After a rivetting series, England have, at last, won the Ashes back. I have wasted a lot of work time listening to these matches — I hope there isn’t another series like it for years.
I pointed out to my dad yesterday that without Flintoff this would have been a walkover for the Aussies; he, reasonably, retorted that without Warne it would have been a walkover for England (even without Flintoff). I can’t remember any series in which both sides had one such dominating player. Warne is supposed not to be back — but the guy took 40 wickets in a 5 match series at 16.875 a piece; it is hard to believe that someone who can achieve that in his mid-30’s will be done for before he’s 40. And as for Flintoff — he’s like a throwback to the 60’s, or 30’s, or something, the days of Washbrook, Laker, and the like: if he didn’t seem so unselfconsciously generous, I’d think he had made it a mission to shame every other sportsman and woman in the world.
Oh, and I should add, well done, chaps! (as if any of you are reading!)
{ 18 comments }
Chris Bertram 09.12.05 at 1:36 pm
What a fantastic summer. I’m not much of a cricket afficianado, but I’ve ended up spending long spells in front of the telly, getting more and more excited. The tension at Edgbaston was unbelievable, and then Old Trafford and then Trent Bridge, and then today at lunchtime I thought we’d thrown it all away … and we would have done had Warne not dropped Pietersen.
yabonn 09.12.05 at 2:04 pm
Honk if :
– you are completely ignorant about cricket
and
– Harry’s post does feel like Quidditch to you
but the guy took 40 wickets in a 5 match series at 16.875 a piece!!!
:)
IanJ 09.12.05 at 3:20 pm
Honk if:
you think “I don’t understand anything about cricket, giggle, giggle” posts are tedious!
derrida derider 09.13.05 at 12:24 am
Yep, it’s like a throwback to the 60s – Hayden making a point of walking up to Flintoff after being dismissed to say “well bowled”, fielders applauding good shots, etc.
Its un-Australian. I was always taught that you can and should be good mates with the opposition before and after the match but that while you’re in the field they are the enemy, to be treated as such. Especially if they’re poms. No wonder we lost – great captains like Steve Waugh or Ian Chappell would never have allowed this.
Anybody would think it’s just a game.
yabonn 09.13.05 at 3:20 am
Yea, enough with all the giggling! This is a blog after all!
Eleanor 09.13.05 at 6:00 am
Agree that Waugh’s almost parodically hard and unified team wouldn’t have behaved this way.* Don’t think that’s why this lot lost; I think they lost because they’re just not as good (as either us now, or the Aussie squad of, say, 2001).
*On the other hand, how often did Waugh’s squad face an opposition that demanded their respect? One of the (many, many) things I have enjoyed about this series has been the mutual respect on show, both between teams and from the crowds, and that’s something that has to be earned.
des von bladet 09.13.05 at 6:09 am
Has anyone seen any coverage in Foreign?
I haven’t found a peep from the French, Belgians (either flavour), Dutch, Suisse, Germans or Zwedish, just this slightly baffled Norwegish effort.
otto 09.13.05 at 6:16 am
I think the crowds mixed respect for the Australians with a large dose of humourous mockery.
e.g.
[To the tune of ‘Yellow Submarine’].
In the town where I was born, there lived a man who was a thief
And he told me of his life, stealing bread and shagging sheep.
So they put him in the nick, and then a magistrate he went to see
He said “put him on a ship, to the convict colony”
You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony
You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony
Some of the rest of the Barmy Army’s ditty’s can be seen here. http://www.barmyarmy.com/cricket/songs.asp
Chris Bertram 09.13.05 at 6:49 am
Come on Des … the Swiss are onto it:
“England ist im sportlichen Himmel, nachdem die Cricket-Nationalmannschaft am Montag erstmals seit 18 Jahren gegen Australien die «Ashes» gewonnen hat.”:http://www.nzz.ch/2005/09/13/sp/articleD4XZS.html
And Liberation has the Ashes as contributing to the neglect of Northern Ireland:
“Le problème, c’est qu’à Londres, on s’apprête à célébrer la victoire anglaise aux Ashes contre les Australiens (le grand trophée du cricket) et que tout le monde se fiche de ce qui se passe ici.”:http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=323330
yabonn 09.13.05 at 6:51 am
des :
Le Monde has one article for sale online, i remember another (i think) in the paper edition.
des von bladet 09.13.05 at 7:09 am
Ah, thanks Chris and Yabonn – I didn’t check the Schweiss as such. I’m surprised Google News doesn’t check Libération properly, though.
Simstim 09.13.05 at 8:51 am
Well, there’s still room for improvement in the “Best Series Ever” stakes: it was only decided in the penultimate session of the last day and what was the point of either Bell or Martyn? Interesting, though, that it seemed to be a bowler’s game.
dsquared 09.13.05 at 5:47 pm
I went down to Traf square to see the bus and Flintoff was sooooo drunk. Vaughan was standing next to him with that kind of all-fun-but-wary expression that you always see on the “responsible one” of any bunch of lads during those moments when the “big one” is in his cups and waving a champagne bottle about. You could practically hear him saying “come on andrew give me that it’s dangerous it’s made of glass nobody wants to spoil the big day”
Harry B 09.13.05 at 7:51 pm
I saw the pictures on the BBC website today, and, yes, Flintoff looks plastered. Good to know he’s not perfect.
derrida derider 09.13.05 at 9:27 pm
A pity he wasn’t plastered *during* the bloody game.
Chris 09.13.05 at 10:20 pm
Simstim – only decided in the penultimate session?
At tea, England were 227 runs ahead, with over 40 overs available (I think). If they had been all out immediately after tea (and lets face it, losing the last three wickets in two overs was always possible), Australia would still have had an outside chance.
I don’t know about you, but at tea I was still very very nervous.
gnat 09.14.05 at 4:42 am
Joyless Teetotal Puritan that I am, I thought Flintoff’s somewhat fatigued/relaxed demeanour was entirely appropriate, and pretty much the greatest and most positive display of public drunkenness I’ve ever witnessed. As far as I’m concerned, if you win the Ashes, you can hurl on my shoes and wee against my front door singing “You all live in a Convict Col-on-y”.
The Guardian’s telly critic wrote something along the lines of “there are some thing so bad as to be unmissable, and now we’ve found something so good as to almost unwatchable”. True dat. If there’s going to be a better test series, I won’t be able to watch more than a minute at a time.
Chris Corrigan 09.15.05 at 4:43 pm
Re: the sportsmanship. I agree.
Except that Pietersen…he’s an arrogant bastard. And boy did he pick a good time for a debut century.
[Aus provocation]And Harmison bowled like the Aussies used to[/Aus provocation]. High and hard, and picking up a warning in the process.
It’s what I call “leather sledging.”
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