Game, Set And Ashes To Australia

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

And that, gentlemen, is the Ashes decided…

 

December 17^th 2013

 
 

A telling moment about England’s changed fortunes was the announcement of the voting for the BBC’s annual Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday night. Cricket was represented in the ten nominees by Ian Bell who, at the end of the summer, might have felt that he had a real chance of winning. When the votes were counted and the voting announced, Ian Bell was tenth and last, with half the votes of the ninth-placed candidate. A true measure of how far the stock of the England cricket team has dropped though is that the winner, Andy Murray, received seventy times more votes than Ian Bell and that there was palpable embarrassment when cricket was mentioned in the review of the sporting year.

The last rights were duly done today, but not before England, confounding those who expected the match to end in four days, took the match well into the afternoon session. There was even a point where a bubble of hope was rising after lunch, with Stokes and Bresnan batting solidly.

Once again though it was a case of hope rising and being snatched away just when you thought that if another hour passed without a wicket, Australia might start to get really rattled. Stokes and Prior started well. Eighty minutes passed and the score mounted from 251-5 to 296-5. Stokes had got past Joe Root’s 87 at Adelaide and was inching towards the century that might just turn the tide. The first hour brought just 29 runs. Australia took the new ball. Drinks came. Still nothing rash. Wide ball from Johnson. Prior slashes wildly. Edge through to Haddin. Thanks very much.

There are some in the press box who think that that shot may cost Matt Prior his place in the side for the 4^th Test. There is a strong argument to drop Matt Prior for Melbourne, play Jonny Bairstow at #6 and move Ben Stokes to #7 which, hopefully, he can make his own and which offers him the best chance of long-term batting success.

Fourteen minutes after Matt Prior’s dismissal, Ben Stokes finally showed that there is an English batsman who can count to 100. The eighth century of the series and, finally, an English contribution to the list.

Now some aggression started and, at lunch, 332-6, with Stokes and Bresnan having put on 36. Could they stay together for an hour after lunch and make the Australians a little nervous? Sadly, not. Ten minutes after lunch Ben Stokes finally fell for 120 and that was that. Not a terribly distinguished shot to end, but he had shown more guts and gumption than any other batsman. He is still far too high in the order at #6 (even though he has nine First Class centuries, he averages under 36), but he has shown that he can hack it at this level.

The end was swift and merciful. The last three wickets fell in 19 balls and just why Stuart Broad came out to bat is open to question although, maybe, with Tim Bresnan batting well, someone in the England management thought that pigs might yet fly. Broad was even able to jog a few painful singles when, possibly, he would have been better served resting the injury rather than trying to bat in a totally lost cause.

However, I am now feeling more confident that this series is more 2002/03 than 2006/07 and that we will win at least one of the two remaining Tests. Starting from a very low base, the side is beginning to compete better, although still badly let down by sloppy fielding. In 2006/07 once the side lost in Adelaide you knew that it would only get worse – and it did – here you can see a slow upward trend. If England finally win a toss, then with eight consecutive Ashes Tests dominated by the side winning the toss, now it is possible to imagine things going differently.
Going back to 2002/03, an England side set out for Australia with higher hopes than for some time. Results were improving. The side was looking more competitive. Surely it would make the Australians fight a little harder? A day into the Brisbane Test reality hit home. A disastrous insertion by Nasser Hussain. Simon Jones badly injured fielding. Andrew Flintoff in the tour party, but still barely able to walk after his summer operation, with no hope whatsoever of bowling at any time on the tour. Total chaos. And, to boot, a certain young, fast bowler bowled 8 wides in an over in one of the early tour matches but, such was the injury crisis by the 4th Test, that he had to play anyway - there was no one else left - and he and an old warhorse at the end of his career almost brought off a sensational win defending just 107 on the last day. England then went on to win the 5th Test and start the climb to Ashes success in 2005. Oh yes! And with no one left standing, England called up an unknown 20 year old who immediately went into the ODI side and bowled brilliantly, going straight into the Test side next summer.

Their names: Steve Harmison, Andy Caddick and Jimmy Anderson!