The Ashes Diary Page 18

  I was also extremely pleased that he ended up not out. It can feel that you’ve done your job when you have made a maiden Test century under a lot of pressure in an Ashes match, particularly for a young guy – Smithy is the youngest Australian to make an Ashes century since Ricky Ponting – but he still had a job to do for the team, after tea, and he pressed ahead and did it.

  We declared at 9/492. The second-last wicket fell with two balls left in the over. I felt that with Steve on strike, he could hit two boundaries off those balls, so I sent Nathan Lyon out. Smithy hit the first one pretty hard into a gap, but unfortunately could only make a single; he was cursing himself for getting off strike. As soon as that happened, I called them both in.

  This left us 22 overs in the day to try to winkle out a couple of early England wickets. I hadn’t wanted to declare earlier, for reasons of time as much as runs. If I’d done it earlier, we would have had to bowl for a long session, which would have worn our bowlers down a little and taken the sting out of them for tomorrow, but also taken more of the shine off the ball. With 22 overs, we still have a newish ball to start with afresh tomorrow.

  Unfortunately, those wickets didn’t fall in the last session. Yet again, I felt that we wasted the new ball a bit, not making Cook and Root play often enough. When we put it in the right areas, around a fourth-stump line and relatively full in length, we were able to go past the edge. A wicket seemed only a matter of time. But we weren’t consistent enough with getting the ball into that corridor, and the chances didn’t come. Or if they did, things didn’t break our way: for instance, James Faulkner, with his first ball in Test cricket, got the outside edge of Joe Root’s bat, but the ball died in flight and fell a few metres short of the slips cordon. It probably carried a piece of news we didn’t want: this pitch has no life.

  The umpires took us off five overs before the scheduled close, due to failing light. We’ve got our work cut out taking 20 wickets to win the match, to be honest. The weather forecasts are threatening to curtail some of the days – but more than that, the pitch looks dead and flat. At least, though, our first innings has put us in a nice position from which to have a red-hot crack. Those innings from Watto and Smithy, and the support they got from other batsmen right down the order, have put us in a place where we feel we can apply some scoreboard pressure.

  Friday 23 August. London.

  Well, as expected, it was an extremely tough day for us. Not exactly unsuccessful, as we bowled well and took important wickets, but ultimately we didn’t get the succession of breakthroughs we needed to force the issue in this Test match.

  There was a hazy, warm sunlight over the ground when we started, boding pretty well for a full day’s play. Due to the time lost yesterday, the umpires scheduled a minimum of 98 overs, and play extending to 7.00 pm. We were feeling optimistic that if we bowled well, we could dismiss England today and get the Test match moving along.

  We opened with Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris, because I felt they were the two bowlers least likely to waste the ball, which was still new. They tried their best, but again weren’t able to get the ball in the danger area often enough. Cook and Root played and missed a few times, but nothing much was happening for us. Our best chance was when Root pushed for a risky single; Chris Rogers’ throw would have run Cook out if it had hit the stumps from quite close range.

  Mitchell Starc came on after six overs at the Vauxhall end, and I went down to field at mid-off to offer him encouragement and advice. Each ball, I delivered the message to him to keep believing in himself. In the latter part of that first hour, Starcy and Rhino, who switched to the Pavilion end, worked up some excellent pace and were unlucky not to take wickets. Both were regularly topping 145 km/hour in speed and also putting the ball in dangerous places. It was so close at times. Cook popped a leading edge between two fielders on the off side, and Root edged one down just past his stumps. Rhino hit Cook absolutely plumb, but the umpire gave it not out on the grounds that he thought it had pitched outside leg stump. We talked about referring it for a while, and ultimately decided to roll the dice. We were dead-certain it was hitting the stumps, and there was only going to be a centimetre or two in it either way over where it had pitched. We used our referral, and unfortunately the replay showed that the ball had pitched maybe two centimetres outside the line. That was a shame, and two balls later Rhino ran in and hit Cook again, in front but a little high.

  Our plans against Cook have worked well all series. After this terrific spell of bowling from both ends before drinks, it took just three balls after the break to get him out. This time it was the full-pitched ball outside off stump, luring him to drive at a ball he might have been better off leaving. A straightforward nick gave Hadds his 26th catch of the series.

  We went hard at Jonathan Trott early. He was in good form early in the series, but didn’t convert his starts into any big scores. I placed two attacking short mid-wickets and a man at leg gully. He had a couple of sketchy moments early. On his third ball, he fell across his stumps and just nicked the ball onto his pad, saving him from the LBW. An over later, Rhino dropped in a short one and Trott tried to pull it, but it went off his glove or forearm. Instead of lobbing to slip for a catch, it ricocheted into his helmet. An over or so later, Trott fended one off his ribs and it flew at catchable height just a metre or two wide of the leg gully. My hands went onto my head – how close these things can be.

