|
 |
| Graeme Swann steers England to relative safety [GALLO/GETTY] |
Graeme Swann marshalled the tail adroitly to push England to 435 all out in their first innings on the second morning of the first Ashes Test against Australia in Cardiff.
Swann batted with aggression and enterprise to reach 47 not out off 40 deliveries after the hosts had resumed on 336 for seven.
Australia had sufficient time before lunch to parade the precocious skills of Phillip Hughes, who scored 415 runs at 69.16 in his debut series against South Africa this year.
The diminutive left-hander cut and carved four off-side boundaries which sped to the ropes to reach 28 from 30 deliveries at the interval.
Bright start
England began the day brightly with Swann and Stuart Broad going for their shots and running swiftly between the wickets.
Broad reached 19 before he was bowled around his legs by Mitchell Johnson.
Swann took three consecutive boundaries off fellow off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, including an audacious reverse sweep, and added 68 in 53 balls for the ninth wicket with James Anderson (26).
Peter Siddle, the pick of the bowlers on Wednesday, conceded 28 runs from four overs and Johnson 18 from three while Hauritz's first two overs went for 22.
Hauritz gained some consolation when Anderson lofted a simple catch to Michael Hussey at mid-on but Australia's frustrations continued when Swann was caught at mid-wicket by Marcus North off Hauritz, only to find the delivery had been called a no-ball.
Swann added one further run before Monty Panesar (4) was caught at slip by Ricky Ponting to give Hauritz his third wicket of the innings.
|