Points to note about the Australian/England First Innings…..

• England have 4 bowlers who can swing and seam the ball, both ways, and magnificently in English conditions. They are experts in their trade in England.
• The overhead conditions are cloudy, moist and conducive to movement thru the air and off the pitch.
• Australian batsmen are used to hard pitches, far less swing and seam…and they do not have to face the Duke Ball, which is known to swing and seam for 70 overs.
• Commentators may well condemn Australia’s batting…but we have not seen what the conditions will be when England bats yet. Perhaps England are counting their chickens before they hatch.
• These conditions are reminiscent of Edgbaston, where the Australians only totalled 136. This is a significantly better set of conditions in which to bowl. On this occasion Australia lost the toss…and were forced to bat. It is worth noting that in both of these Tests that England has BOWLED FIRST, Australia has been destroyed.
• These conditions are very different from the last Ashes tour of England. The wickets then were lower and slowish…but the atmospheric conditions and the Duke Ball led to Australian losing 3 very close Tests 0-3.
• The one aspect which troubles me about the selection of this Australian team is the lack of Pat Cummins/Peter Siddle in the team for Mitchell Marsh, and the selection of only 3 front line fast bowlers. If one was bold one would have gone for fighting fire with fire in these conditions. Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann have put themselves in a very difficult position with the selection of this Australian team.
• I believe that had Australia won the toss they might have picked Pat Cummins/Mitch Marsh/Pete Siddle and put Shaun Marsh in for Voges. In other words, they had contingencies in mind for if they batted or bowled. They would have come to the ground and made a decision to pick an extra batter when they saw the overhead conditions of rain and cloud. But I think they made a huge mistake by not having a 4th quick. They did not prepare to fight fire with fire. They took a defensive stand and now Australia is deep in the mire.
• Please do not condemn Warner, Rogers, Smith because they do not see these conditions anywhere else but England. The balls that got them were almost impossible to defend. Michael Clarke quickly figured that batting was a nightmare and tried to hit the loose ball…and holed out to a great catch by Cook. Voges and Shaun Marsh pushed hard at the ball to try and score and went to lovely catches from balls that swung, pitched and seamed and were very difficult to play. The ball that got Pete Nevill swung out and nipped back between bat and pad….impossible for Peter to defend. Mitch Johnson was the best of the batters because his fast bowling knowledge enabled him to pick the swing, and the bounce and the line. But even he had to eventually edge to slips like Starc did.
• England had to bat. The weather had fined up when England started to bat and the pitch had been rolled, just as it was at Edgbaston. English batsmen are used to the swing and seam and it took 3 great balls to claim Australia’s pre-tea wickets, while England got 10 before lunch in completely different conditions. That Stu Broad can take 8/15 indicates that he is amongst the greatest seam bowlers in cricket history…and that the wicket suited England and Broad wonderfully. He has never had figures like this before in a Test!
• 60 runs might look terrible…but just pay tribute to the bowling on that wicket. It was very full, very accurate, swung both ways, seamed both ways, bounced over stump height…and the catching was very, very good due to the adrenalin rush England were in. Glenn McGrath summed it up brilliantly. “Every Australian top order batsmen was good enough to get an edge to some great balls. You can’t do anything about that!”
• At lunch England were 0/13 and it was already evident that Starc and Hazelwood did not have the ability to move the ball in and out thru the air and off the wicket, and that the English quicks know this is the key to their trade. Simply put, England bowlers and batters are better in these conditions than Australia…but not as much as the score of 60 would indicate. Already the sun was out and the wicket was playing beautifully. It was almost as if God is an Englishman and Australia is the Devil.
• So the procession continues after lunch as Australia’s bowlers, all 4 of them, quickly begin to wilt. Starc strikes a purple patch under semi-cloudy skies to have Lyth caught behind and Bell LBW, but then he looked like he might throw in the towel once Root and Cook had got on top. Yet his last spell before tea claimed Cook LBW for another fighting 43.
• Part of Australia’s problems of course was the non-selection of a 4th quick. Starc, Johnson and Hazelwood were used in short bursts by Clarke in an effort to not tire them out, but there was evidence that they were already tired and sore. Had Pat Cummins been there the Oz would have had some real hurry up, but the Gods of Sun, Rain and Cloud and the Toss of the Coin were all agin us again. 4 quicks on that track at the opening bell would have had England all over the shop had we bowled first. Who said Cricket can sometimes be a raffle?
• The ultimate agony for Australia was that the sun shone on England after tea. Root and Bairstow took their partnership beyond the hundred mark and their team’s total beyond 200 despite some of Clarke’s best efforts to prevent them. This of course was just 2 of the players who had been to Australia 2-3 years ago and been assaulted 5 nil by the Oz, so there was not likely to be any sympathy. Nor will the Australian players think that their selectors have done them any favours…it’s just the way cricket goes some days.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
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What other game of sport do you know which depends on a coin toss to decide it?????? What other country in the world has weather like Melbourne all over it?????

