Test victories at Adelaide Oval are very often hard earned. The pitch has forever lacked a green flavour, drop in or live in: brown, browner and brownest being the favoured shades.
The weather is often hot rather than warm, the pitch bakes and cracks under the Central Australian sun, the dry air sapping its moisture, pace and bounce.
The pitch gods direct their delights toward the spinners but even then the tweakers must toil through many overs. Test matches rarely finish well inside the five-day deadline because batsmen have to lured, roped and dragged kicking and screaming from the middle.
This Test match was over just beyond the four-day mark.
The margin was significant, England were never in this once Brad Haddin joined Michael Clarke. 400 is just par for this course and the visitors have been finding runs harder to come by than a sober soldier in the Barmy Army.
This second Test win had a sniff of ‘too easy‘, not because the Australian bowlers didn’t have to work hard for their rewards but maybe because they didn’t have to work REALLY hard.
The number of wickets falling to short pitched thunderbolts at the ‘Gabba was understandable, just.
The Gabba will give a positive response to bowlers who bend their backs, Adelaide just answers back like a Gen Y asked to tidy their room. The Merri Creek earth can blunt pure force and the tactical subtleties generally play a bigger role.
Mitchell Johnson’s 7fer was the match winning role in this contest despite him taking just the one in the second innings. 7-40 at Adelaide Oval is worth 14-20 anywhere else apart from perhaps Galle and Gaddafi.
He rightly got his second man of the match in a row.
7fers usually take about 35 overs to accrue in North Adelaide, Mitch took them in 17.2.
He got a lot from the short ball and then had Cook doing it in the second to get that crucial early breakthrough against the opposition leader.
Johnson is playing some inspired cricket at the moment. He is batting, bowling and fielding at the top of his game.
What a time to be at the apex.
The form guide has been torn up and turned into a papier-mâché model of Steve Harmison’s infamous opening delivery of the 2006-07 series.
On two quite different surfaces 1700 kilometres apart, England have been woeful and Australia magnificent, which has been totally unexpected if not wholly welcomed in these parts.
Swann, nullified by the Brisbane wicket , was expected to shine at Adelaide – the lustre has gone and psychologically the Australians have wrenched themselves out of the pit of hesitation they showed against him the winter and now light up when he is thrown the ball.
I can only think Jimmy Anderson is carrying a considerable niggle or his magic fingers which had such a loving relationship with the Duke has had an irretrievable breakdown with the Kookaburra.
The moustachioedless vaudeville villain Stuart Broad needs some help in the trenches and his mates have gone walkabout.
At least Broad looks mentally up for the contest, his body language has been screaming expletives at the Australians but he hasn’t the pace of Johnson to back up the rhetoric with the deeds. That isn’t stopping him from revving the oral motor at 150 kph though.
Ben Stokes looks to have talent but to throw him in at No. 6 in a Test match looked premature, maybe a seven who bowls well?
The haggard veteran Prior, so essential to the grit and guts of the middle order and keeping the tempo upbeat and hostile, looks plain worn out.
The defiance of the second innings built on reflex rather than will. The whole team look tired, downcast and therefore vulnerable, and that’s how they are playing.
Doug Bollinger and Nathan Coulter-Nile will not have their draft papers endorsed for Perth such has been the low workload of the fast men.
Finishing early on day five along with relatively short stints in the field for the first three innings of the series means the top three will be in good shape to rip and tear at the WACA.
Going on form those three should bring he Ashes home late next week.
Bogga
Guest
Nail, head, bosch. Australia were thoroughly outplayed in one test in England. The other 4 were up for grabs. England claimed 2 and rained claimed the other 2 (from Australia being ahead). The scoreline of 3-0 didn't reflect the 23-24 odd days' play which were generally evenly spread between the teams, but probably slightly in England's favour thanks to Broad, Anderson and Bell. 3-0 in tests, probably 14-9 on days won. Unlike the recent tests where Australia has probably won 8 out of 9 days convincingly (8-1). I've also heard about the toss being a significant factor. Didn't England win the toss in at least 4 of the English tests?
Richard
Guest
Actually it was the the three dropped catches that competely changed the game. Monty dropping Bailey when he was in single figures(should have been taken). Clarke being dropped by Root(a difficult chance but a chance that we have been taking) when he was on 20 and then the Haddin dolly to Carbury. If those chance had been taken by England the whole complexion of the game would have changed. Australia's batting would have basically collapsed in the first innings, England would have had their tails up and who knows what might have happened from there. Catches win matches as they say.
twodogs
Guest
I'm still trying to work out why MJ has his 'shocker' moments- I recorded his run up during the match and there seemed a definite difference in his body posture on approach to release when 'on-song' as compared to his 'off spells'. Very hard to define but for mine there seems the rythmic, almost champion racehorse run up which coincides with the beaut deliveries. Then there's the periods in which his run up seems visibly laboured and arrhythmic with his head bobbing a little. I'm debating whether the shorter format has played a part in this? "Ten overs max tonight, three days 'til the next match. Full bore dude!" MJ's best spells had an almost ODI feel you could taste the energy. I could dribble about this for many more paragraphs but I am excited to think what this guy could achieve if he could iron out some of the trash spells. Or is it just the amount of energy required for his action actually drain him of energy. Any feedback roarers?
Statistic Skeptic
Guest
Hare, hair?
Prosenjit majumdar
Guest
Too many easy sticks given away by the english on such a surface.otherwise they had a chance of drawing this one i guess.
