The Ashes - 2nd Test - England win by 347 runs

England - 1st Innings - 361 (100.1 overs)
Australia - 1st Innings - 128 (53.3 overs)
England - 2nd Innings - 349/7d (114.1 overs)
Australia - 2nd Innings - 235 (90.3 overs)

ENGLAND WIN BY 347 RUNS

The result of the second test was the opposite of the tense and dramatic first test that people witnessed, in fact England produced a dominant display that saw both Ian Bell and Joe Root put on 100+ scores.

England once again won the toss and chose to bat first, but did not expect the onslaught that was to come from the Aussies. After just six overs England were already three wickets down, Cook, Root and Pietersen produced a combined score of just 20 runs and gave Australia the perfect start. However, England were not suffering from a first test hangover as Trott and Bell combined brilliantly to put England back in control. Bell became only the fourth English batsmen to reach a century in three successful Ashes matches. Bell was eventually dismissed by Clarke's catch at slip, but England continued strongly with Jonny Bairstow adding 67 to the total 361. Ryan Harris eased the pain slightly with his five wickets as he dismissed Bresnan and Anderson, but Australia were left cursing their missed chance to take advantage in the second test.

Undoubtedly this affected the Aussies when they went in to bat as they fell to a lackluster 128 all out. Although they started steadily, Australia lost 3 wickets for just 11 runs and Graeme Swann was at his best, dismissing Rogers and Khawaja before going on to take 5 wickets. Australia never really got going and found themselves over 200 runs behind. However they started in the same fashion as they had previously done in the first innings and reduced England to 30/3 but this time there was another hero in the England squad, something of which the Aussies had lacked so far in the series. Joe Root, who opened with Cook, spent an incredible 466 minutes at the crease and accumulated a total of 180 runs, putting England firmly in the driving seat. It was another performance of great maturity, every time England needed a hero, one arrived and this inspired Cook to declare with Australia needing 583 to win.


Although this time there was to be no drama, England saw off Australia for just 235 runs, less than half of what was required for them to take the second test at Lords. Khawaja put in a spirited performance with a half century but it wasn't nearly enough to get near their target. Graeme Swann continued his fine bowling performance from the first winning and took another four to give England a healthy 2-0 lead going into the third test with a whitewash still on the cards.

The Ashes - 1st Test - England win by 14 runs

England - 1st Innings - 215 (59 overs)
Australia - 1st Innings - 280 (64.5 overs)
England - 2nd Innings - 375 (149.5 overs)
Australia - 2nd Innings - 296 (110.5 overs)

ENGLAND WIN BY 14 RUNS

After winning the toss ahead of the first day of the 2013 Ashes Series, England decided to bat first. With much expectation resting on the hosts, England seemed to have suffered under the pressure in the first innings, putting on a rather disappointing 215 before being bowled out and sending the visitors into bat. Jonathan Trott was the only batsmen to put in a reasonable display but he fell two short of the first half century of the 2013 Ashes Series. Both Joe Root and Alastair Cook opened and in turn, underperformed in what was an intriguing first day at Trent Bridge. Peter Siddle was the hero of the day as he took five impressive wickets to give Australia a slight advantage.

However, Australia too were finding it difficult with the bat, after finding themselves over 100 runs behind England with just one wicket remaining, due to another first class performance from arguably the best bowler around in modern times, James Anderson collecting five more wickets to add to his ever-growing tally. Little expectation lay on Ashton Agar's young shoulders when he came to the crease. But Trent Bridge was about to see some batting masterclass from an inexperienced batsmen. Agar, despite almost finding himself walking back early on, put in a display that shocked cricket, but the young Aussie couldn't quite complete the perfect display when he fell two short of a century after Swann caught his shot off Broad's ball.