We had Ingham and Tully overnight and in the morning. Muggy, overcast Brisbane at the toss. And the French Riviera in summer after Australia batted.

It is very hard for people in Australia, for Australian Cricket media , to understand why in English conditions, Australia has failed on the last 4-5 tours there. This innings of 60 was the Perfect Storm. I defy any batsman in the world who is not English to go out there and face Stu Broad, Steve Finn and Mark Wood in those swinging seaming , humid , moist conditions …and survive. Or any Cricket Media!

The Selectors made a grave mistake…but losing the toss was not one of them. Nor was it at Edgbaston. Australia would be 2-1 up had they bowled first at Edgbaston. The coin toss killed us stone dead….and Broad, Finn and Wood can only go to a quiet corner of the English dressing room and laugh their heads off. They know that there but by the grace of a coin toss go I!

The issue of the coin toss and the management of wickets suggests to me that tours under the auspices of the ICCm in future should allow the home team to make the decision as to who bats or bowls in Test 1, the Visitors in Test 2, the Home Team in test 3 …and so on for 5 Tests. 3 for the Home Team, 2 for the Visitors. The policing of the wicket will be a job for an ICC official prior to the game, with the emphasis on a fair wicket with opportunity for both teams.

The law of averages of damp conditions on the morning of day 1 will then even out….we hope!

Australia’s grave sin for this game was losing the toss, but leaving the team to face the music with 3 overused fast bowlers is criminal!

4/274 versus 60!!!! Is that an indication of a fair day’s cricket. I wouldn’t think so!

If Australia had this lineup they would still be in the fight. Rogers, Warner, Smith, Shaun Marsh, Clarke, Nevill, Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood, Cummins and Lyon….but only if they had won the toss.

The key now is to get out of this game with a draw. The bonus is Australia has an extra batsman. They will probably not win the game…but they can draw it…if they can bat for 2 days. They will have to bat like their lives depended on it.

Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann will have their reasons for playing Voges and Shaun Marsh and leaving Mitch Marsh out. And the fact we made only 60 makes the decision look quite ridiculous. But Australians like a fair fight, and yesterday they didn’t have the tools to combat England in the first 2 hours of play.

But I admire the way Mike Clarke and his team fought out an unfortunate day. It takes special discipline to not over-react to the beating they are taking when it is really not all their fault.

It is such a revelation to me to lose and accept it. But I feel like Mother England has seduced me. They have been brilliant.

I hate being beaten with a passion. So do all the Aussie ex-cricketers and current team. It is almost like a personal affront to us to have to accept that we were bowled out for 60. This morning Ian Healy will have recriminations. He will regret his comments. Others may not. But the reason they all temper their language is that they have been in the same position themselves. And they can rationalise that in Australia, England get flogged… and it appears that, in England, Australia get flogged. That said, I would back all of these Aussie guys in the 17 to bounce back.

Also I think the time is right to give all of the 17 a chance in the 5th test if Australia loses at Trent Bridge. I think we all would like to see Pat Cummins, Fawad Ahmed, Mitch and Shaun Marsh and Pete Siddle play in that game. Perhaps at the Oval resting Mitch Johnson and Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Chris Rogers would be justified and also wise for their futures.

So S Marsh, Warner, Smith, Clarke, Voges, M Marsh, P Nevill, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Pete Siddle and Ahmed.

