Cricket Tournaments

Kevin Pietersen

Some describe him as a traitor for abandoning his home country, South Africa to turn out playing for England in international cricket. Some call him the style icon for his fancy hairstyles and tattoos. Legends like Shane Warne refer to him as the ‘walking ego’ or for that matter, Australia’s former coach John Buchanan calls him a ‘poor starter’. All this describes England’s Kevin Pietersen, who despite all the negative perceptions is arguably one of the world’s best batsmen today and by far one of my favourite cricketers as well.

Pietersen rose to prominence early in his career when he made his ODI debut against South Africa in South Africa. I would rate his three centuries in seven matches of that tour as the finest I have ever seen. He was under pressure from partisan crowds and he had a tough job to revive England’s one-day fortunes as well. He couldn’t do the latter but he handled the pressure remarkably well. He studiously followed the advice of his first captain, Michael Vaughan that he only had to watch the ball and nothing else. And all the three centuries were attacking and almost made South Africa lose a one-day series at home. He made the world stand up and appreciate the fact that a star was born.

His exploits in South Africa made him a serious contender for a place in the starting XI of the Test team which would be playing against Australia for the Ashes in the summer of 2005 at home. Despite the fact that the XI was more or less set, yet Pietersen upstaged the veteran Graham Thorpe as Englands No. 5 for the first Test at Lords. And he didn’t waste this golden opportunity. England were 21/5 in the first innings when he walked out to bat. There was humungous pressure on him because all the big guns, Strauss, Trescothick, Vaughan, Bell and Flintoff had been foxed by some ferocious swing bowling by Glenn McGrath. Yet, he thrived under pressure as he played his counter-attacking game. He scored a half-century on debut, which even included sixes of the bowling of his Hampshire teammate, Shane Warne. His mature innings of 57 eventually made England reach 155 in response to Australia’s 190 in the first innings. He scored 64 in the second innings again amidst pressure because England had to chase 420 to win the Test. Though England lost eventually, Pietersen stood out and he created the momentum which the batting needed, in order to win the Ashes later on. But he wasn’t done for the series. He hammered 158 at The Oval in the final Test in the second innings to ensure that the match was drawn and England won 2-1, holding the Ashes for the first time since 1986.

His un-English attitude of tearing the opposition apart right from the first ball made him successful in the Test arena and to an extent ODIS as well. In his next Test series, he scored another century against Pakistan at Faisalabad when again the others failed miserably. However he was in fine nick the next home season where he scored back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka. Many still remember the reverse sweep, which could be now considered a switch-hit off the bowling of the wizard, Muttiah Muralitharan for a huge six. His Test career was going as smooth as a roller-coaster, however he did not have a memorable year in ODIs in 2006. He was getting the starts but he couldn’t convert those into big hundreds. It was only in the World Cup 2007 against Australia that he had scored the 4th hundred of his career. He looked confident because he had created the fear in the Australians after that 158 he scored at Adelaide during the Ashes in 2006. And soon, he also scored a match-winning hundred against hosts West Indies in a crucial Super 8 clash in Barbados to make sure England have a genuine chance to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

On a slow, low pitch at the Sawai Mansingh stadium at Jaipur, Rajasthan’s batsmen had a torrid time, which resulted in them being trumped by the Royal Challengers Bangalore by a comfortable margin of five wickets. What began well for Shane Warne when he won the toss and elected to bat first, only got worse.

In the most inauspicious of starts, Michael Lumb was run out cheaply and the Bangalore bowlers then combined brilliantly to have Rajasthan on the mat right through. It was only a stubborn partnership towards the end between Abhishek Raut and Adam Voges that enabled Rajasthan to touch 130. But, with Kevin Pietersen in the most murderous of moods, the match was a no-contest, despite the loss of a few cheap wickets late in the game.

Returning to Rajasthan’s insipid batting effort, in the season of run-outs, Lumb (9) added one more to his kitty. Not for the first time in the series, there was a total lack of co-ordination between him and Naman Ojha. As a result, Lumb was stranded more than halfway down the pitch and had only one way to go from thereon, back to the dugout.

The only consolation for him could have been that Pietersen’s run-out later in the day was uglier. But, this wasn’t a battle to score brownie points. Following Lumb’s dismissal, Amit Paunikar (0) was smartly trapped by R Vinay Kumar off a short ball in the same over. Ojha too couldn’t make amends for the run-out of Lumb as he chipped one up in the air off Pankaj Singh’s bowling for 7.

