Headingley, July 25: It was a great day for Australian youth at Headingley as they took control of the fourth Test. First it was Jason Gillespie who demolished the English batting line-up to restrict the target and then Matthew Elliott and Ricky Ponting combined to resurrect an innings in tatters.

Gillespie is not only a fast bowler, he is also a quick learner. He graduated from the Academy in Adelaide as a lively medium-fast bowler with some potential, but after only a handful of first-class games he was a bowler of genuine pace, with the ability to blast through a batting line-up.

In only his eighth Test he did exactly that to grab 7 for 37 in a very mature exhibition of pace bowling. Gillespie's figures were very nearly as good as the glittering set produced by his illustrious partner Glenn McGrath at Lord's. That is fast progress in the game.

Gillespie's success has been built around an increase in pace, but he complements it with some sharp movement. His ability to swing away from the right-handers makes him an especially dangerous opponent and he fully utilised this skill at Headingley. He has also learnt a few things from McGrath about the knack of bowling fast at Test level and he is now a fully fledged ally for the lanky quick. After Gillespie had finished a good morning's work, two of Australia's best young strokemakers took over in the afternoon.

Australia's ``who cares'' attitude towards losing an early wicket has got them into trouble and it did so again after lunch. Mark Taylor was soon gone, this time trifle unluckily and soon Steve Waugh was again thrust into the lifesaver role. The idea of having six batsman is to share the load of scoring runs, but this often hasn't been the case in the Australian team lately. The excess load has fallen unfairly on Steve's shoulders and not surprisingly the odds caught up with him.

However, Elliott again put his hand up in a spectacular way. He has a wide range of shots and he doesn't waste any of them, hitting the gaps as though geometry, rather than a session on the sporting field, was his favourite school time activity. He found a willing helper in Ponting, whose stroke making display must have had English fans as confused as the Australians who still wonder why he was ever dropped. England were quickly made aware what the change to the Australian line-up meant, when Ponting despatched the first bouncer he received to the mid-wicket boundary.

While Elliott and Ponting played beautifully in an entertaining 208 runs partnership which left England 85 runs in arrears on only the second evening, they only had themselves to blame for this parlous position.Elliott offered a simple chance to Graham Thorpe at first slip when he was only 29 and the score 50 for 3, but the butter-fingered first slip fieldsman dropped it. This would have given Mike Smith a well-deserved first Test wicket and England a chance to press home their advantage, but once reprieved Elliott made them pay a heavy toll. Thorpe is not the best England slip fielder. Mike Atherton has been far too generous in leaving Thorpe in that spot and I will bet he now wishes he had ruled with his head and not his heart. Now it is going to require an Atherton prayer from the heart to produce enough rain to help save this match and he is already been to the well at Lord's and probably said a few silent ones at Old Trafford.

SCOREBOARD

England (1st innings) (overnight 106-3): Mark Butcher c Blewett b Reiffel 24, Michael Atherton c Gillespie b McGrath 41, Alec Stwart c Blewett b Gillespie 7, Nasser Hussain c Taylor b McGrath 26, Dean Headley c S Waugh b Gillespie 22, Graham Thorpe b Gillespie 15, John Crawley c Blewett b Gillespie 2, Mark Ealham not out 8, R Croft c Ponting b Gillespie 6, Darren Gough b Gillespie 0, Mike Smith b Gillespie 0; Extras: (b4, lb4, w1, nb12) 21. Total: (all out in 59 overs) 172

Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-58, 3-103, 4-138, 5-154, 6-154, 7-163, 8-172, 9-172

Bowling: McGrath 22-5-67-2, Reiffel 20-4-41-1, Gillespie 13.4-1-37-7, Blewett 3-0-17-0, Warne 1-0-2-0.

Australia (1st innings): Mark Taylor c Stewart b Gough 0, Michael Elliott bating 134, Greg Blewett c Stewart b Gough 1, Mark Waugh c&b Headley 8, Steve Waugh c Crawley b Headley 4, Ricky Ponting batting 86; Extras: (b3, lb2, nb20) 25. Total: (for four wickets in 67 overs) 258

Fall of wickets: 0-1, 2-16, 3-43, 4-50

Bowling: Gough 19-4-65-2, Headley 15-1-66-2, Smith 13-1-55-0, Ealham 6-3-15-0, Croft 12-0-38-0, Butcher 2-0-14-0.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.