Of course some will object, players and fans, but doing what is best for Australian Cricket is always the key factor. Flogging dead horses is not doing what is best for Australian Cricket.

Also, I think all Australians need to acknowledge the efforts of Andrew Strauss, Trevor Bayliss and this England team. We can afford to be magnanimous. In these conditions Root, Cook, Ali, Broad, Anderson, Finn, Wood and Stokes have done brilliantly…and after all, like golf , cricket is a game for the elements. One just has to adopt a philosophy that the Home Team always has an advantage and try and find a way around that advantage. I think Australia failed because they were not aggressive enough with their selections. They had to pick 4 genuine quicks like Windies teams have done.

For Australia’s future, I hope that we have a changing of the guard. I’d like to see Justin Langer lead Australia as Manager/Head Coach. I’d like to see someone like Adam Gilchrist as Head Selector/General Manager. I’d like to see Glenn McGrath/Troy Cooley coach our quicks and teach them to move the ball both ways. I’d like to see Mike Hussey/Ricky Ponting work as Batting Coaches. I’d like to see Shane Warne coach our spinners.

I’d like to see Steve Smith take over as Captain and be groomed by Michael Clarke, if he is keen to help. I’d like to see Cameron Bancroft open with Davey Warner. I’d like to see Adam Zampa in for Nathan Lyon. I’d like to see a 4 pronged pace attack of Johnson, Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood. I’d like to see Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja considered in the middle order with Shaun Marsh and Mitch Marsh.

I’d like to see Australia have this lineup for the Adelaide Day/Night Test ….. Bancroft, Warner, Smith ©, S Marsh/Khawaja, Maxwell, Nevill, Johnson, Starc, Cummins ,Hazelwood and Zampa (Mitch Marsh 12th man)

That is a lineup of power and aggression and has 2 spinners. It may be that this tour might end Michael’s ambitions. It also is time for anyone 36 or over to step aside so we can gradually blood people such as some of the above names.

It may be that Brad Haddin, Clarke, Rogers, Shane Watson, Pete Siddle, Fawad Ahmed will struggle to play a part in Australia’s International Cricket teams in Tests, T20 and ODI’s after this Tour.

But they have been magnificent soldiers in the battle of International Cricket such as it is. And they have learned a lot about themselves and cricket in very trying circumstances since the death of Phil Hughes. Haven’t we all???

I see a change coming in cricket. I see World Cricket Leagues and National Leagues and rules adopted to make sure that both sides in the contest have a fair chance to win. All that, in the fullness of time…but for now, the honour of the Ashes and the rivalry and great traditions have been served. Onwards to Day 2 , the rest of this Test and the Test at the Oval. I cannot wait!

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
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excellent point…the Aussies have been far better at handling the defeats and the win. They have come to understand that if you bring attention to yourself in unwanted ways, you will struggle to get to clean air. The problem with losing your wick is not the same problem as having a laugh at someone’s expense. You can sledge in a cheeky way or a nasty way…the choice is yours, but you have to take the fallout EITHER WAY, which may be very extreme and upset you as the sledger.

I just admire cricketers who have the kind of self control and personality whereby they are not afraid to compliment an opposition player or give them a sly, but quiet dig and a smile at the same time. This is generally the sign of an individual who is calm and composed and happy with themselves as a successful person and player. The guys who are stretched so tight they cannot help themselves with nasty sledges are generally a little insecure , or deeply entrenched in the negative sledging culture from years at one club or another.

excellent point…batting out of the crease to combat swing and the LBW rules would be my preferred option for the quicks, and getting to Ali and Root on the full or half valley would also be a goal.

I think everyone connected with Cricket Media are so heavily invested in predictions that they forget the Australian Cricket team isn’t named until today.

Further to that, people are saying/inferring that Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Chris Rogers, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Pete Siddle and others are finished with cricket after this Ashes Tour.

The nature of cricket today is often the cause of Cricket Media and fans’ angst as regards the Australian cricket team. The 3 forms of the game are often blamed as the cause of loss of form at Test level, and the other forms.

We are all half-correct when we say that when an Aussie cricketer is over 34 years of age his career is over….

