The Ashes 2013-14 - England in big trouble as the fight goes into Day 4

Michael Clarke salutes the dressing room after his hundred

It’s that time of the year when Cricket buffs in India religiously get up at 5 AM in the morning without an alarm clock. It’s the Ashes- the biggest and the oldest rivalry in the history of Test Cricket. The fight for regaining the “Urn” never fails to provide thrill and entertainment. It is the arena for witnessing quality, competitive Cricket at its very best.

The second of this year’s back-to-back Ashes series is special as the Aussies engage in the task of regaining not only the trophy but also the lost glory. England come into the series as clear favorites while the Australians are haunted by seven straight Test defeats. That taken, the first 3 days of the Brisbane Test have been entirely dominated by the Aussies, apart from the first two sessions on Day 1 maybe.

Two sessions down on the first day, it looked like the same old story that has been happening with the Kangaroos in recent times. At 132 for 6, it was another of the many batting collapses for Australia lately, before a steady 114 run stand between Haddin and Johnson saved them the blushes. In spite of the short comeback of sorts, 295 looked too meager for a first innings score of an Ashes Test.  Plus, there was the mighty English batting line up to deal with. Things were looking shaky for the home team.

But a certain Mitchell Johnson had different ideas. The six feet two inches tall Queenslander produced one of the most menacing spells you would see in Test cricket. The helmets and rib-cages of the Englishmen faced more deliveries than the bats did as Johnson hurled the leather ball at 145 k mph plus speeds. With such brutal display of fast bowling from him and some support from the other end by Harris and Lyon, England lost as many as 6 wickets in the matter of 9 runs.

The lanky and determined Stuart Broad tried to do some damage control but it was too little and too late as the visitors were bundled for a mere 136. With a first innings lead of 159 runs, all Australia had to do was play sensibly. David Warner found some form with a brisk 124 and the captain led from the front with a brilliant 113 off just 130 balls. It is so important for a captain to perform at the start of such an important series; it instills confidence in the entire team and Michael Clarke did just that. The English bowling attack looked tired and defensive as the Aussies piled up a massive 560 run lead before declaring with 15 overs left. Ryan Harris struck with just a run on the board and the in-tremendous-form Johnson struck shortly after to remove a struggling Trott.

With two full days left to play unless the Brisbane weather decides to surprise, England look in deep trouble. By the looks of it, it should take only a couple of sessions for the Aussies to wrap up the game. From England’s perspective, they need Captain Cook and the now 100 Test old Kevin Pietersen to fire, but even then saving the Test match seems like a pretty uphill task.  The best that they can get from the situation is their batsmen finding some form before going into the Adelaide Test.

The Australians have finally found something to cheer about and they must capitalize on this moment to kick-start their mission of being back into dominance. Trott and Swann remain England’s main worry but trust the Englishmen along with their Barmy Army to come back strongly.

All said, we are all set for Cricket of the highest class in the days to come.