The Ashes Diary Read online

  I was a spectator, like most people. My emotions stayed fairly level, because I was confident from the start that we could win, and as I felt the excitement rise as the other boys began to believe it.

  The plan for Hadds and Ash was not to hurry or panic. The pitch was playing well enough as long as you didn’t lose patience. A lot of balls were hitting the inside half of the bat, so they had to play straight. Guys like Brad and Ashton, who like to get on with the game, will get too impatient if they just block for over after over, so they also had to hit the ball hard when it was there to be hit. It’s a fine line. But at least there was no problem with time: all day to score 137 runs.

  The weather had cooled down, but it was still sunny, after an early mist had burned off. Cook started with Swann and Anderson, and they bowled tightly. Hadds normally bats well out of his crease, so Prior stood up to the stumps for Anderson to keep him in check. Hadds got the first runs of the day when he late-cut Anderson, fine of gully.

  After his freewheeling first innings, Ash showed that he has more than one game. He steadily kept Swann out before lapping a nice fine sweep for two. The Englishmen continued to slow the game down, calling a groundsman on to thump down the ground while Ash waited for Swann to start an over, but Ash has an old head on his 19-year-old shoulders, and responded with a lovely late cut.

  Hadds bases his game on a solid defence, before he can be more expansive and show his superb attacking style. After a lot of blocking, he took a big swipe at Swann and hit a four, and then tried to be positive against Broad when he came on. Meanwhile, after Ash jammed a four through slips, Cook put a third man on the boundary, a sign that he was getting concerned about leaking runs. There were a few moments of panic – Ash went for a second run on a bye, and could have been run out by a direct hit from the fielder, and Hadds had our hearts in our mouths whenever he went over the field – but then Ash cut a beautiful four off Broad, and we were getting close to bringing the target down to 100.

  Anderson was bowling unchanged from the Radcliffe Road end, and just on the hour he bowled a very good ball that nipped away from Ash. Only a batsman seeing the ball well would have touched it, and the edge went to Cook at a wide first slip. These things really drive you spare. There was nothing to say that edge should have gone to the keeper or slip or right between them, as the one from Bell had done on day three. Anyway, Cook grabbed the chance.

  Since the first day this has been a hard wicket for new batsmen, no matter where in the order they play, on both teams. Mitchell Starc had had a long bat in the nets this morning, and I put him above Sidds because England had surprisingly taken the second new ball. I thought that Mitchell, being a very fluent attacking batsman, might be able to score runs quickly and change the direction of the game. But Anderson was again too good – amazing stamina, too, with all the bowling he was asked to do – and Cook took another catch.

  We were down, but as ‘Pigeon’ (Glenn McGrath) said the other day, the Australian team’s theme is never to give up. Sidds batted with freedom and generally middled the ball. I was waiting for some luck to go our way, and it did when he nicked Anderson to Cook’s left. It went faster than the earlier catches, and Cook put it down. But then Anderson again got one to move away from Sidds, and Cook took an outstanding catch leaping to his right. Damn! They’d dropped two catches in the entire match (Swann had put down Mitchell Starc on day two), but they had cost fewer than ten runs.

  From such a promising start, we’d lost those three wickets in half an hour. Anderson bowled 13 straight overs to take three wickets for 29. Finn replaced him, and Hadds found him very much to his liking. I was still surprised that England had taken the second new ball, to be honest. We needed 80 to win when Patto went in, a lot for a last-wicket pair, but only half of what the last-wicket pair had scored in our first innings. And again, Patto is not a genuine number eleven.

  In a very short period, they got the target down to 40. Hadds took Finn for three straight fours over wide mid-on, and then Patto hit Finn for four and hoicked a six off Swann.

  Broad came back for Finn, and slowed things down. I was wearing a path in the dressing room floor, pacing to and fro and spinning a rolled-up ball of tape in my hands. There was the odd anxious moment with the running between wickets, and a play and a miss here and there, but our boys were getting closer.

