Wello's Ashes Blog

There is a school of thought that says England will be so distraught to have lost the 2nd Test at Adelaide from what seemed to be an unassailable position, they will be unable to lift themselves for the remainder of this Ashes series. Thus a 5-0 whitewash is, some would say, inevitable.

That Australia have turned up the heat when the deciding session of each test was being fought is undeniable, and in Shane Warne they clearly have the one player on either side who can change the course of a match with a flurry of wickets. That said, and in the spirit of an England supporter who believes in the 'Team England' that Duncan Fletcher has helped create, there are grounds for optimism - if England can show the nous and courage to grasp the opportunities that come their way.

The first test apart - when for the first three days England simply failed to get any footing in the game and were dead in the water before their spirited 2nd innings effort - there are real signs that these two teams are closer to each other than you might imagine. Both Australia and England will have noticed how flat their bowling has appeared at times, and both sides have key batsmen that have failed to make a significant score in the series so far.

Australia have made one enforced change for this Perth test, with all-rounder Andrew Symonds coming in for the retired Damien Martyn. Will England make the necessary changes to boost their bowling attack, which has thus far been completely reliant on Hoggard and Flintoff? England fans throughout Australia, and quite a few Aussies for that matter, are desperate for Monty Panesar to play tomorrow. They yearn for him to lure an over confident Australian batsman down the wicket, only to see him beaten in the flight and smartly stumped by Geraint Jones (however unlikely that outcome may seem to some of them, or even you).

The thought of Monty then rushing off on his mad, skipping celebration gives comfort to England fans who apart from the warm weather and chilled beer, have had precious little to cheer about in this vast, sports mad country. The bottom line is that England can only get back into this series by playing some seriously positive, wicket taking cricket - and playing Monty at least gives them a chance of achieving that aim.

So there you have it. As Lord Melchett says to Captain Blackadder in the legendary series 'Blackadder Goes Forth', when all else fails, you can rely on mindless optimism to see you though.

C'mon England, win this one....for all our sakes

Wello