From 0-1 to 517-1 in the space of an innings - what a Test Match. When Andrew Strauss was out for a third ball duck on the first morning of the first Ashes Test, one couldn’t help but have flashbacks of Steve Harmison’s first delivery at the Gabba, back in 2006. Would Strauss’s misplaced cut shot be as foreboding as that wide? Would it set the tone for the entire series? By the end of day one it certainly seemed that way. Bowled out for just 260, with Australian birthday boy Peter Siddle getting a hat trick, England looked well below par and the script was all but written - another victory for Australia at the Brisbane fortress.
Yet, this was not the England of old but the England of Flower and Strauss. Resilient and determined, they fought back brilliantly on day two snaring five Aussie wickets before that record 307 run partnership between Hussey and Haddin (who reached 195 and 136 respectively), took hold. While it cannot be denied that both played brilliantly, it should not be overlooked that both (particularly Hussey) rode their luck. With the new ball, Anderson was simply wonderful. Indeed, it was as much a result of his bowling (as well as that of Stuart Broad) that Steven Finn managed to get the breakthrough, snaring the wicket of Hussey with a short delivery. Once the two stalwarts had departed, England mopped up the Australian tale with relative ease; Finn ending with a six-for and his best Test figures to date. In fact, had it not been for the two H’s Australia would have struggled to surpass England’s total, with the likes of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clark and Marcus North all failing to make contributions. As it was though, Australia had managed to amass a lead of 221 runs. A total big enough to cause a few nerves. Was another England collapse on the way?
The reality was in fact, much different, as for the first time in over eighty years, England’s top three batsman each reached three figures. Strauss, looking to be positive and showing his mental toughness by putting his initial failure well and truly behind him, made 110. Yes, one could argue that he was also lucky, (surviving an early shout for lbw and being dropped early on by the less than impressive Mitchell Johnson), there was no such luck involved for his opening partner. With more doubts hanging over him than any other English batsman, Alastair Cook showed exactly why he deserves his place in the team. A beautifully complied innings of 235 not out, silenced both his critics and the Aussies. With a further 135 added by Jonathon Trott, England had not only saved the Test match but had also gained the upper hand, forcing Australia to bat again; a tense few hours, which saw them lose their opener, Simon Katich. At just after 4pm, local time, both Captains shock hands and the match was drawn.
What can explain such a remarkable turn around in the space of just one innings then. Maybe the pitch had more in it for the bowlers on day one, a result of all the wet weather around Australia recently? Or perhaps England were simply nervous? Either way, they recovered brilliantly and have undoubtedly stolen the initiative. (Bowling Australia out in their first innings while making them toil in the field for two days, with one solitary wicket their only reward, being key). While taking twenty wickets will be tough for both sides, England seem the most likely to accomplish such a feat. A fact not lost on the Aussie selectors as they bring two new pacemen, Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger, into the attack. If they will play and, more importantly, if they will make a difference awaits to be seen.
Bring on the next Test.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Friday, 26 November 2010
If you can't bear to watch the Cricket, why not get stuck into one of these instead…
Cricket Chicks Favourite Cricket Books (Well, what else would they be) : -
1) More Than A Game: The Story of Crickets Early Years by John Major - Beautifully thought out and beautifully written.
2) Start the Car: The World According to Bumble by David Lloyd - Hilarious.
3) Ashes Victory: The official story of the greatest ever Test series in the team’s own words by The Professional Cricketers Association - Always good to relive the 2005 Ashes Series and great to get an insight from the players themselves.
4) Following On: A year with English Cricket’s golden boys by David Tossell - Interesting to see how some succeed where others fail. It’s a cruel sport sometimes.
5) Cricket and National Identity in the Postcolonial Age edited by Stephen Wagg - A bit of History for you. Actually, very interesting and thought provoking.
6) Behind the Shades by Duncan Fletcher - See if it changes or reinforces your opinion on a man with an ambiguous reputation.
7) Time to Declare by Michael Vaughan - England’s most successful Test captain to date, so must be worth a read.
