Ashes 06/07 review

Australia’s 5-0 whitewash of England in the 2006/07 Ashes was harrowing for all England fans, especially for those that made the long trip Down Under. One Englishman was there to witness the whole episode. See what he made of it at the end of the series in this special Ashes 2006/07 retrospective. It’s interesting stuff: Was this the best Australian side ever? Did any of the England players come home with any credit at all? Be warned though - depending on your allegiances, this is likely to bring back some painful memories...

“Looking back at how I felt at the start of the series, there was a cagey and misguided level of optimism. We were the holders, the last series recent in the memory, and in spite of injuries and poor preparation we fancied our chances. I did, however, underestimate the quality of the Australian side quite spectacularly and now it is clear that we were watching a side that stands up, in every way, to the other great side of cricket, the 70s-80s West Indies team.

So, once the dust has settled on a harrowing 5-0 thrashing, the captains have said their appropriate things and we have a one day series to look forward to (!), I can at least hold up my hands and say it has been an honour to watch this side take England apart. One of the bookies has an advert which reads "It's not just cricket, it's revenge", an attitude visible from the first morning in Brisbane when Ponting and Langer batted so ruthlessly, through until Matty Hayden's last drive at Sydney. Nothing less than 5-0 was going to suffice. Barring Damien Martyn (who felt forced into premature retirement prior to his home test at the WACA), every Australian player pulled their weight, they all made a significant effort and they never let up. Clarke and Symonds, brought back into the team, played crucial roles and it was evident what this meant to their colleagues. The team morale, which had been on England's side in 2005, was completely with the Aussies in this one.

We, on the other hand, started slowly and while some individual players have improved over the series, we have visibly dwindled as a team over the past 6 weeks. Tim de Lisle, on Cricinfo, puts it as succinctly as I could when he says that "There is a terrible collective fragility about England now. They can have two decent days, and one bad one, and the bad one knocks the stuffing out of them, undoing all the good of the previous two. It’s as if each setback has taken them straight back to that awful morning in Adelaide".

So is this the best Australian side ever? My suspicion would be yes, but it is contentious. Without Warne and McGrath they will be weakened for sure, and will never reach these heights again. They have ready-made replacements for Langer (Jacques), McGrath (Clark, and Johnson). But Warne is simply irreplaceable. Their decline will be significant but they will still be by some margin the World's best for years to come. However, they will lose and draw tests that Warne would have salvaged on the final day. Ponting and Warne are likely to feature in most "all time" teams, both currently at the peak of their game, and they have a formidable batting line up and bowlers to match. Even a World XI v this Australia team looks one sided.

On to England. It's hard to judge players on a series in Australia, as many individuals who have never performed in Oz have done very good jobs against the other world sides. I guess it's just a marker of whether you can truly stand up against the very best. This series, I think only Pietersen and Panesar can come home with the belief that their stock has improved. Monty has now performed consistently against the very best, and won a lot of Australian friends, while Pietersen was a cut above the other English batsmen. As for John Buchanan's comments that he was not a team player, I think these were designed to get under his skin - he looked the most committed player in the field for the first 3 tests, and I suggest that his body language slump coincided with Australia's unassailable position in the series as KP does not like to be in the losing side. And I can't blame him for being p*ssed off with the way things went, he turned up when few others did while the series was alive.

Ian Bell had a mixed but overall positive series. He needs to get in, and makes too many single figure scores to count the series as a complete success. However, once surviving into double figures he looks the part and can be pretty happy with a number of innings, notably in Perth and Sydney. Collingwood scored two big innings early in the series, then faded away and looked a cheap wicket by the series' end, but you can never take away his gutsy and enduring 206 at Adelaide, when it couldn't have been crueller to find him on the losing side. Cook had one big innings and otherwise looked inexperienced and unable to completely handle the pressure of opening in Oz. He threw his wicket away often after weathering the early storm but, given Trescothick is unlikely to return, we must persist with him at no 2. He is young enough to improve into a test opener of real quality and may well have 100 tests in him. Andy Strauss had a bad series in three acts - initially throwing away his wicket hooking predictably, then being the victim of some poor decisions, finally struggling against the Australian attack. When in he looked untroubled, but something always came along to stop him from getting the big score.

The bowlers performed admirably against tough opposition on unrelenting wickets. Hoggard and Flintoff bowled well, as expected, and Flintoff himself was only let down by his poor batting and being thrust into the limelight of a captaincy which did not suit him. Harmison started the series with a wide that turned him into the most lampooned player in the side, but improved with each game until he was the pick of our bowlers from Perth onwards. Something of a success story and a little something for the Poms to cheer. Anderson, like Flintoff and Giles, came into the series on the back of very little cricket and looked very off the boil in the first two games. On his recall to the Sydney test, however, he bowled really well and has cemented his place as the first reserve in the England bowling line up, so he can feel reasonably content with his tour. Mahmood, however, did little to justify his place in the side other than a good spell with the second new ball at the MCG. Brought in to bolster the tail, his flurry of quick ducks did nothing to support his place in the team.

