England Ruthlessly Expose Australian Frailties
Is this really happening? Yes - it is. England, under the expert guidance of coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss, are playing their best cricket in decades and in the process are heaping humiliation on an Australian host who for years have got used to mercilessly bullying their English guests.
Australia's defeat at Adelaide is different to any England victory in recent Ashes series. In 2005, England played the better cricket with Andrew Flintoff reaching Bothamesque heights but their 2-1 victory was claimed by the skin of their teeth against a Shane Warne inspired Aussie side who fought tooth and nail to hold onto the precious urn. Last year's triumph saw what looked like relatively comfortable wins at Lord's and The Oval but going into the last days of each test there was still widespread concern amongst England fans that Australia could still pull off sensational 4th innings chases.
In Adelaide, England dominated Australia from the first over of the game to its last ball. They were clinical, committed and played with an intensity that staggered Ricky Ponting's side. Every catch bar one was caught. Both runs out opportunities were taken. Batsmen who got in made good on their intention to grind the Australian bowlers into the dust whilst England's bowlers were accurate and thoughtful. It was the complete performance from a side that shows all the signs of getting better every match.
The post-mortems have begun in Australia with the selectors feeling the wrath of a vengeful public. The reality is that the period of Australian cricketing domination was built around the presence of great players and they simply don't have them anymore. A word of caution though - Australian teams seldom roll over and die in Ashes series and in Ponting they have the ultimate lead from the front captain. England must retain their ruthless edge when the 3rd test begins in Perth in 9 days' time.
Momentum can change very quickly in cricket - remember Peter Siddle's hat-trick at Brisbane - but some patterns are beginning to emerge in this series:
- England, so long derided down under for their slovenly fielding and poor conditioning, are considerably fitter than their Australian counterparts, particularly in the bowling department.
- England's catching is better than the Australians with Strauss peerless at 1st slip.
- England's bowlers are so much more skillful than the Australians. Jimmy Anderson and Steve Finn move both the new and old ball in a way that none of the Aussie seamers can. Peter Siddle, for all his bustling enthusiasm, hardly moves the ball at all and neither does Doug Bollinger. As for the spinners, the comparison between the brilliance and guile of Graeme Swann and the plodding ordinariness of Xavier Doherty shows a massive gulf in slow bowling resources.
- Almost all of England's batters are in superb nick whilst the Aussies have huge issues with the form of Ponting and the increasingly vulnerable Marcus North. Looking at the first 2 tests, there has arisen a strong feeling that North and Simon Katich struggle terribly against Swann whilst Michael Clarke is all at sea against the short ball despite his gritty 80 in the 4th innings at Adelaide.
- The Australian tail now mirrors the hapless lower orders England used to put out. In the last 2 tests of the 2006/7 Ashes series England had Chris Read at 7, Sajid Mahmood at 8, Steve Harmison at 9, Jimmy Anderson at 10 and dear old Monty Panesar at 11. Shane Warne and Brett Lee used to bat 8 and 9 for Australia but they've been replaced by Ryan Harris and Xavier Doherty. The chances of their tail wagging is remote indeed.
- Last but not least....England's younger players have matured into seriously good test cricketers. The Aussies have previously had the wood on Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jimmy Anderson and did not rate them. How times change. England's selectors have stuck with these 3 and are reaping the rewards of investing in your best young players. Bell has had 2 knocks and has scored 2 sublime 50s looking, arguably, the best player on either side. His intense desire for a first Ashes hundred must surely be fulfilled soon - if only he can get time enough at the crease.
The loss of the combative Stuart Broad is a great shame but no side plays 5 tests in Australia without experiencing injuries. One thing that said everything you need to know about the level of commitment present in the England team was that whilst Mark Taylor interviewed both captains and man of the match Kevin Pietersen at the end of the game, the three England quickies vying for Broad's place at Perth were doing channel bowling on the Adelaide wicket rather than joining in the celebrations.
Come December 16th, one of Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan or Ajmal Shahzad will get the chance to join a team that has history beckoning. None of us can wait.
Wello
