The View from Down Under

Courtesy of Stewart Robertson.

The Series
After day 1 I thought that this was 2 heavyweights standing toe to toe and
swinging haymakers at each other. I could see a series like Australia V
West Windies in 1995 (not many scores over 250 from either team, constant
attack from both sides for 4 tests). However, after my initial excitement
at the series finally starting gave way to series cricket watching, I have
slightly changes my mind.
I think both team have good bowling attacks (England has a good pace attack
now and a nicely balances set of bowlers) and it will come down to how the
batting handles them. England's top 6 (excluding Pieterson) need to do
better or we could have another easy Australian series win.

Pitch
Terrible. What were they thinking ?

Umpiring
Excellent, apart from a few very much out LBWs in England's second innings
(note how I can't remember Australia receiving a few let offs as well). Dar
has been tough on Warne and has not let himself be pushed around. Giving
Lee out in Australia's first innings was a stroke of umpiring genius and
all of the not outs due to small inside edges on LBW appeals have shown top
umpires operating well.

Australia

Hayden - still looks like he has no confidence. he played some terrible
shots in the 2nd innings with no feet movement at all. This has been going
on for 18 months now and I am starting to have real concerns that he could
be under pressure for his spot in the team by the end of the series. As a
result, I don't think we will get off to the starts we did in the last
series in Australia.
Langer - Has been taking some silly short singles and really shouldn't have
let the 2nd ball of the game hit him (I thought he had broken his arm
looking at the instant black egg that appeared). But looked good in both
innings and will score heavily this series. Had a great year last year and
will have another good one this year.
Ponting - Still falling over to the off side too much. Still playing loose
shots (e.g. the way he got out in the 2nd innings). But, unlike Hayden, he
looks to be about to break through into some good form. I think he has
struggled to captain the team and maintain his batting. I think he is good
enough to learn to do both. Thought his bowler rotation was good, still
looks a little like a mental patient some times.
Martyn - I have given up on him ever moving his feet. I thought the way he
got out in the first innings was terrible (a silly one day shot that didn't
need to be played). However, in the second innings I thought he showed that
he would again be a force in this Ashes series. A good level headed foil
for some of his more attacking colleagues.
Clarke - Was under quite a bit of pressure in the second innings. Has not
batted well in the past 7 or 8 tests. Played a good, controlled innings in
the 2 innings and showed he has a future at this level of the game. Has
never really faced a top class pace attack so if he does well in this
series, can really cement his spot for some time to come. Needs to pace his
innings a little better though. Once he got to 70 or so really started
playing a shot a ball and this cost him his century. We do need someone
under 35 in this team so I am sort of relying on him to come good !
Katich - I still think that anyone with this sort of technique should not
be allowed to play in the 2nd Park 11. However, was the only one of our
batsmen that seemed to understand that we were not batting on a first day
Adelaide pitch in the first innings. Batted sensibly in both innings and is
exactly what we will need in this series (as the other batsmen will no
doubt mainly try to blast the England attack apart and this won't always