  The umpires delayed the lunch break by half an hour, but it was never going to be long enough for Hadds and Patto to finish it off before the break. That was another test of their concentration. When we had 26 to win, Hadds went after Swann and lifted him over square leg. It was never going to clear the boundary, but was it going to get past Finn, who was running around? Sometimes bad luck follows you, and Finn, just taken out of the attack, put down a pretty gutsy diving attempt.

  We were cheering like madmen. The ball went for four – 22 to win!

  The crowd, which normally loved to sing, was too tense to make a noise. The dressing room was similar. We had a bit of a groan just before lunch when Broad stopped to tie his lace, and then to remove his entire shoe, orthotic insert and all, in a ploy to make his over the last one before the break.

  We still needed 20 to win, and couldn’t get them before lunch. England only needed one ball to win. So why were they the ones who wanted to get into the dressing room? The momentum was clearly with us.

  Lunch came, and all I could say to Hadds and Patto was to keep going the way they were. In that situation, when batsmen are in the zone, you don’t want to interrupt them or show your own nerves. Most players agree that it’s easier to be out in the middle than watching from the rooms, so we tried to stay as cool and calm as possible and let them go about their own routines.

  The break seemed to last forever, though. When they finally went back out there, Anderson was back on, of course. Patto chopped down his second ball, nearly onto his stumps. We all gasped. Maybe this was the rub of the green we’d been waiting for.

  In Anderson’s next over, Hadds played forward and kind of quit on the shot as it went past the inside edge. Or had it? The English didn’t really appeal all that enthusiastically, certainly not in the same way they had been. Anderson delayed his shout, and Prior, who caught it, was restrained. But Cook, with referrals up his sleeve, sent it up to the third umpire and the rest is history.

  In the dressing room, we were stunned. Again, the technology wasn’t conclusive. There was a suggestion of a noise, and some sign of ‘heat’ on Hadds’ edge, but neither showed up in the expected manner, at the same instant as the ball passed through. But the very worst thing I can do as captain is to stew over that. It’s over. It was a great match. We lost.

  I felt devastated for Hadds. I’ve played with him for a long time and I love having him on the field and in the dressing room again. I really thought today the cricket gods were going to smile on him. He’s had such a hard 18 months or so, with his daughter’s sickness and then being out of the Australian team. With him fighting his way back in, I thought his redemption was going to be hitting the winning runs. The first thing I asked him when he came in was, ‘Did you hit it?’ And he said yes, he had.

  As disappointed as we are, there are so many positives to take out of this game. We had a couple of beers in the dressing room and Darren and I spoke, complimenting the boys on the fight they had shown. We are disappointed not to get over the line, but we can’t let that get us down. We played well, and showed England we’re here for a fight.

  In a team ritual, two players are presented with coloured blazers that they have to wear all night. Boof awarded the cream blazer for man of the match to a very proud Ashton Agar. And the pink blazer, for the person in the entire group who best embodies the culture of ‘one-percenters’ – doing lots of little things that help everyone – is being worn by an equally deserving Nathan Lyon, who has shown himself a great team man despite the disappointment of missing a place in the eleven.

  Wally Edwards, our chairman, brought the former prime minister John Howard into t
he rooms. John is here for the first two Test matches, and it was good to have a catch-up. I also felt it was good to introduce him to the younger players, for them to see that he’s following and supporting us.

  After a couple of hours at Trent Bridge, we came back to the hotel for a shower and a change, before heading out to a pub. Almost all the team came, plus support staff. From there we came back to the hotel for a players-only team dinner. The wives and partners had their own dinner at the far end of the hotel restaurant, and it was great to see them having a laugh and a good time together.

  We can hold our heads high. We came to England being called the worst Australian team ever. I don’t think anyone’s saying that now. Winning respect is just the first step. We’ve done that.

  Winning Test matches is the next.

  5

  THE SECOND TEST MATCH

  Monday 15 July. Nottingham to London.

