Left field

England on the brink of famous triumph

Ricky Ponting made the long, lonely walk back to the dressing room after another Ashes failure on Tuesday as England moved to the brink of a famous triumph at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

The sight of Ponting’s wickets shattered after he had scrapped to 20 runs in 73 balls summed up his own personal decline and that of his once-dominant team.

England, still leading by 246 runs after their first innings 513,  just need to take four more Australian wickets on Wednesday to ensure they become the first England team to return home from Australia with the Ashes in 24 years.

Mick Tsikas took the picture.

Ricky’s woes continue as Aussies struggle in Perth

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting failed for the fourth time in five innings in the current Ashes series as the hosts struggled to 179-6 at tea on the first day of the third test against England.  

His captaincy may be under threat but with his team mates  (Mike Hussey excepted) also failing at the crease, his place as a batsman looks safe for a while now.  

Having said that, the Australian selectors have made some pretty bizarre decisions over the last few weeks, not least plucking spinner Michael Beer from obscurity and putting him into their squad for Perth only to go with four quicks and leave him carrying the drinks.  

Tim Wimborne’s picture shows the reaction of England bowler James Anderson, who had the Australia skipper out for 12 courtesy of a stunning leaping catch from slip fielder Paul Collingwood.

Doctor’s orders mean changes for Australia but belief is key

Did somebody call for a doctor? A psychiatrist more like! A serious amount of surgery is needed on the Australian cricket team to help them turn around their fortunes in the third Ashes test starting on Thursday.

Australia could make five changes for the Perth test as they shuffle their pack in an attempt to find the magic combination to take 20 English wickets and take advantage of the “Freemantle Doctor” (the term given to the breeze that blows across the WACA ground which can be a useful asset to any bowling attack).

Australia have fallen into the same trap that felled England teams in the past. Lessons haven’t been learnt. Chopping and changing personnel does not guarantee results, as was proved by Australia’s performance in the second test defeat in Adelaide, which was even worse than the final 3 days in Brisbane in the drawn first match.

Belief is the key. England have it. Australia don’t. Since the retirement of their “greats”, Australia no longer face a cowering England side who believe they’re inferior in every department, they’re now confronted with a team that think they know, rightly or wrongly, that they are better than Australia.

For Australia to wrestle back the initiative in this test series, the players need to convince themselves that they can match England pound-for-pound, which judging by the last eight days of test cricket doesn’t look the case but is in fact closer to the truth.

These sides are closely matched. But while England are a team on the rise, Australia are re-grouping and heading in the opposite direction searching in vain for a new path to glory.

Has Ricky Ponting got what it takes to turn his side’s fortunes around?

A test comeback for Warne? Australia are not that desperate

“Bowling, Shane” are not words English batsmen would want to hear ever again, but how would the Australians react to Shane Warne making an astonishing return to answer his nation’s plea for help in the wake of the second test defeat to the ‘Poms’?

To say Warne was England’s primary Ashes tormentor for years and years is an understatement. Every time the leg spinner had the ball in his hand he had the opposition quaking, and even off the pitch he was a handful.

Combined with the equally ruthless Glenn McGrath there has rarely been a finer wicket-making machine.

Now to say the Aussie attack is struggling is another understatement. Wickets rather than runs win matches and without the firepower to strike 20 times in a test match, for the first time since the 1980s the touring side could win the Ashes down under.

Cue calls for Warne’s return, even though he hasn’t played test cricket in four years. The selectors would probably be lambasted if they were to pick him, although the Australian said he was flattered by the talk.

But his selection would make a mockery of the current crop of Australian spinners, Steve Smith, Xavier Doherty and Warne’s tip Michael Beer, who toil away at their profession day in day out.

Imagine England overlooking seamers Chris Tremlett, Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan to fill the injured Stuart Broads’s boots in favour of Andrew Flintoff, who like Warne, has retired from the game.

England are confident but will the Ashes dream go up in smoke again?

With Australia’s current cricket team seemingly keen on proving they can be just as hopeless as any cricket team England produced circa 1990-2000, what better time to go Down Under and watch England defend the Ashes?

I was meant to go four years ago after the epic 2005 series, only to pull out at the last minute and buy a house instead.

Funny thing is, I’d still choose a collapse in the housing market and impending financial meltdown over that soul destroying tour that in the end cost England coach Duncan Fletcher his job.

A couple of friends of mine still went and I remember a call from one of them after the horrendous collapse on the final day of the second test in Adelaide, which saw England snatch defeat from the salivating jaws of victory.

“I want to come home,” my friend said. “The cricket’s rubbish (or something a little bit more fruity) and the beer’s watered down”. Poor fellow, the Aussies even deprived the English of the one thing that could numb the pain.

This time round new captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower have kept the tub-thumping to a minimum and England fans live in hope.

My memories of Ashes tours are generally of deep disappointment and gut wrenching inevitability, with England teams travelling in not in hope of victory, but expectation of defeat.

Can England win the Ashes Down Under?

England captain Andrew Strauss sounded confident when he said his side could not have prepared more thoroughly for their bid to retain the Ashes. The squad flew out to Perth on Friday with good reasons to be optimistic about returning from Australia with the famous urn, a feat last achieved by an England side in 1986-87.

Here I look at a few of those reasons to be cheerful, while below my colleague Pritha Sarkar considers why Australia may themselves be feeling confident.

