The Ashes Diary Page 17

  I concentrated on facing short-pitched fast bowling, and copped a few bruises – one on my back and one on my thumb. This afternoon, I’ve had some physio treatment and put some ice on both of the knocks. I’m not too worried, but will monitor how I pull up tomorrow.

  I’m not playing in the match against the England Lions here. As Hadds has gone to London with Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris, Shane Watson will captain the team in the match here and I’ll run the drinks and help the boys out in any way that I can. More than anything, I’m sitting the match out to give my mind a rest. The mental fatigue of the tour is only to be expected, and it’s not a bad experience at all, but without the medicine of winning matches you certainly feel the mental weariness. We’ve agreed that my best preparation for The Oval is to give my mind a few days off.

  Friday 16 August. Northampton.

  There was a bit of rain early, delaying the start of the match against the England Lions. On another very dry wicket that looked like it was going to take plenty of spin, Watto lost the toss and the Lions decided to bat. Cleverly, they decided to pick as many left-handers as they possibly could, opposite to the England Test XI.

  We picked up seven wickets, which was a good result on a shortened day. Nathan Lyon had a good long bowl, and probed very hard, giving the batsmen a thorough examination. We put down a few chances, unfortunately for Nathan, but then we had some luck when Steve Smith came on late and took a couple of wickets with full tosses. It was good for the boys to get out in the middle after a few days of disappointment and soul-searching, and good for me to be the drinks waiter. I did what I could to help them in the middle, and also spent some time in the nets working on my batting. The sun came up today, against all expectations, and I began to feel better about the world.

  Saturday 17 August. Northampton.

  The rain bands had thickened overnight, and the ground here in Northampton was a pretty gloomy sight this morning. The boys were able to get in a bit of training before play started late, and the England Lions declared on their overnight score, giving us a total of 83 overs in the day’s play for batting.

  We didn’t bat as well as we would have liked, and it was a bit of a lull in our preparation. Nearly all the boys made starts, but a couple of decent deliveries and some less than optimal shot selection stopped anyone from converting into a big score. Still, on the upside, plenty of guys got some batting practice.

  Bad light took us off before the close, after 68 overs in our innings. Then it rained, which put an end to the match. We packed up and headed to London, checking back into the Royal Garden Hotel at Kensington. To be honest, I think many of our minds have already moved forward to the Fifth Test, and making a big push to finish the series with a win under our belt.

  Sunday 18 August. London.

  Today was a team recovery day, which I really enjoyed. I had a good night’s sleep and feel mentally refreshed after missing the game in Northampton. We had an excellent training session this morning, concentrating on strength and fitness, and then I went out for lunch with Mark Nicholas, former player and now commentator with the Nine Network and Channel 5 here in England.

  Over the past few years, I’ve had regular get-togethers with Mark. Being outside the group, and as an Englishman who spends a lot of his life in Australia, he brings a different perspective. One thing I can depend on is his honesty. He brings his playing and commentary experience to his observations of the game, and he’s very constructive in his opinions about where we’re at as a team. I feel I can trust him, and always take something useful away from our conversations.

  Afterwards, I came back to the hotel for some physio treatment from Alex and a massage from Grant, then some room service with Kyly. It’s been a good day, and I feel better than I have at any time since the end of the Durham Test match.

  Monday 19 August. London.

  Today was our first time together as a team at The Oval (now called the Kia Oval), which is a very impressive sight – a big ground by English standards, with stands and the famous gasometer towering high over the field. I was keen to take a look at the pitch, which looks quite good to me. It has a reputation for spinning, and it certainly did during our Test match here in 2009. But it looks very good – dry, but maybe not quite as dry as the pitches we’ve had in the other Test matches. There’s a fairly dense mat of dry grass on it. As long as they don’t mow that off between now and Wednesday, I reckon there will be a bit of help for the bowlers on day one, good batting conditions on days one and two, and then some spin and reverse swing from day three onwards.

  The selectors have come up with a new combination for the Fifth Test, and informed each of the players at the end of our training session today. It will be announced at our team meeting tonight.

  After training, Ed Cowan and his wife Virginia threw a birthday party in Hyde Park for their daughter Romy, who has turned one. A group of us went across the road from the hotel into the park to celebrate, and it was good to see so many of the squad and staff turn up – another little indicator of how strong our spirit has remained, in spite of the results. It was a special day for Romy, who is extremely cute, and for the Cowan family.

  Tonight we’re having dinner for Popeye, our bus driver, and his wife Suzanne. It’s her birthday today, but unfortunately she has cancer and is struggling. Popeye – Geoff Goodwin, owner of the Goodwins bus company – has been our driver on all the tours of England I’ve taken since my first one-day series here in 2004, and is a huge supporter of the Australian cricket team. I’m really feeling for him at the moment, and it’s nice that the entire team is going to celebrate Suzanne’s birthday with the two of them. I was touched to see how thrilled Geoff was when we told him everyone was coming. These moments are precious.

  Tuesday 20 August. London.

  All of our preparation is complete, after a good training session at the Kia Oval and another look at the pitch. I still think it will be good for a couple of days, before deteriorating later in the match.