8) The Ultimate Test: The Story of the 2009 Ashes Series by Gideon Haigh - Always good to remember England’s victories.
9) Netherland by Joseph O’Neil - Not technically a cricket book, but a great novel which uses a cricket team in America as its foundation.
10) Hopefully a book about England’s historic victory down under in the 2010/2011 series! Fingers crossed anyway.
1) More Than A Game: The Story of Crickets Early Years by John Major - Beautifully thought out and beautifully written.
2) Start the Car: The World According to Bumble by David Lloyd - Hilarious.
3) Ashes Victory: The official story of the greatest ever Test series in the team’s own words by The Professional Cricketers Association - Always good to relive the 2005 Ashes Series and great to get an insight from the players themselves.
4) Following On: A year with English Cricket’s golden boys by David Tossell - Interesting to see how some succeed where others fail. It’s a cruel sport sometimes.
5) Cricket and National Identity in the Postcolonial Age edited by Stephen Wagg - A bit of History for you. Actually, very interesting and thought provoking.
6) Behind the Shades by Duncan Fletcher - See if it changes or reinforces your opinion on a man with an ambiguous reputation.
7) Time to Declare by Michael Vaughan - England’s most successful Test captain to date, so must be worth a read.
8) The Ultimate Test: The Story of the 2009 Ashes Series by Gideon Haigh - Always good to remember England’s victories.
9) Netherland by Joseph O’Neil - Not technically a cricket book, but a great novel which uses a cricket team in America as its foundation.
10) Hopefully a book about England’s historic victory down under in the 2010/2011 series! Fingers crossed anyway.
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Saturday, 13 November 2010
An Excellent Draw
Is it just CricketChicks, or are the England team getting better? Despite their second warm-up match (against South Australia) ending in a draw, the quality of the cricket was much improved on their first match (against Western Australia) in which they won. Finally, Alastair Cook made a big score (111 not out, in the second innings) and Paul Collingwood showed his quality, with a score of 93, in the first. Wickets for James Anderson (who had been somewhat ineffective in the first match) completed an all round performance in which all the main players (i.e. those most likely to be in the starting line-up come the 25th) contributed. A win in the final warm up would complete the perfect preparation.
Monday, 8 November 2010
Opening Victory for England
So, England have played their first warm-up match, easing to a six wicket win over Western Australia. Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come, as England seek to beat the Aussies in their own back yard for the first time in over twenty-four years. In fact, Sunday’s victory was the first time an England team have won their opening game of an Ashes series, since 1965/66. While this certainly bodes well, a number of key points have emerged over the past few days.
Firstly, the return to form of Kevin Pietersen. With a score of 58 in the first innings (the most significant contribution, by far, to what was a somewhat shaky batting display) and backed up with a brisk 38 off just 22 balls in the second innings, there were glimmers of the KP of old. Most importantly, however, Pietersen is himself feeling more comfortable, and thus confident, in his batting. When asked to describe his performance in the match, KP claimed he was “on fire”. Words which surely caused the Aussies (who have just lost another series, by the way) to break out in a sweat. Especially if, as every England fan will be hoping, they are put into action come the 25th.
More worryingly, however, is the form of Alistair Cook. Despite securing his place on the plane down under, with a gutsy century at the Oval against Pakistan, any hint of a return to form seems to have been lost. Scores of just 5 and 9, being testimony to this. Luckily for Cook, there are two more warm-up matches to go. He needs a big score not only for his own self confidence and belief (make no mistake, the Aussie’s will make a point of constantly reminding him of his recent poor form, just in case he had forgotten), but also for England. While Jonathon Trott could open the batting with Strauss (something he was effectively doing throughout the summer) and while England could bring in Michael Carberry (who is on tour with the England Lions in Australia), they wont want too. The Strauss-Cook opening combination is tried and tested; any disruption to that could bring about further disharmony in other areas. Something the England management will want to avoid at all costs.
