Both sides continued to fight a see-sawing battle, and on this occasion it went the full five days, albeit rain-assisted and still no result could be achieved. A draw – an anti-climax? Far from it! Anyone who would claim that five day cricket and draws could be boring, would be well advised to study this game as it demonstrates fully why cricket can be such an enthralling spectacle.
From an English perspective, the positives were plentiful. Michael Vaughan answered his critics in style with a fine hundred. Like his batting throughout, it was a case of perfect timing. Just as the questions were being posed – could he regain his top form? Was he just a one season wonder? Was the captaincy too much of a burden? – he managed to play one of his more defiant knocks. If England are to succeed in the long-term they need their captain to score runs, not only because of his importance to the team on the field, but also because on form he IS England’s best and arguably most talented batsmen.
Aside from Vaughan, the rest of the batting again showed further improvement, most notably Strauss and Bell. Strauss showed plenty of heart in coming back from two serious blows to the head, to score a vital second innings century. It was the Strauss from last year, and the fact that he was able to produce it against the Australians after the pressure he has been in should give the platform to really launch his career. Bell, similarly, overcame serious pressure to neatly compile two half-centuries. He certainly looked far more assured in the crease, his defence solid and his off-side driving immaculate. It will certainly mean the calls for Thorpe’s return can finally be laid to rest.
Even given the much improved batting performances, it is still the bowling that is giving England the much needed impetus in this series. Flintoff, who in this series has announced himself as a world-class bowler, was again instrumental in keeping the star-studded Australian attack at bay. He has all the great qualities to be a great fast bowler, the pace, the aggression, the variety and most-importantly the intelligence to take advantage of it – its hard to imagine that only two years his average was well over 40; it has to be one of the most remarkable transformations in cricketing history. He of course could not have done it alone, and was ably assisted by Simon Jones. Jones, when he debuted for England you fancied that he was all huff and puff, but he like Flintoff has really developed in the past year. Initially he began as a reverse-swing bowler, now he is totally adept at swinging the ball, old or new, and to it he has added control, which makes him a very tricky customer as the Australians found out this game. The improvement in Jones perhaps makes a case for the omission of Hoggard, who again was sub-par in conditions that did not favour swing bowling. Still that would be a short-sighted view, as it was less than 6 months ago that he won a crucial game in South Africa, and he can do the donkey work on docile pitches. The containing role again was reasonably done by Giles, though it did not bring the same level of success in terms of wickets as it did in Birmingham. Aside from an unbelievable delivery to dismiss Martyn in the first innings, Giles did not appear to pose a whole lot of problems for the Aussies. Nevertheless, given the lack of viable options, Giles still remains England’s no.1 option for the time being.
The major bowling worry for England though would be their spearhead, Steve Harmison. Since the first test where he was at his supreme best, he seems to have lost his edge. Form can be a funny thing, and with ‘Harmy’ it is perhaps more obvious than others. On his day he will rip through the finest batting line-ups, but when he is off the boil, the wheels really come of. His bowling to the tail-enders especially towards the end of both the second and the third tests was disappointing. The situation called for accurate bowling, but instead plenty of the short and wide variety was on show. If Harmison is to achieve his true potential, he will need to iron out the inconsistencies in his game, and he need not look further than his bowling partner and friend, Flintoff, for inspiration.
Let’s look ahead to the fourth test at Trent Bridge. Does Australia have the momentum? Is England a spent force? Will KP finally hold a catch? Who can really know, one would hope that the cricket continues to be exciting as it has been. It certainly has been one of the best test and Ashes series I have seen, and I certainly cannot wait to see the next instalment of this enthralling saga.
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