Jonathan Trott – Man of the Match
It’s over, and there’s nothing Australia can do about it. England have won the 4th Test match in Melbourne and retained the urn (Ashes series) after 24 years.
The day started with the England bowlers’ cleaning out the remaining Aussies left with the exception of Ryan Harris who was retired hurt.
Bresnan took the wicket of Ben Hilfenhaus, giving him 4 wickets in the 2nd innings. Graeme Swann got Peter Siddle who looked like he was ready to fight for the trophy for a while, he made 40 runs of 50 balls, but today it was about “how long” as opposed to “whom”.
Not only did Australia lose the Ashes, they lost the 4th test quite badly, with an innings and 157 runs.
The man of the match was Jonathan Trott which was befitting as hardly any player managed a large individual total in a match where all the bowlers had a strangle hold on the batsmen.
Ricky Ponting is facing an all time low; everyone including he himself must be questioning his captaining as well as cricketing abilities. He let his team down, he put virtually no runs on the board for his side and he disgraced himself by arguing with the umpires and ending up getting fined with just 40% of his match fee.
Australian cricketers have always been sore losers but this time they cannot find anybody else to blame but themselves, they were out performed by a mile and that is a fact.
England played like they always do and had their eyes on the prize till the very end. The level of dedication in the England side was considerably larger than that of the Aussie’s as well so nothing can be taken away from the Brits, they played like Gentlemen and put Australia in their place.
The Aussies will now want to salvage some pride for themselves as well as their country in the final Test Match in Sydney. Whether or not they win is of no consequence as even in the case of a draw in the next match the trophy will belong to England. But neither side will let lose, Australia will want to retrieve some respect and England will want to win the series convincingly without anybody questioning the “luck” factor which is a common excuse the Aussies sometimes use.
So for all those who think the ashes are over, wait for the 3rd of January test match at Sydney, it is going to be everything but ordinary, it won’t over until the fat lady sings.
What most of us should look forward to is, the summer where England will play against India in England? With both countries doing exceptionally well in test cricket, it will be a sight to see.
Tags: Ashes Series, Aussies, Australia, Cricket, England, Jonathan Trott, Ricky Ponting, The Ashes