work).
Gilchrist - Took attacking far too far in the first innings and, in the
second innings, showed where every bowler should bowl to him (bowl from the
right side of the stumps, angle in and you will often hit the top of his
off stump). Roebuck called him the 3rd best cricketer in history recently
and I agree with whatever Peter tells me so I have no doubt that he will
still be the danger man. His keeping has looked good (I don't often say
that !). it may well be because I am comparing him against the woeful
performance of Geraint Jones. However, he took a great catch off Flintoff
in the second innings, keep well to Warne and was fairly tidy to Lee, etc.
Lee - I am glad he is back in the team. There, I have said it. But, I am
sick of Botham, Lehman, Hussain, etc, etc telling me that they can't
believe he didn't play test cricket for 2 years. I can : He bowled terribly
and averaged about 45 per wicket in the 18 months or so leading up to his
dropping. Has dropped his pace a little, has much better control and is a
much more worrying bowler. Needs to make sure he doesn't over do the
bouncers but he is a good foil for our other 2 aging medium pacers
(Gillespie looks 43 at the moment). One last thing : Brett, I for one don't
believe that you don't bowl those beamers on purpose. It smacked slightly
of desperation doing it to Pieterson.
Warne - Is he being serious when he bats do you think ? He may as well take
strike 2 feet outside off stump. Never had much heart for anything quick
and seems to have gotten worse. Speaking of bad, I saw the worse
advertisement of all time with him and Gooch advertising Advanced Hair
yesterday. Oh, how far "Hollywood" Warne has fallen. However, bowling wise,
he is evergreen. Yes, he is not the same bowler of 93 - 95 or so. Yes, he
now really only has 2 balls : His leggie and that out of the hand thing
that he gave a funny name to; "Zooter" I think it was. His flipper is
glaringly absent and he hasn't bowled a wrongun for years. However, his
mind is still sharp and his control is still excellent. His setup of Bell
in the 2nd innings was classic Warne and no one really looked like they
could play him. Will again be a major factor in this series and probably
one of the main differences between the team. If he can keep his private
life from affecting his game or his will to play, he could still be a
factor the next time Australia is in England. Truly the best leg spinner of
all time (although that could be the cold medication taking)
Gillespie - A very strange start to the one day series for Gillespie. He
looked well below par and was hammered. Still does not look good but has
improved greatly since he was hit for 6 in the last over of the Bangladesh
game. Seems to occasionally get "Old Man Disease", a illness that makes him
perform like a 67 year old who has been forced to run around the local
neighbourhood all day. Has it quite badly at the moment but is on the
improve and I expect his to be at something near his top by the 3rd test.
McGrath - What can you say about this guy ? Almost never gets injured and
is showing no signs of being on the way out. Rose to the occasion like all
champions do in England's first innings. He just bowls the same ball every
ball all day. At 130km/h this would normally be a hindrance. The thing is,
this ball is a really good one. If we hadn't of had Lillee in the 70s and
80s, McGrath would be our greatest ever quick. Oh, now that he has his
signature "61" bat, seems to have improved his batting as well. A great
little 20 in our second innings. Toughs out the short pitched bowling when
batting (Mr Warne could learn a thing or two from him in this regard).

