The Ashes Blog

Apparently England is seriously thinking of bringing back Mark Ramprakash or Marcus Trescothick for the final Test at The Oval. I find this unbelievable.

Firstly, if Ramprakash or Trescothick are good enough for the fifth Test, why weren’t they good enough for the previous four Tests? Why weren’t they even considered for the previous four Tests?

Secondly, imagine what England crowds and the media would be saying if the situation was reversed and Australia was talking about recalling a 39 year old player. It’d be on for young and old!!  Who could that Australian player be? How about one of Australia’s national selectors, Jamie Cox. He’s just a month younger than Mark Ramprakash, he’s made big runs at Australian domestic and England county level (51 first class centuries), and as a selector he could pick himself for the side! Or how about Shane Warne, who is also 39 years old. Now that would worry England.

Now consider the headlines if Jamie Cox was being considered as a replacement player for Simon Katich, or if Shane Warne was looking at getting a game ahead of Nathan Hauritz:

“Australia: Grandad’s Army”

If a 39 year old was to play for Australia, he would be old enough to be the father of Australia’s youngest squad member, Phillip Hughes. It really would be a step up from “Dad’s Army” to “Grandad’s Army”!

Where are these headlines in the England daily papers?  They’re not there because some people in the English media would love to see one of the old guys come back again and save the day for mighty England. It’d certainly make a great movie.

So, will Trescothick or Ramprakash play the fifth Test at The Oval? No. England selectors are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for, and I think the only change they’ll make will be to remove Ravi Bopara (who is obviously out of his league playing Australia at Test level), and replace him with Robert Key or Jonathan Trott. That’s it. No big comeback, no strictly come dancing, no romantic finale. All the talk about Ramps and Tresco making a comeback is ridiculous. England has lost just the one Test for goodness sake!  One Test!  There’s no need to be bringing players out of retirement at this stage.

Updated August 15, 2009: England’s selectors have apparently done exactly what I expected them to do and have dumped Ravi Bopara and replaced him with Jonathan Trott for the Fifth Test:

“England will give Jonathan Trott a Test debut against Australia at The Oval next week as they seek to reverse the horrors of Headingley by pulling off a victory that would regain the Ashes.

They will resist the clamour for mass changes after an innings defeat in the fourth Test, with Ravi Bopara the only batsman to suffer. Bopara will be dropped, with Ian Bell taking his place at No3.”
- England drop Ravi Bopara and bring in Jonathan Trott for Ashes finale

I thought I’d try and put together a playing list of recent Australian and English players who have struggled to play as much cricket as they would like because of various injuries. Some seem to spend half their life on the bench, whilst others have experienced occasional injuries but have nevertheless missed out on some big moments. Here’s my Injured Ashes XI:

1. Marcus Trescothick
2. Phil Jaques
3. Michael Vaughan (c)
4. Shane Watson
5. Andrew Symonds
6. Andrew Flintoff
7. James Foster (w)
8. Brett Lee
9. Simon Jones
10. Shaun Tait
11. Bryce McGain

Not a bad playing list, but do you think all eleven could be simultaneously fit for a game??! And how many of these guys will play a Test in the 2009 Ashes series?

Well, this is interesting. According to Marcus Trescothick’s autobiography, during the 2005 Ashes series he was given the role of Director of Saliva Operations, using Murray Mints to apply extra shine to the ball whilst fielding. If correct, and I don’t see why Trescothick wouldn’t be telling the truth, then it would be entirely appropriate to say that England played unfairly at best. Some might say that they cheated, although the rules say that it’s only illegal to directly rub a substance onto a ball.

Back in 2005, Aussie bowler Nathan Bracken suggested that it was common for English bowlers to use mints, and he was condemned. England’s hero Simon Jones, he of the uncanny ability to swing a bowl 3 miles, said at the time:

“It’s probably just sour grapes and are you telling me that they’ve not done it? It’s a silly comment to make.”

I wonder if anything further will come of this claim by Trescothick.
Read the rest of this entry »

England opener Marcus Trescothick has flown home and will take no further part in this Ashes series. Apparently Tresco had a reoccurrence of his “stress related illness” after the first day of the game against New South Wales.

Trescothick hasn’t been in the best of form lately, but as the only batsman in the team who has previously played Test match cricket in Australia, he was a key part of their campaign. He will be missed, even though England may find a suitable replacement in Alastair Cook to open the innings.

The response to Trescothick’s departure has been mixed, though generally supportive. Geoffrey Boycott – whose batting was known to induce a “boredom related illness” in many fans – wrote in the Daily Telegraph that “more players will crack up in the future” in response to the heavy demands being placed on international cricketers these days. Read the rest of this entry »