An overseas 500 after four years

Stats highlights from the second day at Old Trafford

03-Aug-2013

It was a frustrating day for James Anderson on his homeground, England v Australia, 3rd Investec Test, Old Trafford, 1st day, August 1, 2013

Australia's total of 527 for 7 declared was their first 500-plus score in their first innings of an away Test since Cardiff in July 2009, when they declared at 674 for 6. Between July 2001 and that Cardiff game, they passed 500 nine times in the first innings in 46 away Tests; since then until before this game, they failed to do so even once in 24 attempts - their highest during this period was 478 against India in Bangalore in 2010.

Michael Clarke's 187 is the highest of his five Test hundreds in England. It's also the sixth-best by an Australian captain in England, and the best since Allan Border's unbeaten 200 at Headingley in 1993. Clarke's the third Australian to score 187 in a Test, after Stan McCabe and Don Bradman.

With Brad Haddin and Mitchell Starc getting fifties as well, there were five scores of fifty or more in the Australian innings. It's only the 20th such instance for Australia in overseas Tests, and their ninth in England.

The 214-run stand between Clarke and Steven Smith is the highest fourth-wicket stand ever in a Test at Old Trafford - the previous-best was 189, between Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar in 1990. It's also Australia's fourth-best for that wicket in England, and their best since 1934, when Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford added 388 at Headingley.

For England's bowlers, it was five sessions of toil, as they managed only seven wickets in 146 overs. Four bowlers - James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann - conceded more than 100 runs, with Anderson finishing with none for 100-plus figures for only the second time in his career, and the first time in a home Test. The only previous such instance was in Johannesburg in 2010. These were also the same bowlers who suffered the last time four England bowlers went past 100 in a Test innings: that was at The Oval last year against South Africa, when Broad (none for 118) and Swann (none for 151) went wicketless.

This time, though, Swann had five wickets to show for his efforts, his second five-for in two Tests at Old Trafford, and both in the opposition's first innings: in 2010, he took 5 for 76 in Bangladesh's first innings. That, though, was in the second innings of the match, since England had batted first. The last time an England spinner took a five-for in the first innings of a Test here was Peter Such, against Australia in 1993 - he took 6 for 67, though England ended up losing the Test by 179 runs.

Broad bowled better than his figures of 1 for 108 suggest, but that one wicket made him the 15th England bowler to get to 200 Test wickets. His last three wickets have all been Clarke's - before today he had also dismissed Clarke in the second innings at Trent Bridge and the first innings at Lord's.

Joe Root's 57-ball 8 is among the slowest knocks by an England opener. With a 50-ball cut-off, and for matches in which balls-faced data is available, there are only ten slower innings by an England opener, the slowest of them being Colin Cowdrey's 50-ball 3 against South Africa at Edgbaston in 1960.

Graeme Swann James Anderson Michael Clarke Stuart Broad Australia England England vs Australia Australia tour of England and Scotland

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. Follow him on Twitter