Australia tours usually end a career or two, and it seems as if we are unlikely to see Ashley Giles or Marcus Trescothick play again. Giles, unfortunately, looked pedestrian with the ball and will be remembered for the crucial drop of Ponting in Adelaide. Geraint Jones is another who may not return. Picked on by the local crowds, shoddy with the bat, acceptable with the gloves, his confidence was so shot by Perth that Read had to come in. Jones' stumping for 0 in the second innings was the most embarrassing moment in the series by far, much more shameful than Giles' drop or Harmison's wide. Read kept perfectly, but given England's tail it seems inevitable that the search must begin for a new wicket-keeper batsman. In the meanwhile, Read must finally be seen as England's first choice.

So there we have it, one of the all time cricket sides has beaten a quite decent international side 5-0 in a series that had its moments but, like Roger Federer, Australia won all the big points at the decisive moments. It's been a fun tour, I've seen some terrific places, and I've developed real insight into the sportsmen who complain about these gruelling, arduous tours. Now, after 55 days on the road, I feel like going home.”

End of series awards

Places
Nicest city- Adelaide
Crappest city- Melbourne, it hailed, gave us crap weather and we couldn't navigate our way out of the CBD. I did, however, do a lap of Albert Park in 5m 8secs, so slap me in a Minardi, you can't criticise a city that has easy access to a GP circuit.
Liveliest city- Brisbane (and best bar was the Burlesque bar)
Easiest access to famous cricketers- Brisbane
Hottest city- Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth were outdoor saunas
Coldest city- Melbourne
Best Monolith- Ayers Rock. GO!

Stadia
Best ground
1. Adelaide Oval- by a mile. Beautiful, great hills to watch cricket on. Perfect.
2. SCG- the pavilion is the closest man-made thing you'll get to historic here. You feel close to the action.
3. MCG- it's not really a cricket ground in spite of its name. But it's one hell of an experience.
4. WACA- a bit decrepit, feels like a wasteland, but a proper cricket ground with grass banks and everything.
5. GABBA- a soulless bullring multipurpose monstrosity that has no place in cricket.

Best facilities- GABBA, the advantage of a multipurpose monstrosity is that there are so many stalls you never have to queue.
Worst facilities- Perth had one stall to serve coffee, and one to serve food to all the members. B*ll*cks.
Best beer- hard call but at least the XXXX wasn't light. It poisoned me, though (or was it the fish?)
Worst beer- take your pick from Carlton Mid or Sydney's light beer.

Cricket
Best innings
1. Gilchrist 102 off 59 balls in Perth
2. Ponting 196 in the first innings at Brisbane, came out with one thing on his mind
3. Symonds 156 in Melbourne- played against type until the slog 6 for 100
Honourable mention to Paul Collingwood for his steady 206 which p*ssed off all the Aussies I met (they only ever see 11 players on any pitch).

Best bowling
1. Warne 4-49, day 5 Adelaide. Won the test single handed. Ponting MOTM?- give over...
2. Hoggard 7-109 at Adelaide. Bowled 42 overs (42!!!) in searing heat. That's why you've got to love him.

Best batsman
1. Ricky Ponting
2. Michael Hussey
3. Michael Clarke

Best bowler
1. Shane Warne
2. Stuart Clark
3. Steve Harmison

Best fielder
1. Andrew Symonds
By a mile

Most significant moment in the context of the series
1. Ponting scores big in the first innings at GABBA, and the standard is set.
2. Giles drops Ponting at Adelaide.
3. England's mental frailty shows at Adelaide.

Most enjoyable moment for an English fan
1. Monty bowls Langer with his 7th ball
2. Collingwood 206
3. McGrath goes for 0-107 at Adelaide

Best test match
1. Adelaide
2. Perth
3. Sydney
4. MCG
5. Brisbane

Best ABC commentator
1. Jonathan Agnew (I have to be jingoistic about something)
2. Jim Maxwell
3. Kerry O'Keefe
You must listen to these three banter. It is priceless entertainment.

Best Agnew moment
Finding out he was sat next to Boycott after booking a romantic meal for his wife, and moaning about it for the whole 3rd session on day 4 Adelaide.

Best chants
1. Living on a prayer (Oh we're half way there, once we got to 278 at Perth (chasing 556))
2. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go (gnome-more Justin Langer)
3. You sent us to a sunny paradise (Aussie fanatics in response to "you all live in a convict colony").

Comments

[The Worm]

"However, they will lose and draw tests that Warne would have salvaged on the final day"

The truest words I ever wrote