A Record Breaking Series

What a difference four years make. 5-0 was the scoreline, as England succumbed to a humiliating defeat, in that (best forgotten) 2006/07 ashes series. Now its the turn of the Aussies. As stand-in-skipper, Michael Clarke, explained “It hurts even more in your own country”.

Comprehensively beaten at the Sydney Cricket Ground then, (the third time in this series that the Australians have lost by an innings), the final scoreline of 3-1 is a true and just reflection of the huge gulf between the two sides. England were simply outstanding. The Aussies weren’t simply beaten, but annihilated; being outplayed in every facet of the game. From the moment they stepped off the plane, England were focused and determined. Their aim was simple; to win every match they played. Apart from the Third Test at Perth (a loss for England which can partly be attributed to giddiness but mostly attributed to the anomaly that is the WACA wicket), England succeeded in every area.

It was in the batting department that cricket history was re-written and numerous records broken; with Alastair Cook being chief breaker. What a difference six months make. Rewind to the English summer and Cook was hanging on to his place by a thread. CricketChicks were at the opening day of the Oval Test Match between England and Pakistan and, did indeed, share in the views of most of the crowd when Cook, once again, failed to get a score in the first innings. “That’s the end of Cook, he wont be going to Australia now”, was the almost unanimous cry. Yet, in England’s second innings, he managed to reach 110 and thus managed to book his seat on the plane, at least. Fast forward to today and Cook was the ‘man of the series’ with a total of 766 runs. Over the course of these five Tests Cook has batted for a staggering 2,171 minutes (the longest anyone has batted in a five match series), he has shared record partnerships with both Andrew Strauss and Jonathon Trott, beaten Don Bradman’s record to achieve the highest individual score at the Gaba and the sixth best Ashes score of all time for an England player, and has officially scored more runs than anyone else and batted longer than anyone else without being out. Cook has simply been outstanding. Demonstrating a more comfortable and relaxed technique, and both a supreme mental and physical strength, no one has come close to what Cook has achieved. At only 26, lets hope there is plenty more were this came from. While Cook’s achievements deserve all the accolades, he was superbly backed up by a number of batsman. In total the England team achieved nine centuries; the highest number ever scored by an England team in an Ashes series and way ahead of the measly three managed by Australia. Paul Collingwood aside, England’s top seven all managed to reach a century at some stage of the series. Kevin Pietersen’s 227 at the Adelaide Oval was his best score yet, while Trott further cemented his place at number three with a consistently good performance and Ian Bell just gets better and better. The fact that most of England’s batsman averaged over fifty, speaks volumes.

While the quality of England’s batting allowed the bowlers plenty of time to rest and plenty of runs to play with, in order to win a Test Match, a team still has to take twenty wickets. Before the series started the composition of England’s attack was hotly debated. Should they pick five bowlers? Should they have picked Tim Bresnan? Being two of the key questions. In team selection and preparation, much credit has to go to Andy Flower and David Saker (the fast bowling coach). Not only have they made some good calls - most notably, dropping Steven Finn for Chris Tremlett (who, as the second highest wicket tacker of the series, has proved a revelation) and bringing in Tim Bresnan for the last two Tests (who, despite often being seen as nothing more than a journeymen, proved to be a more than adequate fourth seamer) - they have also conditioned the players well. The consistency, patience and accuracy of all England’s bowlers has been absolutely fundamental to the teams success. And while Cook deserves a special mention, so too does James Anderson. Four years ago, by his own admittance, he didn’t bowl well; wayward, inaccurate and low on confidence, he let the Aussies dominate him. Not so now. The undisputed leader of England’s attack, in possession of variation and with a razor sharp tongue, Anderson has grown into the potent, confident, swing bowler we all hoped he would be. If there could be two men of the series, Anderson would be the second.

In their fielding, fitness, strength of character and determination, England have outshone Australia. Confused in selection and lacking in talent, the Aussies failed miserably. If this Australian team is being branded as one of the worst ever, then this England team have the potential to be one of the greatest ever. Rising to third in the Test rankings, a series against India (the number one Test team in the world) in the summer and the Cricket World Cup only a couple of moths away, the 2010’s could be England’s decade. Looking at what they have achieved in just four years, anything is possible.