  At this stage we felt like we could set off a collapse. Starcy came from around the wicket and tested out Trott and Root with his pace and height. About 20 minutes before lunch, I made a double change, bringing on Nathan Lyon from the Pavilion end and Sidds from the Vauxhall end. We were building dot-ball pressure and the batsmen were struggling to find any kind of timing or rhythm. Sidds bowled very well and hit Root in front. The umpire gave it not out, going down the leg side, and we didn’t refer it. But it was another of those line-ball decisions that haven’t gone our way. The ball-tracker replay showed that it was hitting the leg stump, enough to make it umpire’s call; so if it had been given out by the onfield official, that decision would have stood. It certainly was going to hit a lot more of the stumps than some of ours which have gone against us. But I can’t dwell on that, I’ll drive myself mad.

  At lunch, England were 1/97, going along very slowly. James Faulkner started after lunch from the Vauxhall end, with Nathan Lyon settling in for a long spell from the Pavilion end. As with all the bowlers all day, they were tight, persistent and accurate and I couldn’t have asked any more of them. Gazza was getting a few to jump and turn, and eventually Root paid the price, going down for a sweep shot and being tricked by the extra bounce, top-edging the catch to Watto at short fine leg.

  Again, we were in it. Just a matter of capitalising on the new batsman’s nerves. Nathan bowled an exceptional spell to Kevin Pietersen. What a change from when Pietersen thought Nathan was a spinner he could just charge down the wicket at and knock him out of the attack. Twice Pietersen pushed forward uncertainly, and edged onto the on side. The first time, it flew past Smithy’s arms too quicky for him to grab it. I moved Smithy a bit deeper, and the second edge flew just fine of his outstretched dive. It was so frustrating, because Nathan really did have the better of Pietersen and deserved a wicket. Pietersen paid him what might be seen as a great tribute an over or so after that second edge: so desperate was he to get off strike, he pushed a ball to Davey Warner at mid-on and just took off, with no hope of making his ground. Had Davey’s throw hit, Pietersen would have been out by about three metres. It just showed how unsettled he was by Nathan’s tight line and the natural variation off the pitch.

  Still, the crucial wicket wasn’t coming our way. I gave Smithy a few overs as the old ball got very soft, but they didn’t take any risks. You always hope that the flight a part-time leg-spinner gives the ball will induce a careless shot, but England were in a digging-in mood, even if that meant scoring runs at a snail’s pace.

  We took the second new ball as soon
as it fell due. England were scoring at a touch over two an over, and showing no urgency. Starcy took the new ball from the Vauxhall end, and his first delivery was a searing inswinger, a touch short of a good length, and it beat Trott, trapping him dead in front. He referred the decision to the DRS, hoping it might have pitched outside leg stump, but he was gone.

  Starcy was bowling one of his best spells of the series. He always has the capacity to bowl wicket-taking balls, but his problem has been consistency. Now he was really getting it in the right areas ball after ball, and I don’t know how Pietersen and the new batsman, Bell, were getting through.

  At this stage there was a bit of verbal by-play between Ian Bell and David Warner. Pietersen stood up for Bell, which is part of what you do in a team, and I stepped up on Warner’s behalf. The finer details of it are best left on the field, but none of it was at all unusual in such a competitive arena where players are always sticking by their teammates.

  On both sides of tea, Starcy bowled an excellent spell with the new ball. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with how all the bowlers put in. It was a fantastic effort on a very flat, dead wicket. Obviously we’d have liked a few more wickets, but it wasn’t from lack of endeavour.

  The light was gradually fading – the sun had gone behind a milky cloud cover for most of the day – and Sidds attacked hard in the last session. Pietersen was not batting at all fluently, trying to tough it out, and was hit in front by Sidds when he was on 44. Again, in our desperation to take a wicket, we referred the not-out decision, and again it went against us, this time the replay showing that it had hit him outside the line. An over or so later, James Faulkner nearly had his First Test wicket when Pietersen went for a pull shot and under-edged it just past his off stump. We were always threatening. Just after that, when I brought Starcy on from the Vauxhall end, Pietersen jammed down on a yorker and edged it to Watto at first slip. It was clear to us that the ball had hit the ground first, then the edge, and gone to Watto on the full, but the umpires sought to look at a replay just to make sure. It went our way, and we had that precious wicket.

  But to England’s credit, they battled through. We watched closely and observed the qualities required to stop one wicket turning into a clump. That’s what we’ve got to be like: determined, vigilant and skilful when new batsmen are at the wicket.

  Late in the day, the game pretty much petered out, England losing all interest in scoring runs. I had to put spinners on at both ends, or else I would have risked the umpires taking us off, and Smithy and Gaz strung together a succession of maiden overs to Ian Bell and Chris Woakes.

  Tonight, we sure know we’ve been through a day of Test cricket. Seven hours in the middle, a lot of persistence on our part, knocking at the door again and again, and England having a mixture of good luck and good batting to get through the day only four wickets down. Tomorrow we’ve just got to stick at it, keep on fighting, and hope that the pitch deteriorates some more. It will be a massive day for us: quick wickets to bowl England out, get in and bat, and try to set a target so that we can win this Test match. I just know how good that’s going to feel.

  Saturday 24 August. London.

  The rain looks like it’s killing another Test match in which we have a strong position. I’m very disappointed, given the state of the game.