To stay with the batting for a moment, while the forms of both Pietersen and Cook have been the most noticeable, and thus scrutinised, Paul Collingwood hasn’t exactly been a run-machine of late. A score of 4 in the first innings and a scratchy 26 in the second, being far from convincing. However, the one thing you can always say about Collingwood with any certainty, is that he is a battler. With his mental strength and dogged determination, it shouldn’t be long before he puts in a big performance. Ian Bell also played in the first warm-up match. Failing to make a big contribution in the first innings (something to be expected considering he has only recently returned from injury) he played his part in the second, helping Strauss get England over the line in an emphatic fashion. More interesting then Bell’s form then, is what can be deduced from the selectors decision to play him ahead of Eoin Morgan. Have they already shown their hand? I hope not, as I think Morgan deserves at least one warm-up match to assert his claim for the sixth (and final) batting place. After all, he could turn out to be just the type of player England need.
On the whole, England’s bowling display against Western Australia, was pretty good. Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings (picking up three wickets), while Graeme Swann shone in the second, bagging four at a ground which is often seen as a spinners graveyard. Imagine the carnage he could cause at the SCG. Steven Finn also looked impressive once he found the right line and length and while James Anderson may have been the least effective, there can be no doubt who England’s four bowlers will be in sixteen days time.
Yes, that’s right, just sixteen days to go.
Firstly, the return to form of Kevin Pietersen. With a score of 58 in the first innings (the most significant contribution, by far, to what was a somewhat shaky batting display) and backed up with a brisk 38 off just 22 balls in the second innings, there were glimmers of the KP of old. Most importantly, however, Pietersen is himself feeling more comfortable, and thus confident, in his batting. When asked to describe his performance in the match, KP claimed he was “on fire”. Words which surely caused the Aussies (who have just lost another series, by the way) to break out in a sweat. Especially if, as every England fan will be hoping, they are put into action come the 25th.
More worryingly, however, is the form of Alistair Cook. Despite securing his place on the plane down under, with a gutsy century at the Oval against Pakistan, any hint of a return to form seems to have been lost. Scores of just 5 and 9, being testimony to this. Luckily for Cook, there are two more warm-up matches to go. He needs a big score not only for his own self confidence and belief (make no mistake, the Aussie’s will make a point of constantly reminding him of his recent poor form, just in case he had forgotten), but also for England. While Jonathon Trott could open the batting with Strauss (something he was effectively doing throughout the summer) and while England could bring in Michael Carberry (who is on tour with the England Lions in Australia), they wont want too. The Strauss-Cook opening combination is tried and tested; any disruption to that could bring about further disharmony in other areas. Something the England management will want to avoid at all costs.
To stay with the batting for a moment, while the forms of both Pietersen and Cook have been the most noticeable, and thus scrutinised, Paul Collingwood hasn’t exactly been a run-machine of late. A score of 4 in the first innings and a scratchy 26 in the second, being far from convincing. However, the one thing you can always say about Collingwood with any certainty, is that he is a battler. With his mental strength and dogged determination, it shouldn’t be long before he puts in a big performance. Ian Bell also played in the first warm-up match. Failing to make a big contribution in the first innings (something to be expected considering he has only recently returned from injury) he played his part in the second, helping Strauss get England over the line in an emphatic fashion. More interesting then Bell’s form then, is what can be deduced from the selectors decision to play him ahead of Eoin Morgan. Have they already shown their hand? I hope not, as I think Morgan deserves at least one warm-up match to assert his claim for the sixth (and final) batting place. After all, he could turn out to be just the type of player England need.
On the whole, England’s bowling display against Western Australia, was pretty good. Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings (picking up three wickets), while Graeme Swann shone in the second, bagging four at a ground which is often seen as a spinners graveyard. Imagine the carnage he could cause at the SCG. Steven Finn also looked impressive once he found the right line and length and while James Anderson may have been the least effective, there can be no doubt who England’s four bowlers will be in sixteen days time.
Yes, that’s right, just sixteen days to go.
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