Ashes 2013/14 – 1st Test, Day 4: 1-0 Australia

The Gabba, the venue for England's humiliation - © Rae Allen

Beginning on 24/2, chasing 561, England required a miracle to save the 1^st Test.

The list of requirements included a combination of batting long, poor weather and luck, alongside some kind of divine intervention.

Unfortunately for the tourists, despite the rain, and what could be described as a biblical hailstorm, England still came up over a day short in their task of saving the game.

As myself and Grant Yardley live-blogged the days play for Sports Gazette, it was clear that whilst England were giving a good account of themselves on day four, it was far too late.

The first hour went by uneventfully, with Cook digging in for the long haul and Kevin Pietersen going about his business in typically flamboyant fashion.

Straight after the drinks break Pietersen fell cheaply and any ideas that England may come up with something spectacular began to fizzle out.

His pull shot picked out fine leg, and unlike Cook who was carefully pulling the ball down, Pietersen, who was playing his hundredth Test, showed little regard for the game situation.

98/3 at lunch, having scored 74/1 in the session, meant that the honour for the first part of the day went to England, but it wasn’t something to celebrate.

The second session passed similarly, with only one wicket falling, and whilst it was cut short by rain and a hailstorm, 44/1 for that period was another relative victory.

Alastair Cook, the mainstay of the innings, passed 50 and showed glimpses of better form, but when he fell to his second ball after the rain delay, it was the beginning of the end.

142/4 quickly became 151/8 as Prior, Broad and Swann all followed their captain back into the hutch.

There was some brief resistance by Chris Tremlett, and Joe Root has every reason to be pleased with his 26 not out, but when Jimmy Anderson became Mitchell Johnson’s ninth victim of the match, the inevitable became reality.

After the match Alastair Cook spoke about his and his side’s disappointment in the way they had played, and one comment stood out in summing up the dire English effort.

Cook described Australia’s first innings of 295 as below par, and said he was pleased with the effort of his bowling attack first up.

England only managed 315 runs across BOTH of their innings.

The England captain’s comments highlight a need for a batting line-up, which has in recent years failed to deliver the consistent scoring required to win Test matches on flat pitches, to finally make their mark.

The inability to convert twenties and thirties into big hundreds is a worrying trend, and the form of Jonathan Trott must turn around soon.

It was not day four that led to a humiliating 381 run loss, but there was still room for a batting collapse as the end drew closer.

England must win at the Adelaide Oval in two weeks time, because their record in Perth is worrying, particularly considering this loss.

Session score: 2-1 to England – 8-4 overall

Verdict: England gave a good account of themselves for the first three hours, but the same problems that saw a batting collapse on day two re-emerged. Michael Clarke’s captaincy was creative and proactive, they had good plans for each of the English batsman, and Mitchell Johnson bowled aggressively and quickly. Australia were simply too good for Cook’s side; a big collective improvement is required.

Ashes 2013/14 – 1st Test, Day 3: The Clarke and Warner Show

The 'Gabbatoir' witnessing another massacre - © Rae Allen

If the second day was a bad one for England, it didn’t get any better on the third day at the Gabba.

Already 224 runs behind, with all ten Australian second innings wickets in hand, there was an air of things can only get better; this was wrong.

The day started fairly brightly for England with the wickets of Chris Rogers and Shane Watson both falling in the first hour, and a short rain delay providing hope of a miracle draw.

However, with the delay lasting only a quarter of an hour, and the early wickets much more a result of poor shot selection than good bowling, the outlook was a lot bleaker.

…It was to get a lot bleaker still.

Despite England trying to exploit a weakness in the armoury of Australian captain Michael Clarke, he set about joining David Warner in tucking into the English attack.

Unlike Jonathan Trott, Clarke’s problem with short-pitch bowling is physical rather than technical.

Whilst Trott finds himself cramped by short bowling, and fends shots away, Clarke is simply unable to duck short-pitch deliveries due to his bad back. Having decided to attack rather than survive, the Australian captain prospered.

He pulled the first Stuart Broad bouncer he faced for four, and this was a rather apt way to set the tone for the day.

Warner was as belligerent as Clarke was classy, and the run rate was as noteworthy as the scores.

Graeme Swann is usually another tone-setter, but his figures of 2/135 show how little he was able to impact proceedings.

He went for 5 runs per over, and if you could sum up a day in 1 shot it would be the lofted drive of Clarke for six in the 54^th over of the innings.

Swann had no answer and the over went for sixteen.

Warner went on to score 124 and Clarke 113, and by the time Australia declared, and Brad Haddin had scored yet another 50 in the first test of an Ashes series, the game was long finished.

Needing 561 to win, and with an hour to bat at the end of the day, the scenario had early wickets written all over it.

Michael Carberry, who played relatively well in England’s first innings debacle, saw off thirteen balls calmly, before a disaster that perfectly analogises England’s test match, gave Ryan Harris the break-through.

A technically perfect shot, a back foot defensive with soft hands, played late and watched right onto the middle of the bat, bounced down onto the ground, through his legs and back onto his stumps. Hideous.

