Criticism Enough

On reflection I didn't say enough about what was good about England (it won't take long!).

For me Ian Bell was great. If I had to compare him to an Aussie it would be Langer. Pure grit and determination. Waited for the right ball and played it well when it came. He has come along well and I think we can't drop him because of his focus. Jones did well too; he hung in there when it was most needed. Apart from that there aren't many good words.

Mahmood should have been picked over Giles and Monty should never have lost his place. Collingwood, whilst a great 1 day player, has no place in a test side - he has nothing to offer. England need to rethink and rediscover the style they had back here on the green tops....here's my 11:

1. Strauss
2. Cook
3. Bell
4. KP
5. Freddie
6. Jones
7. Mahmood
8. Anderson
9. Hoggard
10. Monty
11. Harmison

Roll on the return of MV & SJ...in the meantime you have to field the best side you have....and this is it.

Ponting's Revenge

I always knew the Aussies would bounce back from 2005...and boy have they. I am so tired having stayed the distance last night to watch the brutal destruction of England. It came as a surprise to everyone that RP choose not to enforce the follow on but looking back now it really shouldn't have been a surprise.

You see the situation...England are now 626 runs adrift. I think that RP will bat on til lunch and look for a total lead of around 720-750. This way he can try to bowl England out for less than 200 on a badly cracking pitch (more on that shortly) and win the first test by the largest margin in test history. Thus, he stamps his mark quite clearly: He is no fool; he is a fantastic bat; a formidable captain and, perhaps most importantly, he and his team have the ability to destroy England.

The truth is England were shown to be wanting. Only the stand between Bell & Jones offered the kind of resistance required for such occasions. The last time we saw that away from home was Atherton in Jo'burg all those years ago. Freddie was caught dreaming again. KP didn't impress and Giles scored more by luck than judgement. What remains true is that McGrath exploited the pitch to his own ends. He bowled onto the cracks that exposed the right handers; he bowled short to those known to be lacking the right shots and he never faded. Compare that to the tired England attack who failed to even really trouble Langer; only removed Hayden through the finest of margins (good throw and collection though) and had no answers to RP's superb strokes.

I'm not an aussie fan by far but hell they have something. Langer is excellent. The shots he turns around the corner almost out of his body; His skillful cover drives and defence of the odd 'good' ball prove that form is indeed temporary but class is forever.

RP now has the chance for real revenge. He is certainly one of the greatest living batsmen. A lesser man would have resigned after 2005. RP didn't. He is running the risk of a gamble that England 'could' bat out a draw. (They could...but won't...all they want to do is walk away and lick their wounds. I suspect Flintoff will be doing a raindance...even so we don't stand a chance against such talent).

All that remains to be said is that our bowlers lacked the gumption to exploit the pitch. The toss was important in this match...but even if we had won it I doubt that we would have declared on 602. We would have been lucky to make 450!

Freddie & the Dreamers

Well...if anything could depress an English cricket then the sight of our steady openers giving away their wickets before the close of play. Hats off to the Aussies though. 602 is a formidable total by any measure. Although, part of me, was thinking they may have gone too far in using almost 2 full days to get there. After all many now consider 400 runs in a day to be the norm. However, that said, the idea that Oz had not allowed enough time to win the match is now academic after a mistimed pull-shot and the most bizarre shot from young Cook.

McGrath seems to be back into his typical metronomic rut and Brett Lee is bowling as fast as I have ever seen him, and of course Shane Warne has reprised his flipper. The follow-on seems inevitable as does defeat. It is sad to predict but the next few sessions will see England playing for time. All they have to do is draw. But I would much prefer to see them stand up and be counted. Belly & KP could sort it out...get us going and Freddie is always going to play the captain's game. His bowling was inspired but sadly failed to inspire the rest of the team.

I guess the last 2 days have shown 2 things: Firstly, that the complacency that Oz showed upon arrival in Blighty in 2005 has gone - their determination is superb. And Secondly, that we do not have a side as strong and as tightly functioning as we did in 2005.

Amidst all this gloom 2 things made me smile: On the first day Bumble (I think) described Justin Langer as a 'Jack-in-the-Box' type of cricketer. This is true. I have long admired Langer's skill and grit. It's just a shame that he was born on the wrong side of the world. And the 2nd thing that brought a smile to my face was just after England had started batting this morning. Freddie had sloped off to the nets and upon his return the cameras caught the gob-smacked look on his face when he noticed that both Strauss & Cook were back in their hutches. Caught dreaming again....

The Ashes....still smouldering

Well, here we are then. A month or so of sleepless (and no doubt nail-bitting) nights. A slight tension in my belly...and I imagine in Belly's as he awaits the first morning, swollen wrist et all. And for all its hype, the nagging doubt that we are perhaps a little under-prepared; a little over-confident; a little short of the right people in the right departments. But those doubts aside...on paper, we have an impressive line-up. Even with the demise of Bangers surely our openers have the mettle to withstand an aging McGrath and a slightly out of sorts Brett Lee.

I have just revisited the 2005 Ashes DVDs and found myself struck with one vital difference between the two sides: determination. What I mean is this: The Aussies were determined in spurts...Lee & Gillespie grinding out runs; Ponting's century; Shane Warne's mixed bag...but there never appeared (with the exception of Lord's) a real killer instinct from the team as a whole. The was a kind of resigned fatalism about the whole touring side that they could never retain that little urn again. As for England, I would have to say that the opposite was ever-present, even in the face of McGrath's 5-0 prediction (he's very quiet this time!). And whilst we are not at home, we haven't the same team and there are doubts about the fitness of certain members of the team, one thing is certain....England hold the Ashes.

And so over the next few weeks, regardless of the pain and suffering, I will be adding to this blog my thoughts and I will welcome yours too.