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The things I, and they, said…
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of August, Comments
Chris reminded me of something I’ve been meaning to. Trawl back through my blog, and other people’s sites and blogs, to find out what people said of England’s chances. You can start by looking at my “Ashes” tag. There are ten pages there, and this link starts at the back of the queue (i.e. 7 months ago), so you’ll need to click “Previous page” at the bottom to trawl through. You can see the first Ashes post was 7 months ago, in January, in which I said:
Naturally, all talk is on The Ashes which is already becoming tiring. The expectation on England is going to be massive and, in my opinion, they can only win if Harmison is on form, Flintoff bats naturally and bowls quickly, Strauss & Trescothick continue to score hundreds and Vaughan too. They’ll also benefit from a) winning the toss, b) some luck and c) someone breaking McGrath’s arm. England - whether you like or agree with Jagdish’s views - are a fine team, captained superbly, and whatever happens let’s hope the media don’t shoot them down. (incidentally tickets for the Lord’s game are going for over £300 I heard in the pub last week, on eBay and private sellers etc…)
Seven months on: Harmison hasn’t really been on form, but has still been influential in this series by smashing balls into batsmen’s heads. 16 wickets is also fairly handy. Flintoff has batted naturally and bowled very quickly. Vaughan has won the toss. England has has its fair share of luck. McGrath’s elbow, not arm, has been injured, and Vaughan has captained the side imaginatively. It’s an easy game, this punditry 
In February, Mark Waugh wrote England off, but Peter Lever reckoned England would do ok:
“England might have a chance, but I don’t know if they believe in themselves against Australia,” he said.
Towards the end of March, I wrote:
As I’ve said in the past, I am excited about this Ashes - but am also much more relaxed about it. The past 3 or 4 have been painful to watch - really, really painful - not least because winning the Ashes was seen as the only way to resurrect English Cricket, back then. English Cricket isn’t in the mess it was 5/10 years ago, and for that reason alone, England can at last try to enjoy this series and not worry too much about the outcome. That’s Vaughan’s motto, after all - “enjoy yourselves†- and I’m sure Australian’s wouldn’t begrudge England the odd victory in a few month’s time, although I don’t doubt for a second which way they want the pendulum to swing for the final result
Can you smell the reserved “I don’t want to be too cocky, and please let England perform well” nature of my post there?
And perhaps most interestingly, 3 months ago I wrote of a John Buchanan quote, speaking of Ricky Ponting:
“He’s growing I think every series as a person, as a leader, as an occupier of a fairly significant position in Australian society.â€
Australia can’t, now, win this series. The best they can hope for is a draw, to retain the Ashes. What IF Australia don’t win at The Oval, and hand the Urn over to England? What ramifications does this hold for Ponting, who is “an occupier of a fairly siginificant position in Australia society?”
If you know of any links or quotes, or indeed comments on blogs (here and elsewhere) that showed Australia’s lack of respect for England (on those lines, anyway), send them in…
CommentsTwo scathing attacks on Michael Vaughan
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of January, Comments
Earlier today, Clive Lloyd attacked Michael Vaughan and accused him of lacking respect. And, just now, a scathing attack on Vaughan and his team has been made by Neil Manthrop who I’ve mentioned in a previous post. I’d urge you to read it.
Of particular interest, or more pressingly concern, is the following:
“A couple of months ago, Vaughan walked out of a Test match to be at the birth of his daughter. It was the right thing to do and a special example to sportsmen the world over. In four or five years’ time he will, no doubt, do all he can to be there for her first day at big school. I hope he makes it. Then he can tell me all about it because that’s what I gave up to interview him. Not that I blame him - it was my decision. If the England team never speak to me again but do face up to the fact that adopting a ’siege mentality’ while on tour is not the way forward to long-term greatness or even success, then it will be worth the sacrifice. I know. I’ve spent the past 10 years trying to write and broadcast the South Africa team out of behaving with similar suspicion and contempt.”
Having followed English cricket for over 10 years, I’ve never heard anyone attack a team and his captain in this way - and it disappoints me. I don’t doubt for a second what Neil writes is true - the article is written with a great deal of feeling, and I hope England’s media-men and management take it all on board. Duncan Fletcher - an apparently soft-spoken, mild-mannered “people’s” coach - is another who doesn’t come off well. This is a very sad end to an excellent tour.
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