It was never in doubt (ahem). England were always going to reverse their patchy form over the first two days and beat Western Australia convincingly. How could we have thought otherwise? Just because we batted like pelicans (or should that be flamin’ Galahs?) in the first innings, didn’t mean we were going to continue the English tradition of fluffing our lines in Ashes tour matches. So shame on you if you loaded teletext with trepidation on Sunday morning – did you forget that winning the Ashes is our destiny?
Actually, I was one of those who feared the worst after day two. Events seemed to have a certain familiarity to them: Cook was out cheaply, Colly continued his wobbles, Trott and Bell gave it away after promising starts, and only a rearguard action from Broad and Swann saved the day (boy how we’re going to need their runs in the coming weeks). Then our bowlers decided to apply the Steve Harmison Method of Bowling Down Under and allowed Western Oz to race into a healthy lead by close.*
Was this going to be another tale of English woe – with the Aussie press ready to jump on us like a pack of hungry dingoes? Would they declare our Ashes chances to be as dead as the dodo? Fortunately, our bowlers ‘hit the right areas’ with aplomb on the third morning, and Andrew Strauss’ brilliant ton did the rest. What a performance! If the Aussies didn’t know it before, they’ll now realise this England team means business. We may not be the most talented team in the world, but we’re well prepared and determined – two things we weren’t four years ago.
James Morgan
*The Steve Harmison Method of Bowling Down Under is available at all Woolloongabba bookshops. It was published by Woolloomooloo Press, operating out of Walla Walla – which, incidentally, is nowhere near either Wagga Wagga or Woodie Woodie.
