THE emphatic manner in which the Australians bulldozed the England team in the last two of the three-match One Day challenge has taken the wind out of the English sails. The wins were as emphatic as were the defeats pathetic in the early parts of their present tour. With Ashes, the main fare, just round the corner, I am sure there would be a lot of encouraging talk in the English camp going on these days. That in itself is a reflection of the kind of turnaround that has been achieved by Australia. The English camp would surely be wondering if the players had peaked a bit too early.
After that amazing loss against Bangladesh, and a less-amazing but damaging defeat at the hands of England during the triangular competition, it was an uphill task for the Australians, as the media had already started talking about the average age of the Australian side, which, they believed, was on the upper side. The final of the triangular, which ended in a tie, was also a battle that had negative connotations for the Australians, as the tie was a moral victory for England.
When they lost the first of the best-of-three match at Lords, the daggers were clearly out. However, as the maxim goes, things have to bounce back after hitting rock bottom, and the defeat — more than that, the manner of defeat — at Lords was rock bottom for the Australians. They had to bounce back or perish. It is strength of character and self-belief that they bounced back. In the process, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting got back the form that had deserted them earlier. To a certain extent, the same could be said of Jason Gillespe.
In almost equal measures, the contrast could be seen in the English machinery which suddenly came to grinding halt. The top order crumbled twice within two matches, and their bowlers didn’t know where to pitch the ball. In a matter of two matches, the Australians have made a mockery of all the speculation about what might happen in the Ashes this time. The Australians are back, and that is an ominous sign for the English players. For the followers of the game, however, this represents a prospect for an interesting contest ahead.
Regardless of who did what in the One Day encounters, there was much interest in relevant circles about the introduction of the novel regulations of Super Sub and Power Play. My first reaction is that the changes do not interfere with either the spirit or the character of the game. This is naturally good for the game, and the credit for this must go to the ICC for being imaginative while remaining within the confines of tradition. I have heard a few people arguing against such changes, but I think it is better to move ahead in this direction.
As it is, the rules are inherently in favour of the side batting second in terms of making the substitution. It can make the change without compromising its interests, while the side batting first has to grope in the dark, like it happened with England in the last encounter when they used Vikram Solanki at the cost of losing Simon Jones who happened to be one of their main bowlers. This basically means undue weightage to the toss of the coin, which is something not in control of human mortals. I am sure the ICC will fine-tune the changes after the trial period is over. As a follower of the game, I will keep a watch on it and share with you any thoughts that may come to my mind.
For the time being, however, it is the Ashes that I am looking forward to. At the end of the first round, the momentum is clearly with Australia, but this England side certainly has the potential to turn the tables on the mighty world champions.
THE emphatic manner in which the Australians bulldozed the England team in the last two of the three-match One Day challenge has taken the wind out of the English sails. The wins were as emphatic as were the defeats pathetic in the early parts of their present tour. With Ashes, the main fare, just round the corner, I am sure there would be a lot of encouraging talk in the English camp going on these days. That in itself is a reflection of the kind of turnaround that has been achieved by Australia. The English camp would surely be wondering if the players had peaked a bit too early.
In almost equal measures, the contrast could be seen in the English machinery which suddenly came to grinding halt. The top order crumbled twice within two matches, and their bowlers didn’t know where to pitch the ball. In a matter of two matches, the Australians have made a mockery of all the speculation about what might happen in the Ashes this time. The Australians are back, and that is an ominous sign for the English players. For the followers of the game, however, this represents a prospect for an interesting contest ahead.
