Ashes Poetry

Over two months have passed since the destination of the Ashes was determined, so I’ve eschewed going back to my notes and rather reflect using memory as a sifter.

Overall it’s been a crazy series. At Cardiff, Australia should have won by a country mile except they let Anderson and Panesar bat through to an unfeasible draw where a Green Baggy win would have put the Poms behind a road-roller of an eight-ball. Instead England worthily won at Lords’ , an Ashes first since 1934, dismal rain made Edgbaston a draw, while at Headingley a dismal England folded like a pack of cards made from used Kleen-ex, leaving Oz holding a nap hand for the decider…. If you go back to the reflections on Cardiff you’ll find I said ~

“If England win the series and the Ashes, Cardiff 2009 may resonate as Headingley 1981 when Bothamland with Willisshire came back from the dead to win. It was far more demoralising for the Aussies (and therefore far more encouraging for the Poms) to have drawn with one wicket to go, rather than peter out with the final half-hour not taken. This is what should have happened. “

Am I wrong, or am I wrong?

Clearly between Headingley Carnegie and the Brit Oval something switched, and not just ground sponsors. How did the Poms turn themselves around? Even after a disappointing first innings knock, they played like champions-in-waiting, not rabbits waiting for headlights as at Headingley. Throughout the match at crunch-points they showed the better mettle – Broad making the most of a juiced-up strip after the rain in the Australian’s first knock, Strauss and Trott holding out to put on well over a ton in the second inning when being sixty-odd for three and in dire jeopardy, and great fielding to run-out two of the top order and stump the third even if Collingwood, fielding in the slips, his worst position, dropped a couple of good chances. Perhaps Broad and Swann’s defiance on Saturday morning at Leeds was the start of the great come-back. By comparison, the Australian batsmen didn’t seem to graft successfully, where Hussey’s excellent century at the end of the game and series was too much like the little boy with a finger in the dyke (careful now about double-entendres) when the sea had broken through just about everywhere else.

Lack of Australian ‘moral fibre’ is best evidenced in two places. Firstly on the morning of the fourth and final day choosing defensive fields and  leaving Johnson out of the attack till nearly lunch, when he had zipped out Bell and Collingwood for zip  the night before, where had they taken another wicket the game’s pendulum would’ve started to swing their way. It didn’t seem to add up; Australia needed to take wickets not staunch runs: how did the captain and manager and team decide to go all cautious rather than carpe diem? As it was Strauss started to step down the wicket to drive Clark, Stuart, as though facing his namesake Michael Clarke. The second instance was Brad Haddin tripping the light fantastic to  Swann only to hole out to the redoubtable Strauss at long-on. At this point he and Hussey were well set and if they were still there at stumps it’d be two hundred to get with five wickets down – second favourites in a two-horse race. It was the first faint tremblings of Poms’ squidgy bum-time, and better judgement was to place along the ground for a four rather than go arial for a six.

In terms of mettle when being on their mettle, England were past masters at The Oval, so unlike Headingley. As Strauss said afterwards ‘When we’re bad we’re very ba, when we’re good, we’re good enough.’ Very Australian, because good enough isn’t good enough if you’re going to be great.

As so it proved in the ODIs. Punter’s rehab back home did the trick, playing a Captain’s return by blasting England every which way but lose. Interestly the Aussie press didn’t give him any stick for going home, (critics of Trescothick please note) any ire reserved for the manager doing the same – but by then I guess team, skipper and manager could do with a bit of time apart: the intensity of the modern tour schedule must mean you get tired of even good mates at some times. England played like drains but qua Cardiff, managed to thwart the 6-0 ODI Strinewash in the last game, only Ashes are Ashes. Even 6-0 would have been like winning the Cod War after losing Trafalgar. Though Ponting may be the first Australian skipper to lose the Ashes, win them back and lose again in succession, don’t bet on him regaining them again down-under…

                                            It can’t hurt
anymore than this, that’s for sure
Which sets you out to win