That was some statement from Alastair Cook and some statement from England.
In each of the last three Ashes series, they have finished the first Test with a question mark hanging over them. This time, all the question marks are hanging over Australia. Both teams know it and so does the Australian public.
England owe Cook a debt. The pitch may have been flat and the bowling ordinary, but a bloke who was fretting over his technique for most of the summer has now gone out there and beaten Don Bradman's record score at the Gabba. Not a bad riposte.
I've watched Cook closely for some time and I think what he did in this game - and what he did when he saved his place at The Oval with that hundred against Pakistan last summer - was to forget his technical issues and concentrate on keeping things simple.
Seeing the ball and playing the ball does not sound like the sexiest mantra, but that is essentially what Cook did during his 235 not out. If you think too much about your technique, you can get into trouble. It's good to be self-critical, but not if it paralyses you.
It's true that Cook has made a couple of minor adjustments. He's bending the front knee more into the drive and not hanging back in expectation of a short ball. The quality of his front-foot play has improved as a result
I would add, though, he has scored his runs on a pitch that offered barely any sideways movement. His first-innings dismissal came when Peter Siddle was jagging it about, so the problem hasn't just vanished overnight. But that is what England must accept with Cook.
In tricky conditions, as we saw last summer, he might struggle. But he ticks all the other boxes: mental strength, heart, calmness, converting 50s into big scores, being a team man and a lack of fear of the Aussies. The way he played out there helped England avoid the fate of so many touring teams before them.
Fortress Gabba is usually the place other teams leave feeling deflated and ridiculed. Mentally disintegrated, I believe they call it. But England didn't implode after falling 200-odd behind on first innings and Australia cannot hide from a scoreboard reading 517 for 1.
That total has done two things. It has shown the England guys they can get runs against this Australian attack. And it has alleviated a lot of the pressure they may have felt after the third day of this game. At that point plenty of supporters on both sides would have thought: 'Here we go again. Same old England, same old Australia.' But you look at Australia's bowling and all their dropped catches and you realise that just isn't the case any more.
Ponting was right: this wasn't a typical Gabba pitch. But then it wasn't a typical Australian performance, either. And that will worry him greatly.
The toss now becomes crucial at Adelaide. Not only do the bowlers - especially the Aussies - need a bit of a rest after flogging their guts out at the Gabba, but Adelaide tends to break up a bit more on the last two days.
Brisbane stayed intact. Both sides will need to work out how they're going to get 20 wickets after taking 11 apiece in the first Test, but the greater problems are with Australia.
Xavier Doherty looks like a bit of a roller of the ball rather than an out-and- out spinner and Mitchell Johnson may be drinking in the last-chance saloon.
But I like the look of Dougie Bollinger, who's been added to the squad. He's had a good start to his Test career and he's a real effort bowler. He's quick and strong, and although he may be a bit undercooked after coming back recently from injury, he's an old-fashioned, in-your-face snarler - a bit like Merv Hughes.
England can't get too cocky after conceding 481 and 107 for 1 in Brisbane, so there are some issues for them to consider. But I wouldn't worry too much about Graeme Swann. Off-spinners tend to struggle in Australia. Muttiah Muralitharan averaged 75 in Tests here and Harbhajan Singh averages 73. Sydney apart, it's not the sort of place where an off-spinner rocks up and takes 5 for 50.
Swann's done tremendously well in the last two years, but we have to be careful we avoid a Monty Panesar scenario. We built Monty up to be the next spinning genius, when he has always been no more than a very good slow left-armer. The same applies to Swann. He shouldn't be judged on one tough game on a flat pitch. As long as he outbowls the opposition spinner and chips in on wearing pitches, he'll be doing his job. And, so far, England have done theirs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1334270/ASHES-2010-Alastair-Cooks-simple-recipe-makes-Aussies-stew-says-Nasser-Hussain.html#ixzz16jg3iRmY
In each of the last three Ashes series, they have finished the first Test with a question mark hanging over them. This time, all the question marks are hanging over Australia. Both teams know it and so does the Australian public.
England owe Cook a debt. The pitch may have been flat and the bowling ordinary, but a bloke who was fretting over his technique for most of the summer has now gone out there and beaten Don Bradman's record score at the Gabba. Not a bad riposte.
I've watched Cook closely for some time and I think what he did in this game - and what he did when he saved his place at The Oval with that hundred against Pakistan last summer - was to forget his technical issues and concentrate on keeping things simple.
Seeing the ball and playing the ball does not sound like the sexiest mantra, but that is essentially what Cook did during his 235 not out. If you think too much about your technique, you can get into trouble. It's good to be self-critical, but not if it paralyses you.
It's true that Cook has made a couple of minor adjustments. He's bending the front knee more into the drive and not hanging back in expectation of a short ball. The quality of his front-foot play has improved as a result
I would add, though, he has scored his runs on a pitch that offered barely any sideways movement. His first-innings dismissal came when Peter Siddle was jagging it about, so the problem hasn't just vanished overnight. But that is what England must accept with Cook.
In tricky conditions, as we saw last summer, he might struggle. But he ticks all the other boxes: mental strength, heart, calmness, converting 50s into big scores, being a team man and a lack of fear of the Aussies. The way he played out there helped England avoid the fate of so many touring teams before them.
Fortress Gabba is usually the place other teams leave feeling deflated and ridiculed. Mentally disintegrated, I believe they call it. But England didn't implode after falling 200-odd behind on first innings and Australia cannot hide from a scoreboard reading 517 for 1.
That total has done two things. It has shown the England guys they can get runs against this Australian attack. And it has alleviated a lot of the pressure they may have felt after the third day of this game. At that point plenty of supporters on both sides would have thought: 'Here we go again. Same old England, same old Australia.' But you look at Australia's bowling and all their dropped catches and you realise that just isn't the case any more.
Ponting was right: this wasn't a typical Gabba pitch. But then it wasn't a typical Australian performance, either. And that will worry him greatly.
The toss now becomes crucial at Adelaide. Not only do the bowlers - especially the Aussies - need a bit of a rest after flogging their guts out at the Gabba, but Adelaide tends to break up a bit more on the last two days.
Brisbane stayed intact. Both sides will need to work out how they're going to get 20 wickets after taking 11 apiece in the first Test, but the greater problems are with Australia.
Xavier Doherty looks like a bit of a roller of the ball rather than an out-and- out spinner and Mitchell Johnson may be drinking in the last-chance saloon.
But I like the look of Dougie Bollinger, who's been added to the squad. He's had a good start to his Test career and he's a real effort bowler. He's quick and strong, and although he may be a bit undercooked after coming back recently from injury, he's an old-fashioned, in-your-face snarler - a bit like Merv Hughes.
England can't get too cocky after conceding 481 and 107 for 1 in Brisbane, so there are some issues for them to consider. But I wouldn't worry too much about Graeme Swann. Off-spinners tend to struggle in Australia. Muttiah Muralitharan averaged 75 in Tests here and Harbhajan Singh averages 73. Sydney apart, it's not the sort of place where an off-spinner rocks up and takes 5 for 50.
Swann's done tremendously well in the last two years, but we have to be careful we avoid a Monty Panesar scenario. We built Monty up to be the next spinning genius, when he has always been no more than a very good slow left-armer. The same applies to Swann. He shouldn't be judged on one tough game on a flat pitch. As long as he outbowls the opposition spinner and chips in on wearing pitches, he'll be doing his job. And, so far, England have done theirs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1334270/ASHES-2010-Alastair-Cooks-simple-recipe-makes-Aussies-stew-says-Nasser-Hussain.html#ixzz16jg3iRmY
No comments:
Post a Comment