Wello's Ashes Blog

The new year's test at Sydney has become the place to be in Australia in early January, when old friends from around the country meet to watch their omnipotent cricket team whilst quenching their thirst with a few cold ones. Or, to be more accurate, an enormous amount of Victoria Bitter, commonly known as 'VB'. Which can be tough when you're the Englishman meeting your old cricket team for the first time in years and your national team is copping a pasting.

Thus my 2nd of January was spent dodging the frequent Sydney rain showers whilst being force-fed lager from a bunch of jokingly abusive Australians who really knew how to make the phrase 'How are you you bloody pom?' sound almost endearing. Thankfully, England's performance on the field was competitive, and that above all else is what cricket fans of both sides want to see in this last test - a real, hard fought match.

Freddie's decision to bat first after winning the toss could have backfired again, as low cloud and damp conditions made life difficult for the England openers. Despite their relatively low personal scores, Strauss and Cook did at least establish a solid platform which was further built upon by Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen. Bell's 71 was his fourth 50 of the series and although he hasn't as yet got the game to hurt the Australians, he has demonstrated a sound technique and willingness to apply himself which augurs well for his test career.

KP was in a rather more carefree mood, and caused much mirth in the crowd by his frequent decisions to walk down the wicket at the fast-medium of Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath, who, in his last test match before retiring after a superb career, took great exception to this show of disrespect from the new England No.4. It proved his undoing when he flap hooked a bouncer from the veteran paceman to be caught at midwicket, to McGrath's obvious delight.

Some composed batting from Paul Collingwood and Flintoff took England to 233 for 4 when bad light stopped play and the England captain at last looked in real Freddie form, playing the good deliveries solidly, leaving the unthreatening stuff and clonking the occasional bad ball for 4 or 6. Australians in the crowd thought England batted too slowly and that if Flintoff is out early next morning, Austalia will roll England for 300. Having endured such a tough tour so far, all England fans are hoping that Freddie will enjoy whatever good fortune is on offer and go on to make his first substantial score of the series.

Wello

An intriguing days cricket at the SCG has left Australia still 104 runs behind England's first innings of 291 with 6 wickets in hand. Resuming at 234 for 4, England lost Paul Collingwood quickly to the probing seam of Glenn McGrath, leaving the job of getting England up to a competitive total on the broad shoulders of Andrew Flintoff.

Despite falling 11 runs short of a deserved century, Flintoff at last showed the kind of batting form he demonstrated in 2005 when he single-handedly galvanised the England team to a sensational series win over the all-powerful Australians. Sadly, and not unexpectedly, his was a lone battle and the remaining tail end batsmen folded meekly, although Steve Harmison did his best to try and accompany his best mate Freddie. It's hard to escape the thought that all of England's batsmen from Flintoff down are batting one place too high in the order for their talent and style of play, and this has helped the Australians all series since they know that even if England secure a decent platform for themselves, it only takes a couple of wickets and the whole innings will collapse in a heap.

What was refreshing was England's bowling, which was disciplined and penetrative. James Anderson bowled his best spell of the series and Steve Harmison was a real handful, dismissing Michael Clarke caught behind with a quick, bouncing delivery as he looked to cut. Anderson was also on target with his throwing and his excellent fielding ran out Ricky Ponting as the Aussie captain tried to run a cheeky single to mid-on.

Michael Hussey and Andrew Symonds saw Australia trhough to the close in a fascinating evening session cut short by more Sydney rain. Both players had an excellent tussle with Monty Panesar's slow left arm and with Sumonds opting for the positive approach whilst Hussey plays the anchor role, tomorrow promises to be another absorbing days cricket.

Wello

For those of you with a penchant for good films, The Shawshank Redemption will feature quite highly and the line from Morgan Freeman's character 'Red' to Andy Dufrane will resonate strongly amongst England cricket fans....."Hope...you want to forget about hope, hope can kill you." And so it is with the last test of this one-sided series drawing to its inevitable conclusion as England closed the day only 12 runs ahead of Australia with five of their best batsmen gone.

