Player of the Match
Player of the Match

END OF OVER:
37 | 3 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 123/10

  • Chris Tremlett1 (3b)
  • Ryan Harris11-1-47-6
  • Mitchell Johnson12-3-44-3

What a fast finish, it's taken Australia only 50 minutes this morning to finish off England and take the remaining five wickets. There are handshakes all round now, but the Australians are the only ones smiling. Ricky Ponting runs out on to the WACA with his broken little finger bandaged and congratulates all his team-mates, a huge smile on his face as he knows this series is well and truly alive.

Ryan Harris has collected a stump, after finishing with 6 for 47. "We knew it was going to be a bouncy wicket and England haven't played that well here in the past," Harris says. He's done the job in this innings, but it was Mitchell Johnson who turned the match on its head on the second day with a wonderful spell of fast, swing bowling, and he's ended up with nine wickets for the match. Mike Hussey's batting was magnificent, yet again, and he deserves plenty of credit for this win.

Stand by for the presentations...

Andrew Strauss: "We were in quite a good position but a very good spell of bowling by Mitchell Johnson brought Australia back into the game. You've got to give them credit... We've also got to retain a sense of perspective ... We've played a lot of good cricket in this series... We thought we could get 391, but that session last night killed us."

Ricky Ponting, on his 36th birthday: "There's no better birthday present than that, to bounce back like this... To get 270 on the board on that first day was probably the difference in the end, and then Johnson's spell on day two was probably one of the all-time greatest spells in Ashes history."

"I'm a bit sore today, I wanted more than anything to be able to go out there and field, but I had to err on the side of caution. Another knock on the finger could have been disastrous. I think I'm a really good chance of playing the Boxing Day Test."

And the Man of the Match is Mitchell Johnson. "It was disappointing to miss Adelaide, but I knew I had to work on a few things," Johnson says. "I really enjoy bowling here. Hopefully I can be as consistent as I was here in the next two Tests."

That's it from the WACA, where Australia have bounced back to level the series. England fans might disagree, but it is encouraging that the series is still alive heading in to Boxing Day at the MCG, where the situation is the same as it was here - England win, and they retain the Ashes. Andrew McGlashan has written the tale of this short day's play, and you can find that bulletin here. There'll be plenty of reading over the coming hours from Peter English and Andrew Miller at the WACA, so do stick around for that.

And before we go, just a reminder to any football fans in the UK, you can be the first to see the Premier League goals on your mobile device minutes after they're scored- visit ESPNGoals.com. And there's another full weekend of Premier League action in store, so follow it all with commentary, photos, reports and analysis at ESPNsoccernet.com

For now, on behalf of Andrew "Gnasher" McGlashan and Sahil Dutta, it's Brydon Coverdale signing off. Thanks for joining us over the past four days, and be sure to tune in on Boxing Day for the continuation of this terrific Ashes contest. Bye for now!

36.6
W
Harris to Finn, OUT, it's all over! Harris has taken six and the series is 1-1! Finn can only fend outside off and his edge is taken comfortably by Smith at third slip

ST Finn c Smith b Harris 2 (6m 7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 28.57

36.5
2
Harris to Finn, 2 runs, pushed down the ground through mid on and again the helmeted Phillip Hughes does the chasing

There's Steven Smith loitering in the cordon. He hasn't had to bowl a ball this Test.

36.4
0
Harris to Finn, no run, again Harris probes outside off, and it's pushed back down the pitch by Finn
36.3
0
Harris to Finn, no run, Finn defends with a straight bat
36.2
0
Harris to Finn, no run, beaten outside off! Lovely bowling as it angles in and moves away a touch, too good for Finn
36.1
1
Harris to Tremlett, 1 run, Harris attacks the pads, trying for another lbw, and Tremlett works it past short leg to get off the mark

END OF OVER:
36 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 120/9

  • Steven Finn0 (2b)
  • Chris Tremlett0 (2b)
  • Mitchell Johnson12-3-44-3
  • Ryan Harris10-1-44-5
35.6
0
Johnson to Finn, no run, fuller and straighter, but Finn is good enough to defend
35.5
0
Johnson to Finn, no run, bouncer! It's ducked by Finn

Well, this has all happened very quickly! Australia are only one wicket from a series-levelling victory and Mitchell Johnson has the chance to take ten for the match, if he can pick up this last wicket.