England

Trescothick - No one with foot movement like this will consistently get
runs against the current Australian team. Like Katich, I think people with
techniques like his should be banned from the game. Never in the hunt in
the first innings. Looked better in the second but, like many of his team
mates, looked all at sea against Warne. Will have a score or 2 this series
but will usually go early, usually a victim of McGrath.
Strauss - Sorry, I am just not convinced about Strauss. I can't put my
finger on it but I just don't feel like his will do well in this series.
Sure, it could be because he is a "Smirker" as my wife calls him. However,
more likely to be that he seems to wait for short balls and not know how to
score when they are not there. Like Trescothick, looked like he will have
problems against Warne this series.
Vaughan - This is a real worry for England. I really rated Vaughan after
his tour to Australia. We just could not get the guy out ! I expected him
to again score heavily but seems to have totally and utterly lost it. Is
the captaincy proving too much ? It often happens (see Ponting as a
example, back it up with Botham). England need to make a decision. Can he
captain the team well and bat well ? If the answer is no, get Trescothick
to captain (he won't be making many runs anyway) and let Vaughan
concentrate on batting. He is all class when batting well. It was so sad to
see him looking at the pitch and shaking his head harder than Gatt the pie
man after Warne's first ball in 1993. Michael, you played all around an
absolutely straight one, let's not pretend it did anything. I am also going
to be a little tough on his captaincy. His bowling of Giles after lunch (or
was it tea, I was ill remember) to Clarke cost England the game. Clarke was
out of sorts and under pressure but plays spin excellently. Giles didn't
turn anything and Martyn and Clarke played him easily and had an end of no
pressure for quite a few overs. Clarke will want to shake Vaughan's hand
for playing him into form.
Bell - I had never seen Bell and I unfortunately took an instant dislike to
him as soon as I laid eyes on him. I am sorry, but I am going to extend my
criteria for banning people from playing test cricket to also include
anyone who looks a little a Rat. Under this tough new set of rules, Ratty
Bell would have to leave the team. We have an appearance to keep up you
know. Oh, his batting you ask. Looked lost in the first innings and soon
was. Someone had told him to use his feet against Warne in the second
innings. He tried and he looked like me coming down the track to Dave when
my left shoulder still wasn't working. Has to pick the ball to come down
and do something when he gets there; dancing down the track to push at a
ball that you have let bounce and is a foot further to off than you though
it would be is just a sure fire way to look silly against Warne. However,
was the patsy in one of the best new entries in Warne's soon to be released
"How to set up batsmen bowling leg spin". The 5 balls that Warne bowled to
him and set him up for the worst shot played in this game off the 6th (lbw,
not playing a shot to Warne's zootery thing) were a good as anything Warne
has ever done, even in his prime.
Pieterson - I think Kevin is a total boof head (he is mates with Warne,
what else can I say). I also think his technique is awful and will cost him
dearly in test cricket. I now also think he is a superstar. He just has
something that no one else in the game has. I think it is star quality. He
just seems like he is in a movie where he is the hero. Played a very level
headed innings in the 1st innings and again looked good in the 2nd. Even
played some off drives. His 6 off Lee in the second innings was something
that our children and grandchildren will be reading about in cricket
history books like we do about Viv Richards getting 291, etc. Will get out
cheaply a few times in this series but, worryingly, we didn't seem to know
how to bowl to him. Even looked like he was not overawed by Warne. He is by
far the mentally toughest of the English cricket team and so will be a good
guy to have in the dressing room. This could be the start of the real next
Superstar of English cricket. N.B.1. He was out to Lee's full toss though,
perhaps that is how we should bowl to him. N.B.2. really needs to work on
his catching
Flintoff - Looked great with the ball in Australia's first innings and
still looked pretty good in their second. Will take quite a few wickets
this series. Could Gilchrist be his bunny ? However, I do not think he is a
test number 6 with the bat. I am sure he could monster some average attacks
and score some runs but I think he will struggle batting wise this time.
Should obviously be in the team on his bowling alone though, his batting is
just a bonus.
G Jones - I could write paragraphs about Geraint. Let me be brief : He is
simply not a test keeper and is bringing the entire art form down. When you
make Gilchrist look like a class stumper, the writing is on the wall. He
one handed drop (McGrath I think) was woeful; no feet movement, went one
handed when he could have used 2. His drop off the looping glove from
McGrath was, I hope, the final nail in his coffin. most 10 year olds would
have caught that. Add to this his extreme general messiness and multiple,
multiple fumbles from balls that were left or throws from the boundary and
I almost had to look away. Remember, the keeper sets the tone for the
fielding. I think it is no coincidence that England were very bad in the
field in our second innings when Geraint was at his worst. His batting is
not good enough for England to suffer the consequences of his keeping.
Giles - Like Hoggard, the balance of the team looks good with Giles in it.
However, is no Phil Tuffnell and Australia are notoriously severe on finger
spinners. Will struggle unless he starts spinning it.
S Jones - I liked what I saw. Again, provides balance to the English attack
but being a little different again (quick and skiddish). Kept trying hard
in Australian's second innings even when his team kept letting him down
with their catching. Will take wickets this series.
Hoggard - The only English seamer who I don't think has looked good. I
think Hoggard will have tough time this series as he swings from the hand,
is medium pace and doesn't always swing it. However, he provides good
balance to this good bowling attack if he can keep up the swing.
Harmison - Looks a class bowler now and none of the Australian's played him
well. If can he keep this up for the entire series will be a constant
handful with his pace and bounce. I thought he could have stopped hitting
us after making poor little Ricky bleed though. His bowling in Australia's
first innings was top class. Like McGrath, he rose when his team needed him
to and that says a great deal about his new found mental toughness.