Time for my usual critique of the test match. England were deserved winners of the game.
Australia
Langer - not his best match, got a lousy lbw in the 2nd innings, overall a good series but if you take out the 250 it's lean.
Hayden - also not his best and also got a lousy lbw in the 2nd innings. Will remember the game more for the money he lost. Still the best batsman in the game at the present moment.
Ponting - another below par performance, got a good one from Caddick in the 2nd innings, will have to wait a while longer to accept the captaincy I think.
Martyn - only Aussie batsman not to get a century (apart from Lehmann/Love), did not take his opportunities to nail down the number 4 position.
Waugh - will he or won't he? I'd like to see him continue. Getting the cetury off the last ball of the day will go down as one of Australia's more memorable sporting events. Has done enough recently to continue on if he chooses to do so.
Love - got to see what test cricket is all about this time, made a contribution in the 2nd but needed to make runs here to keep out Lehmann when he comes back. Still a must for the Windies.
Gilchrist - breathtaking batting in both innings. Keeping is still untidy as he dropped two catches that he should have got.
Bichel - tough fellow but one wonders if he is a test class bowler. A workman like performance. batted extremely well in the 2nd innings.
Lee - better in the 2nd innings but still getting wickets at the same average as when he was dropped. A worry for the selectors.
Gillespie - should not have played this match. Was underdone from the start. Fought well with the bat.
MacGill - no longer a test class spinner. 3 years ago he was as good as Warne but not any more. Too many bad balls. It's fine to spin the ball miles but never looked like getting too many wickets. Best to go for youth in the future.
England
Vaughan - classy again, England's best batsman in years. Enjoyable to watch and knows how to take a bad decision. A funny stat about his tour - four centuries, no fifties and no catches. I can recall him dropping at least 3 maybe 4 during the tour. His only weakness?
Trescothick - a bad test tour for him. Again lack of footwork brought him undone outside off stump.
Butcher - rode his luck to a good century. Makes up for a bad decision in the last match.
Hussain - really solid match for him. has deserved to have something go right for him on an overall disasterour tour. Batted well. Probably declared too late but didn't want to give the Aussies a sniff. Worked out regardless.
Key - dodgy pull shot and trapped by part time medium pacer again. Needs to work on his shot selection.
Crawley - ordinary to watch, should be his last test.
Stewart - fine 71 in the first dig, kept well. Maybe he should get the chicken pox more often.
Dawson - awful bowling in the last two tests. Game needs a lot of work. I think I could almost spin the ball more. It's no wonder that Hussain waited till the last minute to declare.
Caddick - bounced back well, too bad it took until the last innings to show his skill. Would the series have turned out differently if he had bowled as well on the first moring at the Gabba after his skipper won the toss and bowled.
Hoggard - deserved som ewickets after a distaterous start to the tour.
Harmison - looked good but it's still early days for this one. Will have learned heaps on this tour. One to watch.
Both umpires deserve zero out of ten for their efforts. If they are in the top eight then the rest must be crap. Fortunately it didn't affect the outcome greatly as England would have won anyway.
On to the one dayers and world cup.
