***Official*** Australia in England (The Ashes)

[andyc]

I disagree - he carried the drinks well at Trent Bridge - didn't spill a drop!

Had a lot of trouble figuring out that camera, though

 

[wpdavid]

I'd add in the Harmison over to Langer personally - yes it went for 11 runs or so with 2 boundaries, but the speed he had and everything was what was missing from his bowling for the rest of the series.

Agreed on all counts, especially as Langer was in the 90's by then. IIRC 8 of the runs were edges through or over the slips.

 

[honestbharani]

I guess for the same reason that Lee only really ran in at full pace when the match was almost over with him in his final spell. Fast bowlers have to reign themselves in if they are too last the whole match and bowl their fair share of overs.

BTW Harmison reminds me a bit of Ambrose (NOTE: this is just an illustrative example, not a proper comparison of their respective achievements or abilities) at the end of his career who would often struggle to take wickets on flat wickets, but maintained his average by 1) being incredibly miserly with his economy rate, so he could have a pretty poor strike rate but maintain his average 2) when the conditions were in his favour (this is most relevant to Harmison) taking full advantage with some big wicket hauls running through the opposition. Had Harmison had one more helpful pitch in the series then we would have probably been talking about him as England's most important bowler. Personally I am happy having him in the team as long as he continues to keep it tight on pitches not in his favour (something which was obviously NOT the case in South Africa). That is the advantage of a five man attack. As long as they are not a liability and can bowl their fair share of overs without causing damage when conditions are not in their favour, but capitalising when they are, then they will always be a worth their place in the team. The variety in the attack is what guarantees we should be able to take wickets in most conditions.

Economy rate is a much ignored factor when comparing why certain bowlers have significantly better averages than others. One of the main reasons why Harmison's and Flintoff's averages in this series were even close was because of the enormous no.of noballs that Freddie bowled - adding at least 3 ticks to his average.

I agree with you 100%. It is one of the reasons I have always felt Kumble is not as bad away from home as made out to be. True, he doesn't take too many wickets, but he does keep it reasonably tight and invariably, it is the lack of penetration in the seam attack that has led to India leaking too many runs overseas.

 

[honestbharani]

Really good article, wpdavid. I enjoyed that.


Ball of the series - Ashley Giles knocking back Martyn's off stump with his version of the Ball of the Century. Can't believe you guys forgot that.


Catch of the series - Strauss, Martyn's was great, but can't look beyond Strauss.


Shot of the series - That Flintoff hit during that last wicket partnership at Edgbaston.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Ball of the series - Harmison's slower ball to Clarke at Edgbaston.

Catch of the series - No doubt in my mind, Strauss at Trent Bridge to get Gilchrist. The "Superman cape" description given by Slats really seemed to fit.

Shot of the series - Pietersen's baseball shot down the ground off Lee at the Oval. It looked premeditated, but it can't have been. The only shot I've ever seen that looked physically impossible to play. Flintoff's one onto the TV gantry is a very close second, though - it would have won if we hadn't already seen him play many, many shots of that magnitude in the past (Ntini 2003, anyone?).

 

[Tom Halsey]

Ball of the series - Warne's round-the-corner ball to Trescothick, didn't actually get him out though. For a wicket ball, Warne to Strauss.

Catch of the series - Trauss, who else?

Shot of the series - Pietersen's baseball shot down the ground off Lee at the Oval.

 

[Jamee999]

Catch of the series - Trauss, who else?

Strauss perhaps?

 

[tooextracool]

Catch of the series - No doubt in my mind, Strauss at Trent Bridge to get Gilchrist. The "Superman cape" description given by Slats really seemed to fit.

geraint's reflex catch wasnt too bad either.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Strauss perhaps?

geraint's reflex catch wasnt too bad either.

The one on the final evening at OT to dismiss Warne? That was fantastic, actually, I forgot that one. And thank God he caught it, because the preceding drop by Strauss was an absolute shocker.

 

[jlo33692]

And now the hard question,
Which test match was the best of the whole lot? and why?
Mine was 3rd tied test as England had Australia on the ropes and just could not deliver the final blow, Australias fighting spirit was evident in this match and the reason i pick it is because it was a draw and proves that drawn games can also be so exciting ,even though on the score card no one wins but Aust,felt they won or got out of jail im that test, But loved all the other tests as well!!!!

