THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS WACA

The WACA has provided some electrifying games in the past, mostly delivered by quality fast bowlers who have single handedly turned games in their teams favor. A few performances that come to mind are Richard Hadlee’s 11 wicket haul in 1985, Curtly Ambrose’s 1^st innings 7 for 25 in 1993 and Glenn McGrath destroying Pakistan in the 2^nd innings in 2004 with figures of 8 for 24 among many others. It’s not a coincidence that many out and out quicks have declared the WACA as their favorite hunting ground. Australia has had a lot of good fortune at this venue. This is due of the abundant stocks of quality Australian fast bowlers in the last 20 years. The last two decades have seen Australia play 20 matches at the WACA while winning 13 of them. These results are mostly due to the outstanding bowling of McGrath, Lee, Gillespie, McDermott, Hughes, Kasprowicz and Johnson.

Presently, Australia is with their backs to the wall with England threatening to take the Ashes away from them in the third game of the series. This is an unheard of scenario for the Australians as hosts in the whole history of the Ashes. It is in times such as these that hard decisions have to be made to regain the advantage from the opposition. The Australian selectors made some key blunders with their choices in the last few games, especially with the persistence of Marcus North, the exclusion of Mitchell Johnson due to a couple of poor performances and the exclusion of Nathan Hauritz, their most experienced spinner. They have chopped and changed the bowling line up at the first hint of inconsistency. These frequent changes have hindered the Australian progress more than it has helped them and prevented them from building any momentum in this series in particular. The Australian selectors will have much to answer for if England retains the Ashes before Christmas.

The Australian selectors have slotted Phillip Hughes in for the injured Simon Katich, a good choice given Hughes's quality, aggression and prolific scoring in the past few domestic seasons. However, England will look to exploit Hughes weakness against the short ball by making the tall duo of Finn and Tremlett unleash a barrage of short balls to unsettle the opener. Given the nature of the pitch it may have been wiser for the Australian selectors to open with a batsman who is more comfortable against short bowling.

The inclusion of Michael Beer in the squad is a surprise to many as Beer is neither experienced nor superior to any of the other spin debutants since the retirement of Shane Warne. Even though Beer plays for Western Australia in domestic cricket, he does not have enough matches under his belt to suggest that he has an intimate knowledge of the pitch to provide any home ground advantage with his bowling.

Marcus North has finally got the sack and instead of bringing a specialist batsman to the squad, North has been replaced by Steve Smith which indicates that Smith will bat a number 6. This decision alone may prove to be the redemption for the Australian selectors as Smith will beef up the batting while giving Ponting an additional choice in the bowling department. This is not an ideal venue for a spinner to make an impact, even the great Shane Warne has failed to take a five wicket haul in the 12 games he had played here; however, Smith is a valuable option that Ponting will be thankful for.

The Australians should go in to this must win game with a four pronged pace attack which will be a huge asset on this ground. Johnson, Harris, Hilfenhaus and Siddle have to use the WACA to wrestle the advantage away from England. Even a draw may not be good enough as England will definitely perform better in the following games at Sydney and Melbourne.

England on the other hand will have less difficulties and uncertainties in their selection process. They will definitely miss the pace and bounce of Stuart Broad who would have enjoyed bowling at Hughes in particular, but they would be satisfied with the adequate replacement of Tremlett who was impressive in the tour match against Australia A in Hobart with match figures of 7 for 123. In the batting department, Andrew Strauss should take on more responsibility as Australia are sure to come hard at the English batsmen with their pace attack.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN PERTH

ENGLAND

Ian Bell

Bell averages 71.91 in his last 10 games with three hundreds and four fifties in three series against South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia. He has already scored 2 fluent fifties against Australia as well as two more fifties and a massive 192 in four tour matches. His bat has not been needed due to the fluency of the English top order so far in the series. However, the law of averages are bound to catch up with Cook, Trott and Pietersen in the next game especially as Australia will come hard at them with pace. Watch out for Bell to unfold his enviable stroke making at the WACA.

James Anderson

Anderson’s performance has steadily improved as the series progressed. He is one of the major problems that Australia has encountered as their batsmen have not been able to dominate Anderson. Every time an Australian batsman seems to get the measure of him, Anderson has come back strongly and bowled extremely skillfully to put Australia under pressure. Expect more of the same from him in Perth with the Fremantle Doctor at his back and the excitement of the birth of a child to buoy his mood.

Steve Finn & Chris Tremlett

This is a perfect pitch for these two 6 foot 7 inch giants to use their height to their advantage. Both Finn and Tremlett have the opportunity shine in the absence of Broad. No doubt, Andy Flower would have revved them up to unleash a few thunderbolts at the Australian batting. Their success will depend on their adaptation as well as the discipline and determination they show to persevere if the going gets tough.

AUSTRALIA

Ricky Ponting 

He will be compelled to bat at his best to save the series, his team, his captaincy, his legacy and the pride of Australian cricket. In the past, Ponting has answered his critics strongly with his bat. However, never has this man seen such a low in his illustrious career and never has his leadership been questioned as universally as it is being questioned now. The vultures are circling and Ponting has nowhere to turn but deep inside and pull out the innings that will make or break his legacy. Thought by many as the best number 3 batsman after Bradman and the best in the world today, he will have to live up to his reputation to keep his team alive.

Michael Hussey
The only Australian to turn up for duty in this Ashes series. While the rest of his team mates are struggling with their confidence, batting form or trying to figure out how to get the English batsman out, Hussey has held the fort on his own to no avail. Hussey may have to come in early and play a game saving knock if Anderson, Finn and Tremlett rock the Australian top order as they did in Adelaide. He should be brimming with confidence due to his three previous outings and he is also playing in his home ground at the WACA. 

Mitchell Johnson

Will be playing at his home ground where the pitch will assist him more than any of the other Australian bowlers. He will provide the performance that will bring Australia back in to the series. He must, for the sake of his reputation and his future in the team. His performances usually depend on his levels of confidence his confidence should come through with familiarity. The familiarity of playing in his home ground will give him enough confidence, experience and knowledge on how to manipulate the conditions to get him his elusive first wicket and first run of the series.

ENGLAND "WALK THE TALK" IN ADELAIDE

The 2^nd Ashes Test was an appropriate follow up to an intriguing 1^st Test at the Gabba at least from an English perspective. By the end of the first over, the usual the swagger and bravado of an Australian team going about their business had disappeared. The normal vocabulary of the Australian commentators such as “intimidation” and “momentum” were crossed out for a few very un-Australian words like survive, defend and regroup. So very unlike the Australian commentators who would usually talk of “counter-attacks” and “fight backs” no matter how dire the situation the team was in. Could it be that even they have understood that this Australian team is incapable of the valiant fight backs of the past? Could it be that they too do not rate the mental strength of this Australian team highly?

It was the most disastrous start in 60 years of Australian cricket. Within the space of three overs the Australian batting had been reduced to 3 wickets for 2 runs with their captain and vice-captain back in the dressing room. Jimmy Anderson bowled one of the most devastating opening spells of his career to take 2 for 1 by the second over to put Australia under siege for the rest of the game. There was a sense of inevitability in this English win from very the first over itself. Australia did not have the batting to recover from 3 for 2 nor did they have the bowling strength to restrict England to a similar total and give themselves the opportunity to counter attack in the second innings. Sadly, they have no one to blame but the Australian selectors who had again shoved a few batsmen who were struggling to regain form into the midst of this fire fight. Marcus North’s form has been so bad of late that he should not have been even allowed to enter the Adelaide oval let alone play in the game. Clarke should have had similar treatment as he duly demonstrated in his first innings failure, but fortunately, for himself and for the selectors, Clarke fought back with a skillful 80 to give his career some sort of longevity.

If they only had a few questions to ask from themselves following the Gabba Test, now they would have a whole examination paper to answer after the shambles in Adelaide. It’s back to the drawing board for Hilditch, Nielson & Ponting who will have to get through the longest two weeks of their careers. There will be questions asked with regards to the failure of the batting, bowling and fielding efforts of the Australians. It’s difficult to recall any Australian cricket team hitting such a low in all areas of a game during the last 2 decades. Common sense states that there should be a few intelligent changes in the Australian camp to stop the English charge for the urn. No doubt the English will steel themselves for the final push at the WACA to regain the Ashes. A failure to understand this from the Australian selectors will surely vacate some high profile positions at Cricket Australia.

THE AUSTRALIAN PERFORMANCE

THE NEGATIVES

The Batting

Most of the Australian batsmen did not look convincing right through out the game with the exception of Watson and Hussey as well as Clarke in the second innings. Katich was unlucky in the first outing and defensive in the second, which was reasonable as he was hampered with a sore ankle. Ponting was at his worst prodding, lunging, jabbing and jumping around as if the pitch was made out of hot coal. Clarke’s first innings outing was sabotaged by a magnificent ball from Anderson. North looked as good as he ever will be in his short-lived and disappointing Test career. The desire of the Australian selectors to want to persist with this losing combination is an enigma to most. It almost seems as if they are trying to lull England into a false sense of victory before the selectors spring their master plan into action; whatever that may be.