  On the centre of the ground, we had a half-hour meeting of senior players – myself, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris – with Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann. It was stressed that now more than ever it’s so important for the senior players to lead the way, on and off the field. It’s been a long tour and in so many ways a disappointing one, and when that happens you can reach breaking point towards the end. As the five senior Test players in the team, we have to take hold of the situation.

  We had our team announcement last night, and I’ve sorted out the batting order. I’m particularly excited for young James Faulkner, who is making his Test debut tomorrow. He’s been one of the top wicket-takers in the Sheffield Shield for the last three seasons, as well as a more than capable run-scorer in the lower middle order. He’s a real fighter as a cricketer. He’s also a right-handed batsman, which will assist in our plan to neutralise Graeme Swann.

  I’m sure James won’t be sleeping too much tonight! Every time I’ve crossed paths with him, at training or at the hotel, I’ve been telling him not to expect too much sleep. He can’t wait, and I’m pumped for him as well.

  Including James means we’re going into the match one specialist batsman short of the usual six. That means our top five batsmen have to dig deep and cash in if they get a start, ensuring they turn a 40 or a 50 into a big score. Obviously, it’s something we’ve talked about for a lengthy period, but as always, there’s only so much talking you can do. Everyone’s very excited about this Test match, and we’re feeling fit and keen and optimistic.

  Wednesday 21 August. London.

  Today was a fantastic day for us, continuing a trend in the series where we really have competed with England and dominated the last three Tests for significant periods. It was Shane Watson’s day, of course, with his 176. It’s hard to put into words how happy I am for him; I’m absolutely delighted. It feels like a lot of investment – by him into his own game, and by the whole group – is paying off.

  We had a ca
p presentation when we turned up at the ground, Shane Warne presenting James Faulkner with his baggy green. Warnie’s a big believer that if you’re good enough to make the Australian team in the first place, there must be a lot you’re doing well on the cricket field. So he was telling James to keep playing the way he had played to get here.

  The day broke warm and sunny, and with such a good wicket with potential to break up later in the game, it was one of those tosses that felt important to win. I called heads again, and it came up for me. In terms of the conditions, probably Old Trafford and here have been the tosses you would really want to win, so I was relieved to be able to tell Alastair that we would be batting.

  There was a fair bit of movement early in the day for Anderson and Broad. England had brought in two debutants, Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan, for Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan, who has a stress fracture. A lot of us expected Chris Tremlett to come in as a straight seamer-for-seamer replacement, but the selection of a second spin bowler to support Graeme Swann suggests what England think the wicket is going to do. Like us, they have only five specialist batsmen now, so it will be incumbent on those specialists in both sides to make big runs.

  Davey Warner couldn’t get going early, but Watto joined Chris Rogers and they compiled another significant partnership, getting through two hours of batting when the ball was doing a fair bit. Chris was impressive yet again, digging in for a long time and patiently dealing with Swann. What set a great example was how Chris went to his defence and relied on it, without getting agitated even when he wasn’t scoring runs. It’s a five-day match; there’s no rush.

  Shane was in terrific touch from the start. There has been the technical work we’ve done over recent weeks, and the rebalancing he’s done for himself, but more than that it’s been a matter of giving him confidence. When I told him he would be batting at number three, I said that it was because we believe he’s the best player of fast bowling in our team, we all know he’s a fantastic player, and he’s best suited at the top of the order, where he can settle in against the new ball before building up towards a big score. Sometimes, as I well know, the switch can be thrown just by some simple reassurance, to hear that you’re a huge part of the team and everyone believes in you. Shane mightn’t have scored as many runs as he would have liked earlier in this series, and will say he was overdue, but that’s all behind us now. What matters today is that he’s our number three batsman and finished the day with the first century scored by an Australian in that position since Shaun Marsh did it on debut in Sri Lanka in 2011.

  I was in with Watto four overs after lunch, very excited to be batting with him and to support him as he moved towards his century. It was quite an eventful little time. Swann started off bowling around the wicket, and I was staying on the back foot to turn the shorter ones away behind square leg for a single to get off strike.

  Broad was already on at the other end, and he started with the usual short stuff. He bowled one very good bouncer that hit my bat handle and popped up. By the time I realised where it was, it looked like it might land on the pitch and roll back onto my stumps. I hustled back, but it went just clear on the leg side.

  A couple of overs later, Watto had his own trial against Broad. Another bouncer got through his attempted hook shot and hit him at the top of his neck, just behind his left ear. He fell down and pulled his helmet off. I ran down the wicket, very concerned that he’d been hit on the bone. He wasn’t saying much, just trying to regather his bearings. Alex, the physio, and Peter Brukner, the team doctor, both ran out into the middle, as a sign of how serious it might be. They gave the spot a rub and a checking over, and fortunately figured out that the ball had hit Shane not on the skull but on the muscle just below. He had a mark and a bruise there, and felt like it was corked, but luckily was able to stay on and keep batting. He’d scored 91 runs at the time.

