The Ashes Blog

Preview: England have picked Panesar and Swann – smart move. Australia has picked Hilfenhaus and Hauritz – not so smart. Why would you pick Hilfy over Clark? I’m not quite sure, but I hope it works.

Anyway, England have won the toss and elected to bat, and that’s massive. A huge boost for England. If they lose the First Test, batting first with a team that is focussed on spinning, they might as well all give up and go and play darts. However, Australia still has the better batting lineup, and although England has a statistically stronger bowling group, Australia is ahead overall when you compare batting and bowling averages.

Day 1: England 336 for 7

(Pietersen 69, Collingwood 64, Prior 56)

That was an evenly matched first day, with each side delivering a counter-attack at some point. I thought Johnson was off his game early on, but he came back really well. Hilfenhaus surprised me with his effectiveness, and he may yet turn out to be Australia’s new Terry Alderman.

England will be frustrated with their day. Enough of their recognised batsmen had good starts (three half centuries and only one guy scored less than 30), and someone should have gone on to get a really big score. But the funniest thing was the sight of James Anderson, England’s number 10, coming out as nightwatchman ahead of Stuart Broad who bats at number 8. Why do you need a nightwatchman to protect your number 8??!

I mentioned in a Twitter post that this was a 400+ pitch, and I reckon England will be under par if they don’t make that. Let’s see what the second day brings us.

Day 2: Australia 249 for 1 (Katich 104*, Ponting 100*) trail England 435 (Pietersen 69, Collingwood 64, Prior 56, Johnson 3-87, Hauritz 3-95) by 186 runs

I think Australia’s back in this game, and I’m a little surprised at how easy it’s been. England’s spinners were supposed to destroy Australia because, well, if Nathan Hauritz could make the ball turn then anyone could. It looks like Hauritz got more out of the pitch than his (supposedly) superior English tweakers, who barely beat the bat all day. Yes, maybe Katich should have been out LBW, but England also had a bit of quick with LBW decisions (did you see Kevin Pietersen get hit plumb in front?) so it all evens out.

In the first session the England tail wagged, and gave a hint that perhaps this pitch wasn’t going to be as difficult to bat on as we were being told. But I don’t think anyone expected two centuries from Australia’s top order. One England commentator (was it Botham or Hussein?) at Sky Sport said that there wouldn’t be any hundreds scored in this Test. Yeah, right.

How many more runs does Australia need? I reckon they’ll want to be at least 100 runs in front, and that’s going to be tough. They’ll probably lose a few quick wickets on day three, and if England can stretch that out to 6 or 7 quick wickets for only a few runs, then the hosts will be right back in it. It’s not going to take much to turn this match on its head yet again.

Day 3: Australia 479 for 5 (North 54*, Haddin 4*) lead England 435 by 44 runs

England did pick up a few quick wickets as I suggested they would, but they’re now a long way behind Australia.  I think England’s bowlers have simply been ordinary. Sure, it took a lot of determination and class from Australia’s batsmen to put on so many runs, but the English bowling was pathetic. It was only when Anderson was getting the ball to swing around that they looked seriously threatening. Is it time to swing the axe and give a few other bowlers a chance for the 2nd Test at Lord’s?  With Andrew Flintoff they may not have a choice. Dean Jones is wondering if Flintoff might not be quite 100% fit, and that could be affecting his performance. Jones also put forward a rumour he’s heard that Flintoff is ready to retire from Test match cricket at the end of this series, and I reckon that could be right. Big Freddie isn’t playing as well as he used to, and I think his repetitive injuries might have a lot to do with that.  It might be time to join the other retirees in the IPL.

As for the Aussies, they’re all doing well. The only disappointment is Mike Hussey, who seems to be the weak link in the batting chain at the moment. He did play well at Worcester, but apart from that he hasn’t been great for the past year or so. Are his days numbered? Could he be replaced by his younger brother David Hussey? We’ll have to wait and see.

Day 4: England 435 and 20 for 2 (Strauss 6*, Pietersen 3*) trail Australia 674 for 6 (Ponting 150, North 125*, Katich 122, Haddin 121) by 219 runs

Things just keep getting worse for England, and Australia seems to have the Midas touch. Here are some facts for the Australian batting card:

• 674 for 6 (dec) is the nation’s highest Ashes total since 1934.
• four century makers in their first innings – the first time a team had done so in an Ashes battle since England did it at Trent Bridge in 1938.
• North and Haddin became the 15th and 16th Australians to score a ton in their maiden Ashes clash.

I’m increasingly surprised at how well things have gone for the Aussies, and totally surprised at how inept England is playing. Everything about them is wrong. I heard Geoffrey Boycott last night on the BBC saying that Andrew Strauss is a poor captain, and based on this Test I would have to agree. Not that now’s a good time to change captain, of course.

