Middlesex CCC
Ashes to Ashes
Let's celebrate
By Pantherlike
January 22 2011
As England are losing ODI series , who cares, we won the Ashes. This report from MTWD's Aussie Correspodent Pantherlike who gives an unbiased account from his armchair of the Sydney test and sums up the landmarks for a memorable series, if you are English anyway. Read on.
5th Test, Sydney 3 to 7 January 2010
Australia won the toss and batted.
Australia 280 (Mitch 53) and 281 (we were consistent!, Smith 54no)
England 644, yes, that right: 644. (Cook 189, Trott 0!, Bell 115, Prior 118)
Result: England by an innings and 83 runs.
Man of the Match and Series: Alistair Cook
Barmier Kev has given me the green light to book end the reporting for what has been a lamentable Australian memorable Ashes series down under. Now, you’ll have to excuse some of the below. No, I won’t start whingeing about the deplorable state of the Australian team, well, maybe only a little bit. No, with a test series of this particular vintage, I must confess that the test cricket purist came out of me. You just had to admire England. And also that little statistician inside me just could not be held at bay! I’m sure my fellow members at the ACS (Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians) feel the same way. And I’ve just had to dig a little deeper to find some of that gravid wit made famous in the past by the Barmy Army during those dark days of the late 1990’s. And also, having not attended the game in person and having spent much of it watching it on telly, my summation will not be able to regale you of experiences at the beer tent or the like…I did though have a few mates, English as well who did attend and I shan’t bore you of the flavoursome texts I received as the game progressed. I will though provide somewhat of a Middx bias which is only to be expected. I trust, for those who have made it this far, this meets with your reading approval.
Anyway, the poor folks up there in Sydney were to again host a dead rubber. I can’t remember the last time a ‘live’ test was played at the SCG (sigh). Really. I mean, if only a touring team could stick out these series a little longer. You know, be more competitive. Be more organised. Bat like they cared: have a top order that could protect their wickets. Bowlers who could bowl to a plan. Fieldsmen who could hold their catches. A team that could dictate play, apply pressure and even win consecutive sessions at a time. At least pretend to compete with the all-conquering Aussies….then; just maybe the cricket-loving Sydney-siders would have a decent contest to watch…
A likely story. This 2010/11 England team had been all that and more. And courtesy of the Trott-led heroics at Melbourne had already sown up the series. So for once the Sydney crowd would be praying for the Aussies to show some backbone and hope the Swann-led English celebrations hadn’t left the team too hung over. England’s selectors would have been hoping likewise selecting an unchanged side for the test. A shame really as this meant that Moggy Morgan missed out again, as he would have been the only likely incomer for a horribly out-of-sorts Collingwood. Still this was the unit that had just retained the Ashes in just over three days.
Having been thoroughly embarrassed at Melbourne to lose the Ashes, again, the home side selection panel had wielded the axe. Another likely story. Ponting was out, but not sent off to do hard time in Port Arthur as the only Australian captain to lose THREE Ashes series. No. He was out only ‘cos of his poor little broken Pinkie. Stuffed if I know why he played in Melbourne with such an injury. But this allowed young Usman Khawaja to make his debut in the Baggy Green. The new Kid has been in great form for NSW for a couple of seasons and the selection seemed sound. The other change was the all-to-predictable exchange of pace for spin (always happens at Sydney) with the already injured Harris out making it possible for Hilfenhaus, Johnson and Siddle to stay in the team and allow young Michael Beer to debut. So an out-of-form lineup had two replacements, due to injury only….The Beers were on us!
Day 1
Stand-in Aussie skipper Michael Clarke won the toss and despite overcast conditions, a green topped pitch and the threat of rain had no hesitation in batting first. Strauss reckoned he would have batted as well, but you could see that he and his bowlers were rubbing their hands together with glee at the prospect of exploiting another green top. And away we went.
Watto and the Kid (we at Middx got to know quite well at the start of 2009) seemed hell bent on surviving a tough, tense and thoroughly engaging first session. Perhaps it was because there was a test debutant and no Ponting to follow this time. Although he’s out of form, having Ricky in next must be like riding your racing bike with training wheels on. A few loose shots here, a few there, what does it matter? Well it did on that first day, and the two normally showy openers shelved their aggression and batted solidly for two hours, until a rush of blood saw the end of Hughes in the last over before lunch.
Enter Khawaja. Now, I was of the opinion that it was a mite unfair on the lad to be batting him at three, (they might have elected to introduce him to the top standard at say third drop), but I must admit he looked pretty good. Played some shots early then displayed patience as the English bowling tightened. It was only one rash shot, but that’s all it takes, to bring him undone as he skied Swann to backward square leg. Good bowling by Swann, but the pundit’s and those-who-know had seen enough. Khawaja was a prospect. Well, that may be so, but this jury is still out.
Day 2
Due to the rain, the Aussies had managed to make it to stumps on the first day, the first time this had happened in the series, but, and just as the sun was coming out to dry everything up, their innings caved in and despite a flashy 53 from all-rounder Johnson, the Aussies were skittled for 280.
