A career ending day?

Is this the end for two veterans of the great game? There has been talk on both sides of this contest of a senior player coming to the end of their career after an extended poor run of form. And today has done neither player any favours towards changing those opinions.

There were calls for Ricky Ponting to retire after the disastrous Adelaide Test that followed England’s prolific second innings 517 for 1 at Brisbane. His team insist that he is backed100% as captain, but if it weren’t for that title it is likely he would have been dropped on form, particularly considering the team reshuffles after those two Test’s. Excluding his futile 51* on the final day of the drawn first Test, he has totaled 42 in this series at an average of six.

It appeared that the final straw came for him today, with his team 161 behind, and only 2 wickets claimed in the day. Brad Haddin insisted KP got an inside edge on a ball from Harris, but when a review from the Aussies showed no nick on hotspot, Ponting appeared to lose it. In an ugly confrontation with the decision making umpire, Ponting wagged his finger in Aleem Dar’s face in a rant that seemed to go on forever. He didn’t end it there either, KP and Tony Hill both getting an earful from the Aussie captain before play finally resumed.

The Barmy Army wasted no time in letting him know their thoughts on the subject; “sacked in the morning, you’re going to be sacked in the morning”, they sang. Only time will tell how prophetic that could be.

In contrast to Australia, England have remained strong on team selection, with only 13 players making the first team so far in this series. Collingwood has long been part of that team, not only for his batting, but his exceptional fielding, and occasional wicket with the ball. But the poor vein of form he finds himself in with the bat will not go forever unpunished.

Never would he have a better opportunity to show that he can still score runs than coming in after the top four have all made half centuries against an Australia side demoralised by the sight of the Ashes slipping away. But he failed once again, lifting a long hop from Johnson down to Siddle at fine leg for 8. If England win this game, and play Collingwood in what is essentially a dead rubber in Sydney, it will be like a benefit game for him. With Eoin Morgan banging down the door for his spot, he won’t be carried much longer.

It was a day full of drama at the MCG. Five of the top seven posted over 50, with only Bell and Collingwood missing out. Jonathan Trott made his second 100 of the series, his third against Australia in just five Tests. His innings wasn’t without controversy, the misery for Punter continuing when Australia thought they had run out Trott on 49. It was very close, but the Australian celebrations on and off the pitch were cut short when inconclusive replays gave the batman the benefit of the doubt. He reached his half-century with his next ball to further compound the Aussie desolation.

His innings looked in doubt on 76 when a ball from Hilfenhaus rapped him on the inside of his knee, and he spent several minutes writhing in pain on the floor. He received treatment, and seemed right enough after struggling with the next few runs.

He was well supported in his innings by Matt Prior, who had his best knock of the series. He will also feel lucky to have made it as far as he did, after a bizarre incident shortly before tea.

Prior nicked one behind off Johnson, and walked instantly, but was stopped by umpire Aleem Dar. Confusion reigned for a few moments, until it became clear that he was checking with third umpire for a no ball. His suspicions were correct, and next man in Bresnan had to retreat form the field for Prior to resume his innings.

Earlier in the day, Siddle was the man to get the breakthrough for Australia, and boy did he need the wickets. Since his match turning 6-for, including a hat trick, on day one at the Gabba, he has taken only one wicket in this series. But he removed both the openers in the first 40 minutes of play, for the addition of just 13 runs.

The weather was finally in the favour of the Australians, although less so for the spectators. Cloud cover assisted Siddle in drawing more bounce out of the pitch, and the resulting movement of the ball did for the opening batsmen, both caught behind the wicket, as all the Aussies were yesterday.

Cook was the first to go, coming forward to Siddle with a defensive prod. There was just enough movement off the seam for the ball to find the edge of Cook’s bat, and Watson just managed to get his hands underneath the ball before it hit the deck.

The ball that did for Strauss lifted off the pitch, and Hussey pulled off a dramatic jumping catch at backward point for the second wicket.

Amidst all the drama of the afternoon session, KP was out plumb lbw to Siddle shortly after reaching his half-century. Collingwood and Bell both fell to short balls from Johnson, both caught in the deep by Siddle.

England end the day with a lead of 346 (Trott 141, Prior 75),  thanks to one of their greatest days of Test cricket yesterday. It was only the second time in Test history that a team bowled out the opposition and took a ten wicket lead on the first day of play. It will be difficult for either side to top a stat like that!