Prosenjit majumdar
Guest
Good description chris.truly was a rare unplayable ball one can see on a sleepy surface.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
There are a few significant things. Firstly, Australia playing at home are a different proposition. But also, after constant chopping and changing in England Australia finally worked out a more settled lineup just as the Ashes over there ended. Add to that plenty of match time for Warner to get some form under his belt, and the really good MJ turning up, who is a player who will almost single-handedly win matches at his best, and the fact that Clarke is really showing how good a captain he is in this test, constantly making the right changes to put real pressure on batsmen and get them out, and you have the recipe for Australia's success. The result in England was actually mostly due to Australia being unable to produce their best cricket often enough rather than England playing well. I actually think England played reasonably average for most of the series, however, they were consistently average while Australia showed some brilliance but lots of atrocious play that basically handed England matches. They've had the chance to settle in home conditions prior to the test (only Watson, Johnson and Bailey played in India) and have been able to pull out their best cricket which England have had no answer for.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
There is definitely a fear factor about Johnson at the moment. I can see two possibilities at Perth, either they try and take Johnson on, and he'll roll through them, or they'll try to just survive him, and that will allow him to get away with what he wants and he'll still get plenty of wickets, plus it will help the other bowlers get wickets as they'll be trying to just survive MJ and get their runs off the other bowlers, who are no mugs themselves. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Johnson really swing the ball at the WACA.
Gr8rWeStr
Guest
England won by 14 runs, 348 runs and 74 runs in England, plus two draws that Australia probably had the best of. Batting was the major issue, but Warner, Clarke and Haddin all have significantly better records at home, so were always likely to produce more, as they have. Add to that a resurgent Johnson, at his very best, to Harris and Siddle, Australia's core bowlers who kept it so close in England. The reduction in Bells batting output is perhaps the only unforeseen turn around, he had innings of 109 in each of the first two Tests in England, plus 74 and 24 for 317 runs. In 4 innings so far in Australia he has a total of 115 runs. There you have the significant turn around we've witnessed.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
I dont get how the poms beat us 3 nil only a few months ago and now they dont even look competitive. They play all over the world so they should be able to play on all pitches. Arethey ranked no 1 in the world currently ? I think the poms maybe enjoying a holiday in the sun more than wanting to play test cricket.
matt h
Guest
" England were never in this once Brad Haddin joined Michael Clarke." Not quite true. at that point England were actually on top. It was the dropped catch by Carberry off Haddin that completely changed the game.
matt h
Guest
It was a cracker, no doubt about that. The pleasing thing from my point of view is that most of the rest of the wickets were not to unplayable balls. We just have them psychologically at the moment. I think Lyon may take a few in Perth (if required - depending on Mitch and Harris he may not get a bowl). If he does I can see tired and frail English batsmen relaxing against him and getting out becasue of the drift from the Doctor and extra bounce.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
To me, the ball that bowled Cook definitely seem to be swinging into him slightly before hitting the seam and going the other way, missing the bat by a fair way. Yes, it is possible. I used to get that sometimes. Swinging the ball across batsmen and occasionally hitting the seam and coming back. At my low level of cricket it was still a nice ball, but at that pace it's just lethal. It was a brilliant ball. One of those ones where there's not much you can do about it. There is no way to react to the seam movement in time when it's travelling that fast, and if he'd played outside the line to cover off stump and the ball hadn't seamed then he would have been plumb LBW.
jameswm
Roar Guru
I don't agree. Siddle and Harris wold be there if we were at full strength - they are the no.3 and 4 ranked test fast bowlers in the world (behind two Sth Africans). Mitch is the only one who has benefited from others being injured.
Emuarse
Guest
Or Hear, Here?
Matt
Roar Rookie
Do you mean Hear, hear?
twodogs
Guest
Gday Henry, usual quality write yet again. It seems for mine MJ is not fully match hardened. It looked to me days 4-5 there were some moments of a hindered run-up and more frequent loose balls. Does one have to give more effort on release to achieve a sharper lift on this deck? Also, the ball he bowled cook with seemed, on tv at least, seemed to swing one way and then the other, before seeming a touch before smashing the stumps. I'd thought I'd seen it before when he destroyed the proteas at the waca some years ago. Is this possible or more an illusion? Malinga on the odd occasion also seemed to do this but MJ at best provides some of the most unplayable balls ever witnessed. He truly is in that respect predictably unpredictable!
World Traveller
Guest
Mitch only has to keep going for one more test and the Ashes are ours. But momentum can change quickly. don't take the foot off the throat. england are still a good team; just shell shocked.
Chui
Guest
Cummins effort at Wanderers wasn't that different, so there may be similarities there.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
It is true. Mitch largely did a Bradbury into the Aussie team, finding his way at the top of the list after many had fallen before him. Often injury destroy's teams chances, sometime it enhances them as it gives a chance to someone who hadn't really been thought of previously and when given the chance they turn out to be a match-winner. We are seeing that here. I have no doubt that Pattinson, Starc and Cummins will probably be the 3-pronged pace attack for Australia in a few years time, and it will be a formidable attack. But at the moment, even if fully healthy, it's hard to see any of them doing to England what Mitch has. Though with those 3 fit and healthy, you can have 3 guys bowling 150km/h plus, all providing something a bit different and some variety. I look forward to that attack. But hopefully Mitch can make this second coming stick for a couple more years until those guys are fully ready.