Back came England, with one part of them saying they got lucky because they put in a poor first innings display yet are in with a chance of winning the first test. However, the other part of them frustrated that they couldn't dismiss Agar and find themselves with a healthy lead. England needed someone to step up the plate, someone to put them within arms reach of the first test, the answer simply, Ian Bell. He spent over six hours at the crease, it was a performance of the highest quality and maturity and he fully deserved to claim the first century of the series. Cook, Pietersen and especially Broad also put in good displays. However, Broad was surrounded by controversy when he decided not to walk when Australia claimed a clear nick but the umpires took it upstairs, hot spot failed to show any nick so Broad stayed in, to the frustration of the Australia team, this was not going to be the only problem with the system in this test, nonetheless England were on the front foot.
 

Australia knew they needed 311 runs to take the first test at Trent Bridge, and they started in perfect fashion as Shane Watson and Chris Rogers looked solid with their opening partnership easing past the 50 mark, but they took a blow when Watson fell to an lbw, in which he wrongfully reviewed, leaving only one review left. England pounced on this chance and took Cowan out for 14 before dismissing Rogers on 52 leaving Australia on a steady 124/3. Then came the real damage. England dismissed Michael Clarke after Prior took a good catch, but after some confusion over the hot spot system, Clarke had to walk even though the decision was very tight.

This wicket was followed by dismissals to Steven Smith and Phil Hughes as Anderson again destroyed the lower batting order and was awarded the man of the match with his 10 wickets over the test. England were suddenly in complete control. Brad Haddin kept fighting and his half century left some of the fans biting their nails but in the end it was too much for Haddin as Matt Prior took a low catch to give England a dramatic first test win.

Final Test - Australia 16-41 British and Irish Lions, The Lions win the series!

On a dramatic occasion in Sydney, the Lions ran out 41-16 winners to shock Australia and claim their first series win since 1997.

Australia: Beale, Folau, Ashley-Cooper, Lealiifano, Tomane, O'Connor, Genia, Robinson, Moore, Alexander, Douglas, Horwill, Mowen, Smith, Palu.

British & Irish Lions: Halfpenny, Bowe, Davies, Roberts, North, Sexton, Phillips, Corbisiero, Hibbard, A. Jones, A. Jones, Parling, Lydiate, O'Brien, Faletau.

The Lions were without their captain and key performer in the first two test, Sam Warburton who was injured in the previous test. 

 

With so much expectation resting on the players shoulders ahead of this final test, it was always going to be a nervy affair, reinforced by the introduction to the game when Genia dropped the ball from the kick-off. The Wallabies then conceded an early free-kick and the Lions took full advantage, Alex Corbisiero scrambling the ball over the line after good work from Tommy Bowe and Mike Phillips, the try was of course converted by Halfpenny, giving the Lions an early lead.

Halfpenny then continued his brilliant series performance with another conversion on seven minutes, 10-0 up, Australia were yet to wake up. They did however claw three points back when Leal'ifano converted a comfortable penalty but the Lions continued to drive through and were brilliant at the scrum.

The scrum then gifted another three points for the Lions who were starting to stride away from their opponents, Halfpenny converting two more through the posts to take the score to 16-3.

The Wallabies did eventually start to apply some pressure to the visitors, although Halfpenny converted another penalty, Australia were beginning to look dangerous and after kicking it to the corner for the fifth time in the match, it took some desperate defending from the Lions to ensure the score stayed the same.

It looked as though the score was going to remain 19-3 at halftime after the hooter went but continued pressure from Australia finally paid off. James O'Connor's solo masterclass and stunning footwork gave the Aussie fans some belief and with the penalty converted, the Wallabies found themselves closing the gap to nine points going into the second half.

Half Time - Australia 10-19 British and Irish Lions

The second half began as the first ended once again, with lots of passion, power and determination from both sides. The halftime team talk must have worked for Australia as they came out pumped up and got their early reward when Leal'ifano converted a penalty just two minutes into the second half, six points in it, game fully on.

Three minutes later, another penalty was conceded by the Lions, the nerves finally getting to them with the added pressure of knowing they haven't won the series since 1997.

