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The Ashes facts and figures with Benedict

Benedict Bermange Posted 12th July 2009 view comments

Sky Sports' cricket stats man Benedict Bermange will be here throughout the summer to bring you the statistical lowdown on the battle for the Ashes.

Benedict has teamed up with skysports.com to bring you the best stats before and after each day's play and to give you a few pointers on what to look out for during Sky Sports' comprehensive Ashes coverage.

Consolation prize: man-of-the-match Ponting picked up his 150th catch

Consolation prize: man-of-the-match Ponting picked up his 150th catch

Read on for his day four stats - and if you have any questions or queries that you'd like Benedict to look into, just fill out the comment form at the bottom of the page and he'll answer your questions.

Session one stats

England went to lunch at 102-5, still 137 behind with Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff at the crease.

However, before the prophets of doom finish, I would like to take you back to The Oval in 1987.

England were forced to follow-on and the match was saved by an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership between Mike Gatting and England's premier all-rounder Ian Botham. There are certainly some parallels between them and the current not-out pair.

The match was finally drawn with England 315-4 and Botham's contribution was an unbeaten 51 scored off 209 balls in 4 and a quarter hours. Inspiration for Flintoff if ever there was any!

Session two stats

Paul Collingwood reached his fifty from a funereal 167 deliveries - the slowest half-century by an England batsman since Nasser Hussain's 183-ball effort at Port-of-Spain against the West Indies in 2004.

England will hope not to make history this match. The highest-ever first innings score by a team who subsequently went on to lose a Test by an innings is the 432 they managed at The Oval in 2001 against Australia. The Aussies declared at 641-4 and won by an innings and 25 runs.

Session three stats

England managed to survive and the match was drawn. This marks the first time they have managed to avoid defeat in the first Test of an Ashes series since the first Test at Brisbane in 1998.

Mitchell Johnson ended the match stranded on 99 Test wickets but Ricky Ponting can console himself with being the seventh player and fourth Australian to take 150 catches in the field. He reached the milestone when he caught Andrew Flintoff at second slip from Mitchell Johnson's bowling.

Now it's onto Lord's - where England haven't beaten Australia since 1934!

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