Today England recorded their historic win against Aussies in the second Ashes test again. I told my friends in UK,"If you are gonna meet Ponting after the first test, tell him he will lose the next". I wish I was at lords for the Party. :)
A nail biting (no it was even finger biting) finish for the first test match where the tail end saved the test match for England from the jaws of defeat. What does that mean to Aussies?They have an upper hand start in the series. English will become under dogs going forward. They used this label very wittily in the second test. A sensational start from Strauss and Cook in the first innings. They posted a neat 425 in their first innings. Australia came in to bat and Anderson to start the damage of getting through the Aussies wood work. Good fielding and support from other bowlers helped England manage to restrict Aussies for 215. Nasty boy Ponting surely did try his tricks by talking about poor umpiring.
England not forcing Aussies for a follow on was a crucial move (I liked it). It would have been less pressure on the Aussies than coming on the 4th day to defend the test match with a target of 500+. Then a quick 300 at 4.35 run rate, England came back quick to the field. Then the magic man Flintoff to remove both the openers and put a base for the downfall. Finally it was a match turning innings from Clarke and Haddin. Sure the huddle meeting before the new ball worked out. :)
Day 5: I asked Rohit, "Who are you putting your money on?". No prizes for guessing the answer. Wicket for Clarke almost forfeited the match to England. Nothing like winning an Ashes test in Lords.
It was like watching the true sprint of the game. This is what I call cricket! Cricket at its best. The fancy 20 over cricket is an over kill and boring on a longer run, since its money driven. Once again Congrats to the English team. We got more work to do, let's avoid another Amazing Adelaide! Like the Ashes, I wish we make Border-Gavaskar trophy more interesting.