The Bowling

Bollinger was all passion and heart at the start of the innings but ran out of steam as the game progressed. To be fair to him, Bollinger got the early wicket of Strauss and he beat both Cook and Trott a number of times early in the innings. Sadly, he was also let down by some sloppy fielding which cost him the wicket of Trott. Siddle was a disappointment as his performance was a total contrast to his earlier outing in the first game. He bowled well at times but his bowling was mostly dull and workmanlike as opposed the fiery first innings performance at the Gabba. The contest between Doherty and Pietersen was much awaited due to Pietersen’s weakness against left arm spinners. Doherty did the job he was sent out to do; get Pietersen out, but he didn’t live up to the expectations as Pietersen’s wicket came 227 runs too late. He ended up with the worst figures of all the bowlers and gave away 158 runs in 29 overs with only 1 wicket averaging at 5.85 per over and was treated particularly harshly by KP.

THE POSITIVES

Mike Hussey

How many times will Hussey have to bail out the Australian batting in this series? So far he has sparked an Australian recovery from 143/5 to a match saving total of 458/7 at the Gabba. He came in at 3/2 in Adelaide and scored an invaluable 93 in the first innings and scored 52 in the second innings when they were 134/3 to try to salvage a draw from this disaster. There were calls for his axing from all around, but he's silenced all doubts with regards to his value in the team by averaging 113 in 3 innings thus far. Hussey has been the mainstay of the Australian batting and may turn out to be the single batsman to stand England’s way to an Ashes victory. 

Shane Watson

Watson contributed with his customary half century in each innings yet again. He plays the perfect part of a solid opening batsman, at times as imposing as Hayden and at times as resilient as Langer. However, his conversion rate of fifties into hundreds has to improve if Australia is to put any kind of pressure on the England bowlers. He has passed fifty 14 times as an opener in Tests but converted only two of those into hundreds. However, he is one of the few shining lights in this shaky batting line up and Australia should encourage Watson to deliver a big hundred soon.

Ryan Harris

Harris was easily the best bowler of the bunch. He bowled in good areas at a lively pace and threatened to take wickets regularly but the England batsmen negotiated him well to negate his efforts. Harris managed to get the crucial wickets of Trott and Cook to break two big England partnerships. These two wickets was a meager return for a bowler that invested so much effort to rally the weak Aussie bowlers. It is time for Australia to think outside the box with their bowling attack for the remainder of the series. However, it may not make a difference as this English team looks to be competent enough to smother anything Australia can throw at them.

THE ENGLISH PERFORMANCE

THE NEGATIVES

Strauss’s Leave

It must be by choice that Andrew Strauss did not take advantage of this bland Australian bowling attack. If not, why would he donate his wicket twice while on a duck? His badly judged cut shot ended up in the hands of Hussey at gully in the 1^st Test, and his atrocious leave on the second day of the 2^nd Test got him adjudged leg before. He almost put England’s cause in dire straights on two occasions; therefore, should show more responsibility as the captain of the team. He would have had three ducks in as many outings if technology hadn’t saved him in the 2^nd innings at the Gabba as Hawkeye judged him not out on that occasion. His embarrassment may have been tenfold if Cook had not dug in and scored well on both occasions.

THE POSITIVES

Jimmy Anderson

Delivered wickets at crucial times in both games, but none more important than his opening spell which knocked the wind out of Australia from the onset. His opening overs saw one of the most skillful spells by an English bowler in Australia in recent times. He was unlucky not to end up with the wicket of Hussey when he dropped a tough return chance in the 6^th over. He was unlucky not to get a 5 wicket haul in the first innings as his bowling was well deserved of that statistic. His bowling has improved leaps and bounds in the last 4 years. He has already taken 8 wickets in this series, 3 wickets more than his total haul in the 2006 series. Furthermore, his average of 82.60 per wicket in 2006 has improved 32.12 in 2010, a staggering 50 runs under his previous best in Australia.  

The Top Order

The English top order looks rock solid barring a couple of indifferent innings from Strauss. Alistair Cook brought his amazing powers of concentration into play once more to score another brilliant innings. His solidity and fluency at the top calmed the nerves of England’s early setback of losing Strauss again. There have been some comments from certain parties saying that both of Cook’s innings are due to flat pitches against a weak bowling attack. To say this about Cook who has played with Bradman like powers of concentration is not only an insult to Cook, but to all of the double and triple centurions in cricketing history. It took Australia 697 balls in 17.5 hours to get the wicket of Cook, which alone demonstrates his mental strength and willpower to stay at the wicket. 450 runs at a strike rate of 55 in Australia is no walk in the park for any batsman of any standard by far. Instead of trying to find fault, his batting should be applauded for its determination alone.

If Cook was solid and fluent then Pietersen was magnificent and sublime. Since his first knock of 44 in the first day of the series, he has had to wait patiently for 11 hours till Cook and Trott finished their business for him to have another bat. His first few overs at the crease was filled with nervous energy which would have been built up by hours of padded up anticipation. However, once he settled down he was like a runaway train; unstoppable. His century drought had lasted 21 months and he was not going to stop at a hundred. It seems that KP saves his best for the Australians as he went on to get his highest ever score in Test cricket of 227, 1 run more than his previous best of 226 against the West Indies. KP’s overall average against Australia is 57.75 in 14 matches while his average in Australia is 69.09 in 7 matches.

