Troubling times for Australia as misfortunes pile up in the valley of Ashes (Part 2)
One thing every critic had taken for granted was that Australia would not go down without a fight. As the first Ashes Test took off, the Kangaroos struck in the first over dismissing Strauss. The English fans looked despondent as the entire batting line
up collapsed for under 300. England did sparkle during their innings, where the fans were given a glimpse of Ian Bell’s thrilling stroke play and a tinker of hope in Pietersen’s return to form with his 43. However that was it, with the highlight of the day
being Siddle’s magnificent hat trick.
The odds were favouring the Aussies, as they went in to bat. They posted a challenging total in excess of 400 runs with the record breaking partnership of Hussey and Haddin. This was a good sign for the Australian camp, they could have capitalized on this
opportunity. Had this been the Australia we have all known from the recent past, such a situation would have been ringing bells for victory.
However that was not to be. Ricky Ponting is a rather eccentric captain when it comes to it. He should have looked to attack the vulnerable Englishmen who had stuttered in their first innings. Instead, Ponting chose a field which could have been justified
in the middle overs of a high scoring match. He did not look threatening when they came out to bowl. The fielding was below par and they missed a few important chances.
England, on the contrary, built upon what was seemingly a weak start. They turned the tables, converted their disadvantage into an advantage. Alastair Cook was simply magnificent, Trott at his sublime best. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise when the
Englishmen declared for 517 for 1.
Towards the end, Ricky Ponting's body language emanated an aura of disappointment, of hopelessness. He did not take many chances, he did not attack the Englishmen, he did not lead from the front and that was Australia’s failing. Ponting is without a doubt
a great cricketer, however there are times when great cricketers need to step up their ante, to clasp their fingers around opportunity to lead from the front. Strauss did that, by scoring a century, Cook silenced his critics by a well fought double century,
Trott was an impregnable wall. This is how the Englishmen took the lead.
They did not let the nerves get them. The Anglo Saxon Colonialists were here on a mission, their goals, and objectives, well defined. They came to Australia to win. The Punters had absolutely no idea what they were up to. They have seemed clueless in the
past few matches as well. They need a leader; they need a man to lead their side from the front. At present, there is a massive void in the Australian side, a void that needs to be filled. Ill directed sledging, misdirected emotions will leave the Australians
nowhere.
Going into Adelaide, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 should have realized that it was a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the nightmare for England that had unravelled some four years ago. They could have caught the English side by the arm and rattled them. However, some people
might see this as a debate of ifs and buts. This surely is not, since instead of going into Adelaide with confidence the Punters headed to the ground under extreme pressure. They dropped Hilfenhaus and Johnson, which clearly showed their weak nerves. They
let the Englishmen get a sniff of the pressure they were in.
To be continued in Part 3...
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