  After the wild ride of the First Test, we have three days to recover and get ourselves up again. Today was a quiet one, allowing us to switch off a little. The team bus left Nottingham at 10 am, paused for a feed at a services stop along the way, and arrived in London around 2.30 pm. We checked into the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, which has been the Australian team’s London base for as long as I’ve been in the group. It’s great to feel familiar with the staff, the restaurants, the surrounds, and Kensington Gardens next door. Having somewhere so comfortable just takes a lot of unknowns and distractions out of the equation. Kyly and I went out for dinner to a Chinese restaurant with some friends visiting from Australia, and had an early night.

  Now to re-focus.

  Tuesday 16 July. London.

  For the media, the story of Mickey Arthur’s sacking has become the gift that just keeps giving.

  The day started routinely. I spent a session on the MedX machine, just a precautionary matter of flexing and extending my back and getting some use out of the machine while I have it nearby. I followed that with some physio with Alex, then trained with the team until 1.00 pm. We knuckled down and concentrated on our attitude, not treating it as just another practice session, but a really important part of our preparation for the Lord’s Test match.

  Everyone trained except Brad Haddin, who’s been hit by the virus Ed Cowan had picked up after his daughter got it from a childcare centre. A few of the guys have been a bit croaky and below par, but Hadds is the only one who can’t train.

  I took a look at the wicket, which seems very good, with more pace and bounce than Trent Bridge. I’m expecting them to give it another mow. We’re hoping they’ll leave the grass on it, but don’t think they will. I’m not sure yet what the selectors are thinking, but it’s been widely remarked that Ed Cowan and Mitchell Starc are under pressure after Nottingham.

  A drug test after training was, I thought, going to be my last cricket commitment of the day, but then I was summoned to a meeting with Pat Howard, our high performance manager. He updated me on developments in Australia, where Mickey Arthur has commenced legal action suing Cricket Australia for unfair dismissal. I don’t really want to think about that. As far as my Ashes tour is concerned, Darren Lehmann is now our coach and I’m thinking about this week’s Test match, not what happened a few weeks ago.

  But I’m getting dragged in. Pat explained that some details of Mickey’s legal statement have been made public. Most damaging, as far as the team is concerned, is Mickey’s allegation that my relationship with Shane Watson has been terrible, and that Mickey felt like he was the ‘meat in the sandwich’ between us.

  As I’ve said until I’m blue in the face, Shane and I get on fine, even if we don’t always see eye to eye. That is healthy and natural. I am frustrated about this continually being brought up. The important thing is that our relationship has improved out of sight. We know each other extremely well. The main point is that we’re getting on better now than we have for a long time, so I feel that what Mickey’s statement has talked about is old news and no longer relevant. People think they know what goes on in a team environment, but very few actually do. Shane and I know, so that’s all that counts.

  Darren’s arrival as coach has been great for Shane as they have a strong mutual respect. I grabbed them together after I met with Pat and asked if Shane was okay. He said he was going great, and wouldn’t be distracted by this. It seems that we’ve dealt with it, but the outside world is just catching up.

  So I had to do a doorstop with media, getting the message across that this is old news and will not affect the team; the team’s in a great place, and I don’t want them to be distracted. I’m frustrated that I have press conferences where I’m answering all these questions when we have a Test match starting tomorrow. I can guarantee that this will not affect the boys.

  But I have to bite my tongue in this job, sometimes to my own detriment. I could say some things about this whole affair that would make me look better, but that would only give the story oxygen. So instead, I do everything I can to pour cold water over it. If I cop some stick as a result, as I have before, then that’s the price I pay on the team’s behalf.

  In private, though, I’m filthy. I had a long talk with Kyly about it tonight, pouring out my frustrations. I’ve supported Mickey through thick and thin, and it pisses me off that this has come up now. I sent him a text to tell him as much. He’d said that he didn’t want it to come out publicly, but somehow it leaked out anyway. If Mickey didn’t know this was going to happen, he’s been naive. I still can’t believe he would allow this to happen to the team members, who had no part in his dismissal.

  Afterwards, the whole team went to the Australian High Commission in London for a function with plenty of VIPs. I wanted everyone to have some fun so I thought I would take the mickey out of some of the boys.