At 3 for 21, Bangalore were well on top, but they knew they had thrown it away from a similar position in the previous game. There were no mistakes this time, however. Shane Watson (22), who cracked a couple of boundaries and was looking ominous, was brilliantly caught by Pietersen, diving in front of him off Kallis’ bowling. And, if Royals were hoping for some Yusuf Pathan magic, it wasn’t coming.

Anil Kumble’s decision to bring back Dale Steyn worked immediately as the speedster knocked out the big-hitter with a short of the length delivery, which beat his tentative defence and crashed into the stumps. If Rajasthan managed to reach a decent score after being 72 for 6, it was thanks to some dedicated batting from Raut and Voges. Neither could go for the big strokes but ensured that they at least rotated the strike, before finally delivery a couple of lusty hits at the very end.

The target was too miniscule for Bangalore though, despite the early loss of Kallis, who was castled by Kamran Khan by one that kept really low. What followed was the Pietersen show, an exhibition of ruthless batting, which reiterated why Vijay Mallya was so bent on having him in his franchise. Khan was given a lesson in how not to ball at the start of an innings.

The usually economical Siddharth Trivedi as well as Watson were also taken to task. And, when Shane Warne came on, Pietersen made his intentions clear immediately charging down the pitch, making the legend look hapless.

Pietersen raced to 62 from 28 balls. He was out the only way he could have got out. Adamant on getting the strike, he overpowered a refusal from Virat Kohli for a sharp single, but only had to return to the dugout, fuming. A couple more wickets fell instantly. However, Rajasthan were left to rue not having enough runs on the board.

There has never been any doubt about the prodigious talent of Dinesh Karthik. The problem has been that over the years he himself has been his biggest enemy, throwing his wicket away to atrocious strokes after looking in great nick.

This wasn’t the case against Rajasthan Royals though, as he clobbered 69 from 38 balls to lead Delhi to a memorable 67-run win against Shane Warne’s army. Of course, the numbers don’t tell the true story. The significance of the knock has to be gauged from the circumstances under which it was scored.

Delhi were batting first and needed to set a decent score. Karthik was demoted down the order and four batsmen before him came and went, leaving the side reeling at 67 for 4 in the ninth over.

This is when he joined forces with skipper Gautam Gambhir, and the duo went about the rebuilding task with great gusto. Gambhir (43) was not in his elements, yet he ensured that he rotated the strike regulating and gave Karthik the opportunity to excel. At the start, even Karthik took some time to settle down, but once he opened up, there was no stopping him.

The beauty of his innings was the slog-free manner in which went about his task. Hardly, a single ball was cross-batted, proving the youngster had certainly learnt a lesson or two about the art of batsmanship. If anything, there were drives straight down the ground, and impressive cuts and pulls.

He was devastating towards the death, using the bottom hand lofting Siddharth Trivedi as well as Sumit Narval for sixes and set up Delhi’s highly challenging total of 188.

Without doubt Karthik played a match-winning knock. But, there were a couple of other extremely crucial contributions as well — none bigger that Farveez Maharoof’s, who claimed Rajasthan’s in-form men, Micheal Lumb and Faiz Fazal, in his very first over.

The Sri Lankan all-rounder was making a comeback into the team and had to fill the big shoes of Dirk Nannes. And boy, did he do his job well. Lumb was inexplicably deceived by a length delivery that did nothing extraordinary and held out, while Fazal was trapped by a slower one which came in and clearly beat him for lack of pace.

Interestingly, the other major contribution came from David Warner, not with the bat, but in the field. He plucked out four catches in the deep and also affected the run-out of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala.

For Rajasthan, things only looked somewhat brighter when Naman Ojha, at the top of the innings, and Yusuf Pathan, towards the middle, struck some hefty blows. Neither lasted long enough to make any kind of impact on the game though.

Things were far from gloomy for Rajasthan at the start of the match though. Warner was cleaned up by a perfect yorker from Sumit Narval, Virender Sehwag became the latest addition to fall victim to a short ball.

Soon, Paul Collingwood was stranded in the middle of the pitch, while Kedar Jadhav fell to Shane Warne’s guile. Rajasthan had everything going their way till Karthik showed his true colours.

If ever Rajasthan Royals wanted to assure themselves that they are still good enough to compete against the best despite the loss of their big guns, they only need to look at their performance today against defending champions Deccan Chargers.

