Don’t forget 2010!
Peter Hayter recalls one of England’s most emphatic Test wins when the tourists struck early and never looked back
Peter Hayter recalls happier times when England dominated
Following their deflating defeat in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, those critics forecasting the worst (do not mention 5-0) might suggest Joe Root’s players arrived in the city of churches seeking divine inspiration to go with the necessary perspiration, and maybe even a miracle.
How better for England’s supporters to prepare for the second Test than by recalling what happened at the Adelaide Oval on that extraordinary morning their team found all of the above in the space of 13 balls during which they changed the course of the 2010-11 series decisively?
In the absence of the unlucky Steven Finn, only three players who took the field on the morning of December 3 seven years ago are due to do so again this time, Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
For the rest, it might have done them the power of good had England’s most experienced Test cricketers replaced the horror story of that final day at the Gabba last week with camp-fire tales of that golden morning they reduced Australia to 2-3 before some members of the Barmy Army had even bought their second pint.
True, back then England had earned the right to take advantage of any opportunity afforded by their opponents by scoring 517-1 to gain the better of the draw in the first Test in Brisbane.
Indeed, with Aussie critics circling Ricky Ponting’s team after they had failed to trouble Andrew Strauss, Cook and Jonathan Trott in the second innings at the Gabba, Mitchell Johnson was dropped in favour of Doug ‘The Rug’ Bollinger.
And tub-thumper-in-chief Shane Warne summed up how the psychological balance had shifted when he said: “England believes Australia’s aura has gone – it is not just a war of words, all 11 of the Poms are believers.”
Yet, with Ponting winning the toss in his 150th Test and choosing to bat first on an Adelaide pitch showing no signs that, for the hapless bowlers, it would be anything other than the traditional road to perdition, as they readied themselves to re-join the battle, England’s mindset had been focused on little more than frustration and restriction.
That pre-match mood was reflected by Graeme Swann who said afterwards: “There is a long-standing theory about the Adelaide Oval… that batting first is essential to control a match, and having just batted so well at Brisbane, it would have been ideal for us to bat again, maintain our momentum and make the running. But within our team meeting in the build-up we tried to play down this theory….
“Nevertheless, after losing the toss, our captain walked into the dressing room and was met by a chorus of, ‘bloody hell, Strauss, you’ve only got one job to do and you’ve messed it up’.”
Furthermore, according to Strauss, when he asked Anderson to address the team in the huddle on the immaculate outfield, the leader of the attack’s idea of Churchillian oration was “to stress the importance of staying patient, trying to go for less than three an over and building up pressure.”
“We all knew,” Strauss conceded, “that we had a long day ahead of us on a very flat wicket.”
What they could not have known was that Trott was about to walk on water. The Warwickshire man began his England career with the reputation of being a better-than-decent slip but ended it consigned to the comedy role of boundary scout, spending much of his time chugging morosely from one side of the field to the other, then back again. For the first over of this match he somehow found himself at
Only three players who took the field on December 3 seven years ago are due to do so again this year
mid-wicket as Anderson tested Shane Watson with three probing outswingers.
A PhD in cricket tactics was not required to know what England’s master craftsman would be sending down next, especially to a batsman England always regarded as a walking lbw, but when it did, from the fourth delivery of the match, Watson reacted late as the ball jabbed into his pad.
With his partner Simon Katich apparently unsure as to whether a call had been given or, amid the noise of England’s obligatory but half-hearted appeal, certain what that call might have been, Trott was suddenly in business. And, even though he would have spent most of the previous night and early morning preparing to bat, he was ready and waiting to pounce on a mistake.
Watson admitted later that his call had been no louder than a mumble. But Trott still had to actually hit target and this was where the efforts of an unsung Ashes hero, England’s fielding coach Richard Halsall, proved crucial.
When the Zimbabwean was appointed in 2007 he soon became aware that in tight run-out situations, the players he took charge of were in so much of a hurry to throw at the stumps that they often did so too early, thus missing too often.
So he spoke to them about setting themselves with a solid base, with everything aiming at the target, as if they were posing for a photo, and showed them footage of Marcus Trescothick doing just this before running out Andrew Symonds in an ODI against the Aussies at Durham in 2005.
No wonder Halsall was beaming as Trott, reacting to the sight of splattered stumps, wheeled away towards the flags of St. George with a single hand raised. Alan Shearer never did it better.
10.35am: Australia 0-1, Katich is out without facing. The Barmies are going barmier.
10.37am: Ponting walks at his first delivery from Anderson and guides it straight to Graeme Swann. Australia 0-2, the skipper is gone for a golden duck. The Barmies are close to hysteria.
10. 42: Anderson repeats the delivery, Michael Clarke, his dodgy back creaking, repeats the shot, Swann repeats the catch. Australia 2-3. The Barmies are having a religious experience.
Thanks to the inspiration of Trott and the perspiration of Halsall and Anderson, the miracle of Adelaide had been delivered and, due mainly to Kevin Pietersen’s 227 and Swann’s second innings 5-95, England converted it into the victory that persuaded them they could win a series Down Under for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.
How Root’s men might benefit from drawing on those memories as they seek to produce something similar in the days ahead.