Sunday evening saw another nerve jangling finale to the 4th ashes test. It is quite hard to believe the way this ashes edition has panned out. I have never witnessed such a series where the margin for winning or losing is nothing more than skin of the teeth. After taking a hammering at Lords, the way England has bounced back is quite commendable to say the least. It indeed would have been painstakingly unfair if they would have not won the 4th test after putting in such a spectacular performance for most part of 4 days. Australia, on the other hand, will have to show what they are made of and, simply, have to win the last test.
After Lords test, many people, self-included, started to right off England’s chances in this edition. I had said in one of my earlier blogs that if England don’t learn to play Warne then they will lose 5-0. Though it is virtually impossible to completely master the bowling of the great leggie, in the last 3 tests, English batters have played Warne with great authority. This I believe is one of the major reason of their triumph. Another major factor is absence of McGrath. McGrath was England’s nemesis in the first test. Without McGrath, the Australian attack is looking, not toothless but surely much less potent. This just emphasizes the enormity of Australia’s dependency on McGrath. Also with Gillespie coming to tail end of his career and seriously struggling for form, they should start to find a worthy replacement for McGrath. Apart from that, the woeful form of Hayden, Martin and Gilchrist has contributed to Australian misery in a big way. I don’t remember a single series in which Gilchrist has failed this miserably.
On positives for England, the form of their openers seems to be getting better with every match. Ian Bell has started to use the thing called as bat in much authoritative manner. From nowhere, Giles has started to turn the ball. Peiterson has not disappointed his fans and has been a real positive influence on the whole England side. When swing is in the air, Hoggard is always a handful. And then there is Freddie. The boy has become a man. The way he has played in this series exhausts the superlatives. Hats off to the big Freddie.
However, England should look out because the wounded Aussies will hit back with full vengeance in the last test. Australia has always been my second favorite side (after India ofcourse). But in spite of that I will say that it will be absolutely heart-breaking if England don’t win this ashes series.
And to wrap it up, I will say that if there is any one out there who has not enjoyed this ashes series then he better not watch cricket at all. This simply is as good as it can get.