As for tomorrow, well England needs someone to stand up and get them through the day. The pitch isn’t as bad as people were saying it would be, so I think it’s possible for England to survive day 5.  One of their biggest obstacles will be themselves and their obvious lack of confidence. Oh, and watch out for Michael Clarke – he loves bowling late on day 5.

Day 5 – Match drawn. England 435 and 252 for 9 (Collingwood 74, Hilfenhaus 3-37) drew with Australia 674 for 6 dec

Well, England managed to hold on for a draw, much to everyone’s surprise. Monty Panesar and James Anderson held on at the end, much like Australia did at Old Trafford in 2005. However, it will be a hollow celebration for the England players, because they’ll know they were well and truly beaten in every way in this First Test.

The positives? I think one of the biggest will be the impact it has on cricket fans in England. If the Poms had lost, then a lot of people would have lost interest in the series. I even mentioned to my father-in-law yesterday that if Australia won this First Test, then it would be in the best interests of the game for England to win the next Test at Lord’s just to keep things close.  It was hard work for a mad keen Aussie cricket fan like me to say that, but I know that Test cricket needs an absorbing battle between the old enemies in order to grab back the imagination of the English and Australian public.

As it is, there’ll be a little bit of pride in England from managing to not lose.  England fans should be disappointed with the performance from their (supposedly) best XI, but they need to keep on supporting and keep on staying interested in this series. As Alex Brown writes at Cricinfo, the Ashes 2009 has all of the drama and intrigue of 2005’s epic battle, and is worth watching.

1. Australia regains the Ashes
It was only 15 months ago that England was celebrating, but the Aussies took just 1 ball from Steve Harmison to get the Ashes back.

2. England’s injuries
Several of England’s top players were injured during the year, including Michael Vaughan, Simon Jones, Freddie Flintoff, Ashley Giles, and James Anderson. In a double blow for England, Giles and Anderson recovered in time for the first Test in Brisbane.

3. Shane Warne bags 700
The world’s greatest leg spinner finally made it to 700. He also took his 700th wicket.

4. England crumble in Adelaide
The England team declared at 6 for 551 in the first innings, the entire cricket world was anticipating a draw, but mighty England managed to pull off an unlikely loss.

5. Monty Panesar takes 8 on debut
English spinning sensation Monty Panesar grabbed 8 wickets in his first Test against Australia, prompting Ian Thorpe to say that “Monty is fully Sikh!”
(Local Aussie humour … click here for an explanation, or just move on to the next one.)

6. Australia wins 10 out 10
In stark contrast to last year’s Ashes result, Australia won all 10 Tests this year, whilst England won just 4 out of 14 (it becomes 5 out of 14 if you include the match Darrell Hair forfeited on Pakistan’s behalf).

7. The defection of Troy
When Troy Cooley moved back to Australia, England’s bowling squad promptly fell to pieces, Australia benefited, and there was something about a big wooden horse. Or maybe that was just in the movie.

8. The blame game
Apparently England’s poor form was due to Duncan Fletcher, the ECB, the wives and girlfriends of the England players, and David Beckham. The players themselves had nothing to do with it.

9. The end of an era
Cricket legends Warne and McGrath announced their retirement from Test Match cricket, prompting wild celebrations from England fans and Stuart MacGill.

10. Australia’s one-day win at the Champions Trophy
It was only a one-dayer, but Australia’s 6 wicket win over England in October gave the Australians extra confidence, and planted the seeds of doubt in the minds of the England players, especially Mr Harmison.

Are there any other big Ashes moments that you’d like to add to this list?

Australia wins by 206 runs

It was what we all expected today – a quick and painless victory to the Australians. The urn is returned to the place where it was born.

Pietersen and Flintoff were cautious, then adventurous, and for a while there I thought they might be having a crack. Flintoff himself admitted that he dared to dream, but that all came crashing down when he was bowled by the Sheik of Tweak, Shane Warne. Including the wicket of Flintoff, England lost their last 5 wickets for just 14 runs.

The final man to be dismissed was, ironically, Monty Panesar. It was Ashley Giles who hit the winning runs for England last year at Trent Bridge, and now it is Giles’ replacement who is the last man out, giving the Ashes back to Australia. Not that the Montster can be blamed in any way. He played brilliantly in Perth, with match figures of 8 for 237. That puts him second only to Matthew Hoggard in the number of wickets taken in the series, and he’s only played one Test out of the three. He also leads the bowling averages for England, being the only one under 30.

