New venue, unknown ground conditions and a series opener. We had all the ingredients for an absorbing game of cricket but barring the last one hour of the final day there was not much to keep people interested. England batted well in the first essay but failed to capitalize on some good starts. Someone should have scored a big hundred and ensured that they would not lose the test match. They posted a middle of the road total and the Australian response was great. Now here is a team that absolutely thrashes the opponent into the ground and ensures that they stay on the ground. They built up a massive lead and put England under pressure. They used the ‘sledge’ hammer too to get the results they wanted. Pietersen was provoked and lost his wicket when the need of the hour was to stay.
The only interesting session was the last session when Collingwood was fighting a lone battle to save the test match and Australians were coming at him with everything. He played a gem of an innings. Once he got out, he left a small window of opportunity for the Aussies to claim the last wicket in about 12 overs. That is when the drama started and Australian skipper Ponting once again showed his ugly side. They claimed catches that did not exist and appealed and put a lot of pressure on the umpires. Monty and James Anderson stuck around and as the number of deliveries kept reducing the Aussies became more frustrated. These scenes were reminiscent of the scenes against India (Sydney) or South Africa. I wonder why Ponting did not use Hilfenhaus or Johnson to claim that last wicket. Aussies are making a habit of having the last pair frustrate them and they need to show the same level of ruthlessness to stop the tail from wagging. In this case it was the difference between 1-0 up in the series and going to Lord’s with a 0-0 score line.
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