This strange series finished with a thumping Australia victory at the Oval. Cook won the toss and put Aus in, they rode their luck and had a good first day. England's batsmen were awful on the second day and it was here that the match was lost. We were following on by day three and I was dreaming of Headingly '81 but that was never going to happen. The last rites were administered on day four with Aus winning by an innings and 46 runs.
Most of the Aussie runs were scored by Smith with 143 and Warner 85, if the top three don't get them the middle order won't! To be fair Voges showed improving form with 76. He looks a good player but is nearly 36 so won't be a fixture. Their best bowler was Peter Siddle playing his first test of the series, England will be thankful he wasn't picked earlier in the series. For England the only batsman to pass fifty was Cook with 85. Moeen Ali scored a few in each innings and Buttler finally looked like he was finding form in the second.
Australia have already seen the retirement of the excellent Ryan Harris before the series and he will be joined by the likable Chris Rogers and the skipper Michael Clarke. Apart from the 'broken arm' sledge and unbearable gloating during the last series down under, Clarke has been one of the more likeable Aussie skippers in recent times. It seems unlikely that Haddin and Watson will feature in tests again. This tour has been the end of an era for a decent Aussie side just like the last Ashes series was for England.
I've noticed that the Aussie cricketers are generally a lot more likable these days (except Warner). This is probably because we've become more used to beating them than the period from 1989 to 2003 when their great team routinely battered us. Most of the stars of that era seem decent blokes now they've retired but while they were piling misery upon us I loathed them. I can't really say I dislike any of the current bunch, except Warner.
Going into the series hardly anyone predicted an England win, even I, a most biased England supporter, couldn't believe we'd win but I was optimistic enough to say " In 2009 I thought Australia were much better than us and would win comfortably. A few months ago I saw this series in the same way. I was wrong in 2009, England managed to nick it and this time around I think the sides are more closely matched.This first match is crucial and if England can come out of it undefeated I think England have a chance in this series and if we play well we can beat Australia." This prediction wasn't far out so I'm feeling a bit smug.
A 3-2 series win was probably a fair reflection of the two teams over the five matches. The first test was the only one that wasn't as good as over after two days but in the end it was hardly close. All the other results were thrashings. This series has proved similar to 2009 again as individually the statistics show Australia have had the better players but collectively we have won more matches! 4-1 would have flattered England and possibly disguised the fact that England are still two or three players short of being a top test team.
Cook had a reasonable series with the bat and caught & captained well, he'll be opening the batting for England for many years to come. Adam Lyth fielded well but didn't score enough runs, he needs time in county cricket but may come again. Bell scored the runs that set up the win at Edgbaston but didn't have a great series by his standards and is no longer an automatic choice. Joe Root was brilliant.
Bairstow came into the side to replace Ballance and done OK but the latter looks more likely to have a long test career, once he regains form and confidence. Bairstow is a good man to have around the squad, especially as Buttler didn't trouble the scorers too much. His wicket keeping was pretty good though.
Stokes is inked in as England's all rounder for years to come, he contributed in all aspects of the game throughout the series. The other all rounder Moeen Ali scored vital runs throughout the series and looked comfortable against good pace bowling. His own off spin is not up to scratch and we need a spinner badly.
With Anderson, Broad, Finn and Wood we have four decent pace bowlers to choose from. The first three all produced great spells of bowling at times in the series while the latter was a consistent problem to the Aussies and scored useful runs too. It was great to see Finn back in test cricket and performing. Anderson is a legend and Broad was man of the series for me.
England face Pakistan in the UAE this winter, a difficult place for touring teams to play and we should be underdogs. Of the thirteen players used in this Ashes series all but Lyth have a good chance of selection. There is talk of playing Ali as an opener which will leave room for another spinner, possibly Rashid who deserves a chance. Monty Panesar done okay in a county match earlier this month, if his mind is right, he should go. Monty at his best is a match winner.