  Brad Haddin, who wasn’t there because he had the flu, copped it first. I said he wasn’t there because ‘he is still hung-over from the other night, drowning his sorrows after losing the First Test match.’ I revealed that he was ‘a proud redhead and the chairman of the team’s finance committee. He loves nothing more than taking money off his fellow teammates.’

  Here’s a digest of the others:

  Chris Rogers – ‘Chris is our team nerd. He enjoys long walks on the beach, coffee, movies and dancing, but all on his own.’

  Shane Watson – ‘We call Shane “Mr Guitar Hero” because every time you are walking down the corridors to your hotel room, he’s always on his guitar. One thing you don’t know about Shane is that today he is a cricketer, but tomorrow he could be in The Rolling Stones.’

  Ed Cowan – ‘Mr Eduardo Cowan is certainly one of a kind, to say the least. He enjoys picnics in the park. With his male friends.’

  Steven Smith – ‘Steven thinks he is one of the good-looking roosters in our team. He has an itch with his left hand.’ (This was a reference to Steve’s mannerism, which you can see if you watch him closely, of twitching his left hand upwards after he’s bowled, or when he’s batting, or in the field. Some of the boys enjoy taking the mickey out of it.)

  Peter Siddle – ‘He is the Vegan of our team whose favourite meal is soft-shell crab . . . ’ At this point, Sidds tried to wrestle the microphone off me, no doubt to spill a bit of dirt on the captain. I cried out, ‘No! This is my time!’ But Sidds explained that the soft shell reference was after he ordered a mushroom sushi roll and took a bite, only to find it was crab.

  Mitchell Starc – ‘Big, tall, left-armer Mitchell Starc, strong young lad. His girlfriend Alyssa Healy, who we like to call his wife, is an Australian wicketkeeper. We all believe Mitchell learnt his left-arm inswinger from Alyssa in the backyard at home.’

  James Pattinson – ‘If James could take one thing to a deserted island, it would be his mirror.’

  Ryan Harris – ‘Ryan is the scaredy-cat of our team: a big, strong, fast bowler who is petrified of heights.’

  Jackson Bird – ‘There’s already been a song about Jackson and it goes (Here I sang, badly) Bird, bird, bird is t
he word. Jackson Bird also has a foot phobia.’ Which he actually does have!

  James Faulkner – ‘We call James “Mr Hussey Junior”. The reason is he loves getting not-outs when he bats, and his favourite colour is also red.’

  Nathan Lyon – ‘He is in love with Brad Haddin and was a state netball champion in school.’ It may seem unbelievable, but yes, it’s true that Nathan was a state netballer.

  Matthew Wade, David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja – ‘They are our team band, One Direction.’

  Ashton Agar – ‘And our last player, what can I say about him? The man of the hour, Ashton Agar, is great at everything. And if any of you have some spare time tonight he will be more than happy to tell you just how good he and his brothers are at everything.’

  It was a relief to defuse the tension, but now I have to put a new hat on: as a batsman. In the next 36 hours, I have to make sure I’m ready to score runs at Lord’s. That’s my job. I won’t let anything stand in the way of my preparation.

  Wednesday 17 July. London.

  Today was an absolute stinker, hot and humid like Brisbane in mid-summer. We had an afternoon training session, where I checked the wicket again. It has some grass on top but is bone-dry underneath, the driest I think I’ve ever seen Lord’s. We’ll have to work our backsides off again, with bat and ball, to get the result we need. First-innings runs will be absolutely paramount.

  The players have been told what the eleven is for tomorrow’s match, and I have to sort out the batting order. We’ll announce it at the toss, after which we get to meet the Queen, which everyone in the team is very excited about. There’s nothing like the Lord’s Test match.

  Ed Cowan and Mitchell Starc have been replaced by Usman Khawaja and Ryan Harris. Eddie was unlucky to have been brought down by that virus in Nottingham, and the selectors have decided to give Usman a chance. It’s been a long road back for him since his last Test match, against New Zealand in Hobart a couple of summers back. He’s a good young player who has learnt a lot about his game under Darren Lehmann since moving from New South Wales to Queensland, and I’m really pleased for him.