Perhaps naively, there was a sense amongst the large British contingent here that with Australia still 100 runs behind at the start of the day, this might be the test that England finally stop the rot. That thought was strengthened when Mike Hussey edged James Anderson behind without adding to his overnight score early on, to leave the Aussies 190 for 5. However, there the optimism faded and Andrew Symonds with the help of the brilliant Adam Gilchrist wrested the initiative away from some profligate England bowling before the incredibly annoying but amazingly effective Shane Warne came to the party - his party - and top scored with a bludgeoning 74.

Stuart Clark joined in the fun with a rustic 35 and Australia lead by 102 on first innings, and the writing was very much on the wall unless the England top order could produce something special. The England 2nd innings was a perfect example of why Australia have won this series, with the England batsmen having to fight tooth and nail for every run against the remorseless accuracy of the Australian attack. Those of you who watch cricket on tv will be aware of the 'grouping' showing how consistently each bowler gets the ball in the business area. For Australia, and Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark in particular, the grouping today was about the size of a dinner plate whereas for England, and especially the hapless Sajid Mahmood, a snooker table would be more appropriate.

Put simply, it is so much harder for England's batsmen to score runs against Australia than the other way round, and that inevitably leads to mistakes and the loss of wickets. Andrew Strauss is a fantastic player but he has had a tough time of it for one reason or another and the sickening blow he took on the side of the head from a Brett Lee bouncer was the second time the Australian speedster has hit him. He bravely carried on his innings but fell soon after, LBW to Clark's inswing before heading to hospital for a scan and it is to be hoped that his injury is not too serious.

Going into the fourth day, England's hopes (there I go again) lie with the near-genius of Pietersen, who remains 29 not out, and the new England nightwatchman, Monty Panesar. Thus the torture that has been the 2006/7 Ashes series - for an England supporter at least - will reach its end tomorrow and we can all look forward to a better showing in the one day stuff. I hope.....

Wello

So the 2006/7 Ashes series came to its conclusion with only the second ever 5-0 whitewash to a rampant Australian side, and the passing into history of the careers of three legends of the game: Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and Shane Warne.

Any slight chance of a contested final day was extinguished with the immediate dismissal of England's premier player, Kevin Pietersen, caught behind playing defensively to a beautifully pitched Glenn McGrath leg-cutter. England's tail came and went in traditional fashion allowing Justin Langer to accompany his great mate Matthew Hayden to the wicket for the final time with the task of knocking off the required 46 runs. When the winning runs came, the Australians at the SCG cheered as one in celebration of their champion team, who had restored what Aussies consider the natural order in thrashing an ultimately out-gunned England side.

In amongst all the congratulations, there was a definite feeling of sadness around the Sydney cricket ground. For Australians, the end of an era had been reached with the loss of three all-time great cricketers. For England fans, the pain of a series that promised so much but delivered nothing but hurt and disappointment was reflected on the face of England's captain Andrew Flintoff, who nonetheless spoke eloquently in praise of his opponents and their captain, Ricky Ponting.

To be an English cricket fan in Australia over these past six weeks has been what could best be described as a character building experience. The optimism with which the team and their hordes of supporters came out to Australia gradually faded away to be replaced by despondency and occasional despair.

It was a privilege to witness the passing of the old guard of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who surely demand to be placed at the top of the list of any bowling combination in test cricket history. Being able to call on their skills, particularly when bowling together, is the single biggest factor in Australia's dominance of world cricket for the last 12 years. However good Australian domestic cricket is at unearthing test cricketers of the future, I simply cannot believe that it will ever produce two better bowlers in my lifetime.

Since the series began on November 23rd, there have been thousands of England fans who have saved their money to travel to Australia in the hope of watching an Ashes test or two downunder, but only a dedicated few who have done every day of every test. Having experienced the humiliation of a 5-0 defeat in a country that revels in beating its former colonial masters, I have asked myself the question of whether if I'd have known what the result was going to be, would I still have put myself through the 22 days of torment the 2006/7 Ashes series turned out to be.

Despite giving it much thought, I really can't offer a definitive answer. What I can do though is offer some advice to anyone thinking of repeating my efforts in 2010/11. If lying on sunkissed beaches, eating great food and meeting new people are as important to you as the cricket, then Australia is just the job. If however, the cricket, and in particular the performance of your team is the primary factor in you making the trip, I suggest Bangladesh in 2012 is an eminently more sensible option.

Yours in cricket,

Wello

"Looking back on the series, I think that ruthless edge was missing...and for one reason or another, this time we just didn't stand up."

"The Executives, the coach, the captain, the players and the support staff have to be held accountable for this disaster." "We have to have a new captain."

"We are going to take a deep breath without panicking. We're all disappointed and certainly some of our players under-performed."

"He's a waste of time because he can't coach cricket."

Harsh words indeed, but perhaps when you lose so badly people need to vent their frustrations. Except these comments were not made about England after they lost the final test of the the 2006/7 Ashes series. They all concerned Australia's 2005 loss, in England.

The four quotes above were made respectively by Ricky Ponting, Dennis Lillee, Trevor Hohns (Chairman of Cricket Australia) and Ian Chappell (about Australian coach John Buchanan), but they could quite easily have been made about England's recent performance. Such is the nature of international sport, where winners are grinners and the loser stands to be abused mercilessly for failing.

Without wanting to be seen as an apologist for England's woes in Australia - and having spent a small fortune following each morale-sapping match I'm not exactly inclined to do so - I do believe there are a number of factors which ultimately conspired to make anything England did irrelevant to the outcome of the series. Put simply, the Australian desire to right the wrongs of 2005 - which bordered on obsession - when allied to the class in the Australian team, was always going to be too much for Andrew Flintoff's young, inexperienced England side.

In 2005, Australia arrived in England aware that the home team were a much improved outfit but secure in the knowledge that despite their better recent showings, England's hopes would end in regulation defeat, as per the last 8 Ashes series. This view was further reinforced when Australia thumped England in the first test at Lord's by the massive margin of 233 runs. So, like a champion boxer who has dominated the first round of a title fight against a demoralised opponent, the Australian team understandably expected the 2005 Ashes would proceed true to form. This complacent attitude proved to be their undoing, and instead of submitting meekly, England rocked their opponents with an early punch in round two - the legendary Edgbaston test - which so surprised the Australians that, despite their desperate efforts to get back into the fight, they were never able to match the intensity of their opposition.

The criticism levelled at the returning Australians and in particular, their captain Ricky Ponting was unprecedented. 'How could you lose the Ashes, you're supposed to be the best side ever and you go and lose to a country who we thrash as a matter of course? You're not fit to wear the baggy green.' That was the kind of vitriol levelled at the Australian team - especially their leader Ponting - and therein lies the reason for England's annihilation in 2006/7.

As captain, Ricky Ponting felt personally responsible for letting his country down, and when you consider that wearing the baggy green cap of Australia holds the same aura as being an All Black in New Zealand, the motivation for him to put things right was incredibly powerful. This motivation increased during the series, when the retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer were announced. For the other players and the retiring three, the idea that they should call time on their magnificent test careers on the back of successive Ashes losses to England was simply unthinkable - it could not be allowed to happen.

The desire to regain the Ashes was clear for all to see during the series. What was also quite obvious was the difference in class and experience between the two teams, which grew wider as the series went on. Before the first test, it appeared that the two sides were fairly close in ability but what was essential was for the young England team to make the most of any chances that came their way. And from the very first ball of the series, every opportunity England had to make a statement of intent was squandered: Steve Harmison's opening wide, Captain Andrew Flintoff making 0 in his first innings, the back up seam bowlers wayward spells.

The key to winning is the belief that you can win. With every missed opportunity, the England players belief that they could beat Australia gradually ebbed away. It's been said before, and I hate to pin the blame on one person, but the seminal moment in the series - in terms of it being a genuine contest - was Ashley Giles' drop of Ricky Ponting in Adelaide. With England having made 551 in their first innings, that catch would have left Australia 78 for 4 and staring down the barrel of defeat. It was the ultimate 'Oh no...' moment, and with it went the chance for England to get back in the series.

When England went on to lose the Adelaide test from a seemingly impregnable position, it ripped the heart out of their team and left them devasted beyond repair. Much has been made of the selection errors of picking Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones, two players who contributed solidly to the 2005 win. It's true to say that Monty Panesar might have helped England to win at Adelaide and certainly, it's highly unlikely that they would have lost with him playing. But that said, you only have to look at the two teams in the cold light of day to see that England never really had a chance.

