Wow, what an amazing summer. Brilliant! We won back the Ashes, Pietersen smashed the Aussie bowlers around during the afternoon and took the match and the Ashes away from them, but it could still have been different.
When Bell came in I was as certain as anyone can be that he'd go for a duck... He just looks petrified under pressure. And then the wobbles set in. Just like at Trent Bridge the tension was there (I felt it), all results were still possible and the Aussies had momentum. Step forward KP. I was discussing with someone about the two new England middle order batsmen. Bell I hear is technically sound but obviously young and prone to pressure (0 & 0 this match) but KP swaggers with confidence in all situations, and money can't buy that. After a few narrow escapes which were difficult catches, he battered the Australians and calmed the nerves of England supporters. With Collingwood and Giles he found steady partners who progressed slowely while he raced to 158 on the biggest stage he has ever played.
I felt after the tight, tense matches of the previous weeks, if England were to win the Ashes, they had to put the Aussies out of the frame once and for all. I felt KP decided he was not going to let Trent Bridge, Old Trafford or Edgbaston style tension get into the equation.
At the end it was a strange finish and as a fan, I clamoured for a defining moment of victory, but bad light and a bit of farce left me feeling a little deflated...
However when Vaughan lifted the trophy in the evening gloom, I felt it was there. We won! We beat the invincible foe.
But, underneath that elation lay something else...
Sadness...
This is the end of a great summer, maybe the greatest summer of test cricket..
I saw most of it and know what I saw, I'll remember for a long time.
Part of me wishes we could play these Aussies once a fortnight. I like watching them as much as England. They are brilliant cricketers and great competitors. I think I am addicted to the tension and nervous energy these matches induce...
In a strange way I enjoy the contest more than the result...?? Does that make me a cricket fan?
Richie Benaud is leaving too, a changing of the guard... I grew up listening to him...
How do you feel now it's all over...
When Bell came in I was as certain as anyone can be that he'd go for a duck... He just looks petrified under pressure. And then the wobbles set in. Just like at Trent Bridge the tension was there (I felt it), all results were still possible and the Aussies had momentum. Step forward KP. I was discussing with someone about the two new England middle order batsmen. Bell I hear is technically sound but obviously young and prone to pressure (0 & 0 this match) but KP swaggers with confidence in all situations, and money can't buy that. After a few narrow escapes which were difficult catches, he battered the Australians and calmed the nerves of England supporters. With Collingwood and Giles he found steady partners who progressed slowely while he raced to 158 on the biggest stage he has ever played.
I felt after the tight, tense matches of the previous weeks, if England were to win the Ashes, they had to put the Aussies out of the frame once and for all. I felt KP decided he was not going to let Trent Bridge, Old Trafford or Edgbaston style tension get into the equation.
At the end it was a strange finish and as a fan, I clamoured for a defining moment of victory, but bad light and a bit of farce left me feeling a little deflated...
However when Vaughan lifted the trophy in the evening gloom, I felt it was there. We won! We beat the invincible foe.
But, underneath that elation lay something else...
Sadness...
This is the end of a great summer, maybe the greatest summer of test cricket..
I saw most of it and know what I saw, I'll remember for a long time.
Part of me wishes we could play these Aussies once a fortnight. I like watching them as much as England. They are brilliant cricketers and great competitors. I think I am addicted to the tension and nervous energy these matches induce...
In a strange way I enjoy the contest more than the result...?? Does that make me a cricket fan?
Richie Benaud is leaving too, a changing of the guard... I grew up listening to him...
How do you feel now it's all over...