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It was hard to sit there after day one and point to a reasonable shred of hope that Australia had of winning the first Test after the batting seemingly abandoned any shred of common sense at the fence of the Gabba.
And then a miracle occurred (NB: finally played to their potential).
A bowling performance which harked back to the days of McGrath, Gillespie, Lee and Warne. A four-pronged attack with each bowler doing their specific job.
Ryan Harris with the McGrath-like line and length, Peter Siddle with Gillespie-like tenacity and resilience, Mitch Johnson with Brett Lee’s blatant disregard for the batsmen well being and Nathan Lyon with Warne’s ability to bamboozle with spin.
I’m not saying the current four were as good as those four, but they helped get the Australian attack back to where it used to be and dominating the English batting attack.
Yes day two of the Ashes had us feeling like it was 2006 again and didn’t we all love it.
The miracle middle session which saw England lose six wickets for just nine runs had every Australian yelling and cheering around their TV’s, computers and phones. Each wicket cheered more fervently than the last.
It began with the hustle before lunch.
Johnson had John Trott squeamish and as the Aussies rushed about to fit in one more barrage at the saffa-cum-pom. First ball saw him statuesque to a short ball which he paddled down the leg side and into the eagerly cupped hands of Brad Haddin.
Next was Kevin Pietersen after lunch, after being dropped by Siddle on a return ball, he glanced a Harris delivery with ease to mid on where quick as a flash George Bailey pounced. The man who was supposed to score 100 in his 100th Test was dismissed for a meagre 18, and it didn’t stop there.
Meticulous planning got the removal of Carberry consistency delivering the fruits of a well-thought out scheme, Watson with the ever safe hands, the Aussies on a roll.
Nathan Lyon has been known to toil on for over after over conceding little to no runs without a wicket, but the English felt the need to give him two in two balls the over after Carberry edged. Bell was caught by smith at short leg, something he did to Clarke in the Australian innings, and then next ball Prior did the same thing.
Suddenly questions arose on social media regarding the follow-on, something unthinkable after day one.
Next over Johnson got Root edge to smith, he’d taken the last three catches and was proving his worth more and more.
Two overs later Johnson then had Swann walking back and at 8/91 a nation which only three months ago was united in despair was united in joy.
The brains trust behind the Aussie attack ambush had never dreamed of it working so perfectly nor going to tea with a 200 run lead and 10 wickets in hand, now a nation dream of a 600 run target for the English to chase on a Gabba wicket which may yet provide us with more moments like the middle session yesterday.
But we know believe in our cricket team again, maybe the hashtag #UniteAus was a premonition from deep within Cricket Australia marketing?
If so can they think up one involving Clarke holding a small urn in January? It wouldn’t be such a bad way to start 2014
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