2009 Ashes, 3rd Test, Day 5: Will Edgbaston be the anti-Adelaide?
Australia is in the crapper. The natural instinct is to blame Ricky Ponting's meandering captaincy that allowed England to take a dominant position on Day 4. When England were teetering, Punter brought on Shane Watson. Usually, a bowler has a point of focus as he comes in to bowl. Some quicks target the top of off stump. I laser focus on the spot on the pitch where I hope to land the ball. Warnie visualises the shot he'd like the batsman playing. As Shane Watson was running in to bowl, you can imagine he was focusing on which part of his body was most likely to get injured. Consequently, his dibbly dobblies were so ineffectual and inoccuous, the batsmen were lining up to feast on his offerings. Geoff Boycott was lucky not to get electrocuted from drooling into his microphone.
But the foundation of Australia's house of pain was laid on Day 2 when we lost 7 wickets in a session. Our task today is clear. Bat for two sessions. If we can make it to tea, we should have enough runs to prevent an English run chase over the last session. If we can't last two sessions on what is essentially a Day 3 pitch, well, we don't deserve to retain the Ashes.
But it won't be easy. The ball is 28 overs old and if the first two innings are any indication, should start swinging in a few overs. Graeme Swann has some tempting Mitchell Johnson footmarks to aim at - they've already accounted for Andrew Flintoff and Ricky Ponting. The scariest thing is our hope lies in the two guys who collectively lasted two deliveries on Day 2. And let's not forget the wildcard of Rudi Koertzen who has aged several days since his rampant senility on Day 2. A few senior moments in the first session to gut our middle order and suddenly we'll be depending on Nathan Hauritz and Peter Siddle to get us through the 2nd session.
| Posted by JC on Mon 3 Aug |  44 comments |
Posted by JC on 2009-08-03 23:08:19
Posted by JC on 2009-08-03 23:33:34
Posted by JC on 2009-08-03 23:46:01
Posted by JC on 2009-08-04 01:04:41
Post New Comment
You need to be logged in to post a comment. If you're new, register here. Existing users, login via the right margin.
