The Ashes Blog

Day 1: Australians 337 for 8 (Hussey 143*, Katich 95)

There were some concerns for the Australians with a few of their top batsmen failing, but Mike Hussey looks like he could be back to form and ready to terrorise the England bowlers.

Phillip Hughes was once again dismissed cheaply, and I just wonder if he might have used up too much energy in playing for Middlesex. He’s a terrific player, and I’m not going to discount him, but he needs to get this run of low scores out of him as soon as possible. He is the sort of guy that can just turn it on at anytime … a little bit like Adam Gilchrist, you just never want to write him off.

However, another shining light was Mitchell Johnson, who once again showed the more qualified batsmen the way to go. You England fans shouldn’t underestimate this guy – he is seriously good. And I mean, Flintoff ‘05 good. Look out. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 1: Australians 349/7
Not a great start, with a few in the top order going cheaply. Hughes batted how I expect him to go during the Test matches – chasing hard, going for quick runs, and occasionally losing the fight as a result. But that’s ok, because I think more often than not his style will come off. My one concern is Captain Ponting, who made just 8. He needs runs to get him into the groove again. However, the Aussies recovered thanks to their lower order. Brett Lee showed he can bat, and if his bowling is good enough to get him in to the XI for the First Test, I reckon he could add some pretty valuable runs.

“I’ve heard this pitch compares a lot to Cardiff, although obviously it will be a different stage with a lot more pressure for the Test.

“It was good to spend some time out there. We’ve been going pretty hard in the nets, but it is good just to see where you’re at in the middle and things felt okay.

“The main point of this game was blowing some of the cobwebs out and part of the process towards stepping out for day one at Cardiff.
- Brad Haddin

Day 2: Sussex 311 … Australians 18/0
All of the Aussie quicks had a good day at the office, with Lee and Clark leading the way and Peter Siddle close behind. Hauritz was disappointing, and I can’t see him making the Test team. Read the rest of this entry »

Day 1: It wasn’t a very good day at all for England, with nemesis Phil Jaques scoring his second hundred in a row against the tourists, Hoggard and Flintoff went wicketless, and catching opportunities continued to go to ground. Maybe they’re still feeling a little rusty, but England need a big improvement if they are to challenge Australia in Brisbane on November 23rd.

The English will be wanting to wrap things up pretty quickly tomorrow, although they may face some stiff opposition from an Aussie all rounder in the making, Moises Henriques. Then, of course, England face a bowling attack that has taken 984 Test match wickets between them. It could be a tough day at the office.

So far England have failed to deliver, and some of the fans have given up already. I think that’s a little premature, but then they will want a pretty good effort from their batsmen to get some real confidence back into the team.

Day 2: It was a much better day out for England on day 2, though a few concerns still remain. Harmison and Anderson did well to wrap up the NSW tail, but when it came time to bat Trescothick and Ian Bell fell cheaply. However, England fans will be encouraged by the strong performances from Cook, Pietersen, Strauss and Flintoff. My colleague at work has already written off England as a no hoper, though I disagree. Yes, they look a little rusty, but they may yet come good when it really matters. Their bowlers might look ordinary at the moment, but I think their batsmen have enough in them that they might be able to put some decent scores together.

As for the Aussie bowlers, they did ok at times, though according to bowling coach Troy Cooley they were trying out a few different things:

“It’s a flat wicket, but they will probably be playing on a few of those throughout the Test series. This is more about trying to get things right rather than the end result in a match like this.”
- Troy Cooley

Leg-spinner MacGill was in the NSW team, but did not bowl because of an old bowling elbow injury. Or perhaps they just didn’t want to let the English get comfortable with quality leg spin.

Day 3: Kevin Pietersen got back amongst the runs with a well made century, but the England XI were eventually dismissed for 349 – 6 runs short of the NSW score. When it came time for the English to take to the field, they were finally able to dismiss Phil Jaques cheaply – with a run out. For the locals, Katich and Clarke both made half centuries, although neither of them may be in the Australian squad for the first Test.

All up I think it was a pretty good workout for all involved, with both teams taking away a few positives, as well as a few areas that will need a bit of work.

England were second best in just about every department during yesterday’s loss to the Prime Minister’s XI by 166 runs. The local batsmen were largely untroubled by England’s bowling attack, which looked very, very ordinary. Flintoff is looking pretty good, but Sajid Mahmood’s tour got off to a terrible start with figures of 1-97 from just 9 overs. In that time he was called for 6 no balls, and bowled a dozen more that the umpire missed. It’s all looking a bit like Kasprowicz in the 2005 series – plenty of no balls, a wayward line, and an ultimately terrible series. Perhaps the Englishman should have a chat with the big Queenslander when they get into Brisbane.

We only caught a glimpse of Monty Panesar, as he was given just 3 overs. For a guy who has never played here before, and who could be a key factor in England’s Test side, this seemed very strange to me. Perhaps he’s a quick learner. And why give Paul Collingwood an extended run? It was all a bit crazy out there.

At the change of innings I started thinking that perhaps England is still a good chance at winning this one. Perhaps Manuka Oval is a batting paradise. Perhaps the conditions are so unfriendly to the bowlers that any old bloke could score runs on this ground.