1. Australia are much weaker than they were four years ago when Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist were primed to make up for the bitter disappointment of losing the 2005 Ashes in what was always likely to be their last test series against England. Ricky Ponting’s team have slipped to fifth in the world rankings and have lost their last three test matches. The top order has struggled for consistency and the pace attack, disrupted by injury, has not fired as a unit.

2. Unlike Andrew Flintoff four years ago, Strauss is well established as England captain and has developed an excellent relationship with coach Andy Flower. England’s preparations in 2006 were badly affected by experienced opening batsman Marcus Trescothick’s enforced return home due to personal problems.

3. England have a settled team. Although leading batsman Kevin Pietersen has been short of runs, the batting looks solid and a pace attack of James Anderson, Steven Finn and Stuart Broad has the variation and height to trouble the Australians.

4. England’s Graeme Swann is the best spinner in the world on current form. Although off-spinners have not traditionally prospered in Australian conditions, Swann has a fine record against left-handers and has enjoyed great success over the past two years.

Pritha Sarkar writes: Australia, however, always enjoy exchanging some verbal volleys with their opponents and reminded England of their status as Ashes holders when Cricket Australia projected a provocative image of skipper Ponting on the side of London’s Big Ben with the giant message “Don’t forget to pack the urn.” They will also want to point out some facts England might not want to dwell on.

England regain the Ashes — your views

England have regained the Ashes after beating Australia by 197 runs at the Oval to seal a 2-1 series victory.

How important was Andrew Flintoff’s run out of Ricky Ponting when the Australia captain looked well set? Flintoff did little with bat or ball in his last test before retiring but still made sure he grabbed the headlines.

Australia put up the fight that everyone expected but England were always likely to grind out the win.

So probably not as exciting or as skilful as the 2005 series, but much more competitive than Australia’s whitewash win last time. The series probably pivoted on Monty Panesar’s defiant batting in the first test in Cardiff.

Where will this series rank and did the result reflect the strength of the two sides?

A captaincy masterclass from Strauss

It can be a dog’s life being a cricket captain: adored and cherished, chastised and deplored in equal measure. If Ponting was the crown prince of captains after the first test in Cardiff, he became the pauper at Lord’s and is now very much in the shadow of Strauss at the Oval.

The second day of the final and deciding Ashes test could not have gone much better for the England captain, with the home side bundling Australia out for 160 inside 53 overs and closing day two on 58 for 3, a second innings lead of 230 after England were bowled out for 332 earlier in the day.

Strauss showed his cool when Australia reached 73 without loss and cunning in choosing the right bowlers, at the right time, to turn the tide of the match.

With England’s first innings total looking under pressure just after the Lunch break, despite some good bowling, Strauss turned to the enigmatic Stuart Broad to break the opening partnership of Shane Watson and Michael Katich.

Within 6 balls the Notts youngster duly obliged and a very un-Australian collapse began. From 73 for no loss, the tourists lost 10 wickets for 87 runs.

Strauss stuck with Broad and two overs later the Australian captain was on his way back to the dressing room, closely followed by Mike Hussey for a duck to the same man.

Battle-weary Australia need Lee fit and in form

Australia have far more limited options than England when they consider changes to their battle-weary side for the fourth Ashes test starting on Friday at Headingley, with their main hope of fresh impetus resting on the fitness of Brett Lee.

England had the luxury of bringing in fresh blood on Tuesday, calling up fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom and uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott for the first time this series, while again putting Steve Harmison on standby in a 14-man squad.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting expects to be able to call on Lee for the first time this series, after the quick bowler missed the first three tests with a rib injury.

Seamer Stuart Clark could be another option, possibly at the expense of Peter Siddle but otherwise the skipper has little to juggle with ahead of a match they cannot afford to lose, with England already 1-0 up with two to play.

“We will keep a close eye on Brett and I would expect him to be able to bowl,” Ponting said after the third test draw in Edgbaston. “We know what Stuart is capable of and we will have plenty to talk about.”

Australia are again likely to be without first-choice wicket-keeper Brad Haddin again after he pulled out of the Edgbaston test with a finger injury but Ponting remained bullish.

“If we play our best cricket we will take some beating,” he said.

Can England take a 2-0 Ashes lead?

A stunning day’s Test cricket, wasn’t it? If there was ever any doubt over the status of the longest form of the game then Sunday’s play will have washed away concerns.

You simply don’t get this sort of story told, with its twists and turns, at a Twenty20 match or a 50-over game for that matter. It had everything; wickets, runs, hostility, sledging and a dramatic finale that leaves a positive result to this rain interrupted Test match still possible.

Australia closed day four on 88 for 2 in their second innings, still 25 runs behind England’s first innings total of 376, and they will attempt to bat out the final day in order to save this match.

The draw is still favourite, but England have given themselves a whiff of an opportunity, by way of their aggressive batting and attacking bowling. Led by the bruise brothers Andrew Flintoff and Matt Prior, who smashed 89 off almost as many balls, England clawed their way back from the precipice of 168 for five to post a 113 run first innings lead over the Australians.

It was scenario that seemed most unlikely after the start of play was delayed for an hour. Then Australia’s bowlers got to work in a tight first session, creating pressure, which brought the wickets of Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood, to leave England 159 for 4 at lunch.

It wasn’t long after the restart that the fifth wicket fell and England looked in trouble.

Ian Bell, who had so much luck in surviving three huge lbw appeals that he should go out and buy himself a lottery ticket, eventually fell as the umpire found the fourth appeal too tempting to turn down, with Bell once more caught on his front pad striding across his stumps to a swinging delivery, and he went for 53.