Trott, Collingwood and Bell offered ample support to the two centurions to ensure that Australia had little opportunity to snatch the advantage at any point of the game.

Graeme Swann

Was touted to come good at the Adelaide oval and come good he did. He pulled off a performance similar to Shane Warne’s outing at Adelaide in 2006 to deliver the win for England on the morning session of the fifth day. He went on to get his first 5 wicket haul against Australia and it came at a crucial time in the series to put England ahead. He was by far the best bowler in the 2^nd innings, bowling superbly to both right and left handers. His tireless fingers sent down 41 overs at an average of 2.25 with 12 maidens that kept most of the Aussie batsmen tied down for a good part of the inning. He may not have got the man of the match award but he was definitely the man of the 2^nd innings.

To conclude, this Ashes series is similar to the sinking of the Titanic for the Australians; at first there was talks of greatness and indestructibility with a rip roaring launch from Peter Siddle. Then there was the first encounter with the iceberg which claimed two casualties from this Australian Titanic; Johnson and Hilfenhaus. The second encounter with the iceberg in the combined form of Anderson, Pietersen and Swann sank the Titanic. Anderson breached the hull, Pietersen ripped the ship apart and Swann dragged it under water. The casualties of the second encounter are expected to be much higher and will be washed ashore in two weeks at the start of the 3^rd Test in Perth. What Australia can salvage from this shipwreck to stay afloat in the series will depend on how stubborn or how intelligent their selectors turn out to be in the duration of the next two weeks. Amongst all this carnage, one thing is definite; England has walked the talk. Can Australia match their stride?

*Statistics courtesy of cricinfo.com

THE ROAD TO ADELAIDE

The 1^st Test at the Woolloongabba showed us that both Australia and England are contenders of equal ability in the fight for the urn. Australia lost the home advantage in a demoralizing draw while England snatched the psychological advantage with a morale boosting fight back. The second chapter of this saga enfolds at the Adelaide Oval on Friday the 3^rd of December 2010. Both sides have a few issues to be ironed out before the start of the second game. While England only have to make a few minor adjustments, Australia have to rectify some major issues but are trying not to panic by projecting an image of calmness.

England’s main concerns lie with the bowling of Graeme Swann who managed to get only two wickets in his 43 overs. However, in his defense, Swann’s average was under 3.00 per over which is rather good considering that the Gabba is not a friendly venue for visiting spinners. Swann’s bowling figures of 2 for 128 is at 12th place in the list of touring spinners who have played at the Gabba since 1990. The Gabba has yielded 46 wickets in 20 matches to visiting spinners within a time span of 20 years from 1990 to present day averaging at 2 wickets per match. In contrast, the Adelaide Oval has been a little friendlier to visiting spinners and has given away 73 wickets in 21 Tests within the same time span. Adelaide averages at 3.5 wickets a game and a much better return for visiting slow bowlers. England should rest assured that Swann will come good at this venue.

Australia, on the other hand, has a lot more to worry about. Their main concern would be Mitchell Johnson who is a shadow of the bowler he was in the Australian tour of South Africa and the West Indies tour of Australia. The Australian coach Tim Nielsen has no choice but to say that he will back his fast man to come good in Adelaide as he would not want to further dent Johnson’s fragile state of mind.  It’s true that the team must stand by him in his hour of need, but Johnson himself has to realize that he let the team down with his pathetic performance. Frankly, Australia has to take a good look at the bigger picture rather than tiptoe around Johnson’s fragile demeanor. I’m not sure if the Australian management has noticed that this isn’t grade school cricket, it’s the Ashes and its war out there. If Johnson can’t “man up” and handle the pressure then he’s not the right man to lead this attack. Let Bollinger, Siddle, or any other individual who has the heart to spearhead the Australian attack take the lead. Johnson may turn out to be the biggest chink in the Australian armor if he doesn’t overcome his problems as the series progresses. All in all, it is better for him to skip the Adelaide Test and focus on making a comeback at Perth where the pitch will assist his bowling as well as his confidence. As Ian Chappell stated in his post match interview of the 1^st Test, Johnson should be sent back to play some state cricket to find his form and confidence before he takes on England again.

