The Spark Australia Needed to Rise from the Ashes?

With the result settled by the rain at Old Trafford England retained the Ashes, but at what cost?

The rain in Manchester was responsible for helping England retain the Ashes, Graeme Swann even took to Twitter to praise the weather but what kind of message does this send out to the Australian team who thoroughly outplayed England for the entirety of this Test?  Much like in 2005 when Australia famously celebrated the drawn result at this ground it exposed a weakness to the opposition that can be used to spur on the Aussies and make them realise that they are more than capable of competing with England, who themselves will be relieved to escape the sticky situation Australia had put them in. 

With the little play possible on the final day Australia’s seam attack once again preyed on England’s top order and the psychological one-upmanship has been established, with Cook and Trott especially looking out of sorts and susceptible to the wily craft of Harris, Siddle and co.  Cook himself may be feeling the pressure of captaining during the Ashes series, and his review for a blatant LBW decision had a sniff of desperation about it which wouldn't have gone unnoticed in the Australian dressing room.  Joe Root has also looked rather timid in the last two innings, and his tortuously slow run-rate let the Australian bowlers get on top of him.  I for one have no problem with Root playing himself in and facing a number of dot balls but it seems to me that he plays his best cricket when he has a more positive mind set and plays a few shots rotating the strike and forcing Clarke to spread the field.  The continued good form of Ian Bell has provided England a get out of jail card in a number of innings to date, with Pietersen providing the added impetus in this test to mask the frailties of the England Top 3.

Australia on the other hand must be commended for the spirit and fight they showed throughout this match.  The skipper was in fine fettle and scored a majestic 187; his use of feet when facing Swann was an absolute joy to watch.  Question marks still remain over the rest of the batting line-up but Chris Rogers contributed a handy 84 getting Australia off to the perfect start and showed what kind of player he can be without scoreboard pressure affecting his batting.  

It must be said that it was a benign pitch and it was a great toss to win though Australia still had to turn up and do the business, which they did wholeheartedly.  Everyone has a different opinion about the batting line-up but I personally feel that the combative Warner should be moved up to open with Rogers, with Watson slipping down to 3 and Clarke the linchpin staying at 4 giving him more time to make an impact on the innings.  Once again it was the imperious innings of Clarke that catapulted Australia into such a commanding position, and the rest of the batsmen need to wade in with some hefty scores to lighten some of the burden on the captain’s shoulders. 

Australia’s seam attack put England to shame in this test, with particularly the leader Harris and Siddle looking a far more threatening prospect than the England quick’s.  They managed to extract more out of this pitch in both innings than the English lads, and showed better body language throughout with Broad and Anderson looking a bit whingey at times both with the foot holes and at the umpires. 

The one problem for the Aussies is the spinner.  Nathan Lyon showed glimpses in the first innings of what he can do and you feel that if he had got Cook with the dropped catch his confidence would have been given a much needed boost, and he may even have provided a few wickets for Clarke.  Pietersen and Bell put paid to that in one foul swoop and smashed Lyon out of the attack destroying any of the fragile confidence he had gained. Agar on the other hand was given the starting position ahead of Lyon at the beginning of the series making 98 on debut with the bat, though perhaps was never given the opportunity to make an impact with the ball.  With no scorecard pressure exerted on England in either of the tests he featured in, this made taking wickets a difficult prospect for the young spinner.  

The guile of Swann has been the major difference between the bowling attacks, and his ability to take wickets has provided a significant advantage to England throughout the series.  Australia need to make a decision on the spinner berth and stick with it, as this current situation is undermining the confidence of both players and giving neither a fair crack of the whip.

There is still plenty to play for; England will be happy that the Ashes have now be retained, and may relax and start to play with a greater sense of freedom.  Their next target will be to win the series, and to keep Australia down with the ruthless efficiency so often displayed by their opponents against the England teams of the past.  Australia on the other hand will take great heart from their performance at Old Trafford and will hope to exploit some of the cracks that showed in the England line-up to stop the rot, to potentially draw the series or at least take a win back Down Under to boost their confidence for the home winter Ashes.  

The rain put a dampener on Australia's hopes of winning the last test, and with it their chances of capturing the Ashes went up in smoke.  Australia should use the momentum and like the proverbial phoenix rise from the Ashes to be resurrected in this series and beyond.