Posts tagged with ‘Ashes 2009’

An Oval fairytale did happen this summer, but not for the media’s favourite saviour, Mark Ramprakash. Apparantly unhappy at being overlooked for the Ashes decider, Ramps has criticised the selectors and Ashley Giles in particular, who he all-but accuses of Warwickshire bias.

Sounds like sour grapes from where I’m standing.

It doesn’t take long after any Ashes series for the associated memorabilia and publications to start doing the rounds. So, in case you can’t remember, or you spent this summer under a rock, or you are ready to be nostalgic, here is an excellent day-by-day account of the 2009 Ashes series.

Watching England and Australia muddle their way through seven ODIs after the Ashes has finished is like going to your favourite restaurant and having the main course before the starter. Nobody wants a bowl of soup when they’ve just finished a plate of steak and chips.

The England management, beginning with Andrew Strauss have been very careful to highlight that the Ashes win is only one milestone along the road to Test domination. And rightly so. So how do England continue to build from this point onwards? Where can they improve? And how do they cope with the loss of Flintoff?

The Ashes was a fascinating series, but it will not be remembered for the quality of the umpiring. With the referral system to be phased in by the ICC, should they be looking to technology or just improving the quality of the umpires? I feel that there is an argument for both.

Whilst everyone ponders who the key man was for England in the Ashes, and most would probably go for Andrew Strauss, let’s take a moment to think about the contribution of their recently appointed team director.

England have won the Ashes, and the nation rejoices and 2005 can now finally be looked upon as a fond memory. But, as we celebrate, England must learn the lesson from their previous triumph over Australia – don’t get carried away.

The stage was set for England’s all-rounder to take centre-stage, to win the Ashes with one final, devastating display before bowing out of Test cricket. That was Andrew Flintoff’s script for the Oval.

Today, Stuart Broad stole that script, crossed out Freddie’s name and wrote his own.

If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard the phrase “an Ashes series is no time to try new players” I’d be following the cricket from a small island in the Pacific somewhere. Why is it that all-England (by which I mean our media, who speak the words that we don’t have the wit to think of for ourselves) are so convinced of this?

It doesn’t matter who England pick for the Oval, the media will damn them for it either way. The players would either be past it (Key), not up to it (Bell, Bopara) or not ready (any debutant). Ramps, as the media’s choice, would remain untouchable regardless of how he actually performs.