With that last wicket out of the way, the Australians moved to celebration. This win meant a lot to them, as much as the win last year did for England. Sure, England only held the Ashes urn for 15 months, the shortest duration in Ashes history, but the Aussies were deeply hurt by that loss last year, and it was that drive and determination that pushed them ever onward in this series. Perhaps the England team hit the celebratory drinks a bit too hard post-Ashes 2005, and they haven’t quite recovered. The shock of a win over the old enemy was a bit too much to take. Or perhaps the Australians were simply too good too much of the time. England played really well at times, and dominated for a few days, but they just couldn’t keep it up constantly in the way they were able to do successfully last year.

So now we move on to Melbourne for the famous Boxing Day Test, and then to Sydney, a potential spinner’s paradise. England will be playing for pride, but will also feel deflated following their losses in the first 3 games. Australia have tended to drop their game after wrapping up a series, but they seem pretty determined this year, perhaps more than they have in the past. So all up it’s difficult to predict a result. If England are to win one of the final Tests then they will need a couple of superb individual efforts – perhaps a huge century from Andrew Strauss, or a big haul of wickets by Monty Panesar. Australia simply needs to keep doing what it’s doing. The middle order of Ponting, Hussey and Clarke looks unstoppable, with the 3 of them all averaging over 100 for the series. That’s where Australia will need to be defeated. Take out those middle order runs and Australia’s in trouble. But then that’s easy to say, and not so easy to do.

England: 215
Australia: 1/119

It was a strong display from the Aussies on day two of this Perth Test. England was on top on day one, but as has been the case throughout this series, they can’t seem to put enough good days together. This time it was their batting that failed them, leaving it up to their supposedly weak tail to put on the highest partnership of the innings. According to Duncan Fletcher, Ashley Giles was brought into the team for the first two Tests because he offered more with the bat. This was shown for the foolish decision it was when Gilo’s replacement, Monty Panesar, teamed up with Steve Harmison to add valuable runs to England’s total. Panesar’s perfectly executed straight drive to the boundary drew applause around the ground, and in particular from England’s dressing rooms:

“It was the shot of the day. Better than anything I played today. Better than anything I’ve played all series, in fact.”
- Kevin Pietersen

What must be going through Duncan Fletcher’s head this evening?

Australia’s second innings started with Justin Langer’s dismissal first ball, and I thought for a moment there that we might be about to see a classic Australian collapse. However, Matt Hayden finally started to look good, with one delicious sweep shot off Panesar’s bowling that looked just like the Hayden of 2001. When that came out, I knew he was comfortable.

Together with Ponting, the two of them seem impenetrable, and they look like they could post a pair of centuries. The pitch started to get easier for the batsmen around the middle of the day, and by the time the Australians got in, it looked like a perfect batting strip. With their lead already at 148, I’d say another 150 runs would be enough. England will struggle to chase anything more than 300, though if they’re good enough, the locals may try and set a target in excess of 400. However, as KP has pointed out, South Africa successfully held on for almost a day and a half last year in Perth for an unexpected draw, and England will be hoping they can do likewise. But then if the English do manage to get another 9 Aussie wickets today, then that will leave them with at least 2 full days to either bat out for a draw, or secure an unlikely victory. If they reverse their batting order, they might be in with a chance.

What are people saying?

“The most incompetently-selected England team of recent years were facing a desperate battle to save the Ashes this weekend …” – Daily Mail

“… Ponting has once again driven a dagger deep into England’s soul.” – The Telegraph

“Has Duncan Fletcher lost the plot? The dire display in the second innings at Adelaide, the prevarication over playing Panesar and the stubborn insistence on retaining Jones behind the stumps, would appear to answer the question in the affirmative.” – Brian Whorrall, comment at The Times

“Taking five wickets on the first day of an Ashes Test was incredible but I have to make one thing clear – it doesn’t mean people should think that I can turn this series around single-handed.” – Monty Panesar

Australia: 244
England: 2/51

Despite my best efforts with the “Keep Ashley Giles Playing” campaign, the England spinner was dropped for the 3rd Test. Did anyone see that coming?!! He was replaced by possibly the world’s most popular beard, Monty Panesar, who had a fantastic day in his first Ashes Test. With 5 wickets, he had Australia’s batsmen in trouble, and together with the new and improved Steve Harmison, England had a pretty good day.

Matty Hayden once again got a start, but was out to a corker from Hoggard. Hayden doesn’t seem to be coping well with the swinging ball, and one wonders if this might be his final Test series.

Mike Hussey was the hero once again with an unbeaten 74. His average for the series is now a healthy 156, and he just looks fantastic. He adapts his game really well according to the situation, and seems to be one of the smartest players in the Aussie lineup. If only his younger brother David could achieve the same level of consistency.