It seemed as though Australia had all the momentum and it was going to have to be a dog fight to hold out for the victory in Sydney but Halfpenny slightly reduced the nerves when he converted once again to take the Lions back to six ahead.

But on 57 minutes, we witnessed the game-changing moment of the series, Jonathan Davies with some excellent work offloading the ball to Halfpenny who raced towards the line before passing to Jonathan Sexton who finished off a great move. Hearts were in mouths though as the try went to a TMO decision after confusion over the pass from Halfpenny to Sexton with suggestions it may have been a forward pass. However, the decision was waved on and Halfpenny converted the penalty to give the Lions some breathing space.

The Wallabies were not going to give up though, and they came back hoping to get themselves back into the game with 20 minutes to go, but on 64 minutes the third and final test was all but over. The man of the series, Leigh Halfpenny beat two men before offloading to George North to give him a clear run to the line, the penalty was no doubt converted and the Lions were edging closer to the series win.

Then came the onslaught, Australia running out of answers and the Lions inside centre Jamie Roberts skillfully squeezed through the gap to add another five points to the score, the question started to become how many as the Lions knew they were basically over the line and it was just a matter of time.

The final ten minutes didn't have much to offer apart from partying in Sydney for the Lions fans, both teams were waiting for the final whistle as the Lions were a mile apart from the hosts, the game did finally end and Australia can firmly say they were beaten by the better team on the day. The Lions end their 16 year wait for a series win and go back home delighted.

Full Time - Australia 16-41 British and Irish Lions

Wimbledon: Robson runs out of steam as Kaia Kanepi wins in straight sets...

After making it to the second week for the first time, Laura Robson failed to set up a potential dream match with either Serena Williams or Sabine Lisicki as she was beaten by Kaia Kanepi 7-6 7-5 on Court 1.

After beating the world number 10 Maria Kirilenko in straight sets and coming through her second round in comfortable fashion, there was a certain element of expectancy in the court 1 crowd despite Robson nearly crashing out in straight sets on Saturday against Marina Erakovic.

Robson was aiming to become the first British female quarter finalist since Jo Durie in 1984, so was there some pressure? Yes.

Both players started the game with nerves, Robson similar to her third round match was unable to find the court in her opening to games with her forehand lacking in control, but she managed to take the first game to deuce and put some early pressure on her opponent, who in herself was aiming to make it to the quarters for the second time at Wimbledon.

Robson held her serve comfortably and she was the one who looked more likely to break as Kanepi was failing to get the ball over the net.

As expected Robson did break in the eighth game, with her forehand starting to produce some wonderful shots, suddenly she was serving for the set.

However, nerves got to Robson, and to be fair it was no surprise as this was the furthest she had been and at 19 years old, nerves were expected. She was broke straight back and Kanepi went on to hold her own serve to make it 6-5. Robson herself held this time and took the first set to a tiebreak.

Robson, having taken the first 3 points of the tie-break found herself in a very comfortable position, she took it to 5-2, with Kanepi to serve twice to take it to 5-4 which she did. All Robson now had to do was hold her two serves and she would take the first set. But once again the pressure got to her and Kanepi's forehand was becoming increasingly threatening. The match went into the break at 6-6, Kanepi came out and held her serve giving her the set point and she got it when Robson failed to return a powerful Kanepi shot to give her opponent the first set.

From there it seemed like Robson was fighting a losing battle, there were signs of a comeback but Kanepi's serve was coming at the perfect times, furthermore her forehand was too powerful for the 19 year old.

However, Robson was hanging in there, getting a break point midway through the set but Kanepi's serve again proving decisive. At 5-5 the second set looked as though it was going for another tie-break before Kanepi's fierce forehand again did the trick and proved too much for Robson, who may have been starting to feel the strains of a tough first week.