Stating the game as perceptible underdogs, they ended up hammering the Chargers by eight wickets and made it a hat-trick of victories after the three setbacks at the beginning of the tournament. The stand out aspect of Rajasthan’s performance was the thoughtful manner in which they went about their task.

Things weren’t going to be easy once they lost the toss and were faced with the prospect of having to deal with a rampaging Adam Gilchrist. However, Shane Warne’s men stood up to the task on this day. The captain himself had some shrewd tactics up his sleeve, most of which worked wonderfully well for his side.

He opened the bowling with Sumit Narval, who responded with the massive wicket of Gilchrist in the very first over, the Deccan skipper wanted to make a statement at the outset, but only managed to lob one straight up in the air.

Following the poor start, Deccan were in desperate need of some runs from their experienced men, VVS Laxman and Herschelle Gibbs. The latter looked dangerous for a while, taking on Abhishek Jhunjunwala in one over and despatching him all over the park. But, if Warne’s one weapon had failed, it only forced him to dish out the next one in his armoury, a more lethal one named Shaun Tait.

Usually erratic, Tait was in his elements for a change, in sync with Warne’s script. Laxman failed to time a short ball and was sent back for 10. The skipper himself played a significant role with the ball. Rolling back the years, he forced a well-settled Gibbs to drag his feet to a ball that pitched on middle and left him, totally deceiving him in the air, and had him stumped. The Warne magic might be waning, but against the Proteas, he still seems quite a handful.

Gibbs went for 25, leaving the Chargers struggling at 58 for 3. Pretty soon all the hopes of a recovery died a volcanic death. Andrew Symonds (22) came up with a couple of delectable drives before running himself out, going for a non-existent run.

The ball had left the fielder’s (Jhunjhunwhala) hand when a hesitant Symonds went for the inexplicable. More hesitations followed which resulted in a couple more batsmen being stranded. Rohit Sharma was the common factor in all the dismissals, though he wasn’t the culprit on each occasion.

To his credit, at least he tried to bat sensibly and ended up as the innings’ top-scorer with 49. However, a total of 148 was never going to be enough unless Deccan had something exceptional up their sleeve.

On the contrary, Micheal Lumb and Yusuf Pathan provided the extraordinary stuff as Rajasthan cruised home. Lumb hit a hapless RP Singh cruelly for four consecutive fours. And after he was unfortunately run-out for 45, Pathan ensured that the dismissal was forgotten in a flash.

With eight mighty sixes, most of them off the spinners, he ended up unbeaten on 73 from 34 balls. The underdogs had done it again.

On a batsman-friendly pitch at Mohali, Punjab Kings XI got themselves into a winning position chasing Rajasthan Royals’ imposing total of 183, courtesy a whirlwind start. Kumar Sangakkara, opening the innings, smashed an amazing 29 from 13 balls while Manvinder Bisla was even more astonishing, scoring 35 from 18 balls.

But, once Bisla was dismissed by Shane Warne, Punjab completely fell apart. From an impressive 85 for one in the eight over, they collapsed to 115 for 5 in the 13, the loss of Irfan Pathan taking the match well out of their reach.

Punjab’s batting effort was in complete contrast to Rajasthan’s innings, earlier in the evening. After losing the toss and being invited to bat, they made an extremely confident start for a change. Michael Lumb, from whom skipper Warne had great hopes, did not let his captain down.

Against a bowling attack which seemed low on confidence right from the start, Lumb was in his elements. Irfan Pathan, as in the earlier games, was wayward and the opener took full advantage of it, striking a number of boundaries using the width offered. The other left-arm seamer, Shalabh Srivastava, also went for plenty, nullifying the good work done by Juan Theron, who was impressive once again, keeping the ball in exactly the right areas.

Theron’s effort, though, was overshadowed by Rajasthan’s royal batting performance. After Lumb was smarty dismissed, stumped by Piyush Chawla for a well-made 41, Faiz Fazal once again proved his mettle in the middle overs. In partnership, first with Yusuf Pathan (28) and later with Adam Voges (45*), Fazal ensured that Rajasthan’s great start was not negated.

The beauty of his batting was that he picked the gaps in the field taking minimal risks. And even when he went for the boundaries, more often than not, he ensured that it was a calculated shot and not a mere slog. Fazal was unluckily run out by Chawla for 45, but his knock set up things perfectly for Voges.

