Horror

Second Test, Adelaide
Day 5 Comment

To win Test matches, you need to make opportunities and grab them. Australia, for the majority of the time at Adelaide, had been outplayed. It was England who had the opportunities but failed to take them.

This test match has exposed two teams with two different approaches. Australia are hungry, motivated and desperate to win the Ashes back. England are desperate not to lose them. It's only a subtle difference of approach, but, when amplified by day-five pressure, it became a devastating rift that saw England become gutless with the bat and then hopeless with the ball.

It’s sad for England but cricket is a cruel sport. One bad session cost Andrew Flintoff's men this match, and with it the series. The credit, however, must go to Australia. Seeing an opportunity to scare England on the final day is one thing, but having the unwavering belief and skill to ram home a famous victory is quite another. Here was a team of champions, albeit flawed champions, intent on ending the series as Ashes victors.

England needed to score about 100 runs on the final day to be safe. In the dressing room, all the talk would have been of surviving the first hour and then pushing on from there. This is where it went awry for England; you do not just survive on a last-day pitch against Shane Warne. He can build up all the momentum and pressure that way. It took England six overs to get 10 runs in the morning, an approach that played into the super spinner's hands.

On paper it seemed painfully obvious – flat pitch, go out there, attack and we’ll write this game off. But the middle is a lonely place for a batsmen; a combination of 11 fielders, 30,000 spectators and the knowledge that one mistake ends your match creates a pressure that is unique to cricket.

The muddle in the batsmen's minds was made clear early on with Andrew Strauss wafting outside his off stump. The survival plan came to a tumbling, pointless end with a poor decision from umpire Steve Bucknor, giving the Middlesex man out caught. England had not progressed at all and Australia had a breakthrough. There was no recovery; Paul Collingwood was the only batsman to survive but he could not get the ball of the square and England drifted slowly and painfully towards disaster.

Warne, as he so often is, was the master, fizzing and spitting the ball past the batsmen. This, however, is only half of his skill; his presence and will got inside of the England psyche. He had them panicking and he knew it. There was no respite for the tourists, either, as Warne received great support from Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath who, seeing the opportunity, backed themselves and raised their games as champions do.

It left Australia needing 168 to win from 38 overs.

Whilst Australia got off to a flyer, they did lose early wickets. At 33-2 England had a chance of winning the match, but no one in their side believed they could. With Australia needing less than four an over, Flintoff set defensive fields, with men on the boundaries and singles available everywhere. Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, under no pressure, collected easy singles as England drifted towards defeat.

Ashley Giles, who has built a career on bowling negative dross outside leg stump, suddenly found himself incapable of doing that - bowling short and on the stumps for 10 pointless overs. His place in this side further betrays England’s defensive mindset, but with victories now essential, he surely he must be dropped. Flintoff toiled manfully but had no support and Australia were guided home for a famous victory.

It is heartbreaking for England fans, and for cricket fans in general. This was the most hyped-up Test series in history, and after two matches, it's over. No England side has ever come back from 2-0 down to take an Ashes series. We shall of course, stick by them, but they need a fundamental change in approach if they are to compete.

For all but one day of this series, they have seemed to lack belief. Their aggressive, attacking instincts have been frozen by what Michael Vaughan called ‘fear of failure’. It is only now that we see how strong Vaughan’s influence was on last year's series. The England management have not instilled a belief in their players and questions must be asked of Duncan Fletcher. His team selection has been wrong, but the errors betray a deeper lack of confidence that has manifested itself in England’s play.

It is hard for England, as they played with authority for half this match, even though Australia fully deserve their victory. Arjuna Ranatunga – the Sri Lankan World-Cup winning captain, wrote how cricket is a physical sport decided by strength of mind. Australia’s mindset has been one of complete confidence and aggression, and for that they have been rewarded with the match and with it, surely, the Ashes.

War of attrition as Clarke kicks in

Second Test, Adelaide
Day 4 Comment

England started the day knowing a quick wicket could open the door to a series-levelling victory. The Aussies knew that if they could that overcome this threat they first made the game safe, and then if they batted well enough, create an opportunity to bowl England out. With so much at stake both sides started tentatively. It was England, however, who first hit the mark and, for the first hour, bowled with great discipline, pinning down two of the fastest scorers in the Australian side.

England deserved some luck, but found none as catches fell just short and a Hoggard's lbw shout against Gilchrist was turned down. Eventually, Flintoff needed to rest which brought Harmison into the equation. And promptly the pressure released.

Harmison has improved from Brisbane, but if even if I turned up to bowl, it would be an improvement from that game. Gilchrist cut loose and Australia dominated the second half of the morning session. England were lucky to get him, just before lunch, when he launched Giles needlessly into the hands of Bell.

It brought Warne to the crease and he was welcomed with a volley of chat, that, well, only he could imagine. It was enjoyable to watch, though slightly surprising to see that Warne, who dishes so much out, seemed annoyed about getting some back.

It was a brilliant mornings cricket, England were striving for an elusive wicket which seemed just a ball away, before Gilchrist counter-attacked as only he knows how.

