Ashes 2005

The reason why cricket is so popular is of the fact that it is highly unpredictable. It is indeed a funny game where anything can happen. But for the past five years or so Australians have dominated the cricketing arena with utmost superiority leaving its peers far behind. They were marching far ahead and there was no team to catch up with them. Be it the One day game or the longer version, they cam winners every time and the game involving the Aussies were predictable. Only Indians and sometimes South Africans gave them a fight and showed the others that these mighty Aussies can be defeated.

The Ashes has a staggering history of more than 100 years. It is the biggest and the most exciting rivalry existing in the game of cricket. The fans were highly passion driven each time Australia and England fought out for the Cup. The Last fifteen years or so saw the Aussies totally dominating the English. The Aussies won all the Ashes and most of the outing being white washes. But this time the Ashes were pitted to be more far more competitive and interesting. Under the captaincy of Michael Vaughan the English teams have rejuvenated and looks a total new proposition. The looked set to give the Aussies a real threat this time. Few people believed that the Aussies regime will be dethroned and will see the English victorious.

Now that the series has gone half way through, we can all say that it was indeed one of the best clashes for several years. Never has been test cricket more interesting than this Ashes. It has probably seen two great test matches back to back, which is rarity. England are proving their worth and inching every bit towards their dream of winning the Ashes.

The First Test at Lords saw the Aussies thrashing their opponents by a margin of 239 runs. All the build up given prior to the series were proven wrong. England looked like they lacked the extra bit, which was required to compete with the Aussies. All that was talked by the team before the clash looked futile. The English batsmen had no clue to the accuracy of McGrath who reached the 500 mark and the guile of Warne who looked as better than ever. The Second Test at Edgbaston saw the English bouncing back in style. It was Freddie Flintoffs test all the way. He led the way with two great knocks, especially the one in the second innings. Then he bowled beautifully to seal of the Australians fate. The test match had a nail biting finish. It had all the ingredients of a great test match. It had all the twists and turns, all the ups and downs filled with surprises. From nowhere the Aussie lower order gave an unbelievable fight back to almost win the game off. The fighting spirit they showed was lauded by one and all. They lost by just two runs and indeed played like champions. An extraordinary test match witnessed off late. While people where still talking about the test match at edgbaston, the third one kick started in Old Trafford. This one matched the previous one ball by ball. England made a good start scoring a huge total in the first innings with the help of a magnificent 166 from Vaughan. The test match also saw Warne becoming the first bowler in Cricket history to pick up 600 wickets.The captain showed his class and stood by example. The English bowlers bowled with great consistency and pressure mounted on the Aussie batsmen, they were also hampered by the injury to Michael Clarke. Warne this time led by example with the bat. With Strauss scoring a century in the second innings, the Aussie had a daunting task ahead of saving the test match. They were expecting the worse of giving England the lead in the series. Ponting rose to the occasion with a patient and a sensible century and played almost through the last day. He led by example and played one the best captains knock played recently.He was the ninth man out, leaving the last pair to play 24 balls between them. They Aussie placemen lee and McGrath survived those four over without losing their wickets amidst huge appeals for leg before wickets. The Aussies unlikely celebrated a draw as never before.

With two tests to go the English obviously have the psychological advantage of nearly dominating the champions for the entire two tests. With a few injury worries and lack of form surrounding the Aussie team, their chances look worse than ever. But we have all known what this Aussie team is made of. They never have the habit of losing and give their fight till death. They are known for their comebacks. With their Captain striking form at the right moment I am just keeping my fingers crossed to watch the rest of the series to proceed.

I would like to complete my review with a few points worth mentioning.

Reasons for Aussies spoiled performance:

·Inability of the Aussie batsmen to counter attack Reverse swing.

Reasons for the England’s Glory:

·Capitalizing the weakness of the Aussies.