Could it be all over today? Will the urn be in Alastair Cook’s mitts by this evening? England have every likelihood of batting on, and on, and on, while Australia will surely bat a little better second time around.But in this series, anything can happen. Like me, you’re probably still coming to terms with the fact that Australia were bowled out for 60. In the old days of Grandstand’s vide-printer during Final Score, a scoreline involving an unusually large number of goals...
Comments thread: day two at Trent Bridge
So here we go again. Are you nervous? Surely we can’t screw this one up. Can we? This is the comments thread for day two at Nottingham. Will Joe Root score a double century? Will Mark Wood make a fifty? Will Jos Buttler make double figures? Will I stop asking bloody annoying questions that nobody knows the answer to? Personally I’m really looking forward to the day. Even if we capitulate and get knocked over for 300, we’ll still have a healthy lead of 240. I still can’t...
The Day We Won the Ashes
Sod it. I’m going to count my chickens. England have just enjoyed their best day‘s test cricket in living memory. Our sheer dominance even eclipsed Melbourne in 2010. We’ve surely won the Ashes. Everything, absolutely everything, went our way. The toss was vital – at first I thought unfairly so – but the Aussies more than contributed to their own downfall. Their batting was naïve and ill judged. You can’t thrust hard at the ball with stiff hands in English conditions. You’re...
Comments thread: day one at Trent Bridge
So here we go. Eyes down for a full house. England won the toss and put Australia into bat. Mark Wood will share the new ball with Stuart Broad. They are otherwise unchanged and Adam Lyth is given another chance. Australia lose a Mitchell but retain their Marsh quotient by replacing Mitchell Marsh with Shaun Marsh. They’ve dropped an all-rounder to strengthen the batting, and Marsh will bat at four, with Michael Clarke dropping to five. Adam Voges, a lucky man, keeps his place. This is...
Picking through the bones
This series continues to defy analysis. A see-saw narrative of fluctuating fortunes is one thing, but the margins of victory are hard to comprehend. You’d associate a 2-1 scoreline, in which each side takes turns to win, with nail-biting finishes. Instead, England and Australia have taken turns to pulverise each other: 169 runs, 405 runs, eight wickets. What’s going on? Is it a case of high-quality but isolated individual performances setting the agenda in each game? Or is the...
Ding Dong – Bell Leads England To Victory
Well we did it. We bloody did it. When Australia’s lead crept up to 120 I was worried. But Ian Bell, the maestro of Birmingham, saw us home. I’m as pleased as punch. I’m particularly delighted because our heroes from days two and three are players who have really struggled of late. It warms the cockles. Steve Finn was simply magnificent yesterday afternoon and proved all of the doubters, which included my good self, completely wrong. It’s great to have you back Finny...