The hard-hitting Australian found the boundaries without much trouble against Irfan and Srivastava. And when Kumar Sangakkara tried out Yuvraj Singh belatedly, he too was given similar treatment. Voges’ knock meant Royals had the cushion of an extra few runs in case the bowling wasn’t top notch. Punjab, themselves, did not help their cause being shabby in the field right throughout.

Putting the disappointing bowling and fielding effort behind them, they did make a sparkling start to their case. Sangakkara led from the front, taking both Munaf Patel and Shaun Tait head on. However, the innings did not last long enough and Tait got the better of him with a short ball, which he fended away and was caught near the boundary line.

In came Bisla and went all guns blazing from ball one. Neither Tait for Patel had any answer to his stand and deliver tactics. And, when Warne came on, he did not hesitate to go down the track and hit him into the stands. The veteran leg spinner had the last laugh though. Like Sangakkara, Bisla’s innings also promised a lot, but lasted only a while longer than his skipper. And therein lay Punjab’s problem.

Spotted by Rod marsh at the age of 17 in the academy and was said to be the best teen player in Australia and rightly so. Ponting made his international debut against South Africa (1995) in a One day international at the basin reserve in wellington. The young 20 year old Tasmanian didn’t raise a lot of eyebrows in his debut innings and fell for a paltry 1 as he was given the number six position to bat. Ponting failed to make amends.

Ponting, much like Sachin Tendulkar never really made a name for himself for about 2-3 years. It wasn’t till 1997-1998 did the current champion announce himself at the international stage. He had a phenomenal year with the bat especially in the ODI Format where he made 1165 runs at an average of 53.

Unknown to many Ponting was a bit of a rebellion something like his former team mate Andrew Symonds. Drinks, pubs and brawls were ‘just the usual’ in Ponting’s case. However, just like Symonds Ponting was given a final chance too, which he accepted and 13 years on since the last incident skipper Ponting has never crossed the Line.

The time still hadn’t come where ponting was good. He was still a talented youngster and not to mention a brilliant fielder who was a regular at point-backward point for Australia. It was 2000. The decade which would not just change this boy to a man but, from talent- to good to great to a champion that he is now.

He averaged above 50 in at least one form of the game every year for the next four years. Ponting was now not just the mainstay but, formed a major chunk of the middle order. He was surprisingly promoted to skipper after Steve Waugh wasn’t picked for the world cup squad in 2003.

It was Adam Gilchrist who served as stand by captain whenever steve Waugh missed out. This was a surprise a big one at that too. Was the ACB looking at the long term future considering gilchrist was 31 and ponting was 27; but it was a risk considering the rebel that ponting had been in his early years.
However, it was a risk that paid off! Ponting brought home the world cup with a splendid performance not just as captain but as batsman too especially in the finals where he let the bat do the talking making 140* against India helping Australia post a huge score of 359.

Ponting had won Australia the world cup! Ricky Ponting had won Australia the world cup without Shane Warne! This was immensely important as it gave Australia the confidence that Shane Warne was not the be all and end all of Australian cricket. Ponting then awaited the Indians where he scored 2 double centuries in a 4 test series including his career best score of 257. 2003 was ponting’s best year with the bat as he scored more then 1500 runs and averaged more than 100 in test match cricket. His ODI performace wasn’t too bad either with over 1100 runs at 46. Ponting was now been seen as a threat to all opponents. His big match performances were making him fearful to bowl at.

Ponting continued his brilliant performance and after this particular series against India took over as Australian test captain too. Ponting was instrumental in handing the Australians the number of wins they did end up with in those two years. The Australians then flew to what was going to be their lowest point in the whole decade. They went to England to defend the ashes. There was something about the England unit- the zeal! Freddie flintoff or KP perhaps something new something refreshing!
Something the England unit never showed before!

The season was going to be a miserable one (foreshadowing) when Australia lost to Bangladesh for the first time and lost a T20 match in an embarrassing fashion to England. The 2005 ashes was now all set to get underway! The series started in typical fashion when Australia ran through England at lords. Ponting had a wonderful game too and Australia were clinical with their performance. It was not until the 3rd test at old Trafford where ponting showed his true class with a fighting last day 156 that ensured that Australia managed to keep the series at 1-1. Ponting was named man of the match for his gutsy effort and it is perhaps ponting’s most defiant innings under pressure.

Again, Come’t the hour! Come’t the man!!

