This definitely marks the passing of an era and the dawn of a fresh one. The sun has set on the decade of Aussie dominance. And it has been replaced with a resurgent, dogged, persevering and an awe-inspiringly balanced English Test team that has the skill-set and chutzpah to go out and conquer.
Resurgence always has an uplifting effect. This is even truer if it relates to a phenomenon that was once un-thinkable for the actors involved. For more than two decades, beginning in 1986-87, men wearing the Three Lions and the Crown journeyed to the land Down Under. For a generation, England’s quest to wrest control of the tiny urn symbolizing the Ashes had always ended up in vain – searing their psyche with the Aussie shock and awe tactics.
Their last trip to Australia was particularly horrible, as the Poms were handed a five-nil drubbing – a most painful reminder that beating the Aussies in their own backyard was something beyond England.
But cricket would not be the beautiful game and the engaging love affair that it is if it did not defy our mortal expectations. Somehow, this time the Englishmen let their spirits soar and dared to believe that the unthinkable was very within the realm of the possible.
From the moment they landed in Australia till the time Andrew Strauss and his men completed the rout at Sydney, unadulterated inspiration and dogged determination became their spokespersons. Except for those four days at Perth where the order of the universe appeared to conform to history and conventional wisdom, the Aussies were outclassed in batting, bowling and, I never thought I would say this, fielding.
This new England squad has had its moments of glory in the past but this is likely to be remembered as the moment of rechristening. There are battlegrounds in Africa and the Indian sub-continent that await this team but the present win is likely to be remembered as where it all started.
The Ashes this time lived up to the expectations and we did indeed see some fascinating cricket laced with poetic performances. If Siddle’s hat-trick that first morning at the Gabba had made any of us think that the scheme of the cricket universe was undisturbed then Strauss, Cook and Trott sent the first warning signals of what was to come. Cook crafted another century at Adelaide and became the symbol of English calm while batting. His feet were more nimble than that of a ballet dancer, the caressing touch of his bat made you want to glide the air-waves and his punching shots on all around the wicket served as a reminder of who was in-charge.
If Cook’ batted like a dream then we are lucky that it was recurring. Kevin Pietersen may not have scored as many runs as he may have wanted to but he scored when it mattered and his double century at Adelaide was the beginning of a super script. In bowling, James Anderson was the leader of the pack and a born- again Chris Tremlett delivered time and again. Typical of the best performers, they made it seem as if two different pitches were being used for bowling each time they grabbed the ball. Swann kept entertaining with his video diaries and with the magic woven through his fingers. Andy Flower and Strauss had a plan for each batsman and the Aussie top order succumbed nearly each time.
Where did Australia go wrong? At Perth, the Aussies leveled the series but, as I wrote then, one great Aussie performance is to be expected in a five match series. They needed to be consistent. A faster wicket could not have been the panacea at the MCG or the SCG. Test matches are won if you can pick up 20 wickets but the fuel has to be injected by the batsmen. Runs on the board provide the cover which bowlers can use to execute plans with patience; not enough runs bring panic.
The Aussie top order needed to be consistent. As much as Haddin or Johnson can excite the crowds with a quick 50 or a 100, the fact remains that the now-past Aussie glory was based on a flood of runs at the top. Ponting’s unlucky dismissals down the leg-side symbolized him being out of form and luck generally. Katich’s absence definitely hampered plans at the top of the order but it is clear that the Aussies need someone to back up Shane Watson. Consistently discomfited by the lack of runs, the Aussie bowlers remained panic-stricken. At important junctures in all three Tests that Australia lost, the bowlers bowled far too short, and didn’t make the batsmen play enough.
Not holding catches did not help matters. Indiscipline is not a word one associates with the Aussie fielders or bowlers. But at least twice in the last two Tests they picked up important wickets, only to find out that the bowler had over-stepped. Both times, the players in question (Matt Prior and Alistair Cook) went on to make match-winning hundreds. This is not to definitively say that the Aussies were a few over-stepped inches from glory but we might have seen a closer series.
England’s celebrations and the Aussie disappointment will live long in the memory of all those who watched this Ashes. Going forward, Strauss might think that he can be more aggressive as a captain with his field-placing but for now he is not to be faulted. Ponting is starved of runs but he still has a lot to offer to the Aussie team and, with his reservoirs of talent, no one can doubt him. Cricket fans the world over will be richer if Ponting makes a comeback and scores runs. For now, his replacement as captain, Michael Clarke, should be worried about his own place in the side.
The Aussie selectors will need to be consistent with their choices and Michael Beer and Usman Khwaja will be hoping to be among those choices. The Pakistanis aficionados felt joy and pride when expatriate Usman Khawaja trotted out in the Aussie colours to a rousing ovation at the SCG to bat at Ponting’s place. Khwaja and Beer promise the excitement of youth in an Aussie team that will have Johnson, Watson, Hussey and Hilfenhaus among its experienced lot.
A new cricketing dawn is upon us. In this reordered universe, the Aussies do not reign supreme but it is one that provides uplifting performances from a steely new breed of players. Among the top three Test teams in the world are now the subjects of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. With an unsettling humility and fiery passion, the Englishmen have regained the urn. If you watch cricket for the love of the game and the smiles it can bring to your face on a dull day, then count yourself lucky. The English win is a promise fulfilled.