England continued to be frustrated, particularly by Michael Clarke, who has played as well as I’ve seen him for his impressive 124. He will surely take Martyn’s spot when Watson comes in at number six.

It was not until Hoggard removed Warne just before tea and mopped up the tail quickly thereafter that England made any real headway in the day. You will continually hear about Hoggard being an underrated bowler, but anyone who has watched England over the past couple of years will be familiar with his brand of unfashionable, consistent and occasionally brilliant fast-medium bowling. Indeed a glace at the ICC World Rankings, will show he is rated as the fourth-best fast bowler in the world. His bowling here was nothing short of phenomenal, and is likely to be the best performance by a quick bowler this series. The pitch was an absolute grave-yard yet he still ran-in for two days and picked up seven wickets.

England were left to survive a tricky 19 overs at the back-end of the day. The only casualty was Cook, who was caught behind off Clarke. Alistair Cook is an mature person and talented batsmen, but he is going through the learning phase that every player has to. England must stick with him even if he continues to struggle, because as Bell is showing, learning in the Ashes may be hard, but you come through it mentally and technically stronger.

Warne turned the ball and sledged sharply last night, which sets up yet another crucial morning session. After their dominance for much of this match, England would not want to give the Aussies a sniff of victory in this game. To ensure this they must bat two sessions. In the end this hopeless pitch should be the winner, but provided nothing goes wrong tomorrow, England can draw much confidence from this test match.

Ponting performance tells only half the story

Second Test, Adelaide
Day 3 Comment

England entered today hoping to still be in a chance of winning the game by close of play. On this batting paradise the Aussies had every chance of scoring big and killing the game. England were, however, resourceful and disciplined and kept themselves marginally ahead.

Irrespective of how this match ends, and there remains hope for both sides, the pitch has been dreadful. It’s ridiculous that mats that favour bowlers too much attract high criticism (and in English domestic cricket, can result in points being deducted) while these sort of featherbed’s are termed ‘good wickets’. The volume of cricket played these days has threatened the potency fast bowlers generally, and making them play on these sorts of wickets adds to the damage. Looking back at Ashes 2005, the quality of fast bowling on good cricket wickets led us to the most exciting test series of all time.

It’s sad that so many pitches in Australia have become so lifeless. Australian pitches have, aided Ricky Ponting’s remarkable run rout. His run of scores is actually unreasonable. In completing his 10^th hundred from his last 13 Tests, he became the most prolific century maker in Australian test history. These milestones are markers used to compare players, across the world and through history. His Bradman-esque run will draw lots of debate as to his standing in the game.

Statistics tell much of the story but they are not definitive. One of the many things that makes cricket so special is the examination of character that is offers. How personalities reconcile with themselves and how people overcome the ghosts in their head decides effects their performance. Watching this process is fascinating, it can be genuinely hurtful to witness, as anyone who saw Graeme Hick being defeated by his demons in the nineties will understand. It can also be thrilling – watching Kevin Pietersen stamp his arrogance and authority all over Australia was compelling.

So for me, the truly great innings, and the truly great batsmen needs character. Ricky Ponting should have all those ingredients. His undoubted talent was tempered in his youth by alcohol and gambling, something that threatened his career. But he overcame those demons so successfully that he has crushed any flair or personality with them. His runs are scored with regularity, aggression and at vital times yet there are just too efficient and void of exuberance for me to enjoy them.

No, for me, the greatest of our generation is Brian Lara. Watching a Lara innings is unforgettable. No one can score runs in the way Lara does, no one can take attacks apart with such mesmerising, fluid beauty. Though he is now a more mature person and player, during his great period, where fame and unrivalled success had come too early for him, he was childish, arrogant and surrounded by a team in terminal decline. The abandon that gave him when he arrived at the wicket was perfect.

Ponting, however, would have never had the chance to score is 33^rd ton if England had taken their chances.

Anyone who has played any vaguely competitive cricket will know how painful it is to drop a catch. It is the most, unrivalled feeling of despair that you can have on a cricket field. Today, Ashley Giles dropped probably the biggest catch in cricket. At a vital time, in a vital match, on a pitch where wickets are a rarity, he dropped the Australian captain on 35. It could be turn out to be the moment that decides the series – at 78-4 Australia would have been reeling. It should be said, however that Giles was not the only culprit; Collingwood missed an equally gettable run out soon after.

Nevertheless England can be pleased with their effort. Hoggard was outstanding, Harmison and Anderson much improved. Giles did not add anything to the bowling effort but he’s in the side for his batting. Pleasingly Flintoff’s captaincy was superb today, and given England’s general turnaround he should be widely congratulated. Yesterday he instilled discipline, aggression and smart tactical moves into England’s play. Looking ahead to day four, as usual – the first hour will be vital. If England can remove Clarke and Gilchrist early, they will give themselves a great chance of levelling the series. If not, a draw seems inevitable.

Warne reduced to wides as Pietersen digs in

Second Test, Adelaide
Day 2 Comment

It is not often that you’re able to compare Ashley Giles to Shane Warne but such was Pietersen’s complete technical dominance over his Hampshire team mate that Warne was reduced to bowling the negative, hopeless around-the-wicket line that made our very own King of Spain famous.

