Australia 111-2 at tea, needs 311 to win 1st test

Australia reached 111-2 against England at tea on day four, chasing 311 to win the first Ashes test at Trent Bridge on Saturday. Chris Rogers was 50 not out, from 104 balls with eight fours, but Joe Root had Ed Cowan caught for 14 by Jonathan Trott with the final ball of the afternoon session.[caption id=“attachment_953855” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] England’s Joe Root, upper centre left, celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia’s Ed Cowan, lower centre right, caught by Jonathan Trott for 14 on the fourth day of the opening Ashes series cricket match at Trent Bridge cricket ground, Nottingham, England, Saturday. AP [/caption] Stuart Broad (1-22) took the only other wicket to trap Shane Watson lbw for 46. Australia needs another 200 runs for victory and will have to break the record at Nottingham for a successful fourth-innings chase, set by England which scored 284 against New Zealand in 2004. Earlier, England posted 375 on day four after Ian Bell hit 109 and Stuart Broad 65. England resumed on 326-6 and Bell, who was 95 not out overnight, made his 18th test century with an innings of 267 balls and 15 fours. Broad hit 65 from 148 balls with seven fours before James Pattinson had him caught behind, ending a stand of 138 that tilted the match England’s way. Bell was also caught behind off Mitchell Starc, who had Australia’s best bowling figures with 3-81. Peter Siddle took 3-82. The tone was set from the first ball, when Starc bowled an astonishing head-high beamer that flew through the vacant second slip area for five no balls. Broad, who controversially stood his ground and was given not out on Friday despite clearly being caught by Michael Clarke off Ashton Agar, reached his 10th test 50 in the second over of the day by slicing Pattinson at catchable height through first and second slip. In the next over, Bell drove Starc through point to bring up his century and the partnership was broken only in the 140th over, when Haddin took a tumbling catch to remove Broad. This time Broad walked and he was given a standing ovation by the majority of the crowd and his teammates on the dressing room balcony. Successive boundaries for Bell from Siddle took the England lead past 300 before he finally fell to Starc in the 145th. Graeme Swann was out for 9 edging Siddle to Clarke and the innings concluded when James Anderson was caught by Phillip Hughes off Siddle without scoring. The openers initially made batting look easy but after an hour of the afternoon session Watson was lbw to Broad after an unsuccessful referral. Rogers successfully referred a catch behind off Swann and reached his 50 with a single from Root in the final over before tea. The momentum seemed to be shifting back to Australia, but with the final ball of the session Root had Cowan caught at first slip to leave the test in the balance.