 

[andyc]

Well, for me, Lords was the best

But on which test had the best cricket, Edgbaston for sure. When Warnie got out on 90, I was so gutted for him.

 

[greg]

Well, for me, Lords was the best

But on which test had the best cricket, Edgbaston for sure. When Warnie got out on 90, I was so gutted for him.

That was at Old Trafford

 

[age_master]

Ball of the series - Harmison's slower ball to Clarke at Edgbaston.

closely followed by Warne's to Strauss or Lee's Slower ball to Strauss

 

[andyc]

That was at Old Trafford

Oh it was, wasn't it? My bad.

 

[Top_Cat]

Best Ball (and eventually Best Over): Giles to Martyn and Harmison to Clarke come awfully close but the purist in me respects the ball Andy Flintoff bowled to Rick Ponting in his first over of the second dig, 2nd Test. After wrenching his shoulder whilst batting and subsequently belting the Aussies to all parts, he came on and after getting Langer second-ball, the next three were super-fast and viciously cutting in. Absolutely pinned Ponting on the crease. Awesome bowling. Then, last ball, he bowled Ponting a perfectly-pitched QUICK away-swinger and Ponting, mentally shot by that stage, could only edge it behind. That, for me, was the best ball (including the lead-up to it), in the best over and was, for me, the best moment of the series. It surely does not get any better.

Best shot: Freddie's shot over mid-on onto the roof of the stand in the second Test. Thought we'd never see that ball again.

Best knock: Lots to choose from but Rick Ponting's 156 for me.

Best bowling: Glenn McGrath at Lords or Brett Lee in the second dig of the 4th Test. Simon Jones' 6-fer was a great effort too.

Best Catch: Strauss. Wow.

Best Test: The second Test. Exhuberant hitting and break-neck scoring day one, gritty stuff by Australia on the second, excellent fight-back by Australia's bowlers on day three, an incredible knock by Flintoff in response, brilliant bowling to have Australia in deep poo by the end of that day (one of the the best days of Test cricket ever) and true grit by the Aussie tail on day 4 with England just snatching it. How important was that day? Had Australia won it, they would have been 2-0 with three to play and I doubt they'd have lost from there.

 

[Kweek]

the Old Trafford test was a amazing test!

 

[jlo33692]

Good post Top Cat, and yes that was vital that last wicket breakthrough in the 2 nd test,as it turned out that would have been the series over there and then. 2 up with 3 to play and as it turned out it was Draw,England,Draw after that,this would have left a scoreline of 2 -1 Ozzies way,
ooohhhhh if only jones had misfielded or the umpires made one of their customary blunders hahaha
Amazing when you think how close to winning Aus actually were looking back huh,but would have been robbery as they were outplayed from 1st test on. would have taken it though hahahaha

 

[twctopcat]

. After wrenching his shoulder whilst batting and subsequently belting the Aussies to all parts, he came on and after getting Langer second-ball, the next three were super-fast and viciously cutting in. Absolutely pinned Ponting on the crease. Awesome bowling. Then, last ball, he bowled Ponting a perfectly-pitched QUICK away-swinger and Ponting, mentally shot by that stage, could only edge it behind. That, for me, was the best ball (including the lead-up to it), in the best over and was, for me, the best moment of the series. It surely does not get any better.
.

That still sends shivers up my spine thinking about that over. The best test cricket feeling along with the Harmison ball. I never realised how good a ball it was until seeing it a few days ago, but it was one of those moments where you knew something was going to happen. Utter genius.

 

[marc71178]

ooohhhhh if only jones had misfielded or the umpires made one of their customary blunders hahaha

Hadn't they already done that to not send Kaspa back 20 runs before the end?

 

[Barney Rubble]

Check this out, from the BBC's "Quotes of the Week" section:

"It was me who got the marker pen out... anyone who falls asleep on the team bus knows the dangers."
Steve Harmison explains how Freddie gained a beard, moustache and glasses - not to mention a rude word across his forehead - when he got off the England coach after the celebrations.

Brilliant! Harmy, you legend!