This has been a really enjoyable test match summer with loads of great cricket and wow moments, we musn't forget the contribution of the New Zealand team earlier in the year. Before the tests began, one English cricketer dominated the headlines and now he's chip wrapping, nobody is talking about him. KP? Who?
Most of the Aussie runs were scored by Smith with 143 and Warner 85, if the top three don't get them the middle order won't! To be fair Voges showed improving form with 76. He looks a good player but is nearly 36 so won't be a fixture. Their best bowler was Peter Siddle playing his first test of the series, England will be thankful he wasn't picked earlier in the series. For England the only batsman to pass fifty was Cook with 85. Moeen Ali scored a few in each innings and Buttler finally looked like he was finding form in the second.
Australia have already seen the retirement of the excellent Ryan Harris before the series and he will be joined by the likable Chris Rogers and the skipper Michael Clarke. Apart from the 'broken arm' sledge and unbearable gloating during the last series down under, Clarke has been one of the more likeable Aussie skippers in recent times. It seems unlikely that Haddin and Watson will feature in tests again. This tour has been the end of an era for a decent Aussie side just like the last Ashes series was for England.
I've noticed that the Aussie cricketers are generally a lot more likable these days (except Warner). This is probably because we've become more used to beating them than the period from 1989 to 2003 when their great team routinely battered us. Most of the stars of that era seem decent blokes now they've retired but while they were piling misery upon us I loathed them. I can't really say I dislike any of the current bunch, except Warner.
Going into the series hardly anyone predicted an England win, even I, a most biased England supporter, couldn't believe we'd win but I was optimistic enough to say " In 2009 I thought Australia were much better than us and would win comfortably. A few months ago I saw this series in the same way. I was wrong in 2009, England managed to nick it and this time around I think the sides are more closely matched.This first match is crucial and if England can come out of it undefeated I think England have a chance in this series and if we play well we can beat Australia." This prediction wasn't far out so I'm feeling a bit smug.
A 3-2 series win was probably a fair reflection of the two teams over the five matches. The first test was the only one that wasn't as good as over after two days but in the end it was hardly close. All the other results were thrashings. This series has proved similar to 2009 again as individually the statistics show Australia have had the better players but collectively we have won more matches! 4-1 would have flattered England and possibly disguised the fact that England are still two or three players short of being a top test team.
Cook had a reasonable series with the bat and caught & captained well, he'll be opening the batting for England for many years to come. Adam Lyth fielded well but didn't score enough runs, he needs time in county cricket but may come again. Bell scored the runs that set up the win at Edgbaston but didn't have a great series by his standards and is no longer an automatic choice. Joe Root was brilliant.
Bairstow came into the side to replace Ballance and done OK but the latter looks more likely to have a long test career, once he regains form and confidence. Bairstow is a good man to have around the squad, especially as Buttler didn't trouble the scorers too much. His wicket keeping was pretty good though.
Stokes is inked in as England's all rounder for years to come, he contributed in all aspects of the game throughout the series. The other all rounder Moeen Ali scored vital runs throughout the series and looked comfortable against good pace bowling. His own off spin is not up to scratch and we need a spinner badly.
With Anderson, Broad, Finn and Wood we have four decent pace bowlers to choose from. The first three all produced great spells of bowling at times in the series while the latter was a consistent problem to the Aussies and scored useful runs too. It was great to see Finn back in test cricket and performing. Anderson is a legend and Broad was man of the series for me.
England face Pakistan in the UAE this winter, a difficult place for touring teams to play and we should be underdogs. Of the thirteen players used in this Ashes series all but Lyth have a good chance of selection. There is talk of playing Ali as an opener which will leave room for another spinner, possibly Rashid who deserves a chance. Monty Panesar done okay in a county match earlier this month, if his mind is right, he should go. Monty at his best is a match winner.
This has been a really enjoyable test match summer with loads of great cricket and wow moments, we musn't forget the contribution of the New Zealand team earlier in the year. Before the tests began, one English cricketer dominated the headlines and now he's chip wrapping, nobody is talking about him. KP? Who?
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