The Ashes Blog

I know they’ve copped a lot of flak (“See ya, sheilas” – The Sun newspaper), but I think Australia’s early exit from the Twenty20 World Cup will be a blessing in disguise. They can now focus everything they have on their Ashes defense, rest up a little, and become well accustomed to playing under England conditions. This was on my mind as soon as I heard we were knocked out by losing to the West Indies and Sri Lanka, and Shane Warne shares this view:

“Although Australia will still be hurting, this could be a blessing in disguise for the Ashes. They will be able to have a short break to get this out of their systems and then tick along with their practice out of the spotlight before the warm-ups. They have one focus now, no distractions before July 8 in Cardiff.”
- Shane Warne in The Times

Match time is good, but Twenty20 cricket is so different to Test match cricket that I think a good amount of time between games is a good thing. And by the time we get to Cardiff on July 8, I think they’ll be hungry for some international cricket success. If Australia goes on to win the Ashes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the English press do a 180 degree turn and pronounce that England lost because they stayed in the World Cup for too long.

What do you think? Will Australia’s early exit from the World Cup be to their advantage when they get to the Ashes Tests?

It looks like Australia is successfully climbing out of its hole, and is rediscovering some of its old mojo. Two Test wins in a row against the current number 2 side in the world? Not a bad effort for a side in transition. The end result for England is that it looks like the 2009 Ashes series will be happening about 6 months too late for them.

What do I mean by that?

If Australia had played England in December ‘08, then England would have probably won the series. England’s bowling attack was clearly superior, and although Australia might have had the better batting lineup on paper, they didn’t seem to have the old reliability.

But now the Aussies are starting to get some balance to the side, and, with some experience behind them, the young players are putting in an improved performance in South Africa. The middle order looks stronger, and the fast bowling unit has finally figured out how to take wickets in the fourth innings.

I’m not saying that we’re back to the glory days of Warne and McGrath, but at least it looks like the Australian team has got a bit of direction and purpose. All that means I’m expecting a better performance in Mother England that we might have seen from them a couple of months ago.

It’s here. For the next 5 days (ok, maybe 4 if Flintoff is knocked over cheaply) the Gabba will be the centre of the universe. The whole town is buzzing with talk about the Ashes. Owner of The Pineapple Hotel, one of the many pubs located within walking distance of the ground, said:

“This is the biggest thing Brisbane has ever seen …”

Local police also have a major job on their hands, as the Senior Sergeant coordinating it all pointed out:

“It’s the biggest policing event in Brisbane since the Sydney Olympics when we had the soccer.”

I had to go into the Brisbane CBD yesterday for a business seminar, and I walked past the Pig n Whistle pub which was overflowing with English cricket fans. Around the Gabba, pedestrian barricades have been set up, and at the end of each day Stanley St – one of Brisbane’s major roads – will be blocked off to allow the spectators to get home.

The Gabba itself has a wonderfully colourful history, as outlined in this terrific article in The Age newspaper, “Gift of the Gabba“. What can we expect today? A full house of 41,000 people:

All types of people. From everywhere. Outside the Gabba this morning there’ll be frocked local women showing off their brown shoulders (no Caulfield tans here). Blokes in shorts and singlets, or polo shirts they’ve had tastefully embroidered: BEER IS LIFE. Other blokes in suits racing from their chambers to a pre-Test breakfast. Dads and mums with a trail of cricketlings all in their official memorabilia. Old campaigners in towelling hats, and their ancient Sanyo radio in the top pocket, earplug already in. Middle-aged Englishmen with swizzle-stick legs, white and chickening from their khakis; faces as red as St George’s cross on their T-shirt. Families down from the bush.

All making their way inside. All in the mood.

This game will dominate Brisbane for the next 5 days. Nothing else will come close. This is huge. This is The Ashes.

It looks like it’ll be a hot few days of Test match cricket at the Gabba, with temperatures forecast to start at 32 29 degrees Celsius on Thursday, before climbing up to 34 29 degrees by Monday. I would expect it to get rather humid as well as temperatures increase, although it hasn’t been too muggy so far this year. But then we’re only just coming in to summer, so I’d reckon it should start up pretty soon.

We’re still in the worst drought in 1000 years here in Queensland, and with no rain forecast for the next week, I’d say it’s unlikely we’ll be interrupted by one of Brisbane’s famous thunderstorms. Without the rain and clouds around, I’d also expect conditions to be less swing friendly than they might otherwise be. The pitch will be bouncy and quick, but it may not have the movement of a traditional Gabba green top.

