Dear Brisbane Courier Mail (II)

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Dear Brisbane Courier Mail (II)…

 

November 22^nd 2013

 

 

… sorry I spoke!

 

Last summer we learnt two important things:

      1.       Never judge a match position and even less a series after the first day.

2.       Every single Test was dominated by the side that won the toss.

Yesterday, wise old heads – and you do not get much wiser than Geoff Boycott – said that we should not judge the match position until we saw how England had batted on the same pitch. It is amazing how often people make instant judgements without waiting to see how the match situation looks after both sides have batted.

Initially things went right to plan. The last two wickets fell quickly, although not as quickly as England might have hoped, with Stuart Broad adding a sixth wicket. Australia fell short of the 300 that one felt was the minimum that they needed. Then Michael Carberry got in and, at 82-2, with Kevin Pietersen also getting set, even if England were not on top, things looked promising. Less than ten overs later England were in real danger of not saving the follow on target of 96. It was left to Chris Tremlett to get England past that mark with an awkward fend that could easily have gone to Brad Haddin. Even with Stuart Broad showing some defiance, making second top score, Australia had a more than handy lead of 159, which has swollen alarmingly by the Close.

The more romantic fans will remember that England gave up a 221 run first innings lead in Brisbane in 2010 before scoring 517-1 in the second innings and setting the basis for a massive series victory. Five of the Australian side, including Peter Siddle, who was the Australian hat-trick hero in the England first innings and eight of the England side were in that epic match. This match though is moving even faster. After two days, Brisbane 2010 was still quite even with Australia 220-5 in reply to England’s 260. Then, it was the third day that went catastrophically wrong for England, with big hundreds for Hussey and Haddin in a 307 run stand.

Ryan Harris was as good as the Ryan Harris in England but, on this occasion, he had support. Mitch Johnson, despite an erratic start, was the frightening Mitch Johnson of India. The weak support bowling that had stopped Australia from taking advantage of good starts in England was replaced with an angry and vengeful Mitch Johnson who ensured that Ryan Harris’s efforts were not wasted.

The Australians are, logically, cock-a-hoop, having done England with outright aggression and showing that the pre-series talk was not just talk. Now they need to finish things off. They have been poor at doing that for five years now. Shell-shocked England will wonder though what Andy Flower can offer to stem the tide the way that they did in 2010.