning (if you happened to be a visitor to Melbourne).

This pitch may have been remarkably spicy early on, but it lacked the steep bounce of the WACA. Yet Tremlett was able to surprise Shane Watson by finding the shoulder of his bat. That is not supposed to happen here. Then came the totemic wicket of Ponting— it still is even though the Australian captain is enduring a drought.

Thanks to Tremlett, England had a foothold, which would be brilliantly exploited by Jimmy Anderson and the earnest Tim Bresnan, whose consistency made England's unusual decision to drop the leading wicket-taker in the series, Steven Finn, seem the most natural thing to do.

Scoreboard:

Australia first innings:

S. Watson c Pietersen b Tremlett 5

P. Hughes c Pietersen b Bresnan 16

R. Ponting c Swann b Tremlett 10

M. Clarke c Prior b Anderson 20

M. Hussey c Prior b Anderson 8

S. Smith c Prior b Anderson 6

B. Haddin c Strauss b Bresnan 5

M. Johnson c Prior b Anderson 0

R. Harris not out 10

P. Siddle c Prior b Tremlett 11

B. Hilfenhaus c Prior b Tremlett 0

Extras (lb-2, nb-5) 7

Total (all out, 42.5 overs) 98

Fall of wickets: 1-15 2-37 3-37 4-58 5-66 6-77 7-77 8-77 9-92

Bowling: Anderson 16-4-44-4, Tremlett 11.5-26-4 (nb-1), Bresnan 13-6-25-2, Swann 2-1-1-0.

England first innings

A. Strauss not out 64

A. Cook not out 80

Extras (b-10, nb-2, w-1) 13

Total (without loss, 47 overs) 157

To bat: J. Trott, K. Pietersen, P. Collingwood, I. Bell, M. Prior, G. Swann, J. Anderson, T. Bresnan, C. Tremlett.

Bowling: Hilfenhaus 9-3-26-0, Harris 10-3-30-0, Johnson 7-0-42-0 (w-1, nb-1), Siddle 10-4-13-0 (nb-1), Watson 5-1-14-0, Smith 6-1-22-0.

Toss: England