Fifth Test? I can’t wait but hopes are not high.

Last night I had a dream, and it most definitely was not a good one. In it, and I do not remember how, England captain Andrew Strauss became unfortunately deceased just a few days before a deciding Ashes Test match. Thankfully I awoke, in a cold sweat I might add, to realise that this awful vision was just a bad dream. To lose Strauss to injury now, let alone anything else, would be an unmitigated disaster, akin to losing your premier all-rounder a few hours before a big match in Leeds.


Hope was high after Cardiff escape, was followed by Lord’s victory, but since then expectation levels have dramatically collapsed. If the draw in Wales was a miracle, then there is no biblical equivalent to what is required in South London this week, especially after the debacle at Headingley. And to achieve anything, even pride in defeat, without the skipper, top run scorer, and only English centurion of the series would surely be impossible.


Strauss stands alone among the home batsmen this series, against an attack that is apparently not all that good. Which begs the question, was the Australian revival in Leeds merely a mirage in the desert of Test cricket? Were Ponting’s men really that good or did England’s boys just play so poorly that Johnson, Hilfenhaus, Siddle and Clark were made to appear world beaters? English cricket has a tendency to implode once in a while, only to return looking stronger, having learned from its mistakes. We all remember the 51 all out in Jamaica just a few short months ago, and the swift improvements that followed.


At the Oval, international reputations are at stake, as England try once again to rise phoenix-like from the, ahem, ashes of disaster. Ian Bell, brought in to replace the injured Kevin Pietersen has so far belied the myth that he can be a test cricketer of the highest quality. Left out after the mauling at Sabina Park, he was supposed to have rediscovered his form, proved himself once again a top notch cricketer. If he fails this week then I am afraid that should be the end of the line for Bell, three series of failure against the Aussies is quite enough, thank you. Players are needed who can compete against the best; after all, it is only 15 months until the beginning of a certain series down under.


Paul Collingwood is another of England’s top order that looks to be drinking in the bar, next door to the last chance saloon. A quick glance at Michael Clarke’s figures this series, show what a genuine Test match number 5 should be doing. One gritty knock at Sofia Gardens, plus a couple of quick fire half tons are insufficient from that position, if you are hoping to compete against the world’s finest. And as for Ravi Bopara, well perhaps Ravi should be given some time off and then dropped down the order, everyone deserves a second chance, after all.


England’s selectors however deserve praise for not making wholesale changes before such a big match. People talk of Jonathan Trott being under immense pressure, making debut in the Ashes decider, I disagree. For me he is in a win-win situation. Score runs and his place in the side will be assured for the winter’s tour to South Africa, fail and any fingers pointing, will not be doing so in his direction. This should allow him to bat with freedom and with any luck patience too, the one thing England’s batters, Strauss and to a lesser extent Cook aside, have lacked all summer. The bowlers too, need to learn this most important of virtues, put the ball in the right area over and over again and you will create pressure. A Test match is five days long, not two and a half. We can only hope England have learned from their hefty mistakes a fortnight ago, and that this match is still exciting come Monday afternoon. Although on recent evidence, an England victory may just be too much to dream of.

75 years? No problem.

Three days on from the ‘miracle at Cardiff’ the two teams arrive at Lord’s for the second Test. So what have we learned since Monty Panesar and Jimmy Anderson blocked out for nearly eleven, gut churning overs, on Sunday evening? First, Ricky ‘Roland’ Ponting is not only a bad loser, he is a pretty bad at taking a draw too. Yes, England may have indulged in a tiny bit of blatant time-wasting, but don’t think for a minute that the Australians would have behaved any better were the roles reversed. They would, however, have been a little more subtle than sending on the world’s largest physio for no reason. And on Wednesday we learnt that Andrew Flintoff will retire from Test match cricket after this current series. Probably for the best, it is no good having a player who cannot be relied upon to play game after game; it is unsettling and upsets the balance of the team.


The second Test promises to be a very different match indeed, and it will be extremely interesting to see how both sets of players respond to the extraordinary events of Sunday. Australia will be smarting, Ponting knows that he blew it, missed a trick, looked a gift horse in the mouth. All the talk of England delaying the game is a smokescreen, erected by the Australian captain to defend himself from the many accusations of poor decision making. Why Marcus North, full time batter, part-time bowler was sending down gentle turners to England’s last pair is anybody’s guess. Siddle and Hilfenhaus must have wondered what they had done to upset Rick, one good length Yorker and Panesar would have been back in the Pavilion, and the Aussies 1-0 up.


Still Ponting’s mistake is Andrew Strauss’s gain and I fully expect a very different England team to take the field today. The personnel will be similar; Harmison for Monty, and Onions for the injured Broad, but the attitude and application should, and hopefully will, be much improved. If England could win at Lord’s, for the first time since 1934, etc, then Australia may find it hard to stomach and recover after that first Test finale. The batters will have to stand up and be counted, do to the Aussies what they did to England last weekend. The bowlers must rediscover their aggression too, don’t let the Aussies settle, don’t give them easy runs, and hit them. Hit them with the nice hard shiny new ball, it excites the crowd, it excites the players and it will ruffle the Australians. I don’t care how good a player you are, getting struck by a cricket ball at 90MPH is both frightening and painful.


Australia will win the toss and bat first, but that will be all they win this week. England are going to come out firing on all cylinders, the crowd will be behind them, and Ponting’s men will be all out for around 200 and bowling by 5 o’clock this evening. I’m off to try and get tickets outside the ground, wish me luck!