Ryan Harris for instance might be useful in Cricket in Qld and with Australia in another role. Shaun, Adam, Chris, Michael, Brad, Shane and Peter haven’t made any firm announcements about their future. I have seen them hold a bat and a ball lately and they haven’t lost any ability with either. What they may find hard to embrace is to make changes to their techniques, and they may be unwilling to change at this point in their career.

Now be that as it may, they, not we have come to understand that Cricket is a Squad Game, and that they are not 1 of 11 people, but 1 of 17/18, and if you extrapolate that to Contracted Players, perhaps 1 of 30 who could play in a Test, a T20 or an ODI for Australia at any given time…even on this Tour of England.

And that is the way Messrs Marsh , Lehmann, Waugh, Hohns are thinking.

So for instance Shaun , Adam, Brad, Michael, Shane and Peter could all play in the Limited Overs internationals on this Tour.

So could Fawad Ahmed and Pat Cummins. So could Mitch Marsh. So could any of the fast bowlers. Then names like Maxwell, Henriques, Bancroft, Zampa, Agar, Pattinson, Abbott, O’Keefe, Singh, Maddinson, Lynn, Coulter-Nile, Behrendorff, Burns, Richardson, Fekete could appear also, to name a few.

So what does this tell us?

It tells us that all these guys are very, very good cricketers, and that no amount of negative press will change that.

That they are all eligible for Selection in any one of the 3 forms of the game for Australia.

That no one should ever underestimate their alround skills, their ability to perform in front of crowds of 20-100,000, their throwing, running, batting , bowling and keeping ability…and their ability to adapt.

The more games, the more days of cricket they play, the more flexible and versatile they get. The more they become winners at all 3 forms.

They could finish a Test match and go straight into a T20 game and be successful in both.

Now does this mean anything as regards the Test Match at Nottingham tonight….not necessarily, but every one of the above players has had conversations with the Australian Selectors, with people such as Justin Langer and Greg Chappell and with CA…and they know precisely where they stand.

And that is that they represent the best 30 or so alround cricketers on the planet, and that they are required people, and that come hell or high water, Cricket Australia, the Selectors, the Coaches and support staff will make sure they are well looked after.

It speaks volumes for Australian Cricket that, facing English conditions and the Duke Ball, they have taken a Test off England at Lords and that they have been competitive in the other 2 games after playing in the World ODI Cup and winning it. They also smacked the West Indies bottoms at their place.

I’m not sure any Cricket media in the World truly understands the difficulty of winning in England, or is willing to admit to it. Surely they are aware that it is just as difficult as winning in India, Pakistan/Dhubai, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand these days, especially with the heavy schedules….because the class of cricketer these countries are producing via the world’s best cricket practise and training and psychological and diet and exercise programmes is immensely high.

Yet, Australia is regarded by the players worldwide as having the best batch of well coached and effective cricketers at all levels of the game.

If that translates to a win at Trent Bridge, so be it, but if it doesn’t, don’t think that Australia is getting weak in the pants.

That is the furthest thing from the “truth” in cricket that one could ever imagine!

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
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I respect Ian Healy’s opinion always, as I do Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer, Greg Chappell and all the guys associated with the team. But there is one thing Australia has never done since before Steve Waugh days…and that is play 4 genuine fast bowlers. The reason is that they have not had a Shane Warne to take an average of 3-4 wickets per innings, so they have gone back to a holding spinner, not a wicket taking spinner, and 3 quicks and an alrounder.

What Australian cricket has forgotten is that it has put a lot of faith in developing ALROUNDERS. It has plunged a lot of time and a fortune in cash into making Pat Cummins, Watson, Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood, Mitch Marsh, Lyon, Phil Nevill, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Richardson, Gurinder Singh, Sam Whiteman BETTER BATSMEN. And a few of these alrounders are genuinely quick fast bowlers. I class Nevill and Whiteman as alrounders because they keep and bat.

This is the whole point.

If you put that much money into developing alrounders, you should do the same to ensure your top 6 batters are foolproof in almost every situation. CA and Mike Di Venuto have tried everything they can think of. And to be honest, I think the aging of the lineup has a lot to with the lack of hunger of the top 6 batters to bat for longer periods. Finding a way to stay at the crease against the Duke Ball and messrs Finn, Broad , Anderson, Stokes and Wood is not easy, but far from impossible…if you are willing to work.