The other major concern that the Australians have is the batting of Marcus North who has scored 178 runs in his past nine innings at an average of 19.77. His unflattering average plummets further when the 128 he scored against India is subtracted from this total to end up with 50 runs from eight innings at an average of 6.25. It would be difficult for Ponting to have confidence in his No. 6 batsman to hold the fort in the event of a batting collapse when he analyzes North’s last few performances. Considering North's lack of form, he should be replaced by the impressive Usman Khawaja which would also bring some youth into an aging Australian batting line up. There’s also the option of playing Cameron White at No. 6. as White has shown that he has the penchant for long innings during his recent internationals, and when needed, he can attack the opposition with his natural game. His inclusion would also give Ponting a leg spinning option in the bowling department. The other alternative is to drop Watson down to the No. 6 spot and slot a regular opener such as Phillip Hughes or Phil Jaques at the top. Australian cricket is extremely blessed to have multiple options of talented players to solve any selection problems. Let’s hope that the selectors are brave enough to venture out of their customary risk-free selection process and let some of these new recruits earn their stripes.

PLAYERS TO WATCH AT ADELAIDE

ENGLAND

Kevin Pieterson:

The England top order scored heavily with the exception of Collingwood and Pieterson at the Gabba. All the batting accolades went to Cook, Strauss and Trott as well as Ian Bell for his first innings knock. Pieterson is not the kind of player to stay away from the limelight for a long period of time. He would want to stamp his authority on this series as soon as possible. His ego demands it. It would do the spectators a lot of good to invest in strong headgear as Pieterson is sure to take advantage of the short boundaries at the Adelaide Oval.

Graeme Swann:

This man was not included in the 2010 ICC Test Team of the year for nothing. The two wickets he took in the 1^st Test in Brisbane is a mere appetizer for Swann. England will look for a big haul from him at the Adelaide oval and Swann is sure to deliver.

AUSTRALIA

Ricky Ponting:

Let me rephrase and age old saying to suit the occasion; “hell hath no fury than an Australian cricket captain scorned”. His captaincy has been questioned, his team has let him down on a number of occasions and he’s been booed, ridiculed, laughed at by his own countrymen. Ponting came to bat in the dying moments of the game in Brisbane and blasted a 43 ball half century mainly to send a message to the opposition that the worst is yet to come. It would be wise of Strauss to warn his men to prepare themselves to withstand the force of Ponting’s wrath in Adelaide.

Doug Bollinger:

Dropped from the 1^st Test due to the lack of match fitness, Bollinger had to watch his replacement Siddle get the best figures in the game from the sidelines. If his past performances are anything to go by, the selection of Bollinger will cause more problems for the English batsman than all the Australian fast bowlers in the previous Test put together. The thought of watching Bollinger throwing the kitchen sink at Strauss and Co. and then some is a mouth watering prospect.

Xavier Doherty:

Had a quiet debut and didn’t do too much to impress. However, the nerves of playing his first game at such a big occasion didn’t daunt the young man as he averaged at 3.00 an over. His was a better average than those of Johnson, Siddle, and Watson who went for 4.04, 3.60 and 3.50 respectively. He looked confident and competent and would have gained a huge amount of experience from his first game. Watch out for Doherty to show his skill and guile which he aptly demonstrated against the Sri Lankans in the recent ODI series and grabbed figures of 4 for 46 in the first game.

* Statistics courtesy of cricinfo.com

THE GABBATIOR SABOTEURED

The 1^st Test at the Brisbane Cricket Ground saw a fitting start to the 2010 Ashes series. The contest between England and Australia lived up to the pre-match hype to deliver five days of absorbing cricket to whet the spectator appetites. The first three days of the Test lulled us all in to a false sense of belief that this was an Ashes Test of old. How wrong that notion turned out to be. In the past, English teams had been slaughtered at the Gabba, but this was no flock of lambs to be led to the slaughter, as the Australians found out the hard way, this team turned out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Gabba is an impregnable fortress to visiting teams and it is not a coincidence that the 1^st Test of each series is scheduled at this venue. Many have dubbed this ground as “The Gabbatior” due to the relentless pressure Australian teams put on the opposition at this venue.

The usual familiarity of a poor start by England and a strong start by Australia had everyone fooled that we would see an Australian win by the end of the fifth days play. However, if Australia along with everyone else thought that England would give up the urn without putting up a fight, they had another thought coming. This team showed strength of character that’s rare for any visiting team to Australia. The Australians had England on the back foot for the greater part of the first three days play. At the end of the first day’s play, Ian Bell vowed that England would fight back, and fight back they did in record breaking style. This seesawing game is a reminder that we are finally going to see an even contest in a Test series in Australia.

THE AUSTRALIAN POSITIVES

Peter Siddle:

Four years ago, the England campaign to retain the Ashes was derailed in the 1^st Test at the Gabba by Glenn McGrath who shattered the English dreams by taking 6 for 50. In the 2010 edition, Peter Siddle gave the Aussies a similar start with his figures of 6 for 54 which also included a rare hat-trick. This turned out to be the only stand out performance that the Australians could muster from their bowling department.