  As I opened my blinds this morning it was raining, and it didn’t let up all day. When we got to the ground, the ground was well covered, and although there were brighter breaks occasionally, when they got the Super Soppers and other drying equipment out, eventually another shower came down. By 4.30 pm, the umpires had abandoned the entire day’s play.

  Although I would rather have been out in the middle, I did my best to make the most of the time off the ground. I did an hour and a half of batting practice in the indoor nets at the Kia Oval, where the facilities are excellent. There are certainly some areas of my game I need to work on. Afterwards, I had a long talk with Rod Marsh. As well as being a selector now, and involved with Australian cricket throughout my career, Rod was my coach at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy back when I was a kid, and he knows my game very well. We had a good chat, very constructive, and he’s left me with some things to work on.

  The boys generally tried to keep themselves busy while waiting to see if something would happen. Some players from the one-day squad have arrived, and to prepare for the series they went down to the indoor nets and practised with white balls. Other Test players also got through some practice. Up in the changing rooms, some of the players sat around reading books on their Kindles, and others spoke about cricket and the different stages we’re at in our careers. There was a lot of discussion about times we’d spent in our early days, our experiences with rep teams and generally everyone’s journey leading to where we are now.

  Whiling away a rainy day always leads to distractions, and soon enough our coach provided one. Darren Lehmann agreed to Veet his back – that is, apply a hot waxy cream that then gets peeled or washed off the skin, taking the hair with it. Peter Siddle was the brave comrade who volunteered to put it on him. Everyone else was finding it very funny – no more so than when Boof realised, as he was taking the cream off, that there were areas in the middle of his back that he couldn’t reach. He ended up hopping into the shower to wash it off, and I had to help him wipe the last patches of hair away. Nobody realises how tough it is to be Australian captain!

  That gave everyone something to laugh about for half an hour, but otherwise it was a grim and disappointing day. Losing so many overs hurts us a lot in the context of the game. We knew we had a day of hard work to prise out those England wickets and give ourselves a chance to win the Test match. Losing a full day is going to make life difficult tomorrow. But we won’t give up. England are still 45 runs short of avoiding the follow-on. Our aim is to take the remaining six wickets quickly, then send them back in and have a crack.

  It sounds unlikely, but in cricket anything can happen.

  Sunday 25 August. London.

  It’s been an action-packed series, played in a very competitive spirit, and I guess it was appropriate that it should end with a long, action-packed day. I’m feeling pretty washed out now that it’s all over, and I know there will be a lot said about my role in what happened in the final stages. So I’ll start at the beginning and go through it all.

  There was still some rain around when we got to the Kia Oval, which was a setback for us, because whatever slim chance we had of getting a result from this match would hinge on having enough time.

  We were eventually on the field about half an hour late, with the forecast good for the rest of the day. A few of us wore black armbands to signal our condolences after the death of the father of Damian Mednis, the Queensland Bulls strength and conditioning coach, who I’ve come to know very well back home.

  Our attack started out with Ryan Harris and Mitchell Starc, and the English batsmen immediately played in a much more aggressive manner than on Friday. Our clear aim was to take the last six wickets quickly and enforce the follow-on, and England set about scoring those runs to deny us the chance.

  We only took one of those wickets before they reached the crucial 293. Rhino bowled a scrambled-seam ball at Chris Woakes, which he drove at and nicked to me at second slip. The ball came very slowly, another indication of how little pace there was in the wicket.

  James Faulkner had a terrific morning. His First Test scalp was what has become the most prized England wicket, Ian Bell. The ball went down the leg side, Bell got a touch, and Brad Haddin took one of his best catches, a diving left-handed effort with the ball dying on him. James was very fired up and we were all thrilled for him. Hopefully it’s the first of many.

  Starcy got the next wicket, yorking Stuart Broad in the first over of his second spell. After that, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann got away from us a little bit, putting on a few more runs than was ideal, given the plans that were going around in my head. I was busily thinking of a way to get a result out of the m
atch, even now. If we could just get enough quick runs to build up a good lead, we might leave ourselves with enough overs to get England batting and have a crack at bowling them out. It wasn’t very likely, but I was thinking it through. It didn’t help us that Prior and Swann were putting on these annoying late runs.

  James Faulkner put an end to it, ultimately. Prior went for a big hit but skied it down the ground, and Starcy ran around to take an athletic diving catch. Then we put down Anderson behind the wicket, but next over Faulkner had him caught nicking, and finally he bowled Swann, giving him figures of 4/51 on debut. It was a pleasing result for a young guy who’s been keen, hard-working and very competitive in his outlook from the beginning of the tour.

  So when the English innings finished on 377, there were approximately 67 overs left to be bowled in the day, light and weather permitting. Our lead was 115. In my mind, if we batted with positive intent until the rescheduled tea time and put on around 120 runs, that would leave us 44 overs to bowl England out. It would require a great effort, but the pitch was deteriorating and anything’s possible. The alternative – to play out the day and let the match peter out to a draw – didn’t hold much appeal. We wanted to play for a win, and to put ourselves in another pressure situation so we could learn from it. And there was a full house in. It’s good for cricket if they can see two teams trying to win a Test match – certainly better than watching things drift away without purpose.