That said, having 4 quicks who can pound the Pom batters’ ribs and helmet and fingers is the key to breaking them down. It will set up our batting.

Fawad Ahmed is no Shane Warne. Nathan Lyon is very serviceable, but not Warnie either….so we shouldn’t expect them to be match-winners.

Australia’s assault on the Ashes has to be hard core. Cummins, Johnson, Hazelwood and Starc are a lethal combination. Don’t worry about over rates or anything else. Just launch the assault.

Therefore the team must be…. Warner, Rogers, Smith, Marsh S, Clarke , Nevill, Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood, Cummins and Lyon with Mitch Marsh 12th man.

Think of the first 10 guys being batsmen who can average better than 30 runs each…and now you have a plan!

Only Mitch Marsh and Adam Voges will be considered for being dropped for Trent Bridge on Thursday if Australia’s selector’s are thinking as I am. Rod Marsh especially has wanted Mitch to succeed, but when you are not quite skilled enough, England’s seamers will kill you in England.

Their double failures with the bat in English conditions, and especially their double failures in this last Test was damning.

That said, Australia’s top order has not produced a 100 run opening stand or many stands of any consequence outside of the Lord’s innings of 550.The English bowlers in England are magnificent with the Duke Ball. That is the key factor for Australia’s demise.

Not that the Oz cannot bat…but that we need to bat smarter and in positive fashion like Root and Bell…which is hard to do when you are losing wickets in landslides. The run-ups of all English fast bowlers turns from a quiet jog to a galloping gazelle with murder in mind when Aussie wickets start tumbling. They become super-men!

Australia’s quicks could not replicate that AT BOTH ENDS in this key Edgbaston Test. That was merely a case of not bowling first, and that is a great shame to me.

But Australia’s batting failures in England are not a surprise to the Selectors or anyone who studies cricket closely. Matt Hoggard, Darren Gough, Freddie Flintoff, , Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Ben Stokes, Steve Finn, Mark Wood are all heroes of the English fast bowling and seam and swing bowling scene since 2003….IN ENGLAND!

All those fellows have been mercilessly bashed at times on Australian grounds and hard wickets anywhere. But give them a Duke and they are world beaters of anyone who comes to English shores 9 times out of 10.

The disappointing thing about Australian Batting coaches is they have never come to terms with a policy to play England in England or spinners anywhere. Mitch Marsh looks completely at sea against swing and seam in England… so why was he picked? Adam Voges has better FORM than Mike Clarke. But Clarke, unless he resigns, must play at Trent Bridge. The opportunity to meet fire with fire is there for Australia’s selectors…if they are alert. The team should be…..Warner, Rogers, Smith, S Marsh, Clarke, Nevill, Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood, Cummins, Lyon…with Mitch Marsh at 12th man.