Peter Siddle, a last minute choice over Doug Bollinger, justified his selection by bowling with pace and aggression. He broke a solid partnership between Cook and Peterson which was threatening to take the game away from Australia. He then bowled very skillfully to get his first hat-trick in Test cricket by getting the wickets of Collingwood, Prior and finally the wicket of Broad with a beautiful swinging full length ball. This was the first Australian hat-trick in an Ashes Test since Shane Warne achieved this feat in 1994 in Melbourne. He then stopped a late rally from Bell and Swann by getting Swann out leg before to completely break England rearguard. His line and length kept the batsmen in two minds of whether to play on the front or back foot and reaped just rewards by finishing the first innings with figures of 6 for 54.

Michael Hussey & Brad Haddin:

The Australian batting stood strong in the face of an inspired English bowling attack. Even though Australia was in a spot of bother at 143/5 they recovered well through Hussey and Haddin. A record partnership of 307, the highest ever partnership for any wicket at the Gabba, between these two put Australia in the driving seat yet again. Hussey got to his highest ever test score but fell five runs short of a well deserved double century. He played with freedom and aggression which was no doubt spurred on by the need to save his Test career. Haddin played an excellent supporting role and got to his third Test century. Both these batman weren’t given any easy runs by England as they bowled very well though out the inning. This reason alone made Hussey’s batting in particular a very special knock. He was out of form, fighting for his place in the team and Australia was in a dicey position at 143/5 facing relentless bowling from tough opposition. Given these insurmountable odds Hussey’s feat is nothing short of exceptional.

THE AUSTRALIAN NEGATIVES

Mitchell Johnson:

Much was expected from their stand out bowler Mitchell Johnson to produce a good start for Australia. Johnson turned out to be as effective as a feather duster on a Sherman tank against the English batting. He ended wicket less in 43 overs, scored an 18 ball 0 and dropped Strauss when he was on 69 to deny debutant Xavier Doherty his third Test wicket. His performance was such a let down to this team that Ian Chappell has already called for Johnson to be dropped for the 2^nd Test in Adelaide.

The Australian Bowling:

Siddle’s bowling in England first inning was the only spark in an uninspired bowling effort by the Australians. Mitchell Johnson was dismal, Hilfenhaus and Watson were just as bad, and at times looked insipid and languid barring a wicket apiece at the start. Xavier Doherty bowled well for a debutant and even though he got two wickets for himself, the wicket of Ian Bell was a gift as Bell was looking to up the ante to get the scorecard ticking.

To sum up their appalling performance with the ball, the only wicket they managed to take in the England second inning was by part timer Marcus North which was more the batsman’s mistake than a feat of prodigious bowling.

The Australian Fielding:

Five dropped catches in the England second innings summed up the Aussie efforts in the field. These missed catches may not have had a profound effect on the end result of the game, but it certainly had an effect on the Australian morale. The Aussie shoulders drooped lower and lower as catch after catch went to ground. As hard as some of these chances were, the Australians must be smarting as they have turned matches purely by their fielding performances in the past. Abysmal fielding, coupled with their pathetic bowling not only took the game away form them, but may have a butterfly effect on the success of the future matches.

THE ENGLISH POSITIVES

Mental toughness is the first positive trait that’s associated with this team which is undoubtedly transferred directly from the personalities of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower. Add focus, concentration, application, perseverance, resolve, determination to toughness and that would aptly describe this English team.

The English Bowling:

Tenacity and perseverance are the key words to describe this English attack. Even though Steven Finn, their worst bowler for the majority of the game ended up with the best figures, Anderson, Broad and Swann must know that stand out performances are just around the corner. This is especially true in Anderson’s case as he bowled very skillfully with the new ball on the third morning albeit with little results. Even Finn made amends for his early lack of accuracy and penetration by breaking the record stand between Hussey and Haddin and then quickly mopped up the Australian tail.

Alistair Cook:

A gritty 67 in the first innings and a majestic 235 not out in the second innings announced the coming of age for this talented opening batsman. The tremendous concentration and application shown by this young man gave him the enviable statistic of the highest individual score by any batsman as well as the first double hundred by a visiting batsman at the Gabba. His 329 run stand with Trott is the highest partnership at the Gabba beating the 307 run stand set by Hussey and Haddin just 48 hours earlier. This partnership is also the highest by an England pair in Australia. A superb retort to Cook’s critics who had called for his axing before the start of the tour.

The English Batting:

The first innings saw Cook and Bell contribute with valuable half centuries to keep England in the game. Bell particularly showed his competence as well as confidence to take on the Australian attack in the face of hostile bowling from Siddle. Both fifties were invaluable in taking England to a respectable score of 260.  The second inning saw Andrew Strauss set the tone to the recovery by scoring a hundred which rectified his initial failure in the first innings. Jonathan Trott too applied himself to score an unbeaten hundred to further frustrate Australia. England should take heart that they tamed the Gabbatoir in style with their batting alone which had been their Achilles heel in the past tours of Australia.

