1. Strauss’s LBW that wasn’t The England skipper took guard for the first ball of our second innings at Brisbane, trailing Australia by 221 runs. First ball, he padded up to a straight one, which, to the naked eye, appeared to be crashing into middle stump. Somehow, he was reprieved by Aleem Dar – and on review, the ball was miraculously seen to be passing over the wicket by around half a nanometre. Strauss went on to make 110 and we drew the match. Imagine how differently...
IPL Auction 2011 Update: Who Won the Bloody T20 World Cup Anyway?
As a late convert to the IPL, I’ve got to admit that the bidding process has me totally flummoxed. Why do all the franchises want Aussies? Did they not see the Ashes? Have they forgotten what happened in the T20 World Cup final? Thus far Steve Smith, James Hopes, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Adam Gilchrist, Doug Bollinger, and David Hussey have all been snapped up like Aussies are going out of fashion … which, of course, they are (in sane parts of the world). To illustrate my point...
Day five at Sydney
England (644) beat Australia (280 & 281) by an innings and 83 runs. This is what it’s all been for. The months of hope and expectation, tinged with anxiety; the seven long weeks of frayed nerves and sleep deprivation. It’s been worth it. Because, finally, we can stop worrying and simply enjoy the moment. We have beaten Australia, in Australia. When Tremlett bowled Beer to complete victory at the SCG this morning, he didn’t just knock back an off stump, but open the...
An Englishman’s Guide to NOT gloating (not too much, anyway)
When a team has won an ‘amazing’ (©Kevin Pietersen) victory against their greatest rivals, the vanquished usually try to make themselves feel better by accusing the victors of arrogance and/or over exuberance. I propose we don’t even give the Aussies that. Let’s be as magnanimous as possible. Sure we’ll dance around like we’ve won the lottery in private, and sing the Mitchell Johnson song boisterously (relishing every letter in the word ‘shite’), but in public it’s important to show the...
Brigadier Block, We Salute You!
Top bloke Paul Collingwood. A team man to the last. When it came to saving test matches, Colly was the immovable object. But with the Ashes in the bag, and a crop of young batsmen lining up to take his place, Paul Collingwood instinctively knew when to stand aside. Colly’s decision to retire from test cricket yesterday was typical of the man. He doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. Rather than hanging on for a last hurrah, in the vain hope that his form might return and enable him to go out...
Day four at Sydney
Stumps: Australia 213-7 and 280. England 644. Three wickets. Smith, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, and Beer. Just three of those separate us from the fulfilment of our dreams. Ridiculously, I still harbour a bizarre nightmare in which Smith and Siddle put on 200 for the eighth wicket. They’ve already added 42. But we’re almost there, and God-willing, tomorrow we will celebrate, exult, and let loose our joy. Let’s just wait till those wickets are safely taken, and then the Aussie-goading...
