Australia wins by 277 runs

It took just 19 overs this morning for Australia to wrap things up in Brisbane and go to a 1-0 lead (click here for the scorecard). England offered surprisingly little resistance, with Kevin Pietersen gone in the first over, Jones bowled by McGrath 7 overs later, and the rest did their bit as lower order batsmen … a few swipes, and then back to the pavilion before causing too much trouble.

Australia reviewed:
For Australia, there were plenty of positives to come out of this game. Stuart Clark’s rise continues, the batting from the top six was awesome, and Glenn McGrath showed us that he still has the magic.

On the negative side, there’s the batting of Gilchrist, the impenetrable bowling from Brett Lee, and the way in which everyone allowed things to get a little out of hand when Pietersen and Collingwood went on the attack.

England reviewed:
For England, well, at least there weren’t any major injuries. The few positives include the guts and fight shown by the middle order on the fourth day, the bowling of Flintoff, and Kevin Pietersen’s haircut (no more Skunk Boy!).

The negatives are many and obvious. Stephen Harmison’s bowling improved from utterly woeful to barely Test standard, the batting and overall captaincy shown by Flintoff, the bowling from Anderson, the batting from Strauss, the presence of Duncan Fletcher, and the absence of Troy Cooley.

What lies ahead?
Australia has a few big selection issues, but they are all good decisions. Shane Watson’s not yet ready, which helps a little, but then if they want to bring in leggie Stuart MacGill, who do they get rid of? Stuart Clark, who took 7 wickets for the match? Brett Lee, Australia’s stump-destroying speedster? It’s going to be a tough call.

England probably couldn’t play any worse than they did in Brisbane, but then we were probably saying the same thing in 2002, 1999, and beyond. England will certainly improve, but whether it will be enough to get them a win in Adelaide is difficult to tell. At this stage I’d say an Adelaide win is unlikely, but then look what happened last year! Freddie Flintoff has told his bowlers to look to Glenn McGrath for an example of bowling perfection, and his batsmen have to show a bit of the determination shown by Collingwood and ‘Hollywood’. Harmy will need to get back to his best, and I just can’t see that happening, and Ashley Giles will need Panesar to keep him company, at the expense of James Anderson.

I know Flintoff is using 2005 as a source of hope, but the circumstances are quite different. If England are still lapping up past successes then they will need to quickly move on. Facing Australia in 2006 is a very, very different scenario.

I was at the Gabba myself today, and although it wasn’t a terribly memorable day’s play, it was an interesting one. Australia declared early … the only thing holding them back was Justin Langer’s century. With that milestone knocked over, it was back into the sheds with the score at 1/202. That gave them a total for the match of 10 wickets for 804 runs. Not too shabby, really.

Andrew Strauss was once again the first to go, as Stuart Clark got him out hooking, caught by super-sub Ryan Broad. Cook played well for his 43, but the big partnership of the day was between Collingwood and Pietersen. Australia didn’t quite know how to pin them down, and the runs flowed. The crowd were fairly quiet, though the England fans slowly upped the volume as their two stoic batsmen showed a bit of grit. Unfortunately for Mr Collingwood the pressure was too much for him, as he had a brain explosion on 96 and was stumped by Gilchrist off the bowling of Warne. However, he was still happy with how it all went:

“We wanted to fight today because we haven’t played as well as we can. It was about fighting and pride and a bit of passion, and not just talking about it but going out there and showing it.”

That’s the one thing that really came out of day four - England’s recovery. Some people had written England off for the entire tour, but I’ve known all along that they would eventually fight back. Day four at the Gabba was the beginning of that epic climb back up the hill of competitiveness.

What do others say?

The Age: England become Lions

The Corridor: England fight back, and some thoughts on coaches

The Guardian: Odd couple lift English spirits

My father-in-law once wrote a book called “The end is near … or is it?” He could have been talking about England and their chances this series. The end may very well be near as England now face their own apocalypse. On the other hand, talk of England’s doom may be premature. The Gabba Test may already be lost, but I don’t think the series is over just yet. They’ll need to spend a few days in ICU to mend their scars, and if that is successful then they may yet fight back.

Here in Brisbane it has been a brutally brilliant display from the Aussies, and a woeful performance from England. After Australia had made 9/602 declared, England could only reach 157 - the fourth-greatest deficit in Test history and the highest in an Ashes Test. Meanwhile, Billy Bowden copped one himself whilst umpiring at square leg, and ended up on the ground with a nasty bruise.

Glenn McGrath was the hero, taking 6 for 50. Not bad, for an old bloke. Together with Stuart Clark and Brett Lee, they made the pitch look dangerous … a batsman’s nightmare. When the Aussies subsequently went out to bat after controversially choosing not to enforce the follow-on, they returned it to paradise. Batting again, Australia was 1/181 at the end of play. The contrast between these two sides could not have been more obvious.

“It was a walk in the park. I was ready to go straightaway. But we thought we’d bat again and get the cracks a bit wider … bat today and a bit of tomorrow.”
- Glenn McGrath

There’s been a bit of talk about whether Ponting’s decision was the right one. Toby Forage at the Fox Sports cricket blog can’t understand why they would allow England’s bowlers some extra practice time out in the middle, nor why they would want to use McGrath’s bowling in the fourth innings when the Adelaide Test starts just a few days after this one.

