The Ashes Diary Read online

  In the batting line-up, we’re doing a straight swap between David Warner and Shane Watson – Davey will open, and Watto will bat at number six. I like David opening: he’s a very positive player at the top of the order and goes out there with great intent. He should combine very well with Chris Rogers. Those two at the top and Usman Khawaja at three means we’re starting with our three left-handers. I expect them all to be facing Graeme Swann, but during the series we’ve seen how Swann relishes turning the ball away from left-handers when they’re fresh at the wicket. It’s very, very hard for them to start their innings while he’s in full flight, turning the ball out of the footmarks.

  I had a good chat about it with Shane at training. He’s completely fine, and excited by the opportunity. He has often said he prefers to open, but he understands my reasoning. He also agrees that we can get more overs out of him if he’s batting lower in the order. His overs are vital for the team, and he’s been bowling very well. As a genuine all-rounder, it’s hard for him to open the batting, and I look forward to being able to bowl him without having to think about resting him for his batting late in the English innings.

  So here we are. We’ve tampered with this batting order a lot, but always in the interest of getting the right formula for the conditions and the attack we’re facing. I hope we’re getting closer to the right formula. We’re excited and ready to play, and looking forward to playing a similar brand of cricket to what we produced in Manchester – only this time, with a Test match win to show for it.

  Friday 9 August. Durham.

  The day dawned beautiful and sunny, and as we made our way from Gateshead to Chester-le-Street, it looked like terrific weather for batting. As it turned out, we bowled, but had a fantastic day all the same. Our bowlers have done us proud yet again.

  With the wicket looking very flat and dry, I would have loved to win the toss. It looks like it’s going to be a very good batting wicket today and tomorrow. But I called wrongly again, and Alastair Cook elected to bat. On the upside for us, the weather was cool, with a nice breeze blowing across the ground to assist the swing bowlers. But it was clear, from looking at the pitch, that we would have to bowl a disciplined line and length and stick to our plans.

  The English openers were not able to rotate the strike early, so Ryan Harris found himself bowling pretty much exclusively at Cook. Rhino really had his plans dialled in, and it was the fifth over of the game before Cook laid bat on ball. Up to then, Ryan had been probing and probing on that fifth-stump line, and Cook left a lot and played at a few.

  At the other end, Jackson Bird slipped right back into the nice rhythm he has had in all of his games for Australia. He bowled at good pace to Joe Root and gave nothing away. We were probably a little bit too wide of the stumps for my liking, though. It looks like a new-ball wicket to me, so making the top-order batsmen play as often as possible is imperative. We weren’t bad this morning, but could have tested them out just a bit more.

  It was a slow start for England, and a relatively good one for us. I brought Watto on to replace Birdy, and eventually Root played forward to a good-length ball. We all heard a nick, but the umpire gave him not out. I wouldn’t necessarily choose to risk losing a DRS referral so early in an innings, but Hadds was very confident and so was I, and sure enough the third umpire gave him out. It was Watto’s second wicket for the series, which is a bit of a surprise given how well he has bowled for us.

  Trott came in – a danger man for us, as we’ve found in the past, but he hasn’t been making big scores in this series, despite looking in good touch. We placed a heavy leg-side field, sometimes with attacking catchers in unorthodox positions at short mid-wicket and leg slip, to dry up his strength in that area. When so much attention is focused on the on side, sometimes it’s the other one that can be the surprise ball, and Rhino nearly got him when an outside edge flew towards the slips but landed just short of me at second. Then he chipped one off his pads, neatly – and frustratingly – bisecting the two short mid-wickets. It was a tense time.

  Not long before lunch, I brought on Nathan Lyon from the Finchale end. The wicket didn’t look like turning that early in the game, and it didn’t, so Nathan had to adjust his line for very different conditions to those he bowled in just a few days ago in Manchester. He put in some tight balls to Trott, and then forced the error – Trott inside-edged one onto his pads, and it popped up square of the wicket. Usman Khawaja moved around and dived full-length to take a good catch.