Record breaking England save the first Test

by Gemma Wright

Oh how fickle a species the cricket fan is! Five days ago, England fans were confident of their teams chances in this series. Two days ago, England fans had resigned themselves to another humiliating England defeat down under.  Just 24 hours later, they quickly forgot that blip, as Strauss, Cook and Trott dug in to bring life back into this first Test match.

The Australian fans, so vocal during the Hussey/Haddin stand, were nowhere to be seen on this final day at the Gabba. As Botham said, ‘it’s fancy dress day, and the Australians have come as plastic chairs!’

If they stayed away to avoid witnessing any further England resurgence, then they made the right choice. Cook and Trott picked up where they left off on day four, scoring plenty of runs and breaking plenty of records.

There are literally too many to mention them all (surely they have broken another record for the amount of records broken in one Test match?!) but here are a selection of the records that the England batsmen broke whilst reaching 517-1 declared shortly before tea.

- Englands highest total ever in an Ashes Test at the Gabba

- Cook:Highest individual total at the Gabba, beating  previous record holder Sir Don Bradman

- Cook and Trott: highest partnership for England in Australia

- Cook and Trott: highest partnership for any team at the Gabba, including Australia (beating the record established by Haddin and Hussey just two days before!)

Cook also beat his best Test score, and then best first class score on his way to 235 unbeaten, and became only the fourth England batsman to score a double hundred against Australia in Australia (the last being Collingwood in Adelaide in 2006).

Trott’s 135 not out meant that this was only the second time that England’s top 3 have scored centuries in the same innings, the other being in1924 v South Africa at Lord’s, and raised his Test average to 59.

After the glut of runs and records broken, Strauss called time on the batting practice, and put Australia in with a target of 297 to win, and 41 overs in which to do it.

Tired and demoralized, Australia got off to bad start when Katich edged Broad to Strauss in the slips. In came Ponting, the man England really wanted to have a go at. However, after quickly racing to 50, both captains agreed that a draw was inevitable, and called time on the game, Australia finishing their second innings on 107-1.

With only 4 days until the start of the next Test match, England will undoubtedly be the happier of the two teams. Australia have serious selection issues to ponder, having bowled 152 overs and taken only one wicket in England’s second innings. With the next Test on the flat track of Adelaide, Ponting and co will want their best spinner in the team. Question is, who is that? New boy Doherty hasn’t taken the opportunity to make his mark in this game, and North failed with bat, putting his place in the side into question. Strike bowler Johnson will be lucky to remain in the side after a dismal performance all round.

It is not all plain sailing for England however. Let’s not forget that two days ago they were facing defeat after struggling to break the partnership between Hussey and Haddin. There have also been errors in the field in this game, including fumbled drops by two of the safest pairs of hands in the team, Anderson and Collingwood. It would have had little bearing on the outcome of the final session today, but Collingwood dropped a regulation slip catch, with Watson on 17, and Australia 36-1.

However, England should be jubilant as they leave the Gabba carefully stepping over all the broken records scattered around the ground.

Win should not mask problems

Victory was, in the end, overwhelming. England won by the second Test at Edgbaston by nine wickets with four-and-a-half sessions to spare. They’re two-nil up in the four-match series and have now won six Tests in succession.

So, on the surface, all is well. England have, give or take a position or two, a settled side and they’ll go into an away Ashes series with more optimism than any time in the last 25 years.

Yet, scratch beneath the surface, and things are less straightforward.

England have been flattered by their results this summer. They have played against two sides – Bangladesh and Pakistan – who are woefully sub-standard and in conditions that couldn’t have suited England’s bowlers better.

It won’t be like this in the winter. James Anderson, so dangerous when the ball swings and seams, can still look ordinary and innocuous when it does not. And it will not in Australia. The pitches will be flat and the balls used there – Kookaburras rather than the Dukes ball used in England – will provide him with far less assistance.

Australia won’t prove nearly so unforgiving, either. Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, reckoned that his side missed 14 chances at Edgbaston. Had they held even half of them, then England would surely have faced a far tougher run-chase.

There’s growing concern over a couple of England’s batsmen, too. Alastair Cook looks hopelessly out of touch at present, while Kevin Pietersen has now gone 23 Test innings since recording a century. Yes, he made 80 at Edgbaston, but he was missed five times. He won’t enjoy so many lives in Australia.