There are some incontrovertibles about the 3rd Test……

• Australia had to bowl after winning the toss at Edgbaston, knowing the weather forecast as it did. See how England have dominated this last day, Day 3, on a flat wicket with beautiful weather and not one sign of a cloud or rain. All the Australian Selectors and ex-players who claim otherwise are kidding themselves. They are living in the past. They have duped themselves into believing age-old axioms….and most teams do the same around the world when opportunity stares them in the face.
• England would have struggled to score 100 if inserted. And the weather forecast was clear to all who studied it. Rain, wind, cold for Day 1 and overcast, cold, showers for day 2. Improving Day 3 and 4 and 5. By batting, Australia committed hari kari, playing right into England’s hands! 136 is the lowest innings in the Test. That is the simple reason why we lost…nothing else. No team in the world would have scored 136 against England on that wicket with those atmospheric conditions on day 1 with the 3 quicks who were used. Any batsman, including De Villiers, would have struggled. Australia should never again enter a Test Match “fearing” to bowl first! Especially when they have 4-5 fast bowlers of quality who just won at Lords. If you are a Positive Thinking General Manager/Head selector and manager/coach you sometimes have to do the allegedly “unexpected”…..and Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann played safe…and lost. Do not think that Australia is an inferior team! They simply batted first and paid the price of facing 3 of the best swing and seam bowlers in the world. And the team they selected was not their most aggressive. Rogers, Warner, Voges, Clarke, Smith would all have been energised and cock a hoop and batted brilliantly if they had been chasing only 100-150 when batting 2ND…or if they actually needed to bat last on this flat and non-turning wicket on Day’s 2 and 3 and 4. Had AUSTRALIA bowled England out for 136, WHO DO YOU THINK WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ENERGISED TEAM?????
• Australian cricket has failed to be aggressive now under Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann for the Series against India and England. There have been options for them to play Pat Cummins in both and they have not taken it. A 4- PRONGED PACE ATTACK FEATURING JOHNSON, STARC, CUMMINS AND HAZELWOOD WOULD BE VIOLENTLY HOSTILE. Lyon and Hazelwood are very accurate. The others are gifted cricketers. They will be awesome and energised!
• Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann have talked about no. 6 and made that the focus so they could pick Mitch Marsh. The West Indies never used to worry about no. 6 when they had Andy Roberts, Mike Holding, Joel Garner and Wayne Daniels or Colin Croft. 4 hostile tall and violent quicks who dominated the game for almost a decade. Use ‘em when you’ve got ‘em. Starc or Johnson can bat at 7. Pete Nevill bats at 6. Again, old axioms do not apply in modern day cricket. Australia should break the mould.
• Then you have Warner, Rogers, Smith, Clarke/Voges (c), Shaun Marsh, Pete Nevill, Starc, Johnson, Cummins, Hazelwood, Lyon. That is Australia’s best chance of winning the AWAY ASHES and it is most aggressive stance. Mitchell Marsh would have to miss out on the most aggressive Aussie lineup at the moment.
• The wicket has been at it’s best today, Day 3, as evidenced by great 50’s from Nevill and Starc and lovely innings from Bell and Root which they completed easily. Also Josh Hazelwood would still be batting if Joe Root hadn’t taken a great screamer. Nathan Lyon and he looked excellent the longer they batted. But 120 was not enough.
• England have out-bowled Australia in this Test, but only because were gifted the Test by negative planning by the Aussie brains’ trust. Australian cricket has for too long lived by out-dated axioms. The injury to Jimmy Anderson may make England vulnerable in the last 2 Tests, but if Australia’s batting continues as it is, there is little rest for the top order from Finn, Broad, Stokes and Mark Wood if the Duke ball continues to swing and seam for 70 overs.
• Australian cricket still needs players such as Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Cam Bancroft, Joe Burns, Chris Lynn, James Pattinson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Marcus Harris and Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, James Faulkner around this team as backup for injured and out of form older players. These guys will need to improve their game if they are to get a place. Zampa to me is an automatic selection for any Australian team of the future. He must learn by doing, not being overlooked for Lyon and Fawad Ahmed, who’s best cricket is behind them.
• I have been very impressed with Nevill, Starc and Hazelwood in this Test. They have been very good with bat, ball and gloves. Starc did not bowl well at times…but remember this. Australia had gotten 136 and were under great pressure …and then had England 7/190. Clarke failed to use Lyon early enough on day 2, and Lyon and Johnson in tandem after England were 5/142…. and England got to 281. The 3 NSW cricketers are the key to Australia’s future. We need as a cricket nation to be bold.
• Mike Clarke will feel this game is best forgotten. He failed with the bat in both innings, failed to use Hazelwood and Lyon in both innings at the times he could have, dropped a very rare catch and generally was out of the game after the coin toss.
• The energy of Clarke, Steve Smith, Starc and Hazelwood has not been enough for a representative of Australian cricket. The team as a whole was not energised after being shot out for 136 and I know the reason for this. The 4 fast bowlers wanted to get out on that track and let it loose….but once again, Australian Cricket has failed itself. When it needs to say, “Let’s go for it!”, it goes for safety first. This is reflected by the non-selection of Cummins and the choice to bat first. I cannot stress enough. The only thing stopping Australia from winning in England is being busy, being positive, being aggressive and taking a chance. I’m sure they will be more up for the fight at Trent Bridge or the Away Ashes are gone!!!!