  It was great for ‘Gazza’ Lyon’s confidence to take a wicket. As well as he bowled at Old Trafford, in the end it’s wickets that bowlers are judged by, and judge themselves by. To remove such a key top-order batsman as Trott was a real shot in the arm for Nathan.

  Kevin Pietersen came in, and made his intentions known straight-up. First ball, he charged Nathan and mis-hit a lofted on-drive. It lobbed just over wide mid-on. He kept coming at Nathan, and a couple of overs later I took him off, as much to disrupt Pietersen’s plans and dry him up as anything else.

  Watto played that role, and all the seamers were chiming in. Cook, at the other end, was surviving and accumulating, but that was about it. He played one nice cover drive for four off Watto, but the boundaries were few and far between. Pietersen called a very sharp run, and if Davey Warner’s throw had hit the stumps Cook would have been out by several metres. The run rate was at or just below two an over. So even as the middle of the day approached, England were not really moving forward. We felt that if we took a couple of wickets, we could suddenly reverse the pressure and put it all on them, as a result of the small number of runs they had put on the board.

  Pietersen was the one batsman who was going along fairly confidently, and after about half an hour I brought Nathan back on. England were 2/149, and we had to knuckle down to stop them turning a solid start into a big total.

  Self-belief is everything in cricket, and Nathan has come back into the team with much more of it. Fifth ball, he slid one across Pietersen and drew the nick, which Hadds took safely. It was a big psychological breakthrough for Nathan to dismiss the guy who has tried so openly to dominate him – and it was a classic off-spinner’s dismissal.

  We had some momentum now, and Jackson Bird capitalised by bowling an absolute beauty at Cook. The left-hander had been leaving ball after ball – and we’d allowed him to – but now Birdy brought one back in and had him plumb LBW, not playing a shot. Great bowling. England would have been disappointed at tea, and even more so in the first over after the break, when Ian Bell also went after Nathan, charging down the wicket and only succeeding in lifting it straight of mid-off. Ryan Harris ran around to take a very good catch.

  Nathan continued around the wicket, bowling an outstanding spell – nine overs, eleven runs, and two wickets. It was also good to see a bit of planning come off. We thought going around the wicket would be a good route of attack, given the ball wasn’t spinning much. The angle brought into play the right-handers’ outside edge if the ball didn’t spin, and a potential catch in slips or behind. But if he could get the ball to straighten, he might get an LBW or a catch at bat-pad. That’s all very well to say, but Nathan had to execute it, which he did. He’s been working really hard in the nets, so it’s good to see him get a result in line with that effort.

  Bairstow and Prior went along steadily after tea, before Sidds got one to nip back in to Prior. The umpire gave him not out, and Sidds of course wanted a referral. Hadds and I were toing and froing for a few seconds, neither of us 100 per cent certain, but in the end it was one of those ones where we just said, ‘We don’t really know, but we have a gut feeling, so let’s roll the dice.’ We had a good laugh when it came up our way. The overturning of the decision was due reward for another typically stout effort from Sidds. He’s earned a great deal of respect in England on this tour.

  I brought Nathan back on, and he was going so well that I delayed taking the second new ball by four overs. Bairstow tried to sweep him across the line from aro
und the wicket, a risky shot, and was LBW. That gave Gazza a well-deserved four-for. Broad and Swann were caught off the seamers trying to play big shots, and while we’d have liked to finish the England innings off today, a few late blows by Anderson couldn’t take the shine off a performance that continued the upswing we started in Manchester.

  We’re still far from completely satisfied, though. After play Darren talked to the boys about execution with the new balls, both first and second, and we recognise a need to make the most of it in the second innings, making the batsmen play as much as possible.

  Overall, a very pleasing day. Tomorrow, the battle between our top order and the new ball will be vital. We absolutely must put up a good first-innings score. If we bat like we did in Manchester, we’ll be in a good position to win this Test match.