Shaun Tait changed all of that, and probably booked himself a spot in the Test side. His pace bowling into the breeze was awesome, and although the England side got a glimpse of Tait during the 2005 series, he looks to be back to his best and could be quite a frightening bowling partner for Brett Lee.

So what can we get from all of this?

A loss in a game like this isn’t really a big deal, so I don’t think we can condemn England just yet. Back in 2002 England lost their opening game to the ACB Chairman’s XI by 58 runs. On the 1998-99 tour England had a 1 run win over the Chairman’s side, and in 1994 England again defeated the Chairman’s XI, but lost to the Prime Minister’s XI by 2 wickets.

They’ll bounce back, although their next game against New South Wales will be a tough one. They’re practically playing against an Australian Test side with a few extra blokes flown in to make up the numbers: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Simon Katich, Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, and Phil Jaques (again). MacGill suggested that NSW might just go out and bat for 3 days to deny the English some batting practice. Based on yesterday’s effort from England’s bowlers that might be a fairly easy thing to do.

The Australian bowlers copped a hammering from the Essex top order, as the home side moved to 502 for 4 on the first day of their tour match. Shaun Tait and Michael Kasprowicz each took a couple of wickets, but Stuart MacGill finished with  0-128 from 24
overs.

The Australians will be trying to emulate the feats of Essex’s Alastair Cook (214) and Ravinder Bopara (135) on day two. They don’t need another embarrassing defeat just days before the Ashes decider.

Update: 5th September
The Australian batsmen did more than enough in compiling 561 for 6 in 95 overs. Matt Hayden made 150 (from 118 balls) before retiring, and then Brad Hodge hit 166.

Hayden has done well against the counties (he’s averaging 103 against them for the tour), so the selectors may think he has to come good in the 5th Test. I think they’ll keep him on for another chance. MacGill went wicketless, but the Oval may suit him more than Chelmsford, so he’s still a possibility. I see Ian Chappell wants 5 bowlers in the Aussie lineup, including MacGill.

Australia’s 3 day tour match against Worcestershire, which turned into a 2 day match because of the rain, has finished in a draw. Australia batted first and declared at 406 for 9, and then dismissed the locals for 187. Australia’s second innings finished at 161 for 2. It was a great workout for the team, with all of the batsmen making runs, and Kasper (5-67) and Gillespie (2-45) bowling well.

The Australian team seems to have adapted pretty well to the longer form of the game, with a strong performance against Leicestershire. The county batted first and were knocked over for 217, as Brett Lee took 4-53:

"I think the ball is definitely coming out as well as it was
back in 1999 when I first broke onto the scene. I think I have
matured a lot more as a cricketer these days and am bowling a lot
more with my head."
- Brett Lee

After Day 2 Australia is 7 for 582, with Langer (115), Ponting, (119), and Martyn (152no) all scoring well.

We can’t read too much into this game, but Australia is looking really, really good. This team is now a long way from the side that earlier lost to Somerset, Bangladesh, and England.

Update: Australian dominates against Australia
Australia declared on their overnight score, and were hoping to wrap up a win quickly today. However, Leicestershire’s Aussie import Chris Rogers played a beautiful innings of 209 from just 219 balls, and the county finished the day on 363 for 5.

In a bit of a shock, Australia has lost their one-day match against county side Somerset. They reached 5 for 342 from 50 overs, with Matt Hayden retiring on 76 and Ponting retiring on 80. Somerset reached the target with 19 balls to spare, thanks largely to their two internationals – Smith of South Africa (108) and Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka (101).

"All of a sudden, Australia are being forced to face up to a crisis situation."
- Andrew Miller, Cricinfo

I don’t think so. It’s obviously taking a little while for the players to settle in to competitive cricket again, and two batsmen retired early in order to give the others some match time … that’s what tour matches are all about. Ponting and Hayden could have batted out the day, but then guys like Clarke and Hussey would be short on time spent out in the middle. Gilchrist also had a break, and Brett Lee was only able to bowl 4 overs before going off with a shoulder injury.

As Ponting and others have pointed out, the schedule for this tour is just what Australia needs, as it allows them to get the cobwebs out before the real thing starts on July 21. Maybe this sort of loss to Somerset is what he was talking about.

The Australian team has had an easy 95 run win over Leicestershire in their tour match at Grace Road. Batting first, they made 4 for 321 from 50 overs, with Hayden making 107, Martyn 85, and Andrew Symonds 92 not out from 59 balls.  In reply Leicestershire could only get to 8 for 226, with Brad Hogg taking 3 middle order wickets.

Meanwhile, England has annihilated Hampshire by 153 runs at the notoriously bowler-friendly Rose Bowl. England’s batsmen found it was tough work as they were bowled out for 238 – Strauss (85) and Pietersen (77) were the only ones to make a decent score.  However, their bowlers were on the job as they had Hampshire all out for just 85, Darren Gough taking his second ever hat-trick for England.

So, with Australia’s batsmen firing, and England’s bowlers in devastating touch, it looks like we could be in for an interesting Natwest one-day series.

England has easily defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 261 runs at Lord’s, making it 9 wins in a row for England at home.  Marcus Trescothick was Man of the Match with his knock of 194.