There was still time for Trott to get out to another Mitchell Johnson short ball, and leave England at 24/2 and Australia only a matter of time from an Ashes lead.

Session score: 3-0 to Australia – 7-2 overall

Verdict: Clarke and Warner showed how good for batting this pitch really is, and England missed a potent Graeme Swann. The game was lost on day 2 and day 3 just compounded things.

Ashes 2013/14 – 1st Test, Day 2: The Empire Strikes Back

Anything Stu can do... © Rae Allen

Well… where to begin..?

I will start with the title, and my desperate attempt to continue the Star Wars theme.

It’s pretty tenuous at best, but I thought the links between Australia and the historic British Empire, and the magnitude of the turnaround just about justifies the decision.

Beginning at 273/8, a Haddin inspired tail managed to add 22 more runs before Broad’s sixth wicket of the innings and a Carberry run-out brought the Australian effort to a close.

At this stage of the game England would have been ecstatic; a flat batting pitch and the opponents all out without passing 300.

Unfortunately the cheer was to be short lived.

The two England wickets to fall before lunch were captain Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott.

With the score 55/2 at lunch there was no need to panic; but the manner of these dismissals will cause concern in the England camp.

Despite both players scoring centuries in the warm-up games, old problems resurfaced spectacularly.

Cook was caught behind playing a loose defensive shot at a ball he could have left alone, and Jonathan Trott once again fell to a short delivery.

His continued struggles against short-pitch bowling have highlighted a technical flaw so significant that it is truly surprising that other nations have failed to exploit it.

His trigger movement means that he walks towards the bowler, and this puts him in a great position to drive through the off-side, and work loose balls off his pads.

With a quick bowling unit looking to bowl short and aggressive though, Trott finds himself ill prepared to defend or attack on the back-foot, and he regularly fends the ball off towards waiting fielders.

The panic should have begun to set in when Kevin Pietersen fell softly in the 31^st over, but at 82/3, England had no real reason to worry.

I’d suggest the panic actually did set in as the next half an hour of cricket developed.

The fourth wicket fell five runs later as the impressive Carberry was undone with more aggressive bowling from Johnson, and the fifth and sixth followed without any more runs being added.

Ian Bell guided a Nathan Lyon delivery into the hands of short-leg and then Matt Prior guided the very next Nathan Lyon delivery into the hands of short-leg.

Joe Root and Graeme Swann also went quickly, to complete a session in which England lost six wickets for nine runs, and surely with it the first test.

There was a brief flourish from Stuart Broad who added 32 runs to his first-innings wickets before England were eventually bowled out for 136.

It really was a case of; anything that Stuart Broad achieved, Mitchell Johnson attempted to eclipse it.

He bowled fast, he bowled aggressively, and he threatened the stumps and the batsman’s safety.

This is top-notch fast bowling from a man who could barely land it on the cut-strip three years ago.

There have been technical changes, including an attempt to stay more upright at the crease to avoid spraying it around, but there has also been an improvement in attitude.

Johnson’s attitude was a fearsome opponent for the English batsmen today, and they’ll need to hope he can’t keep it up, or they’ll have to learn how to play him very quickly.

After England’s Jenga-style collapse, Australia set about rubbing salt into the open-wounds of a bowling attack that should have had its feet up all day.

David Warner blasted a quick 45 not out, and Chris Rogers stood firm as the hosts reached 65/0 at the close, a lead of 224 runs.

The one ray of hope for England was a weak rumour that a storm was on the way from the middle-east, but even the most positive England fan would struggle to expect rain to save the team on this occasion.

Session score: 3-0 to Australia – 4-2 overall

Verdict: Mitchell Johnson is about 30 times the bowler he was three years ago, and England’s batsmen have continued to struggle in the first test of a series.

Ashes 2013/14 – 1st Test, Day 1: The Phantom Menace

Stuart Broad - The Phantom Menace © thesportreview.com

It would appear that the Australian players and media have made Stuart Broad angry, and they won’t like him when he’s angry. (They don’t like him all that much anyway…)

The England fast-bowler (take note Aussie media types, he was quick enough to unsettle your captain) took five of the eight wickets to fall on day 1 as England took charge at the Gabba.

273/8 hardly represents a disaster for Australia, but it took half centuries from Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin to keep things presentable, and on a flat batting pitch, the score is below par.

The day started brightly for England as Stuart Broad, selected as public enemy number one following an incident in the previous Ashes series, dismissed Chris Rogers in the fourth over.

As the first session progressed, David Warner and Shane Watson began to lay a platform for a good first innings total, until Broad struck again on the stroke of lunch. With Watson out and the score 71/2 at the break, the first session was England’s.

If the first 25 overs were edged by the tourists, the period after lunch was a much more clear-cut success.

Two more wickets for Broad, including the prize scalp of Michael Clarke the Australian captain, and one each for Anderson and Tremlett saw the home side six down and in a really dire situation.

The Haddin and Johnson inspired retaliation began before the interval, but at tea Australia were 153/6. Another session in England’s favour.

As the quick bowlers began to be rotated and rested, and Graeme Swann led England’s bowling efforts with a softened and tired ball, the counterattack began.