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Having smashed England at Lords, Australia’s brain’s trust meekly handed the momentum in this Ashes series straight back to England last night in Leeds by going with their long held belief that batting first is the only way to go in Test Cricket.

No matter that both Tests have gone 4 days. No matter that Australia lost at Cardiff and had to make changes. No matter that if they could crash thru England last night, they would have had a perfect batting wicket to bat on days 2 and 3. No matter that England had the 2 best bowlers in the world in these conditions waiting to ambush them on day 1 if they batted….and Australia walked straight into the trap.

The coin toss, won by Michael Clarke amid strong forecasts of rain, cloud and sunshine on a seaming, swinging deck saw the Australians BAT FIRST….and fall in a miserable heap to a brilliant English swing bowling attack.

The issue for Australia in England down the years has been the top order being able to keep the seaming, swinging and bouncing ball out of the stumps and Englands’ slips’ hands.

Davey Warner went back when he should have played forward and the ball would have hit half way up middle …only for the pad to get in the way. James Anderson and Stu Broad owned him today, just as they have bossed Michael Clarke thru the years..

But then they have owned some very, very good batsmen down the years….especially in England. Their bowling this morning was excellent, as I have come to expect.

Then Steve Finn, back from the wilderness, and still as tall as ever, made Australia gulp.

On flat and low or flat, fast tracks, Finn was Australia’s bunny. He could be guaranteed to go at 6-7 an over in Australia or England once upon a time.

But here he was producing a late outswinger to Stevie Smith and Al Cook took a neat low catch to his left hand side.

Moments later, Michael Clarke’s awful series continued, out playing all over the top of what looked like an outswinging yorker from Finn which didn’t appear to do a lot.

This left Adam Voges and the King of English Cricket, Chris Rogers to fight their way pugnaciously to lunch as the sun shone on the wicket with some conviction. Rogers’ 35 out of Australia’s 3/72 at lunch had confidence and guts written all over it, and Voges looked ready as well.

But the lunch time break just delayed what England knew to be inevitable. The scudding rain, the cool temperatures, the breeze, the cloud cover and intermittent rain made conditions tailor-made for swing and seam.

Voges was first to go, meekly hanging the bat out and in two minds against the swinging ball from Angry Anderson. Mitch Marsh might have stayed in the dressing room. The shot he offered was not that of a Test no. 6….Anderson again the terroriser.

Pete Nevill was caught leaving an inswinger from Angry which took the top of off, and Anderson made it 5/22 when he went around the wicket and produced just a gorgeous outswinger to Mitch Johnson which brought a lovely catch from Ben Stokes at gully.

This was England in England knowing they had Australia on toast, and their swing and seam bowlers are the best in these conditions bar none. Finn, Broad and Anderson were simply masterful….and they had conditions which suited perfectly.

This is how cricket plays out in England. In India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh it’s spin. In South Africa it’s seam. In the Windies it’s the quicks and uneven bounce. In Australia it’s pace and bounce. In New Zealand seam and spin…and low bounce .

But Edgbaston’s weather was just the ticket for an England team humbled at Lords. They went on with the job in very effective fashion, Rogers falling LBW to broad, Starc wafting to Buttler also off Broad and Lyon wafting to a swinging Anderson delivery which cannoned into the stumps. All out 136 and Clarke and his advisors were wondering to themselves, and apparently out loud, “Why the hell didn’t we bowl first?”

If there is one place you might do it…it is England. Australian captains NEVER , but NEVER win the toss and bowl!!!!!

This was like a horse bite to the bum for Clarke and his sorry looking batting lineup.

And worse was to come. Australia’s 4 quicks showed their complete ignorance of the conditions and served up a volley of leg side deliveries to Cook and Bell which saw the Poms shoot to 76 for the loss of Lyth’s wicket. Cook then committed hari kari by fiercely pulling a Nathan Lyon long hop straight into Adam Voges’ midrift. Voges took the blow, clutched the catch to his belly…and Cook had to go. It was Voges who also had dismissed Lyth with a stumbling, fumbling and clutching catch at first slip.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
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