In theory this would favour Australia, as I’m sure the English bowlers would prefer to be doing their stuff in cooler temperatures under a cloudy sky, with plenty of movement off the pitch. Whoever wins the toss will bat first … even Nasser Hussain would take that opportunity this year.

Here’s a brief overview of England’s recognised batsmen. Most of the input is from Mike Atherton, with a little bit of help from his good mate Steve Waugh:

Andrew Strauss: Loves to cut and pull off the back foot, so get him playing forward and force him to hit down the ground – Mike Atherton

Alastair Cook: Tends to fall across his crease, so pitch it up and look to trap him LBW – Mike Atherton

Ian Bell: Doesn’t play the horizontal bat shots too well, so may struggle to score – Mike Atherton

Paul Collingwood: Likes to drive, but isn’t good with the cut or pull, and tends to hook in the air – Mike Atherton

Kevin Pietersen: Loves to drive off the front foot, but doesn’t always get hold of the hook, so look to have him caught in the deep. – Mike Atherton. Don’t talk to him, block off his boundaries with an in-out field setting, and bring Warne on as he may find the leg spinner’s extra bounce on Australian pitches difficult – Steve Waugh.

Andrew Flintoff: Stop his boundary hitting by starving him of the strike and having in-out field placements – Steve Waugh.
Tends to hook in the air, so bounce him and place a couple of fielders in the deep – Mike Atherton

“England are going to be badly underdone in Brisbane. They don’t look like they’re taking the build-up too seriously. It’ll be Australia 4-0. I might give England a dead rubber.”
- Steve Rixon

England took a day out from training yesterday to spend some time in the gym and then went to the U2 concert in Sydney. Steve Rixon thought this was a bad day given their woeful performance in Canberra, but Andrew Strauss thought it might help:

“The more practice you can get before the first Test, the better it’s going to be obviously. But it’s not the be-all and end-all. The most important thing is that you’re focused mentally going into that first Test match.”

Even Steve Waugh came out in support of the Englishmen, saying that team bonding is an important thing at the start of a long tour, and I’d have to agree. The guys know how to play cricket – what they really need is the right frame of mind, and the confidence to go out there and play their best.

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.

At the Champions Trophy tournament in 2004 England defeated Australia, then went on to play in the final against the West Indies. As we all know, they later went on to defeat Australia again 2 Tests to 1 and regain the Ashes.

In 2006, Australia destroyed England at the Champions Trophy, and now it’s the Australians who have gone on to play in the final. They might even end up playing the West Indies if the Caribbean kings can defeat South Africa in tonight’s game.

Deja vu?

I’m just wondering if there might be something in this. Does Australia’s win over England and subsequent progression through to the final mean that an Aussie Ashes victory is next on the list?

Peter Roebuck isn’t too impressed with England’s recent form. Here are a few quotes from a recent article in The Age newspaper:

Although England managed to secure a consolation victory over a distracted West Indies outfit, its performances in India do not bode well for its prospect of retaining the Ashes.
… Apart from the Peter Chingoka XI, England was the worst team in the competition. No surprise in that.
… England needs to arrive in Australia with runs on the board and victories in the book. Instead it seems to have lost the proverbial plot.
… Although England’s batting will be boosted by the return of Alistair Cook and Marcus Trescothick, the bowling was more or less at full strength in India. Matthew Hayden and company will have taken heart from Steve Harmison’s loss of control and the punishment dished out to Sajid Mahmood and Anderson.
… it is not easy to recover rhythm after a long break and the Lancastrian (Andrew Flintoff) might not be much of a threat at the Gabba.
- Peter Roebuck

According to former Aussie batsman Greg “Fat Cat” Ritchie, Australia won’t win the Ashes back with Ponting and coach John Buchanan in control:

“Australia would win the Ashes if Shane Warne was captain. On the field he (Ponting) doesn’t know what’s going on. England’s bowlers have our measure.”
- Greg Ritchie

I think Mr Ritchie might be a little harsh there. Sure, Ponting has made a few mistakes during his captaincy, but he has the full support of his players and that counts for a lot. He doesn’t make his decisions in isolation – and will certainly be chatting with Shane Warne when they’re out on the field. Let’s see how things go once they get to the Gabba on November 23.

As for the England bowlers having Australia’s measure, again let’s see how things go in Australian conditions. The England quicks are certainly very, very good, but I think they’ll find it a little tougher to knock over the Aussie batsmen than they did in 2005.