But there is reason here. It will allow the Aussie top order the opportunity to further undermine England’s bowlers, and further drain the visitors of any remaining confidence. It will make England’s batsmen do some more running around in the field beneath a hot Brisbane sun. And it will allow the Australians, particularly the under-used Shane Warne, to bowl last on a slowly disintegrating wicket. As The Age put it, it’s like pulling the wings of flies. It’s slow, torturous, and effective.

All up, I think it was the right thing to do.

What do others say?

The Times: Ageless McGrath dismantles woeful England

The Sunday Mail: Old heads too good

Sydney Morning Herald: Preparation costs Harmison

The Telegraph: England’s barmy plan suits Ponting fine

Test Match Special blog: England are playing for pride

Australia continues to dominate this game, and honestly, that’s surprised me. I was surprised at how easily Australia’s lower order was able to take the score from 6/467 to 9/602, Australia’s highest score against England at home since the 1946/47 series. I was also surprised at how quickly England’s top order collapsed on a pitch that still offers a truck load of runs. Glenn McGrath’s experience showed, whilst Stephen Harmison’s woeful start continued (though his bowling is improving).

Ponting’s 196 was brilliant, and Michael Clarke’s half century was a useful one … and perhaps gave the selectors another difficult selection decision for the 2nd Test.

Peter Roebuck reckons “England stand on the brink of cricketing calamity“, and he’d be right. They may yet find a way out of this mess with a couple of useful 200 run partnerships, but that’s about their only hope. The rain alone won’t save them this time … it’s as dry as a bone here in Brisbane.

Allan Lamb, speaking between innings, thought that Kevin Pietersen would “definitely bat at number 4″ ahead of Paul Collingwood. Maybe that’s the way they should have gone, given the ease with which Stuart Clark dismissed Colly for 5. But then Lamb also thought that England would be in a strong position at stumps on day two, so what would he know.

Freddie Flintoff said,

“We need a couple of big partnerships to get past 400 and we need to occupy some time as well.”

If he’s talking about the need to avoid the follow-on by scoring at least 402 runs, then I think he’s off the mark. As Scott rightly points out at The Corridor blog, anything over 250 would be enough to make Australia bat again. Ricky Ponting won’t want to push his bowlers too hard, so he’ll give them a rest even if England are bowled out for 350 runs less than the Australians.

What will the third day bring us? I am expecting a fightback of some kind from the tourists. Someone has to stand up. Will it be left to Freddie to save the day once more? So far he’s the only one who has shown the same kind of determination that won it for England last year. We’ll just have to wait and see if anyone else will support him.

Australia 3/346

Let’s face it, it couldn’t have been much worse for England. Well, they could have had a series-ending injury to a key player, but aside from that, pretty much everything else made this Black Thursday for the England cricket team.

The bus trip from their hotel to the Gabba was, according to Ashley Giles, “a quiet place this morning”. The enormity of the task ahead had made them all nervous. It showed.

So often the very first ball of the first Test sets the tone … it makes a statement. Stephen Harmison’s first delivery certainly did that, as he sent it wide and into the hands of his captain standing at second slip. The nerves were showing. The pressure, that overpowering, confidence-draining pressure, was hanging all over Harmison, and he couldn’t cope. Apparently that gave the Australians “a bit of a lift“. After two overs Harmison was taken off. What a contrast to last year.

As for the other bowlers, all 7 of them, they all had brief moments of greatness, though the general quality of bowling on offer was pretty low. Will Luke and the Cricinfo commentary team were scathing:

“Hoggard is not doing much and at around 80mph, Ponting and Martyn will have been more tested in the pre-match nets …”

“That had “hit me, please” all over it”

However, Patrick Kidd at The Times suggests 10 reasons why England should remain positive, including:

Mike Dickson at The Daily Mail reckons England could be looking at an innings defeat, although I wouldn’t be so despondent just yet if I were an English fan.

For the Australians, Hayden and Langer got them off to a great start. Langer was at his attacking best, obviously keen to silence those who were calling for his departure. But the star of the Aussie innings was Captain Ponting, who scored his 32nd Test match hundred. He was superb all day, and I think he looks determined enough to make a double hundred at the Gabba. Unless England’s bowling improves, there won’t be much to stop him except himself.

I thought it would be interesting to do a statistical comparison of the two sides to see how they will fare against each other, statistically speaking. What I’ve done is add up the batting averages for all 11 players in each side to give a team batting average. I’ve then added up the bowling averages for Australia and England, and this gives us a team bowling average. To the Australian batting averages I added the England team bowling average to give a final total (and vice versa for England). So if a side has a very good, and therefore low, bowling average then they won’t be adding too many runs to the oppositions total team average, so it seems to me like a fair comparison: […]

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.

I went to the Gabba website and found a bit of helpful information for those of you who - like me - will be getting along to the Brisbane Cricket Ground for the first Test. You can see the details here, but here are a few key points:

• Deliveries and product from external caterers is not permitted. Patrons are allowed to bring homemade items such as sandwiches, biscuits, cake and cordial will be permitted provided they are appropriately packaged

The following items are not permitted into the ground:

• Large Eskies, backpacks, and camelpaks
• All beverages in glass or cans
• Folding Chairs
• Alcohol
• Crockery, cans, opened bottles, glass containers, dangerous or illegal substances, flares, fireworks, laser pointers, loud hailers, certain musical instruments including horns and whistles.

Got that? No cans, no backpacks, and no big eskies. And to further protect patrons from the risk of terrorism or other acts of violence, if you bring any food along it’s got to be homemade.