Brad Haddin was the first to 50, but Mitchell Johnson wasn’t far behind, and his innings that included two 6s was the more eye-catching of the two.

Haddin, unbeaten overnight, will once again take the majority of plaudits in an Australian batting effort in the first match of an Ashes series.

For a player that has often underwhelmed in the context of his legendary predecessor Adam Gilchrist, his Ashes record is particularly remarkable.

In the first test in 2009 in Cardiff, Haddin scored 121 as Australia posted a huge total, but his 136 at this ground in 2010 was in a much tighter game situation, and put his side in control.

It was his effort at Trent Bridge this summer that was probably the most impressive of his Ashes-opening innings, however.

On a slow and difficult batting pitch, with teammates crumbling around him, Haddin took his side to within 15 runs of victory.

Whilst only scoring 71 on that occasion, the wicketkeeper managed to display all of his well-documented fighting qualities.

With the Australian press on his back, Stuart Broad certainly stole the limelight on day 1, but Haddin’s innings made sure the final session was Australia’s despite two late wickets, and leaves him 22 runs shy of another Ashes hundred.

Session score: 2-1 to England

Verdict: Tourists on top despite having a phantom in the team and a ‘boring’ captain.

Rafael Nadal: Missing Pieces and Remaining Targets

Nadal In 'World Tour Finals Blue' - © Vita Fu

As Rafael Nadal collected balls to serve, knowing that he could be as little as six points from defeat, an unfamiliar expression adorned his face, resignation.

His play didn’t portray the same beaten man that his face revealed, and he saved two more break points in typically flamboyant fashion to delay the inevitable.

But this flicker of frustration and understanding his fate was an insight into the strength of feeling the World No.1 has for a tournament he is still yet to win.

A glittering CV, including wins at all four grand slams, and a plethora of Masters series events, does not make up for this empty space, the missing World Tour Finals trophy.

Before the final, the lefthander was repeatedly questioned about his failure to win the event, and his frustrations were clear to see.

Whilst remaining polite and praiseworthy towards the ATP tour, Nadal is as good a loser as he is a champion; he made sure to highlight his dismay at the tournament always being played indoors.

“I feel like I am unlucky. During these nine years the Masters Cup was on indoor, a surface that was not the best for me. I think this is unfair.”

Nadal, who played in what could be described as ‘World Tour Finals blue’, made no effort to hide how much winning the tournament would have meant, but as Djokovic celebrated back to back wins at the O2 arena, the Spaniard missed out again.

Before the final, Nadal said to the BBC, winning the event would be: “The perfect way to close probably the best year in my career.”

While it was not to be, the transformation from injured and absent, to being reinstated as World No.1, has been a remarkable one.

As well as the best year of his career, the Mallorcan has also described it as the most emotional one.

Publicly, Nadal has made a remarkable rise back to prominence, and in such a short space of time, he was returned to his serene best. Privately it has been less serene.

“What really produced these emotional moments was working hard in tough moments trying to be positive.

“A lot of people were with me during this period of time. When you go to the gym every day and you don’t see a positive result, then you lose energy.

“Having these people around me during this period of time was decisive.”

The Spaniard is so adept at making everything on a tennis court look so easy, there has been little indication of these struggles.

As well as having the right people around him Nadal has a meticulous nature.

This is visible when he’s on court as he carefully arranges his water bottles in formation; it is also visible when carefully considering the route and structure of his comeback.

His decision to return to tennis on a clay court was not a coincidence; the surface he is most comfortable on was always the one he would return on.

By the time he returned to a hard court, and the surface that most tests his game and his knees, he was ready.

His 22^nd consecutive hard court win of 2013 saw Nadal lift the US Open title, and even before this win over Novak Djokovic, the Serbian was forced to acknowledge the might of the man from Manacor.

Even before Nadal defeated him in the US Open final and then regained the number one ranking, the Serbian declared his Spanish counterpart the best player in the world this year.

Aside from his meticulous preparation and superstitions, and aside from the form that have seen him eclipse all this year there still remains questions for Nadal, and a Djokovic conundrum.

Looking beyond the Spaniard’s success in grand slams against the World No. 2, to the autumn meetings, and Djokovic seems to once again hold the upper hand. 

Having beaten Djokovic for the 22^nd time when they met at Flushing Meadows, Nadal has seen his Serbian rival roar back with a straight-set victory in Shanghai, and this more recent success in London.

Whilst remaining fit should guarantee a 9^th Roland Garros title in June 2014, the same cannot be said elsewhere.

The current World No. 1 will face stiff challenges in a long hard court season, and face uncertainty when he returns to Wimbledon.

A tournament that he says he loves, on a surface he describes as frustrating, unpredictable and funny, is sure to provide a defining moment in Rafael Nadal’s 2014 as he looks to follow a stunning 2013.

Whilst there was no fairy-tale ending to Rafael Nadal’s 2013, the journey was a spectacular one, and it only renews expectation and anticipation for next year.

With the World Tour Final’s trophy still yet to grace his mantelpiece, the World No. 1 still has more boxes to tick.