Ponting did not let the ashes defeat get to him as he continued to perform and dominate bowlers at will. Ponting then went on to win Australia their first ever champions trophy in India. The ashes was next. This time in their backyard.
Australia absolutely rammed through England! A whitewash! 5-0!

Ponting’s most satisfying moments as captain I’d say! The guilt had gone. The Australians not just ponting were guilt free. They had had their revenge in the best possible manner. Ponting was prolific through the series scoring 576 runs and was deservingly adjudged Man of the series. The good run continued the run machine continued! He then went on to win Australia their 4th world cup and 3rd consecutive one. He was on a roll.

But, the roll was now about to rock and rock bad. With players namely Justin langer, Damien martyn, Shane Warne and glenn mcgath all gone everything couldn’t be perfect could it.

The Australian team were coming to the realms of things. They were coming to where other teams were. They were coming back to earth!

They thrashed New Zealand thanks to skipper ponting again who hammered 2 centuries in a 3 match ODI series. India were next! Ponting would have loved to repeat his performance the last time round the Indians were there. However, that was not to be as ponting had one of his worst summers not just as batsman but as captain. He was severely criticized and to an extent disowned by the Australian crowd after the Sydney fiasco. Ponting was in tatters with only Senior pro’s Gilchrist and Hayden remaining. Between all this Ishant Sharma was tormenting ponting.

The ODI series came and Adam gilchrist announced it would be his last summer in international cricket. Ponting had just Hayden now. Australia went on to lose against India not just the ODI series but also the test series in India. Australia were facing tough opponents!

First, India than South Africa than- The ashes. The aussies went home and lost their first home test series in a long long time. South Africa had not just created history but had inflicted pain by usurping Australia from the world no 1 throne. The game was changing. Matthew Hayden had gone too.

Ponting was left. This was his true test of character and as they say champions do fight back. Ponting went to South African soil and embarrassed the proteas with his young side and beat them 2-1 in a hard fought test series. The aussies seemed on a high again. They had found sensations in Mitchell Johnson, Marcus North and Philip Hughes. In spite of losing the ODI series the aussies still looked good for the T20 championship and the ashes to follow. Australia were blasted by gayle out of the tournament in the qualifiers itself.
Not the ideal preparation for the ashes, ehh?

Australia went into the first test match at Cardiff and dominated proceedings right from the word go with punter leading from the front with a defiant 150. Australia were extremely close from winning the first test but it was monty panesar and jimmy Anderson who denied them from the same.

England won the second test at lords thus giving Australia their first loss in an ashes test match at lords in 75 years. Ponting went on to lose the ashes thus becoming only the second captain in Australian history after Billy Murdoch to lose the ashes twice in England. Ponting’s team was shattered. The critics were out with their saws ready to drop it on ponting. There were questions about ponting handling just the test side and having Michael Clarke to handle the ODI and T20 format. Ponting returned home for a break and would resume midway through the NatWest ODI series. The critics raised many a question and ponting answered it one by one in humility. He said one thing though ‘If his body prevails he will be prepared to go back to England come 2013 and give it one more shot all be it not as captain”!

Words of a humbled man with a never say die spirit. Ponting returned to England in the 4th ODI and played some wonderful knocks including a century in the 5th ODI. Australia had soaked some of the pain up after giving England a 6-1 drubbing. They then moved to South Africa defending the champions trophy and did it with success. Ponting hit a century in the semi-finals again against England trying to win back some pride. The aussies were back to playing good cricket.

Ponting brought his men to India. He lost brett lee right in the first match of the tournament. Soon, ponting found himself without lee, Haddin, Clarke, bracken, Siddle, paine, ferguson and then hopes. Australia had lost most of their first choice players. In spite of all this Australia still managed to take the series 4-2. Ponting’s captaincy has to be lauded—it’s easy to be a great captain when you have greatness around you.

It’s easy to keep winning. Ponting and his team had suffered a string of losses in the last 12 months. His captaincy and motivation was instrumental in knitting the group together and conquering the once “final frontier”. Australia went back home after what seemed a long-long time. It was an okay tour having won the series in south Africa, the champions trophy, the natwest series and won in India. In the bargain, they had lost the T20 world cup and more importantly the ASHES. Ponting had a poor start to the season and was hit on his elbow by Kemar roach at a pacey perth wicket. This effected his batting and ponting was about to have one of his worst home summers. One match is all it takes to turn things round and so it was in ponting’s case.

