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Subscribe to RSS Feed sydney five-fer - day two
Flintoff celebrates reaching 50.
By Nick Miller
1: Brett Lee
Brett Lee must be an incredibly frustrating bowler to have in your side. He is infuriatingly inconsistent, and can too often look innocuous - remarkable for someone who routinely bowls at 95mph. However today he was superb. His pace and hostility was well contained and brilliantly channelled, and in the end he was unlucky to only take two wickets.
2: Shane Warne's 1,000th wicket
In truth the great man has been disappointing in his final Test. However, the feat of reaching 1,000 international wickets cannot be ignored, an achievement even more remarkable when you consider that his one-day career was halted prematurely after that nasty diuretic business. Surely it is written in the stars that he will score a century at some point in this match.
3: Andrew Flintoff
It was like watching a different player. Before in this series - even when he made half-decent totals in Perth and Adelaide - Flintoff looked scratchy and uncertain. At the SCG however, he was commanding and steady, which was why the manner of his dismissal was all the more disappointing, looking to get some quick runs and launching at a Stuart Clark ball that wasn't there to hit.
4: Matthew Hoggard
It's odd to identify a player who isn't involved as a crucial part of the game, but it became very clear in the afternoon session how important Hoggard has become to England. After lunch when Hayden and Ponting were in full flow, England were crying out for someone who could just provide some degree of control and stop the runs. Unfortunately, that man was in the dressing room.
5: Andrew Symonds
Makes the cut for his final-over brainwave that very nearly went very badly wrong for Australia. Having played sensibly for an hour, and seemingly happy to leave as much as possible, 'Roy' decicded to go out with a bang, and almost skied one straight to Kevin Pietersen. Worth the try just to see Ricky Ponting quietly fume in the dressing room.
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