After the drama and excitement of Old Trafford, the Ashes have moved to Nottingham and Trent Bridge for the 4th instalment of what has been one amazing series so far.
England go in to the test match 1-1 in the series but you can’t help thinking we’ve blown our chances of winning back that famous urn. That last day in Manchester should’ve been England’s and how it wasn’t I will never know. I guess it shows how tough the Australian team is. Even when the Auzzies play badly they still seem to get something out of it. Credit to Ricky Ponting for his marvellous ton, it saved them from certain defeat.
England no doubt have it in them to secure the Ashes but of course will have to do it the hard way as a drawn series means the Australians retain the Ashes. This makes the slip up last week seem even more important. Going in to the 4th test knowing that you had the upper hand would be a huge psychological advantage. However, now I feel the Australians (even if they have made two changes) are now in the ascendancy. By their own admission they haven’t performed in the series as of yet. There only win coming when they beat a lack lustre England performance at Lords. The 10 days rest could be crucial, they aren’t the worlds best for nothing. You can guarantee the likes of Warne, Lee, Ponting and Gilchrist won’t stay quiet for long.
Player for player I think you have to say the away side are the better but over the past 2 years England have shown that they are a force to reckoned with as a 11 man unit. For the fourth time in this series they have kept the same team. The team is so solid I feel you can no longer tell the likes of Ian Bell and Kevin Peiterson are novices on the test arena. The Australians I feel don’t have this unity especially when they are forced to drop their leading seam bowler in Glen McGrath through injury. Youth is on England’s side but experience necessarily isn’t. The ‘youth’ shone through in the 3rd test match as England managed to handle the back to back test matches with ease, where as Australia limped across the finish line. However; now we’re in to the prime of the series, experience will play a role. This is something that could be very crucial, and perhaps this was lacking on that last day in Manchester. To know how to wrap a test match is something no coaching manual can tell you, only by playing over and over again can you. I am going to stick my neck out and say that if the Australians were in the position England were in last week you would put your money on them getting 10 wickets.
Don’t get me wrong, England have done superbly well in the past couple of years, winning 7 out of 7 on home soil and then in South Africa. I would love it for the team to go one step further and beat the Australians. It’s always nice winning but when it’s against the number one in the world it’s even sweeter. However, I feel this could be a step too far. England seems to lack penetration and power at crucial points.
The point I am trying to make is that whilst Steve Harmison is a great bowler, if you give him a bowl you can’t guarantee he will get a wicket where as with the likes of McGrath or Warne I feel you can.
Changing the subject slightly to more of what the series is doing for cricket. The scenes outside Old Trafford last Monday were extraordinary. 40,000 people turned up for 20,000 seats. This kind of scenario has never been an issue with cricket, but it is obviously a good scenario to have. It’s got such an extent even the nations top sport football is taking a back seat as the sport pages are full of cricket news.
With in the introduction of Twenty20 and the obvious improvement in the national team cricket has been the sport to watch this summer. I don’t think I have ever seen the country as excited about cricket in my lifetime. There is a feeling something special might happen. Granted it’s going to be a long hard slog and if England do it then they would have done it the hard way. However, I for one will have my eyes peeled on the next two test matches.
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