35.4
W
Johnson to Swann, OUT, Johnson gets his third! Swann has played on, just a flat-footed drive that he wanted to force through the off side, it was a good length and Swann could only get a thick inside edge onto his off stump

GP Swann b Johnson 9 (8m 5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 180.00

35.3
4
Johnson to Swann, FOUR, more runs for Swann, as he tries to hook the bouncer but is surprised by the bounce and gets it off the top edge over the keeper for a boundary
35.2
2
Johnson to Swann, 2 runs, Swann decides attack is the best form of defence, and he pulls high over midwicket and the man in the deep keeps it to two
35.1
0
Johnson to Swann, no run, Johnson trundles in and goes for the bouncer, it's comfortably ducked by Graeme Swann

END OF OVER:
35 | 3 Runs 2 Wkts | ENG: 114/8

  • Chris Tremlett0 (2b)
  • Graeme Swann3 (1b)
  • Ryan Harris10-1-44-5
  • Mitchell Johnson11-3-38-2
34.6
0
Harris to Tremlett, no run, short of a length again, Tremlett leaves it alone outside off
34.5
0
Harris to Tremlett, no run, banged in short this time and Tremlett ducks it

Ryan Harris raises the ball to acknowledge the applause after taking a five-for. He's a real wicket-taker. Now here's Chris Tremlett.

34.4
W
Harris to Prior, OUT, super catch! Harris has five for the first time in a Test! That was a great ball, short of a length and bouncing more than Prior expected, his defensive prod flew high off the shoulder of the bat to gully, where Hussey hurled himself to his right to take the catch

MJ Prior c Hussey b Harris 10 (19m 9b 0x4 1x6) SR: 111.11

34.3
0
Harris to Prior, no run, driven to mid-on and can't find the gap
34.2
3
Harris to Swann, 3 runs, good start from Swann, as he clips a full, straight ball through midwicket and the short-leg Hughes runs it down wearing the helmet all the way to the boundary

Gnasher is off to write England's obituary in this match. Brydon here now.

Right, this could all finish in a rush now so I'm going to hand over to Brydon

34.1
W
Harris to Bell, OUT, gone! That looks plumb as Bell play across the line but he's called for a review. And it looks even more out on the replay. It isn't a no ball, there's no edge and it's taking out middle

IR Bell lbw b Harris 16 (32m 23b 3x4 0x6) SR: 69.56

END OF OVER:
34 | 7 Runs | ENG: 111/6

  • Ian Bell16 (22b)
  • Matt Prior10 (7b)
  • Mitchell Johnson11-3-38-2
  • Ryan Harris9-1-41-3
33.6
1
Johnson to Bell, 1 run, ooh, nearly a chance...he drives and gets a thick outside edge which falls short of backward point
33.5
4
Johnson to Bell, FOUR, he drives again, and this time it just has the legs to reach the cover boundary despite a dive from Peter Siddle
33.4
0
Johnson to Bell, no run, a lovely ball from Johnson, this one holds its line across Bell to beat the outside edge...that's the advantage when the left-arm has the ball that comes back into the right handers
33.3
0
Johnson to Bell, no run, short of a length on off stump, goes back and defends
33.2
0
Johnson to Bell, no run, full on off stump and this time Prior drives and Hilfenhaus makes a good save at mid-off...excellent work from the fast bowlers

England tour of Australia 2010-11 News

England 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st23AJ StraussAN Cook
2nd14AJ StraussIJL Trott
3rd18KP PietersenIJL Trott
4th26PD CollingwoodIJL Trott
5th0PD CollingwoodJM Anderson
6th13IR BellJM Anderson
7th17IR BellMJ Prior
8th3GP SwannMJ Prior
9th6GP SwannCT Tremlett
10th3CT TremlettST Finn