THE ENGLISH NEGATIVES

The English Batting in the First Innings:

Strauss, Trott, Peterson, Prior, Swann and Bell all fell to lose shots in their first inning. The Australians made England pay for their lack of concentration by restricting England to 260 and then making 481 themselves. England was lucky that the Siddle couldn’t replicate his first innings form and that Johnson remained bland for the whole game or it would have been Australia who took the accolades for the broken records instead of England.

Strauss’s Declaration:

Some would argue that Strauss took 40 – 50 runs too long to declare and therefore gave up an opportunity to win the game. While this is true, they could have lost the game just as easily as the Aussies have adequate batting strength to score at five an over, as shown by Ricky Ponting’s second innings half century in only 43 balls. Also, it would have taken an extra special effort from the England bowlers to take 10 Australian wickets in 50 or so overs. Kudos to Strauss as made sure that there is no possibility for England to lose the game before he made the decision to declare. Andrew Flintoff, the England captain in the 2006/07 Ashes series, was in a similar position during the 2nd Test in Adelaide. England was in a strong position at 551 for 6 with Flintoff still at the wicket, and instead of ensuring that England was in a position not to lose the game he made the ill fated decision to declare. The Australian batsman put up a 500 plus score and then Warne & Co. shot out England for 129 in the second inning. England lost due to the lack of foresight by Flintoff which cost them the game and the ability to fight back to square the series. England never recovered from there and went on to lose the series 5 – 0. This would have been in the back of Strauss’s mind when he made the decision of when to declare.

All in all, the English team has won an important psychological battle. They have done everything right from the time they arrived in Australia. They’ve gone about their business very quietly yet won two matches out of three in their lead up to the 1^st Test. They’ve battled hard to draw the 1^st Test in an Australian fortress and they’ve broken a number of records in doing so. This team is unlike any other English team that had toured Australia in the last two decades. It has a certain steel and resolve underneath its deceptively fragile exterior.

In contrast, the Australian camp have much to debate about and rectify for the oncoming matches as they cannot let England gain momentum and get the upper hand as the tour progresses. Ponting must have a headache the size of Ayers Rock with some of the tough questions going around his team. Should Watson be dropped down the order? Should Marcus North be given another opportunity or is it time to bring Usman Khawaja in? Is it time to stop handling Mitchell Johnson with kid gloves? Play two spinners or three pacemen at Adelaide? It’s such a pity that this great man is put under the cosh so often to make excuses for his team. For the first time in many years things are starting to look ominous for the Australians at home.

The score may read 0-0 at the moment, but in the English camp, Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower have notched it up as England 1- Australia 0.

* Statistics courtesy of cricinfo.com

THE 2010 ASHES TEST SERIES

We are about to witness arguably, the most awaited Test series since the 2005 Ashes. England has a genuine chance of beating Australia at home after more than 20 years of waiting. Andrew Strauss has the unique opportunity to become a home and away Ashes series winning captain. Similarly, Ricky Ponting has a chance to avoid the ignominy of being remembered as the one of the rare Australian captains to lose home and away Ashes Test series.

The Australian camp is facing quite a few hiccups even before a ball has been bowled. They are coming into the contest riding on the confidence of 3 successive losses in Test’s; 2 losses against the high flying Indians and 1 loss against the lowly ranked Pakistanis. Even in home conditions, their bowling is far from being intimidating. The experienced Nathan Hauritz was sacked in favor of rookie slow left-arm bowler Xavier Doherty. Mitchell Johnson hasn’t shown enough proof that he will be the bowler to tip the scales in favor of Australia in a Glenn McGrath like manner. Siddle and Hilfenhaus are no Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie either. Their batting is not quite shaky but rather unsettled for an Australian team. They were ingloriously shot out for 88 by Pakistan in July. Marcus North scored a career saving 128 in the last Test against India but his other scores in the last four Tests were 0, 20, 16, 0, 0, 10, (128) & 3. Michael Clarke’s continuing back problem flared up a few days ago which resulted in the inclusion of the uncapped Usman Khawaja in to the squad. Hussey and Katich haven’t done anything to write home about in the last few Tests either. There’s an inclination to believe that they will come apart at the seams if they do not start out by setting the tone for the series by winning the all important Gabba Test.

In contrast, England look very well settled in all departments. The batting looks solid with all their top order batsmen getting at least a half-century in the tour matches barring Jonathan Trott. Much will depend on the batting of Strauss who’s given us a preview of what’s to come by rattling off two hundreds already. Alistair Cook has scored a hundred and a fifty while Collingwood fell short of a hundred by 6 and 11 runs on two occasions. Ian Bell came within touching distance of a rare double hundred by a touring batsman in Australia. Their bowling doesn’t look very threatening but, it does look very competent with Anderson and Broad as the standout pacemen with the tall Steven Finn to add the x-factor. The biggest threat will come in the form of Graeme Swann, the most accomplished and competent slow bowler to tour Australia in decades.  On top of all that, they are guided by the competent Andy Flower with the calm head of Strauss marshalling the troops on the field.