  If cricket was the only important thing in life, that would have been it for today. But I wanted to get back to our hotel overlooking the River Tyne to celebrate one of the biggest days of the year: my beautiful wife’s birthday. Kyly got a few presents from the partners who are still travelling with the team, and her family sent her a gift from Australia. She had a nice day out, and we’ve just had a nice dinner together. I can’t emphasise enough how great it is having her on tour. When I get back to the hotel each night she takes my mind off cricket, which, as any sportsman knows, is essential to keeping your mind fresh. Not only that, of course: this has been a special time for the both of us to spend together.

  Saturday 10 August. Durham.

  Today was a highlight of the tour for two teammates. Our position in the game is promising if not secure, but it’s one of those days when we are celebrating each other’s success.

  The weather up in the north changes fast, and so do conditions, as we found out this morning. With a bit more cloud cover, combined with the effects of yesterday’s play, there was a considerable amount of swing and seam movement. We discovered this early, in the couple of overs we bowled before we finished England’s innings: our quicks were getting more out of the conditions than they had yesterday. Jackson Bird got plenty of zip and swing, hitting James Anderson on the helmet before bowling him with a big inswinger to the left-hander.

  This lateral movement was confirmed when we went out to bat. It looks like a new-ball pitch, and so it proved. Chris Rogers and David Warner had to be very careful. From the first over, Chris was having to control a ball coming off the edge, using soft hands and playing late to keep it down.

  We were just showing signs of comfort, with the boys picking off a two, a three, a two and another three off four consecutive balls from Broad. That’s a lot of running. Davey was facing the last ball of the over when he tried to let it go, but it was pitched on a perfect top-of-off length and it clipped off his bails. Usman Khawaja got a nick two overs later, and I was out there with Bucky.

  It was quite cool and grey now, and I was wearing my vest. I was out there for a little while before I had to face a ball. Chris was facing Anderson from the Lumley end, and I was busy running – and almost slipping over – while he scored a two, a couple of fours, and a single before I had to take guard the first time.

  My first runs came off the inside edge, and I had to stop the game because of some movement behind the bowler at the Finchale end. Chester-le-Street is another ground where seating is allowed below the sight screen, and throughout the series players have asked the stewards to try to minimise the distraction caused by people moving. I was just trying to get through what was a tough period in unfamiliar conditions, but the action started happening at the other end.

  Broad was bowling to Chris, and hit him in front of the stumps with a ball that appeared to pitch outside the line of the leg stump. Umpire Tony Hill turned down their appeal, and Cook decided to refer it. As Chris and I expected, the video showed that it was not out. That meant England were down to one more unsuccessful referral.

  Chris hit a four off the next ball, a no-ball. Then, the last ball of Broad’s over went through Chris and was caught behind. The English appealed, having heard a noise, and this time Hill raised his finger.

  It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Chris and I to agree to review it. Chris asked if umpire Hill had given him out caught or LBW, and Tony said caught. This would prove important. Chris was certain the ball had hit his leg, not his bat, and from where I was standing I thought that could well have been the case.

  The replays showed pretty clearly that Chris was right – the ball had missed his bat and clipped his thigh as it went through to the keeper.

  But the drama didn’t end there. Hawk-Eye was showing that the ball, even though it hadn’t hit his bat, would have grazed the stumps. If it was an LBW decision, the DRS was saying it was umpire’s call.

  Thinking umpire’s call meant that Tony Hill’s decision would be upheld, the English players started celebrating. But they had it wrong. If it was umpire’s call on the LBW, Chris was not out. Tony Hill hadn’t given him out LBW. So, correctly, Tony changed his decision and said Chris was not out.