Kanepi broke Robson in the 11th game to make it 6-5, serving for the match. She gave herself two match points at 40-15 but Robson kept fighting and took the game to deuce. With few dreaming a comeback was on, Kanepi would serve an ace at every time it needed to be served. Taking it back to deuce twice, Robson couldn't return the Kanepi serve and in the end it became too much for the young Brit. Kanepi won the game after Robson's shot went long and the Estonian set up a quarter final match with either Serena Williams or Sabine Lisicki.

For Robson, it was two better than last year but with many years left, the British hopefuls can expect to see her back here next year and in the years to come as Robson holds great prospect to go all the way in the future.

Second Test: Australia 16-15 British and Irish Lions

For the second successive test, the match came down to one kick. The Lions, helped along by Leigh Halfpenny were hoping to end their sixteen years of pain, there was to be no slip this time but the penalty couldn't give the Lions a dream series win in Melbourne as Halfpenny's kick came agonizingly short of the posts to set up a decider in Sydney next Saturday.

Australia: Beale, Folau, Ashley-Cooper, Lealiifano, Tomane, O'Connor, Genia, Robinson, Moore, Alexander, Douglas, Horwill, Mowen, Hooper, Palu.

British & Irish Lions: Halfpenny, Bowe, O'Driscoll, Davies, North, Sexton, B. Youngs, Vunipola, T. Youngs, Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Parling, Lydiate, Warburton, Heaslip.

The Lions knew that a win in Melbourne would have won them the series with a game still to play, on a tense occasion it was the Lions themselves that started the brightest, although Australia were looking like they were going to end the game with 14 men, conceding four penalties within the first 15 minutes.

The Wallabies were looking nervous, with the stakes at their highest scrums were being collapsed in an act of desperation to keep a determined Lions side from dominating the opening half. However momentum took a swing and Australia must have come to the reality that without a win in Melbourne, the Lions would take the series before the final test. A few penalties were conceded by the visitors which allowed Australia to take advantage, which they did to put themselves 6-3 up.

It was never going to be a game with free-flowing rugby, with tries galore, no, this was a battle of the props. Mako Vunipola became the target for the Wallabies, filling in for Alex Corbisiero was a big ask but Vunipola was struggling with the intensity of the game.

The end of the first half continued as it had been throughout, it certainly wasn't a game of discipline as more penalties were being conceded and Halfpenny hadn't put a foot wrong the entire half. Leal'ifano had also been perfectly executing his kicks as penalty after penalty was being conceded. Halfpenny put the Lions in front at halftime with another fine boot between the posts.

Half Time - Australia 9-12 British and Irish Lions

The second half became a dog fight, desperation creeping in as both teams were looking for the vital try to edge them in-front, Halfpenny again with a ridiculous good kick between the posts to send the Lions six ahead.

One moment to remember was George North though, his monumental strength to lift Folau up with the ball in his hand and send him backwards sent the crowd into raptures.

The Lions were nearing a historic victory, time was running out for the Wallabies as they piled on more pressure, it looked as though the Lions had done enough as Tommy Bowe made a sensational tackle to prevent Australia breaking through the visitors wall of defense. However with five minutes left on the clock, Australia got their breakthrough when a pass to Adam Ashley-Cooper saw him drive towards the line to raise the roof in Melbourne.

Leal'ifano didn't fall under the pressure as he continued his fine performance in the game to send over the vital kick of the match and leave the Lions little to no time to react. However, the game couldn't finish without last minute drama as the visitors were awarded a penalty in the final play of the game. As in Brisbane it came down to one kick, this time though it was down to the Lions star player throughout the two tests, Leigh Halfpenny.

It was a huge ask, just inside his own half it would have taken a monumental kick to reach the posts, but it wasn't to be as Halfpenny's kick fell just short to end an epic second test in Melbourne. With one test to go there will be a tense atmosphere in Sydney come next Saturday, with it all to play for to see who will win the series.

Full Time - Australia 16-15 British and Irish Lions