When it comes to the England camp, everyone is asking about Monty. Why wasn’t he playing in the first two Tests? Debate rages over whether it was Duncan Fletcher or Freddie Flintoff who left the Montster out of the XI, but whoever it was, they should be given a CT scan and a psych exam. Seriously, leaving a genuine wicket-taker out of the side is the biggest mistake anyone’s made since Universal Studios said to George Lucas, “Nobody wants to watch a movie called ‘Star Wars’”.

Robbo at the BBC reckons “Monty the Magician” can win them the series, while over at The Tonk they’re saying that sports players across the country will soon start “doing the Panesar“.

What about day two? Well, England will be wanting a lead of at least 100, but that’s going to be tough. Stuart Clark looks the most dangerous of Australia’s bowlers, and if he can get a wicket or two in the first hour then I think England might struggle. But then, they’ve got Monty coming in at number 11, and with him anything’s possible.

England: 3/266

So, England do know how to play this game after all. Flintoff won the toss, and England enjoyed the luxury of batting on a belter of a pitch. Things started slowly, and with Strauss and Cook gone cheaply, I thought they might have been in a bit of trouble. But with Bell, Collingwood, and finally Pietersen putting some big runs on the board, they were able to take control.

We can never tell quite how well England has done until the Australians get out there and have a bat, which I would expect would be some time late on day two. Whether that’s a result of an England declaration (they would need to score quickly if that’s the case … needing at least 500 on the board), or being knocked over, if the Aussies don’t commence their innings until day three then I doubt there will be enough time for a result and England would have wasted this perfect start.

Collingwood and Pietersen once again played the kind of smart, determined cricket that they showed on day four in Brisbane. They started extremely slowly, but were eventually able to get a few boundaries, whilst the man the Aussies call The Ego (Pietersen) had an intriguing battle with Warne. The ascendency moved back and forth between the two friends, although one wonders if that friendship might have been put on hold for now.

Meanwhile, Collingwood, who would have been 12th man if Marcus Trescothick had not gone home, is within sight of his first Ashes century, after scoring 96 in the first Test. If Trescothick’s depression is their heavy cloud, then Collingwood is the silver lining. He’s the gritty, determined player that England needs in their middle order, and so far, the Australians haven’t quite figured him out.

The big talking point at the start of the innings was the England lineup. For the second Test in a row, Duncan Fletcher has surprised us all by leaving Monty Panesar out of the side. That may yet prove to be a monumentous mistake:

“Monty Panesar, on the other hand, is just the kind of attacking bowler England needs at present. With the Adelaide Oval wicket turning sharply, even on day one, Panesar’s more aggressive approach to finger spin seemed far more likely to unsettle Australia’s batsmen, especially on the evidence of his net sessions this week, when he appeared to have regained the flight absent in recent tour matches.”
- The Age

The next few days may yet prove Fletcher’s decision to be the right one, though I very much doubt it. It’s possible that Fletcher is obsessed with maintaining the same XI, which he did with much success in the 2005 series. But things are different now, and Fletcher has to recognise that.

It seems certain now that England will play Ashley Giles and Monty Panesar in the second Test. Panesar had a private 15 minute workout in front of Duncan Fletcher yesterday, and it looks like that might have been enough to get him back into the team.

Panesar looks like the sort of spinner who could succeed in Australia. The current Australian team has struggled in the past against quality spin bowling, although Matty Hayden reckons they don’t have too much to fear from the England duo:

“It wouldn’t surprise me (if England played two spinners) but I don’t think the Australian batting line-up sees a lot of threat in either of those two players. It’s not something we’re overly concerned about.”
- Matt Hayden

I wouldn’t be so sure. Giles and Panesar will both need to bowl out of their skins, and they’ll need to show a lot of character and guile, but I think it’s possible that they could put a lot of pressure on Australia, especially on an Adelaide pitch that should favour the spinners from day 3 onwards.

But then if the England boys are able to extract a fair amount of bounce and turn out of the Adelaide track, what will Shane Warne be able to do? According to coach Fletcher, the Englishmen are happy with the way they played Warne in Brisbane, but Adelaide could offer something entirely different … for both sides.

There’s a big push around town for Monty Panesar to be given a spot in the XI for the Adelaide Test. Although I’m expecting James Anderson to be given the flick, there is some talk of “Grievous Bodily Harmison” being left out, although I can’t see that happening. So while Harmison might stick around because, well, he has to, there is a lot of talk about the young Sikh finger spinner:

“Duncan Fletcher leaving out Panesar was probably his worst decision since he became England coach seven years ago.”
The Barmy Army blog

“Panesar, then, could be England’s only hope of taking Australian wickets and, accordingly, staying alive in this Ashes series.”
- The Age

What do you think?

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.