With all the above factors to level the playing field between these two legendary adversaries we can anticipate some absorbing Test cricket in the weeks to come. We could debate, contemplate, analyze and predict scenarios as well as fitting endings to this historic encounter. We could foretell of the heroes and villains of this series armed with the statistics of the past in the hand. However, none of these predictions are certain to become realities. Thankfully, this Ashes series is not a foregone conclusion and in the least, we can expect to be thoroughly entertained. Let the games begin!

- Statistics courtesy of cricinfo.com

THE END OF AN ERA AND THE DAWN OF A NEW ONE

Let’s all breathe a collective sigh of relief. FINALLY, the Australian dominance over Test cricket has ended. The cricketing world has witnessed the unnatural phenomena of an Australian team losing 3 Test matches in a row since 1988. Humble pie has become the staple diet of Ricky Ponting; their battle scarred captain sporting a bruised ego. His recent post match interviews have been a steady stream of excuses on behalf of an underperforming team that’s scraping the barrel to replace the superstars of the last decade. Ponting, who played a big part in the success of Steve Waugh’s world dominating all conquering team, has become the scapegoat for the shortfalls of this team. I doubt that there’s a single cricketer in Australia who envies Ponting’s current situation, especially as we approach an Ashes summer.

It’s evident that Ponting has the desire to mould a winning team under his own brand of captaincy. A brand of captaincy that would carve a niche for himself as one of the great cricket captains following the feats of Bradman, Hasset, Benaud, and Waugh in Australian sporting folklore. In all fairness, there is no shame in that for such a gifted and accomplished player who has given so much to the sport he loves. He makes his desire obvious with every inning that he goes in to bat with tough gritty knock that holds it all together around him. He has put away his signature hooks and pulls for less risky run scoring. He doesn’t dance down the track to the spinners as much as he used to do, but he still scores steadily against them. His inspired fielding belies his age as it seems that he has not lost even a degree of sharpness with his near superhuman speed and agility.  However, a gutsy captain and a team of fit athletes is not by far a winning formula in the game of cricket.

Performances show that Australia is still a very competitive team, but there are a few slip-ups in recent times in their usually flawless resume.

• Lost a home Test series to the South Africans in the December 2009; the first home series loss in 15 years.
• Lost a Test against Pakistan in July 2010; the first in 15 years.
• Lost the number 1 spot in Test rankings to South Africa in August of 2009 and slipped down to number 5 since then.
• Lost 6 consecutive international’s over all forms of cricket between July and November 2010.
• The first home ODI series loss to the Sri Lankan’s in November 2010.

In addition, Australia’s win/loss ratio has plummeted to an all time low within the last 10 years. The following table shows the Test and ODI results of the Australian team split in to two periods; 1998 – 2008 and 2008 to the present. 

Format	Period	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win/Loss Ratio
Test	1998-2008	114	81	16	17	5.06
	2008-Present	35	17	11	7	1.54
ODI	1998-2008	288*	207	67	5	3.08
	2008-Present	78**	51	23	0	2.21

 

These statistics show that the Australian win loss ratio has fallen from 5.06 to 1.54 in tests, and from 3.08 to 2.21 in ODI’s within the last 2 years; a hideous statistic by Australian standards. They clearly indicate that Australia are on a downward spiral and are steadily losing their aura of invincibility. It’s evident that they’ve lost their x-factor by the loss of players like Hayden, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath.

We saw a once great West Indian team fall after the collective retirements of Richards, Dujon, Marshal, Greenidge and Haynes. This ended an era of West Indian dominance over cricket and almost two decades down the line, the repercussions of their retirements still echo in the West Indies. Not even the likes of Lara, Richardson, Walsh or Ambrose could arrest the decline. Even though they are a decade apart, the similarities between the rise and fall of these two teams are uncanny. The retirements of Hayden, Gilchrist, Langer, Warne and McGrath are having a similar effect on the fortunes of the Australian team. History, statistics and recent performances all point towards an implosion of Australian cricket.

Finally, is this really the end of the era of Australian dominance? Without a doubt, the rest of the cricketing world will be painting bull’s-eyes on effigies of the Australian’s backs in the midst of formulating many a vengeful campaign. They finally have a chance to grind the tormentors of their generation in to the dust. I say don’t count on it. They’ve been given a harsh reminder of what it’s like to lose frequently again. If the Australian teams of the past have taught us anything, then it’s that they are going to come back even harder at each and every opponent. I have a strong notion that we haven’t seen the last of Ponting & Co or the best of them either.

- Statistics courtesy of statsguru from cricinfo.com.

*   9 Matches did not yield results.

** 4 Matches did not yield results.