Four years ago, Australia had just beaten India (in India) and came to England to wallop the Poms again. A little complacent, a little arrogant (what, Australians? never). They neglected to note that said Poms had just beaten South Africa, and were on a bit of a roll.
My mate Dave was going to be content with a few sessions going the Poms way, but we all know what happened-
A wolf-pack of Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and the 'tasty' (wife's words) Simon Jones used reverse swing and a bit of thought to hamstring the Aussies. Gilchrist neutered, Martyn and Hayden and Langer not up for it. If it hadn't been for Warnie and Brett Lee, our batting totals would have been even worse.
It was a great series, and the better team won.
[The next series, in Australia, 2006-7 was less fun to watch, because the English preparations were non-existent, and as a captain, Flintoff is a great bowler (this too was predicted by Dave).]
And now, with the next Ashes four months away, the Aussies have lost their Old Guard and are in the inevitable shaky transition. Beaten by the South Africans, beaten by New Zealand. They have a lot to prove.
And the Poms? To lose by an innings when you were only 70 behind takes real talent. It reminds Dave of the pre-Hussain days "when England lost everything. Always."
Will the cricket be any good? Dunno. Will it be a spectacle? You bet.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment