A View on the Ashes from the Other Side
I write this a few hours before the first ball is bowled in the 5th Test at The Oval.
The first three Tests and honours were probably in favour of the Poms. Stating the obvious, Australia had a 2-1 lead at the end of them. The results could have gone either way in all three games. There has been endless commentary and comments on tv, in print, and on social media. Everybody in the world seems to have had an opinion.
Then came Old Trafford. England played really great. Australia, especially the bowlers (looking at you, Patrick) did not do too well. Australia rarely performs this badly but makes a habit of it at least once on overseas tours especially on Ashes tours to England (Trent Bridge 2015), tours to South Africa (Cape Town 2011 always come to mind), and even worse, on tours of India. Too many to mention there.
Did England play that well or did Australia make them look good? I think the Poms capitalised on a woeful Australian performance and were robbed by the rain. My feelings when hearing of the game being washed out and declared a draw? Sheer bloody relief. Probably the same as 99% of Australian cricket supporters. I can sleep soundly again.
So on to The Oval. If the Aussies play that badly again, they will get cleaned up. Hopefully, the thought of winning the series inspires them to perform better than at Manchester. Fingers crossed.
A couple of negatives for the Aussies in Cameron Green & Scotty Boland. Both underperformed in the Ashes Test so far. The positive is my man, Mitch Marsh. Never thought he would play Test cricket again.
The one thing that gets on my goat though is this continual mantra from the England camp about being better people and not worrying if you win or lose.
From the BBC website
This is England's first draw in 17 Tests under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum - a period in which they have thrilled crowds by embracing an ultra-aggressive style. It denies them the chance to become the first England team to come from 2-0 down to win the Ashes at The Oval next week but Stokes repeated his desire to play in a manner that brings more fans into the sport.
"As much as I would love to be an Ashes-winning captain, I want this team to be a legacy team," he said.
"This 18 months will go down in history as one of the most exciting and proactive teams to go out there and represent England.
"We want to leave the Test-match summer with a win.
"
But the reward for your work isn't what you get, it's what you become. We've become a team that have been so unbelievably well followed and we will live long in the memories of those who have watched us."
Harry Brook
As thoughts turn to the start of the final Test this Thursday, there is a degree of sadness this was not the winner-takes-all showdown it could have been.
For Brook, however, even if England cannot make it 2-2, he believes they can be proud of how they have approached this Ashes series - even if it finishes 3-1 to Australia.
"That's the whole mantra, we're trying to excite people watching, we're trying to enjoy ourselves and we're trying to bring new crowds to the game and get Test cricket alive again. I think we've already done it this series. Whichever way the result goes this week, yeah, I think we've had a good series."
So losing a Test or worse, a series is not really a bad thing. If an Australian Test player would have said what Harry did, he would be frog-marched out the door and out of the team, never to return. To Australia, winning is everything. It is the only thing.
It is a game. The idea is to win. Not just participate and feel good about yourself. Geezus
England has been playing great cricket over the last 12 months. They earnt all the admiration that they are getting.
Just keep doing that and leave "the mantra” rubbish behind
