The Ashes 2009: Third Test Edgbaston

W eather was the winner in this test match from day one. It had rained heavily prior to the test match and there were theories of spongy pudding like outfield. Ricky Ponting was not going to be fooled by all that talk after the mistake he committed on the last tour here. He decided to look at the pitch and then take the call. Five clear days of good weather were almost impossible and in my mind Ponting should have gambled a bit to wrestle some initiative. He did not and in the end England collected all the brownie points from this test match.

First of all Australia did not play to win if you ask me. Their team selection was almost defensive and short of imagination. Mitchell Johnson is having a wretched form on this tour and this was a perfect opportunity to try and give some match exposure to Stuart Clark. He is steady, does not leak runs and has been taking wickets when fit. But Ponting decided to keep faith in Johnson who again continued to bowl an erratic line. He compounded his woes by picking up an altercation with some English batsmen and that is not going to win him friends on the boundary line. He is going to be targeted by the spectators and it is an uphill task for him to come back on this tour. Ponting gambled and selected Shane Watson and that gamble paid off. He scored valuable runs in both innings. But if you think about it, this is almost a slap in the face for the selectors. They had backed Hughes and not even selected a reserve opening batsman and here you have the captain dropping their trusted opener after 4 innings.

This Australian squad is also very soft in their minds possibly due to the ban on sledging from CA. As Tim de Lisle describes in his article they are England in disguise. A possible reason is that they are themselves not very sure about their chances and that reflects in the on-field behavior. That is why you have Mr. Cricket who is so bloody confused that he leaves a perfect delivery only to be clean bowled. The hay days of their ruthless supremacy seem to be over. Let us wait and watch what happens in the rest of the series. But I would put my money on England for they have shown some courage and have fought well.

PS: There are reports that after he was clean bowled by Swann in the second innings, Ricky Ponting smashed the door in the dressing room.