We must remember that this pitch is painfully slow and offers absolutely nothing to bowlers of any creed. Indeed New Zealand legend Martin Crowe once remarked on the three certainties of life - death, taxes and hundreds at the Adelaide Oval. But the nature of the hundreds scored by Collingwood and Pietersen was astounding. Whilst yesterday England seemed content on survival, today they took the game to the heart of Australian bowling – McGrath and Warne and left them battered, bruised and with one wicket for 274 between them. Their worst ever return.

McGrath in particular looked a spent figure, at Brisbane he was flattered by England’s woeful batting but on this pitch he never looked like taking a wicket and was treated with disdain by Pietersen who waltzed down the track to smack him through the leg-side on numerous occasions. As more question marks over McGrath’s fitness presented themselves, so did the perceived weakness of Ponting’s captaincy. Some of his ultra defensive field settings were shocking as England merrily collected runs under no pressure whatsoever.

Duncan Fletcher has remarked that Pietersen is one of the smartest cricketers he has ever come across. A quick interview with Kevin will illustrate that it is his cricketing brain that Fletcher is referring to but the way in which he dealt with the ‘Shane Giles’ negative approach was superb. For a player so exuberant and in such fluent form it was not easy to kick the ball away over after over but he kept his head and with the aid of some stunning footwork and balance was able to hit Warne against the spin through mid on, whenever Warne’s negative line erred slightly. It was his best test innings by a distance, and one of the best displays of tackling leg-spin that you will ever see.

Australia may have regretted playing four bowlers on the best batting wicket in the country, especially after the England bowlers could only muster up 9 wickets for 804 in Brisbane. But England, may well rue the similarly conservative selection of Ashley Giles. For them to take 20 wickets and win this match would be a remarkable effort, for greater then the brilliant batting display – and Panesar’s presence would have helped.

What followed was England’s best passage of play this series, giving themselves nine overs at the back end of the day to have a go at the Aussies. It is not easy coming out to bat after 168 overs in the field and England took full advantage. They were aggressive, lively and right up at Australia. Flintoff crucially took the new ball and got the reward of Justin Langer caught off a rising delivery. When at his best, our captain is one of world’s premier fast bowlers and if England are to square the series here in Adelaide, his performance will be the difference.

Honours even as England shun opportunity

Second Test, Adelaide
Day 1 Comment

England were given everything they could have asked for today, but lacked the decisiveness or confidence to take full advantage.

The conservatism directing England’s batting display was evident before the game began with Flintoff announcing an unchanged side. Many have argued that leaving out Monty Panesar was simply the result of a stubborn, pig-headedness of Duncan Fletcher. This may not have been the case. It remains a defensive selection but the reasons behind it may more subtle than many will give the coach credit for.

A change in selection policy after one, admittedly terrible, match may have sent signals to the opposition that they had upset England’s plans early on in the campaign. Australia has gone down a similar, ill-judged route. Keen to disprove to everyone that they are not an aging ‘Dad’s Army XI’ they played a half-fit McGrath. His presence in the field alone cost Australia two vital wickets – a run out of Collingwood and on the penultimate ball of the day, a tired missed catch off a Pietersen hook. The later miss may prove to be the difference in the match.
Despite the combination of an unfit McGrath, an out of form Lee and a first day pitch that most batsmen would spend their time dreaming about, England failed to win the day. They started appallingly, with Strauss (14) and Cook (27) playing themselves in, before getting themselves out tamely, to leave England 45-2.
England improved from there but Bell and even Collingwood initially batted for a session as if it were a net. On an easy paced pitch where 480 should be par, England seemed overly content with occupying the crease; even if it meant letting the game drift aimlessly. Half volleys were patted straight to fielders and there was no urgency in the running between wickets.

When Bell was finally dismissed for a hard-graft, though undamaging 60, Pietersen took to the crease and inject purpose into England’s performance. His battles with Shane Warne made compelling viewing, and aside from Tendulkar in India, few have ever played Warne better. Like Ricky Ponting, Pietersen picks up length so early, that if a bowler errs even slightly short, he can rock back and cut with power and precision.

It is momentum that affects the pressure and the mental resolve of each side. The problem for England is, with the approach they adopted for most of the day, they did not shift the momentum. If they had been bolder and shown greater belief in themselves, they could have clawed back the momentum from the opening test – as they did at Edgbaston in 2005. As it is, if England lose two quick wickets tomorrow, the momentum will be entirely with Australia and England would have gained nothing.

Predictably though, the good score could not temper the overblown reactions of the media or many armchair barmy army, who had abandoned all hope day before yesterday, but have now returned to full voice.

For the rest of us, we can breath a sigh of relief that after the first day, we are still in the game. The first hour tomorrow, as always, will be vital. If Collingwood and Pietersen can complete and then build on centuries then it could give a chance for Flintoff to finally ‘express himself’ against the old ball. Five hundred is not enough to win this test match but England are more then capable of reaching a total that can.