Matt79
Hall of Fame Member
Matt79 said:Fifth bowler all done - in the end we got away with it, I'd say.
Yeah, I totally agree with you. If I could be bothered, I could give a link to where I'd said for several days leading up to the match that we should take Johnson rather than Hodge. What I meant by that comment was that 10 overs at 6.7 an over was not disasterous from a couple of part-timers, especially given Clarke went for 13 in one over and Symonds went at 10 an over in his first spell. From that point, Symonds pulled it back well - admittedly after the momentum had shifted.10-67-0
And Australia only used five batsmen...
IMO, Pietersen lost a big chance to add to England's total by not attacking Clarke earlier. How he could get away with only five runs off his first two overs, mainly bowled at KP, during a powerplay is beyond me. Given that they were pasting McGrath at the time, it really would have put more pressure on the Aussies to go after Clarke straightaway. The selection of Hodge was an error IMO, and England needed to make us pay for it more than they did.