Aggers’ Ashes. Jonathan Agnew

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СКАЧАТЬ drought, or the inexperience of the attack in Australian conditions, yet Strauss knows that England will never have a better chance of breaking their dismal run Down Under. Australia have won an intimidating 75 per cent of Tests they’ve played at home over the past 20 years. But the luminaries who sparked those performances are gone, replaced in most part with players big on honest toil but low on star quality. “The prospect of turning that record around excites us,” says Strauss. He knows that for all Marcus North’s application he is no Steve Waugh; for all Peter Siddle’s snarling aggression, he would rather open against him than Glenn McGrath or Brett Lee.

      What England need to do is start well. Graham Gooch, who played in four Ashes series in Australia and is now his country’s batting coach, has been telling anyone who’ll listen out here how critical the first session of each day will be. Even if a repeat of the Harmison horrors of four years ago is unlikely, the first skirmishes could establish the lines for the battle to follow.” There’s no doubt that the first hour here set up the whole campaign for us last time,” says Ponting. “We were able to capitalise on some very nervous England players.”

      Seventy-seven per cent of Tests at the Gabba end in a result. Win here, and England will know the mutterings among locals about Australia’s flaws and Ponting’s perceived inadequacies as skipper will become a clamour. Already there are signs that the hosts’love affair with cricket might not be as passionate as we always assume. Television viewing figures for the sport are down 24 per cent over the last decade, and while there has been a strong growth in participation among children under the age of 12, there has been a bigger dropoff in the 13-18 age group. Australia needs these Ashes as much as England.

      Tourist numbers too are down on last time. The recession back home, allied to a strong Aussie dollar that makes travelling here much more expensive for Brits, means there are fewer England fans visible in the pubs and clubs. The Barmy Army is in position, but its ranks are denuded. For the sport as a whole, the series could not have come at a better moment. At a time when corruption scandals are dominating the headlines, this is one clash you can really believe in.

      EVE OF SERIES THOUGHTS:

      Has there ever been such a feeling of anticipation before a Test series before? This is my sixth Ashes tour, and I certainly have never felt anything like it. This huge excitement has been generated by the optimism among England supporters who genuinely feel that Andrew Strauss’s men have a real chance of defeating Australia. At the same time, there is serious trepidation in the Australian media and the general public that their great run of two decades without a home Ashes series defeat is finally coming to an end.

      A great deal has been made of England’s preparation for the tour. I’ve watched it, and it has gone well. I would have liked Kevin Pietersen to make a big score – he, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior have all looked in nice touch, but got out too early. This series will not be won by breezy half-centuries. The batsmen have to go on and register the big scores that really make the difference in Test cricket. England are also lacking a genuinely fast bowler; someone to come on and bowl a blistering, intimidating spell of four overs in the heat and when the pitch is flat. Someone like Andrew Flintoff. Australia don’t have one either, mind you, and both teams have the scope to add annoying lower-order runs as a result.

      In many ways, though, the preparation will not count for much come the start of play, when the nerves and adrenalin kick in. We all remember the ghastly opening hour here four years ago when poor Steve Harmison was so wretchedly nervous that he fired the first ball straight to a startled Flintoff at second slip.

      Ricky Ponting states that his team knew they would regain the Ashes as early as that first drinks session. True, England’s build-up contributed to their downfall, but it is the cricket on the Test field that matters in the end, and England know that they have an awful lot of history to bury, and poor starts at the Gabba to overcome if they are to succeed.

      The last time England won here at the Gabba, they won the Ashes. If they do win here, it will be fascinating to see the reaction of the Australian selectors who are already under pressure to bring in new faces in place of Mike Hussey and Marcus North in particular. There is even talk of Ponting’s career being in the balance should he lose his third Ashes series. However, should Australia win this opening match, I can see them regaining their confidence – which has taken quite a battering recently – and combined with an inevitable feeling of ‘here we go again’ from the England perspective, they could become very difficult to beat.

      So much depends on this first game. A key battleground for me is Australia’s batsmen against Graeme Swann. England will be playing only four frontline bowlers so, particularly in the first innings, Swann will have to play a containing role while the pacemen are rotated at the other end. Will the Australians take the obvious strategy of getting after the spinner to force Strauss to take him off, or will they simply keep him out? Both have risks attached – over-aggression in the first approach while the Decision Review System gives Swann quite an advantage against defensive left-handers in particular.

      Predictions always come back to haunt you, but I will repeat mine of some months ago that England will win 3-1.

      Chapter Two

       Brisbane Test

       “I couldn’t have more faith in the boys. The matches will be close but I’m tipping a 5-0 whitewash.”

      GLENN MCGRATH

      DAY 23: 25 November 2010, First Test – first day

      Even for a seasoned old cricket-broadcasting pro of twenty years experience, this morning really does feel special. I forego my run (not much persuasion required, frankly) in favour of an early interview on ABC radio, for which I will also be working during the series. In the hotel lobby I ask the reporter where her outside broadcast equipment is. She laughs and holds up her iPhone. “We’re all cutting edge here in Brisbane, you know,” she says. “We can now broadcast in studio quality over this phone.” Being something of a gadget geek I am seriously impressed. We take our seat on a bench overlooking the river. A sweating Paul Allott (former England fast bowler and broadcaster) lumbers past – he is also on a health kick – and before I know it we are on the air with me answering questions into her phone. All proceeds perfectly until someone rings her number and knocks us off! Promising, but a work in progress.

      Adam Mountford is on duty early in the TMS

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