Australia realised their 2005 deficiencies and subsequently ditched Simon Katich, Jason Gillespie and Mike Kasprowicz. Their replacements, Mike Hussey and Stuart Clark, not only equalled the best that the previous playes had to offer, they became the form players in world cricket. Hussey, with his immaculate technique and superb composure under pressure added more spine to the Australian middle order whilst Clark has bowled like a cross between Glenn McGrath and Richard Hadlee, moving the ball both ways from a relentless off-stump line with his zippy fast-medium. Despite the ageing of their senior players, the 2006/7 Australian side was undoubtedly stronger than the 2005 one.

Contrast this with the England team from the previous series and it becomes apparent that theirs was much weaker. Their two most experienced batsman, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick, were both absent and this removed the capacity of the England top order to really hurt the Australian bowlers by scoring quickly since their replacements in the order, Ian Bell and Alastair Cook, could only really accumulate runs against the superb Australian attack.

England also lost arguably the best old ball bowler in the world in Simon Jones, and his replacements James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood simply did not cut the mustard. The 2005 victory owed everything to Australia's batsmen being under constant pressure from England's excellent four-pronged pace attack but in 2006/7, this didn't happen.

The absence of Vaughan's leadership was another crucial factor. In 2005, he clearly out-thought Ricky Ponting and, as Mike Brearley did with Ian Botham in 1981, managed to get the best out of the awesomely talented Andrew Flintoff. Flintoff's contribution to the 2005 win was the difference between the two teams, and the Australians were happy to acknowledge it. 15 months later, perhaps suffering from injury and a lack of form, the world's best all rounder could not reproduce the sensational performances of 2005 and his captaincy was at times poor.

That said, even if England had been able to put their ideal XI out at Brisbane, I still don't think the series' result would have been different against a now stronger Australian side hell-bent on revenge. The score may not have been 5-0 but Australia would still have won because they had better players. What would be interesting, as one supporter asked me recently, is what would happen if the Ashes started now, without the influence of McGrath and Warne.

England's last win in Australia was at Sydney in 2003 when neither McGrath or Warne played and in the 2005 series, the Edgbaston and Trent Bridge tests went England's way with McGrath absent through injury. The amount of tests Australia have lost with these two all-time great bowlers in their side can be counted on two hands, such has been their influence. Whatever players Australia bring into their team to replace them, and with the likely loss of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist over the next few years to accompany Justin Langer and Damien Martyn, they surely can't sustain their all-conquering form of recent years.

This is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel for English cricket, and the rest of the world too. The battle hardened Australian unit of the last decade is undergoing rapid transition whilst the current England team, though currently beaten into submission, will only get stronger for the next Ashes series. Young players like Bell, Cook, Anderson and Panesar will be far more experienced in 2009 whilst the older crowd of Collingwood, Flintoff, Strauss and Hoggard will still be around. There is still a problem with the keeping position because Chris Read, for all his immaculate glovework, is clearly not a test No.7. If he is to play, he can bat no higher than No.8 and England should therefore take a leaf out of Australia's book and realise that if you have a top-class spinner - Monty Panesar for example - you don't need to play 4 other specialist bowlers, since any captain will want to turn to him before his 4th choice quick.

Australia did this for years by having a front line top order batsman who could also bowl useful seam - Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Greg Blewett etc. New Zealand do that now with Scott Styris and England, instead of picking a bits and pieces cricketer, need to scour county cricket for a test quality batsman who can be their 5th bowler too.

Despite the awful last two months, and with more pain to come in the one-day series, the future is still bright for English cricket. They will grow stronger whilst Australia will, as ex-captain Mark Taylor puts it, 'move back nearer the pack' as their star players call time on their international careers. The inquests have already started, and fingers are being pointed at Andrew Flintoff and coach Duncan Fletcher by many people. Before they completely vilify England's greatest current cricketer and its best ever coach, it's sensible to offer the explanation that nothing was going to stop Australia from regaining the Ashes and that come 2009, in the absence of so many of the players that have made Australia arguably the best side in test cricket history, things might be very, very different.

Wello