Cook’s form is causing particular concern. He has now scored just 100 runs in his last seven Test innings and his dismissal in the second innings at Edgbaston, unable to move his feet or retain his balance, hinted at a man in crisis. He’s barely able to play on the off side and needs to be replaced as opener. The Aussies will gobble up Cook in moments.

Harsh? Maybe. Cook was captain of England only five Tests ago and, aged just 25, he’s scored 12 Test centuries and averages 42. He can clearly play.

In current form, however, he is unrecognisable from that man. So, for The Oval, Trott could step up a position (though he’s reluctant) or England could draft in the excellent but uncapped Adam Lyth. He has the class to represent England with distinction.

And then there’s Stuart Broad. Broad, aged 24, has the world at his feet. He’s now developed into a world-class bowler – he’s rated eighth in the world Test rankings – and he will, in time, score Test centuries. More than that, he’s the pin-up boy of English cricket.

But with that comes responsibility. And Broad’s on-field behaviour is ugly. It demeans him and it demeans the game.

He may count himself fortunate to escape a ban for throwing the ball at Pakistan’s Zulqarnain Haider but he needs to learn the lessons. His constant grumbling at the umpires, his moaning at team-mates’ mistakes in the field and his sledging of batsmen are as unattractive as they are unnecessary. He’s a fine player. He needs to let his cricket do the talking and remember his responsibilities as a role-model.

That’s not to say all is doom and gloom. Far from it. The form of Graeme Swann adds weight to Shane Warne’s theory that he the Englishman is currently the best spinner in the world, while Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott looks wonderfully sound. As England captain, Andrew Strauss, put it, his presence at number three is “immensely reassuring.”

The Test did not go particularly well from a Warwickshire perspective, however. The club were budgeting on selling 45,000 tickets for the Test. In the end, they sold more like 30,000. They did not, as has been reported elsewhere, make a loss on the game, but the profit they have made is well below expectation. As they also failed to hit their targets for domestic T20 sales, membership, the neutral games between Pakistan and Australia and for their general banqueting business, their end of year financial results will be far below budget.

Worrying signs for England

These are meant to be golden days for English cricket. Fresh from
winning the World T20, they’ve also just defeated Australia in an ODI
series for the first time since the dawn of time. Give or take.

But, peer a little closer, and the stats aren’t so flattering. England
have now lost three of their last four ODIs. Their top order batting
appears brittle; their top-order bowling appears toothless and their
fielding has regressed since the excellent displays in the Caribbean.

Now it’s no disgrace to lose to Bangladesh. The visitors bowled very
well in Bristol and, on a pitch well suited to them, defended their
moderate total with admirable discipline. Besides, England were the
only major team they hadn’t yet beaten. This was bound to happen
sooner or later.

There are mitigating factors, too. England went into the game without
Swann and Pietersen, while Bell was unable to bat in any meaningful
sense of the word and Collingwood was dismissed by a terrible umpiring
decision.

But no-one should hide behind those issues. Because England also
benefited from some umpiring decisions (Collingwood should have been
given out, caught behind, first ball) and, by delivering 12 wides and
three no-balls, their bowlers proved generous to a fault.

Many of the top-order batsmen also played a large part in their own downfalls: Yardy’s shot, a hoick across the line, was especially ugly, but
Kieswetter’s loose drive, Morgan’s flick across the line and Strauss’
edged steer were also far from pretty.

Even more worryingly, their two senior bowlers – Broad and Anderson -
conceded 106 in 19 overs, while serious questions are starting to be
asked about the place of Luke Wright in this side. How on earth does
he keep a player as good as Bopara on the sidelines?

Andrew Strauss was not looking for excuses, however. Describing
England’s fielding as “poor” and their batting as “distinctly poor”,
he admitted they “only have ourselves to blame.”
“We were 10-14%, maybe even 20%, off where we should have been,” he
said. “But fair play to Bell and Trott, who have come into the side in
the last couple of games and shown the rest of us what to do. But we
can’t rely on one batsmen all the time.

“But I don’t want to show Bangladesh any disrespect,” he continued.
“They were outstanding. They played exceptionally well and they
deserved their victory.”
And what of Trott? Some will maintain he is one-paced and selfish. But
he now has three half-centuries in his last four ODI innings. And, in
a team where the top-order looks brittle, he could be just the man to
add steel to the batting.