One just felt he needed that scratchy 50 or 60. So, in the summers last test match in front of his home crowd at Hobart ponting went on to hit 209 and 89 in the 3rd test against Pakistan. The skipper was back. Having just completed a 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in the ODI’s Australia seem to be as ominous as ever.

As long as ricky ponting is dawning the Australian colours “All is indeed well”!
Ponting has achieved everything he could’ve asked for. It would only be fitting end if this great man is able to win back or retain the ashes in 2013 against England in their backyard.
Ask for ‘scripted farewell’s’ or what!!
Hats off to the legend –Ricky ponting!

The 2009 Ashes series between England and Australia will start this morning as cricket looks to once again capture the imagination of the British public. Four years ago the two teams met to give us the greatest Ashes series of all time in a sporting contest that personified just why these two sides have such a long and respectable sporting history.

England come off the back of some impressive performances against a West Indies team and the Aussies start off in England having beaten South Africa in their own country. Despite the gap in quality between these two victories this could turn out to be a repeat of the 2005 series with every single match going right down to the wire.

The teams are very evenly matched and it appears that the side that bowls the better will win the series and the Ashes urn. Australia obviously do not have Glen McGrath and Shane Warne in their side any more, who between them bowled out in England five times by themselves in the last series to be held in England.

This is not easy to over come and is being put down as the main reason by many experts on the game as the factor that actually gives England a chance. England’s own bowling attack has the virtue of having now played together for a long period of time. There is no question that England have the better bowling options as they carry two world class spinners as well as players that can reverse swing the ball at great pace.

The batting line-ups of each side are very even and a lot will rest on the more experienced players in each side. Both England and Australia have four big names in their top six that can all go on and make big hundreds. If they do then every match should go down to the last day and will place all of the pressure on the bowlers to get everything right and earn their money.

A lot has been made of the fact that the first test match is being played in Cardiff and not at Lords as this is traditionally the case. There are two advantages already for England in this respect. Firstly, the Cardiff pitch should turn, this will allow England the freedom to name Monty Panesar and Graham Swann in their side whereas the Australians will probably only play Nathan Hauritz, a defensively minded off spinner.

Secondly, it has to be considered that whenever an Ashes series does start at Lords, England do tend to lose. It is important to get off to a good start in such a long series because it can give you vital momentum that you can carry forwards into the next match. Cardiff could work in England’s favour and it could give them a boost they need to believe that they can push on and win the series.

England should have thumped the West Indies when they played in the Caribbean but on too many occasions, seemingly certain wins were turned in to frustrating draws. If England can get their noses on front then it could be a long two months in this country for the Australians.

Team news is good for England who look set to name their strongest possible eleven. It has not been kept a secret that the pitch will turn and therefore Graham Onions could make way for Swann with Andrew Flintoff stepping back into the middle of the side. This will give England a nice balance and allow them to strengthen in more than one area. It also adds the important dimension of even more aggression that will be needed as there are no doubts over the fact that the Aussies are going to chirp away at all the English batsman that get to the crease.

For the Aussies they will be missing fast bowler Brett Lee. England will be more than happy about this. Lee has the ability to swing the ball at over 90mph and can cause all sorts of problems. Ask any Englishman in the side if they would rather he wasn’t playing and they’d all say yes.

Otherwise the Australian selection is hard to guess. Ricky Ponting has been keeping the cards close to his chest before the first game and it is expected that they will go in with three or four quicks and a spinner. However, you can never second guess the Aussies and it could well be the case that they have the next Shane Warne up their sleeve ready to bring out, a player who nobody would have heard of.

This would be a huge gamble though and it will probably be the case that the Aussies go in with only four bowlers and play an extra batsman. This would not be a stupid thing to do but it would automatically give a slight advantage to England who would fancy their chances of not being bowled out by a relatively one dimensional attack without Lee.

The toss is also crucial to England’s chances of winning the first game. As the pitch is expected to turn, it can also be expected that it will rapidly deteriorate, meaning that whoever wins the toss will bat first. You do not want to be batting on the last day in the last innings on a pitch that has unpredictable bounce and is turning square. From England’s point of view if they can get a good score on the board first up and then set the Aussies a massive target, it will allow Swann and Panesar to go mad and try to wreak some havoc in the later stages of the game.

It’s nice just to have the series back and it’s good that there is so much positive thinking surrounding the first test. A lot of people have already forgotten about the 5-0 thumping that was given to England in the last Ashes series and if the build up is any thing like the actual matches then we could all be on our way to buy box sets of the 2009 series as well.