By Tony Lawrence
LONDON, Sept 9 - Justin Langer mixed lavish
strokes with a little luck as Australia, chasing England's
first-innings total of 373, closed a truncated second day of the
fifth Ashes test on 112 without loss.
Australia's hopes of exploiting their strong position,
however, were thwarted by bad light and rain which wiped out the
final session.
Langer, on 75 not out, and Matthew Hayden, on 32, accepted
the light when the players came back out after tea.
To the frustration of a packed Oval and the Australians, who
need to win the final match of the series to retain the Ashes,
the teams never returned to the field, with 37 overs remaining.
"We talked about the decision at tea," Langer said.
"It was very, very dark and Andrew Flintoff was reversing
the ball just before tea. We thought we would get back on, of
course. Unfortunately the bad light hung around for the whole
session, which is frustrating.
"The question is, if we had lost a wicket early the new
batsman would have had to face Flintoff bowling at 90mph in dark
conditions.
"Most tests in this series have been decided in four days.
There is plenty of time for a result."
England lead the series 2-1. Australia have won the last
eight series, dating back to 1989.
Langer and Hayden's stand was their best of the series,
dwarfing their previous high of 58 runs in the first innings at
Old Trafford.
England's Ashley Giles said the Australian decision not to
bat on had been "a bit of a surprise.
"I hope they live to regret it but there is a lot of time
left in this match. I don't know what we would have done."
Earlier, Shane Warne took the last English wicket to
complete a six-wicket haul costing 122 runs.
The leg spinner has taken 34 wickets for the series,
equalling his best previous Ashes return.
Langer normally plays the part of dour Australian anchorman,
crabbing about in his crease while the broad-chested Matthew
Hayden swings as boldly as a lumberjack with his favourite axe.
On Friday, it was Langer wielding the axe, and never more so
than when he faced Giles's first over.
The left-arm spinner's second ball sailed into the stands,
soon followed by his fourth.
"Yes, it was a premeditated attack," Langer said.
He then exploited a Flintoff misfield to scamper two runs
and reach his half-century.
By the close Langer had hit eight fours and two sixes,
though he required two slices of luck.
On 26, he cut hard at Matthew Hoggard. The ball would have
hit Andrew Strauss around the midriff but the gully fielder
seemed to lose sight of the ball and it whistled past him.
HARD CHANCE
On 53, Langer edged medium-pacer Paul Collingwood's eighth
delivery high to first slip where Marcus Trescothick spilled a
hard chance one-handed.
Hayden, meanwhile, averaging just 22.50 during the series
compared to a career mark of more than 51, replaced trademark
drives with studied defence.
By the close he had faced 96 balls, just nine less than his
partner.
"Most times he's flying and I'm blocking the life out of
it," said Langer. "But we are able to adapt our games.
"He's been under the pump but he worked really hard to get
to 30-odd, I thought he played really well today.
"It's the first time we have got off to a good start. That's
been a crucial component to the success of the team in the past
few years."
England had added 54 runs to their overnight score of 319
for seven in bright sunshine.
Giles made 32 and last man Steve Harmison pulled and hoiked
four boundaries, three of them in a row off Brett Lee, in his
unbeaten 20.
Lee broke through with the ninth ball of the day when
Geraint Jones, England's last batsman of note, was bowled for
25.
More bad weather is forecast for Saturday.