  This set the English players off. They were questioning the umpire about why Chris wasn’t out, when he had given him out and the DRS said it was umpire’s call. I stood by and listened as Tony explained the situation. It was clear that they didn’t know the rule. It was all a lot of confusion and discussion for what was, in the end, the correct result, I felt. Chris hadn’t hit the ball, so he wasn’t out caught. And it couldn’t be given out LBW. So, what it was, after all that, was a dot ball.

  After drinks, Tim Bresnan replaced Anderson, but it was Broad who was giving me problems, bowling a very good length from the Finchale end and getting just enough lateral movement to be a handful. He hit me on the pad, and they went up for an appeal, but it was going down the leg side. Then he beat me with a jaffa that passed close to my off stump. I had to focus here.

  Chris was settling in well, and needed me to support him. He took two fours off Bresnan’s next over. As I was settling in to face Broad, an elderly lady was moving around behind him. I motioned to have her sit down, and in the end I made the mistake of not backing away and starting my preparation from the beginning, instead just giving a wave while I was in my stance. It was poor mental application, in retrospect. Broad came in and bowled a wide ball. I went for a drive, and edged it high to first slip. Cook took the catch, and I was out for six.

  I was cursing myself for giving my wicket away so early, but meanwhile the game was going on. Steve Smith went out there and played very confidently from the start, middling his defensive shots and leaving the ball well. By the time I’d packed up and come out to the balcony to watch, Smithy was in full flight. Anderson came on to replace Broad, and Smithy put away a leg-stump half-volley for a boundary, suggesting he was carrying on his form from Old Trafford.

  When they came in for lunch, I was feeling brighter about things. Chris was looking particularly solid, and we had high hopes for a big innings from Smithy.

  Unfortunately, he was out to a regulation nick to Bresnan just after the resumption. This brought Watto to the wicket. At 4/76, he was facing a ball not much older than when he’d been opening. So at least he was used to this – and he had, at the other end, the bloke he’d opened with in the first three Test matches.

  It’s a wicket that you’re never really ‘in’ on, never more so than today. Chris and Watto went through a very tough period in the hour after lunch. The ball went past the bat a fair bit, and they needed the rub of the green. Shane hit one very hard and straight that Bresnan got a hand to, and then Chris, after having a struggle against Broad, nicked one low to second slip, where Swann put it down. They were both extremely difficult chances, so while you could say the batsmen were lucky, you could also say they would have been unlucky to be dismissed. The single that Chris took from that dropped chance brought up his 50, but he didn’t celebrate much, giving the impression that he was set on bigger things.

  Towards drinks, the ball began to soften and the sideways movement eased off. Watto had t
oughed out a very hard period, but began to open out now, hitting three fours just before the break. When it came we were 4/119, exactly halfway to England’s score.

  Jonathan Trott came on for a few overs of medium pace, not a bad move considering the conditions. Swann had a bandage on his third finger after hurting it trying to catch Chris at slip, and wasn’t doing much bowling. But after Watto had hit Trott for a couple of boundaries, Swann came on from the Finchale end. Now came a different kind of test. After the swing and seam earlier, how much turn would there be?

  Watto and Chris dealt with it maturely – I’d even say, magnificently. They were building what I believe has been the best partnership by either side in the series so far. To hold their nerve and get through so much pressure, both from the match situation and from the way the ball was ducking about, was just brilliant to watch. The conditions wouldn’t allow them to dominate, but they were asserting control over the bowling.

  After passing his half-century, Watto unfurled some superb shots. There was one straight drive off Anderson that he hit so hard, the English gave the ball to the umpire when they’d fetched it from the boundary, thinking it must have been knocked out of shape. Watto was coping with everything they threw at him, and was batting with fantastic determination. Chris, meanwhile, was picking his areas to score, and doing it well. He peeled off a beautiful cover drive from Swann to go to 96. Just one more boundary! But then he tried to turn one off his legs and only managed to pop it up into the infield on the on side. It landed between fielders. On the balcony, with Davey Warner beside me, I let my head fall into my hands. It was so tense, and we wanted this for our teammate so much!