Ashes-Fall of the Aussies

England beat Australia 2-1 to clinch the Ashes cup…

Looking back at the series, both the teams weren’t at their best…

Aussies were lacking form; they didn’t have the best of players.

On the other hand, the English were a normal team, with players suffering from injuries.

It was predicted that the Aussies will conquer England quite easily before the series.

1^st test:

The 1^st test was in favor of Australia… England lost wickets quickly in their 2^nd innings and were about to lose on the last day… The tail Enders along with Paul Collingwood fought gallantly… Particularly, Anderson and Monty Panesar stood for more than 10 overs for the last wicket and drew the match. According to me, this was the turning point of the series… This gave England lot of confidence.

2^nd test:

Before this test match, Andrew Flintoff announced his retirement from test cricket due to injuries… Andrew Strauss hit a beautiful century in the 1^st innings and helped England score above 400… Aussies batting next succumbed to Anderson’s bowling… They were trailing by more than 200 runs in the 1^st innings… England batting next set 1 score of more than 500 to chase… With brilliant century from Michael Clarke, Aussies fought back… But 500 was something huge… The English were leading 1-0 at the end…

3^rd test:

There is nothing to speak about this match… It was a rain curtailed match and it ended in a draw.

4^th test:

There was another twist in the story… England put into bat by Ricky Ponting, suffered huge blows from Stuart Clark… They collapsed for 102… Aussies put up a huge total on board… The English again failed to impress in 2^nd innings… The match ended in 3 days itself… Aussies leveled the series 1-1.

5^th test:

There were huge expectations for this match… England, batting 1^st scored well this time… This was the last test for Flintoff… Aussies, batting next, suffered to Stuart Broad at one end and Graeme Swann at the other end… England again scored well in 2^nd innings, with a magnificent century from debutant Jonathan Trott… Australia again tried to save the match… Michael Hussey hit a century under pressure… But finally, the English won by 197 runs to conquer the ashes 2-1…

Man of the Series:

Aussies man of the series was Michael Clarke (chosen by Andy Flower, the English Coach)

England’s man of the series was Andrew Strauss (chosen by Tim Nealson, the Aussie coach)

Aussies were pushed to 4^th spot in the rankings, following the defeat… It is true that they have become weak after retirement of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Mathew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and so on…

The English conquered Ashes in 2005 after 15 years… To me that was something very great… English beat the Aussies at its top… Then Australia player good, England player better… But this time, England player bad, Australia played worse.