Adelaide Triumph Sparks Dreams of Ashes Glory

Now it may seem like I am overhyping this England victory, especially as there are still three more games to go in the series. It is true that England haven’t won the Ashes yet, and they will have to play a lot more very good cricket in order to make that happen. However, it has to be said that victory in Adelaide has moved England a substantial step closer to retaining the Ashes, as the Aussies now have to win two out of the last three test matches if they are to win this time around. What is arguably more important about this victory though is the psychological impact that it will have on both teams. England will move on from Adelaide with a real belief that they can win the Ashes. I have no doubt that under the stewardship of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower then there will be no element of complacency setting in and they will be motivated to work probably even harder now they are one-nil up. England seem to have a hold over the Aussies at the moment, and under no circumstances will they want to let that go.

As for the Australians, well when Ricky Ponting comes out for a post match interview and comments that his team were “out batted, out bowled and out fielded” by England, then you know things are rough. The Australian captain also called on his players to use the week-long break between test matches to go away and think about their own game and what sort of contribution they need to make to the team. A rallying cry? Maybe. A sign of desperation? Almost certainly. Ponting is now swimming in uncharted waters as an Australian captain because he really does have nobody to turn to when things are not going well, especially with the ball. Gone are the days when Ponting could throw the ball to Warne or McGrath when times were tricky and say ‘go on, just go and get me a wicket will you’. In fact, the worrying thing for the Aussies is that they don’t seem to have anyone who can take a wicket, let alone make breakthroughs at key times within games. I wonder what Ponting would give to have either Jimmy Anderson or Graeme Swann in his attack at the moment. Swann and Anderson have the ability to take wickets at key moments, and that is something that cannot be understated in test match cricket.

The Ashes now moves on to Perth, where the third test will begin a week on Thursday. England will be without Stuart Broad for the rest of the series as he has a tear in his stomach muscles, and an Achilles injury has ruled Simon Katich out for the series as well. England fans have a week to soak up this victory, and do they dare to believe in the idea of Ashes glory this winter? You bet they do!

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