The tortured Australian start on day 1 was replaced by a free-wheeling 5-an-over energy boost from English openers Strauss and Cook. Surely this has to be one of the finest English opening combinations seen in Australia? The two went at the Aussie bowlers like two hungry hyenas at a sickly Antelope out on the Savannah. Strauss perhaps going a little too hard, like we’ve all seen him do, missed a deceptive straight ball from Hilfenhaus (I think this might have been Hilf’s first meaningful wicket of the series?) and was gone for 60. Then something amazing happened. Trott was out for a duck! Well I never. KP came, looked good for a while and went, England 3/167 at stumps.
Day 3
The normal wear and tear that starts the ball turning at Sydney didn’t eventuate, which meant that Beer’s influence on the England innings could be blunted and Smith, that other blonde-haired leg spinner, didn’t get a bowl at all until the 102nd over. You had to marvel at the Australian preparation and insight! This meant that England could continue to build such a degree of test cricket domination not seen here since….well, probably since the Len Hutton-led 3-1 win in 1954/55 or that Jardine-led XI won 4-1 in that long forgotten series back in 1932/33. Apologies must be extended to Mike Brearley’s team of 78/79, but the Aussies were pretty much fielding the juniors thanks to Chappelli and Kerry Packer….But taking this current contest into account, has there ever been a more comprehensive towelling of an Australian side on Terra Australis by an England team? England 7/488 at stumps.
Day 4
England started the day 208 runs in front and having already removed any real chance of Australia even contemplating trying to win the game decided it was party time for the lower order. Matthew Prior was the chief man bringing up his own maiden ton for the series, meaning that now, with the exception of Collingwood, all of the top seven English batsmen had tasted century glory during the series. It was also the third ton in the innings and after a bit of a fray and ‘how’s your father’ from Swann, England capitulated for 644. This was incidentally the highest innings total by an English team in Australia and cherry on the cake as it were for this particular campaign
Having to counter another slight first innings deficit (346 this time) and absolutely no chance of a positive result in their corner, Watson and Hughes took their respective guards and set about trying to bat a day and a half, by playing their natural games….ie. go after anything remotely wide. With Watson gone after another brain-fade run out (and people are touting him as a potential captain!?) the pressure mounted on Hughes as Swann and Bresnan squeezed the life out of him, Hughes soon succumbing and was caught behind. Yet another catch in the series to Prior who was starting to create his own legend as he closed in on Alan Knott’s record for catches in a series.
By day’s end, seven Aussies had capitulated to the air of claustrophobia set up by Strauss and his bowlers and were still 150 runs shy of asking England to bat again. The game (and series) was thankfully effectively over. Perhaps the ICC should consider a mercy rule in future whereby sides getting utterly whacked can decide they don’t want to play anymore…hey, didn’t Pakistan already do that once?
Day 5
With a reasonable expectation of losing quite a bit of the day to rain, the Aussies, as they were in Adelaide, were seemingly oblivious to the fact that runs were not at all even remotely important as they aimed to regularly swat the ball to different parts of the field. Must be that need to feel that they’re providing a decent amount of entertainment to the public? I say get rid of Langer as batting coach and employ either Boycott or Tavare! Well anyway, the well oiled English bowling unit were hardly stretched taking the remaining three wickets, the last being debutant Beer falling to Trooper Tremlett who finally cracked a smile realising that it was at last all over and the celebrations commenced.
Strauss displayed true leadership material complementing his team’s cadre and spirit and also Andy Flower’s mental toughness and cornerstones of the series triumph.
Michael Clarke on the other hand displayed a worryingly near narcissistic-delusional indifference saying that the team were all fine and that the team has loads of talent. Even selector Hilditch declared that the selection panel had done a good job. Actually this is to be expected. Pup and Andrew are too close to the team to be able to see all the little things that have caused this once great side to completely belly-up in just two years. That normal Aussie she’ll be right spirit is normally OK, but this is quite different.
Alistair Cook as MVP for both test and series was like his skipper, equally magnanimous in praising all and sundry for the way in which things had turned out.
Cook was the Revelation of this tour. With question marks on his place in the side as the series started, his 67 at Brisbane gave us a good indication of what was to come. A sign of his fitness, endurance, concentration commitment and just plain good form led him to spend thirty-six hours at the crease, the longest by anyone in a five test series and is only second in all tests to Mark Taylor’s effort in 1989, but he had six tests. Cook spent all but eleven overs on the ground of the first seven days of the series. His humility, class and deference (that Bradford School education coming to the fore?) shone through and he has been popular with the locals. When asked if he knew that he had surpassed the Don’s record in Brisbane, he replied ‘no’. Everyone believed him.
So there you have it. A 3-1 result to England, whitewash enough and really, a scoreline that flattered Australia, who despite two amazing spells from Johnston in Perth were properly thrashed from pillar post from day four in Brisbane onwards.
