Whilst a good portion of our attention will be on the performance of the Black Caps' batsmen in Galle early this evening, London is where the eyes of the cricketing world will be trained. With the five-match series tied at one-all, England and Australia will go head-to-head from 10pm tonight (NZ time) for cricket's oldest trophy.As it stands, England must make all the running in this fifth test. Even though the series is level, England must win it to win back the famous urn. But at the risk of upsetting some of our English friends such as Barnsley Bill and Rakaia George, we have to say - with sadness - that an English victory is unlikely.
Australia was totally dominant in the fourth test at Headingly, Leeds. Bowling the English out for a paltry 104 inside two sessions was a hugely significant psychological blow for the Ockers, and we have doubts over England's ability to recover. An Australian team playing with confidence and momentum is a fearsome beast.
In England's favour is the fact that this will be Andrew Flintoff's test cricket swansong. Flintoff is a streaky, emotional player, and if he can harness his emotions and enrgies as he did at Lord's, he is a potential matchwinner. England will need Freddy Flintoff at his absolute best for the next five days if they are to have any chance of beating the Australians.
Cricinfo, as always, provides comprehensive coverage. If you don't like our assessment of England's chances, you can read Andrew Millar's preview here. It promises to be a fitting conclusion to one of sport's oldest and greatest rivalries.
1 comment:
I really enjoy this great battle. Not having a significant loyalty to either side although I did inherit a small bias from my colonial forebears, this battle fought over 5 consecutive days and still alive after 4 games is to me a terrific example of sporting confrontation.Little exposed use of pharmacists apart from mittigating collateral damage, where the rules are understandable to me and the human frailty of umpires striving to add to the spectacle not to be it, all adds up to an amazing date with tiredness irritability,some small understanding of why we have to endure night footy and in my case untill the sleep deprevation manefests no spousal interference in viewing. Bring it on ,yes Freddie will have to fire but so will all 22 and if the weather, the light and the pitch give us a decent run at it, will close another great chapter in what is definitely one of the great sporting rivalries of all time.
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