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Was Clarke’s declaration too generous? Should bad light have stopped play? Is Faulkner a lock for the return series? Will Clarke ever use a fielder at third man? Has Haddin cemented his position?
These were some of the questions to come out of an exciting final day of the Ashes series, in which England, fell just 21 runs short of victory.
Was Clarke’s declaration too aggressive?
Final day declarations are often confounding. So many factors must be considered before a captain pulls the trigger and calls his batsmen in.
The scenario which confronted Clarke yesterday was as tricky as they come.
His first and overwhelming priority was to create an opportunity for an improbable, stirring victory.
On a surface as docile as this Oval deck, the chances of running through a stonewalling England line-up in 40 overs were non-existent.
Australia’s only opportunity for a remarkable victory was to set England an enticing, gettable total in the hope the Poms would gift them some wickets in their aggressive pursuit of the score.
Clarke settled on a chase of 227 runs in 44 overs. Given England had scored at well below three runs per over for the series and its top order had struggled, it seemed a relatively safe declaration.
But, by comparison, South Africa had been far less accommodating in setting England 253 from only 39 overs at Headingly the previous English summer.
When Harris induced an edge from Joe Root in just the fifth over, bringing the out-of-form Jonathan Trott to the wicket the Aussies celebrated raucously.
Then Alastair Cook and Trott set about laying a solid platform from which to launch England’s weapon of mass destruction, Kevin Pietersen.
Pietersen arrived in the middle of The Oval amid the sort of circumstances for which he prays.
With eight wickets in hand and only 24 overs left to survive if need be, the long-limbed strokemaker had licence to throw his bat.
Slashing, lofting and swatting, Pietersen dashed to the quickest half century by an Englishman in Ashes history from just 36 balls.
He fell for 62 but by then England required just 64 runs from 59 balls, with seven wickets still in hand. What a finish he ensured.
Clarke, first and foremost, should be praised for manufacturing an enthralling conclusion to what otherwise would have been a moribund Test.
Many other captains would not have risked losing in an attempt to win.
Should play have been suspended for bad light?
It was a disheartening finish to a thrilling, manic day of Test cricket.
Requiring just 21 from four overs with five wickets in hand, England appeared to be on the verge of winning 4-0 for the first time in an Ashes series.
But the umpires, having set the precedent by pulling the players off the field at 7:26pm on day two of the match, were bound by the light meter reading they went by on that occasion.
When, in the murky illumination of The Oval the umpires saw the same reading at 7:36pm they had no choice but to take the players from the field.
On a positive note, the ICC probably will now review its poor light procedures as a result of this farcical situation and, hopefully, make an improvement on the current rules which are a blight on the game.
Should Faulkner be a lock for the return series?
Unexpectedly cast as a batting all-rounder in this series finale, Faulkner confirmed yesterday that bowling is indeed his strong suit.
The intense left armer heaped pressure upon himself by making provocative comments about England’s dawdling approach to batting on day three.
After watching England score just 215 in 98 overs, Faulkner suggested England had been unnecessarily negative.
“The way they batted yesterday, they chose to bat that way. If you’re 3-0 up there’s no reason why you shouldn’t push and try to be 4-0 up,” he said.
“I know the fans get a refund for their ticket today but maybe they should’ve for yesterday.”
Faulkner snared 4-22 early in yesterday’s play, dislodging Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann and James Anderson to finish with figures of 4-51 in the first innings.
The 23-year-old Tasmanian showcased the guile which has made him such an incisive bowler at State level, deceiving Swann with a well-disguised slower ball before castling him with a swifter delivery.
One of the few Australian paceman who regularly utilises changes of pace at first-class level, Faulkner boasts several effective slower balls.
The delivery which looped from the back of Faulkner’s hand to trick Swann was almost identical to the one which secured the vital wicket of Queensland skipper James Hopes in last summer’s Shield final.
He later held his nerve commendably in the face of a second innings onslaught from Pietersen and Trott.
It is this mixture of competitiveness and composure which has made the youngster such an attractive option for the Australian selectors.
Picked as a replacement for Usman Khawaja, Faulkner’s future does not appear to lie in batting at number seven.
While he is combative with the blade and has produced many crucial rearguard actions for Tasmania, he is yet to register his maiden first-class century.
Not much could be ascertained from his entertaining but brief innings of 23 and 22 this Test, both of which came as Australia sprinted towards declarations.
Faulkner, whose pace topped out at 136kmh on debut, is a cunning quick but lacks the penetration of fellow left armer Mitchell Starc.
Despite bowling without great rhythm for most of the series, Starc has still managed to snare 11 wickets at 32.
The lanky New South Welshman has a knack for picking up wickets even when out of touch.
Nudging 150kmh, Starc produced his most venomous and testing offerings of the series this Test.
With James Pattinson in a race to prove himself fit for the return series down under, Starc appears the front runner to partner Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle in the first Test at Brisbane.
But Faulkner has enhanced his prospects with a rousing debut and, given the selectors’ fascination with all-rounders, may yet find himself batting in the top seven at Brisbane.
When will Michael Clarke begin using a third man?
The Aussie skipper has impressed with his inventive and assertive captaincy this series.
He has, however, been inexplicably stubborn in refusing throughout to set a third man to his quicks.
England’s middle order maestro Ian Bell has been particularly gleeful in exploiting Clarke’s blind spot, regularly scything balls through the region for four.
Few things frustrate a paceman as furiously as delivering a good ball only for it to be deftly deflected through a vacant third man position.
Clarke must swallow his pride and station a fielder in that area often in the return series, especially when Bell is at the crease.
Has Haddin cemented his position?
After a torrid start to the series in which he missed several basic chances, including one which gifted Root an extra 172 runs at Lords, Haddin’s glovework has been markedly improved.
The veteran keeper put down a straightforward edge from James Anderson in the first innings yesterday but was otherwise sharp behind the stumps since the second Test.
His work was particularly neat to off spinner Nathan Lyon, who had been cruelled over the past two years by the shoddy efforts of Matthew Wade, Haddin’s chief rival.
His return with the blade of 206 runs at an average 23 was underwhelming and, given the frailty of Australia’s top six, the selectors will be desperate for more consistent input from the gloveman.
Mass auditions will be held for spots in Australia’s next Ashes squad during the six rounds of the Sheffield Shield competition which precede the first Ashes Test at Brisbane on November 21.
However, Wade will likely miss this opportunity to challenge for Haddin’s spot as he is expected to be in India for almost a month on Australia’s ODI and T20 tour, which starts early in October.
The incumbent Test keeper’s status as vice captain further strengthens his grip on the baggy green.
Haddin may have been below par in this series but he will almost certainly front up at Brisbane.