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Monday 9 December 2013

Ashes: Michael Clarke delighted after Australia move 2-0 up in series

Australia captain Michael Clarke feels his side are finally getting their just rewards after opening a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series.

Clarke's men followed their 381-run victory over England at The Gabba with a 218-run success in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval.
They have the chance to reclaim the Ashes and end a run of three straight series defeats to England with another win in the third Test, which starts at the WACA in Perth on December 13.

The Ashes - Verdict

Second Test: Day Five

December 9, 2013, 9:00pm

 Remote Record
It represents a swift turnaround in form for Australia, who lost 3-0 in England earlier in the year and whose victory in Brisbane was their first for 10 Tests.

Pleasing

"It's enjoyable, there's no doubt about it," said Clarke. "The thing that's most pleasing is we're finally getting the results.
"In England, where we didn't get the success we wanted, guys were still working exceptionally hard and we all believed a result wasn't far away."
Clarke declined to enforce the follow-on in Adelaide after Mitchell Johnson's 7-40 had helped Australia earn a 398-run first-innings lead.
Instead, opening batsman David Warner cracked 83 not out before stumps on day three to increase Australia's advantage to 530.
But with an unsettled weather forecast for the final two days of the match, Clarke took the decision to declare Australia's second innings at 132-3 before the start of play on day four to maximise the time available to his bowlers to claim the 10 wickets they needed.
Highlights from day 5 of the second test between Australia and England.
Clarke said: "Not enforcing the follow-on put a little bit more pressure on. But we got out here and the ground was in fantastic condition, thank God for the weather.
"The follow-on wasn't that tough a decision because I thought our bowlers could do with a little bit of a rest to come out in the second innings fresh.
"The tough part was to not allow Davey Warner to make a hundred. He'd batted so well and has done throughout this series. I'm not big on personal milestones but, the way he played, he deserved a hundred.
"That was a tough call. I went and spoke to him in the morning and he was more than happy to do what was best for the team. Fortunately it's worked out the right way."

Outstanding

Johnson picked up his second man-of-the-match award in a row after taking his tally in the series to 17 wickets.
Australia needed only 11.4 overs of the final day to complete a 218-run win over England in Adelaide and move 2-0 up in the Ashes series.
He said: "It's a pretty special feeling to be able to back up a performance like Brisbane in the first innings here.
"The performance by our bowling attack was outstanding again. I was really excited about being back in this team and bowling with these guys again. It's a great feeling."
On the third Test at the WACA, Johnson said: "I do like bowling in Perth and hopefully there will be a bit more bounce and pace there.
"We have to keep working hard and sticking to our plans. There is another hard Test coming up and we have to make sure we recover well and then get into it."

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