Ashes 1st Test, Day 1: A tale of two captains
Well, I'm back after a long, hot day at the cricket (Eastern Stand at the Gabba? Never, never again!). However, the sunburn and heatstroke was definitely worth it as I got to witness firsthand as Australia put England back in their place, racking up 346 runs for 3 wickets. Today was a clash of two captains and modern day champions - Andrew Flintoff and Ricky Ponting. Flintoff spearheaded the bowling attack and was by far their best bowler. Ponting top scored for Australia with a century that had him equalling Steve Waugh's record of 32 Test hundreds. The difference between the two sides was that Australia's batsmen supported Ponting. England's bowlers offered little to no support for Flintoff.
Once Ponting won the toss and batted (which I'd been hoping would happen for months now), England's day kicked off with a massive wide from Harmison that made Shaun Tait look positively metronomic. The 40,000 crowd actually laughed when we saw just how bad it was on the scoreboard replay. The over got worse as Langer struck two boundaries, followed by two more boundaries in Harmison's second over. Flintoff was forced to take him out of the attack after only two overs. The contrast with Harmison's opening spell at Lords was stark. I was sitting next to an English fan all day and I constantly heard him muttering "rubbish", mostly while Harmison was bowling.
The other bowlers weren't much better. Anderson was nippy but wayward and leaked boundaries. Giles dismissed Damien Martyn but Martyn's wicket is always a cheap one - it doesn't really count. Why on earth they chose Giles over Panesar is beyond me. As for Hoggard, he failed to move the ball through the air which would be a concern for a swing bowler. It's going to be a long summer for Hoggie.
As for Australia, Langer rode his luck early in the innings then went on with it with a flurry of boundaries - outscoring Hayden by 4 to 1 for most of their partnership. After Hayden, Langer and Martyn fell, Ponting was joined by Hussey. Their partnership showed the big improvement Australia had made over the last 12 months - we now have a middle order with stability that can build long partnerships. The two batted through to stumps with the anticipation of a bucket of runs to follow on Day 2. I particularly look forward to a Gilchrist onslaught on the tiring attack halfway through the day. Follow it up with a declaration after tea and a handful of wickets from McGrath and it's business as usual.
My only disappointment from the day was the crowd participation or lack thereof. I received a Fanatics song book on the way into the ground and a friend received the Barmy Army songbook - I was expecting a song-fest throughout the day. There was little to speak of until the last session but even then, it was sporadic and half-hearted. Maybe it was because the Poms had nothing to sing about. Or the seating arrangements that had the English fans split up across the ground rather than congregating in large groups. Or maybe everyone was just engrossed in the cricket. Still, that's not such a bad thing.
| Posted by JC on Thu 23 Nov |  5 comments |
Hey JC
How do you think Flintoff was as a captain?
Posted by Andrew on 2006-11-24 01:34:46
How do you think Flintoff was as a captain?
Posted by Andrew on 2006-11-24 01:34:46
I thought Hoggard bowled reasonably well and he was swinging it a bit. Just no real support for Flintoff. Goes to show that 2005 was a team effort with Jones, Hoggard, and Harminson keeping the pressure on while Flintoff threw hand grenades onto those things the Poms like to call pitches. The story's a bit different on flatter decks and when the reverse swing is negated. It looks like South Africa might be the #2 team in the world at the moment after their annilihation of India JC!
Posted by TA on 2006-11-24 02:07:31
Posted by TA on 2006-11-24 02:07:31
Hard to rate Flintoff after one day. He seemed decisive enough with his bowling changes but any captain will look ineffective when his bowlers can't take wickets. Even Vaughan looked bereft of ideas during the brief moments when Australia dominated.
As for SA being #2, not so sure of that yet. Remember we just drubbed them 5-nil last summer including a 3-nil thrashing on their home grounds.
Posted by JC on 2006-11-24 09:04:15
As for SA being #2, not so sure of that yet. Remember we just drubbed them 5-nil last summer including a 3-nil thrashing on their home grounds.
Posted by JC on 2006-11-24 09:04:15
I was sitting next to an English fan all day and I constantly heard him muttering "rubbish", mostly while Harmison was bowling.
Looks like you didn't need to take me along after all!
Glad you enjoyed your day at least - I enjoyed a nice night's sleep and got up to the bad news. *Sigh*
Posted by EofS on 2006-11-24 12:30:47
Looks like you didn't need to take me along after all!
Glad you enjoyed your day at least - I enjoyed a nice night's sleep and got up to the bad news. *Sigh*
Posted by EofS on 2006-11-24 12:30:47
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