  Broad was giving me a solid workout with the short ones, placing a man at short leg, another at a short leg gully, and two out deep on the leg side. I was just trying to tough my way through that little session with a mixture of ducking and fending and, when I saw the ball early enough, a couple of pull shots. It was difficult, but I felt I was doing all right and soon enough Broad was given a rest, replaced by Anderson at the Vauxhall end.

  Meanwhile Swann was probing away from the Pavilion end. I was feeling reasonably comfortable overall, though he got one arm ball to slide past my outside edge. It was a struggle, but this is what we’ve talked about – weathering these patches and getting through to calmer periods on the other side.

  Watto was dealing with both Swann and Anderson very correctly, following the plan and playing straight. Earlier in the morning, he’d taken on the debutant bowlers, giving Woakes and especially Kerrigan a bit of tap, but what was most impressive was how well he played Swann – as confidently as anyone has throughout the series. His defence was tight, and he was constantly able to get off strike by turning balls forward of square leg with the spin. It was a classic number three’s innings, to be able to adapt his tempo and tactics to changing situations. He wasn’t afraid to take a backward step either, having a little bit of argy-bargy with Anderson when the bowler wouldn’t move out of his way as he took a run.

  Anderson was complaining to the umpire about that, but soon enough he had a smile on his face. He bowled me an inswinger which clipped my front pad flap and went onto my stumps. I guess on another day it might have fallen safely and I would be on my way, but today that wasn’t to be.

  Watto was on 98 at the time, but I was back on the players’ balcony to see him complete his century about five or ten minutes after I was out. We all burst into cheers and made sure we were out in a visible area, every last one of us, so that he could see us demonstrate our support.

  Steve Smith joined him and together they batted for the next three hours. Smithy played yet another of the good innings he has strung together at number five on this tour. It’s amazing to think that after not being in the initial squad, forcing his way in through the Australia A tour, he has now played in all five Test matches and given us something every time. He played with more freedom and self-assurance today the longer he was out there, and clearly enjoyed being in the middle with Watto in such dominant touch.

  Late in the day, England took the second new ball, three overs later than when it fell due. Watto was moving forward, completely untroubled, and looked set to get through to stumps and push on towards a really big score. You always need some luck when you bat for a long time, and he had it when Cook put down a slips chance and he got a successful DRS referral on an LBW decision; but both were after he had scored his century. He was less lucky in one of the last overs of the day when he hit a solid pull shot off Broad but was caught, low down, by Pietersen out on the rope behind square leg.

  His 176 feels like a big moment for this team, as much as it is for himself. It’s a really positive sign as we look to the future. Watto has the opportunity to own that number three position for a long time. I’m confident this is the start of a new phase in his career, onwards and upwards. He certainly deserves the reward after the hard work he’s put in.

  So it was a really good day for us on a wicket that wasn’t easy. I feel that anything over 450 in our first innings puts us in a great position to press forward and win the Test match. There’s still a lot of work required to get us there, though. I’m extremely hopeful that Smithy, after his near miss at Old Trafford, can go on and make his First Test hundred, and that the lower order can support him and put us into position to apply some real pressure with the ball.

  Thursday 22 August. London.

  Some annoying rain, light but persistent, kept us in the changing room until 2.30 pm. Now that we’re in a strong position in the match, obviously we want as much play as possible to press it home. There’s more rain forecast for the weekend, so we’re already preparing for having to win the Test match in less than the standard five days. It’s frustrating. Again!

  Smithy and Si
dds eventually got out there, with a good 80-plus overs left in the day, thanks to play being extended until 7 pm. With a score of at least 450 in our minds, we wanted Smithy to stay in for as long as possible and the other boys to support him.

  Sidds was out early, after looking in pretty good form, but then Hadds came in and built a very good partnership with Smithy. Hadds is known for his attacking batting, but he has the straightest bat you can imagine in defence, and he was really knuckling down early in his innings to survive that first period against Anderson, who was getting some swing both ways.

  The conditions were helping the seamers, so despite having picked two spin bowlers, Cook didn’t give either Swann or Kerrigan the ball until 32 overs had been bowled today. Hadds scored a nice 30, and then the all-rounders helped Smithy out. James Faulkner put aside the nerves of his First Test innings to go and hit out for the team, playing with excellent positive intent and Mitchell Starc also played some nice shots, both scoring quickly as we positioned ourselves for a declaration. I asked the boys at tea to play positively and push it along, and that’s exactly what they went out and did, Rhino capping it off with a swashbuckling 33.

  It was definitely Smithy’s day, though. He’s copped a bit of stick through this series from the opposition, and it’s great to see him stand up and play the way he’s played, not just today but since the First Test match. He’s come on in leaps and bounds since he first played for Australia, and even since the beginning of this tour. What people don’t see from the outside is how hard he has worked on all facets of his game, whether it’s at training or during the tour matches. His hundred today was awesome to watch: when he got down the wicket to Jonathan Trott and hit that beautiful lofted drive over long-on for six, we all knew where it was going. There was no heart-in-the-mouth stuff, and no nervous shot selection of the type that got him out at Old Trafford. It was a beautiful controlled shot, and what a great way to bring up the three figures. A great moment for Australian cricket, and also a credit to him.