To add to all the congratuling and carry-on that must ensue at the completion of such a land mark series, I’d very much like to take the opportunity to extend well dones and pats on the back to Beefy, Big Harvey and London Leprechaun who provided match reports and diaries to both the MTDW and MCCC.com faithful during the series. It would have been good if Beefy had’ve stayed on to watch Melbourne and Sydney after getting out here to ably assist the Aussies square the series in Perth, but one can’t have everything…
And now to a disgruntled Aussie’s Test Cricket Aficionado’s Series Wrap of this confounded, infernal, memorable and enticing 2010/11 Ashes :
This Ashes series was like few before seen in Australia. So many Highlights, and for that matter Lowlights. Here’s just a few:
- Gatts is no longer the ‘last victorious English skipper in Australia’, Mike leading England to a 2-1 win in 2986/87. Add Andrew Strauss to that list. Of course there was Mike Brearley in 1978/79 whose team pounded a Packer-depleted Aussies 5-1 to make it a hat-trick of Ashes Winning England captains hailing from Middlesex.
- Finny’s 6-fer in his first Ashes test at Brisbane.
- Siddle’s hat-trick on the opening day of the series.
- England scored 500+ four times in the series, only missing out in Perth. The first time they have achieved this feat and a measure of their dominance in the series.
- Australia’s paltry effort of 98 at Melbourne was its lowest score in an Ashes test, the previous mark was 104 in the second innings of the first ever test! And that was due to Charlie Bannerman being unable to bat due to that split finger.
- It’s the first time ever Australia has suffered three innings defeats in a series.
- Hussey’s five consecutive innings over 50. Only been done once before in Ashes (by himself!).
- Cook’s 235no at Brisbane, 148 at Adelaide and surely his finest: the 189 at Sydney.
- Strauss’s near three ducks at the start of the series: surviving a first ball shout in Brisbane to go on and make a ton.
- KP’s 227 in Adelaide.
- The 3-2 (that’s Aussie notation again) start by England in Adelaide.
- Mitchell Johnson’s 4-7 in Perth. Punter reckoned it was one of the all-time great Ashes spells. He might’ve been right for once?
- Trooper’s return to test cricket.
- England’s bowling on Boxing Day.
- The never-ending gusto and energy of the Barmy Army who brought each day to life with their banter and wit, far out-weighing the confused and scattered support from local fans.
The sledge of the series had to be KP’s wink at Ponting in Melbourne. I haven’t seen Punter so unable to control himself since Fletcher’s send-off wave after Ponting had been run out by Gary Pratt in 2005.
And Finally the Quote of the Series, one that made us ALL laugh, surely belonged to former test player turner radio pundit and cult hero Kerry O’Keefe. Kerry’s precise observations and analysis are constantly interrupted by his own witty one-liners that cause him no end of mirth (and he took a good five minutes to stop choking on this one). Kerry asked the big question of England at some time on day three as the tourists sailed past the Australian first innings score with the loss of just two wickets: ‘Do you think they’ll declare and go for the outright?!’
Well done England.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:02:05:20:42:53 by BarmierKev.
That was a brilliant report for the Sydney Test.
Referring to Phillip Hughes as 'the Kid' is a bit like referring to Eoin Morgan as 'the Iceman' in that the nickname is already taken, because when Hughes played for Middlesex he was in the same side as Billy Godleman, who was given the nickname of 'the Kid' by some. The nickname that Hughes was instead given was 'Yozzer', after
a character from the BBC's 1980's programme Boys from the Blackstuff. Both Winskies got more enjoyment from watching Hughes bat than Godleman.
When Pakistan conceded the Oval Test in 2006, it was actually after England had been whacked rather than vice versa, as Pakistan gained a 331 run first innings lead, so it was on England that the mercy shone.
Hopefully Middlesex Academy player James Kettleborough can go on to follow in the footsteps of fellow Bradford School pupil Alistair Cook, and hopefully 2011 will see Middlesex doing all the things right that England did for their Ashes triumph, as I am keen for Middlesex to learn from England.
You give a very in depth view.I enjoyed my time in your country,would of loved to been part of the MCG,SCG parties,but the old pound notes wouldnt let me!
Just a couple of minor points.
I think Mr Cook went to Bedford rather than Bradford School. He is simply not argumentative enough to have been always near Yorkshire.
And I have a feeling that 98 was Australia's lowest in an Ashes test in Australia. I think I can remember them being skittled for less at Lord's in the late sixties.
Adelaide
I think what pantherlike meant was that Australia's 98 at Melbourne was their lowest score v England at the ground. According Cricinfo, it was their 35th-lowest Test score of all time, their 25th-lowest v England, their 12th-lowest at home, their ninth-lowest at home v England and their second-lowest at Melbourne.
Thanks for the corrections: I got a bit muddled on Bradford/Bedford. I did visit both whilst over there and probably should have known better. I also lived down the road from Brentford too. There's a sort of natural poetry to English geography isn't there...
And too true, it was Ostraya's lowest dig at the G. I was fuming at the ineptitude on display yet revelling in the fact I was witnessing a statistical anomaly. Where's Charlie Bannerman when you need him!
Cheers again for compliments. I'll look forward to reading other reports once the Panthers get started in April.
