The Hindu : Sport : Ashes catches fire in England

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2005

Sport

Sport

Ashes catches fire in England

LONDON: England is going crazy for cricket, with newspapers pushing football coverage off the celebrated back pages Tuesday to agonise over the country's dramatic draw against Australia in the third Ashes Test.

The centuries-old game is enjoying a massive revival thanks to the heroics of England captain Michael Vaughan and his teammates who are battling to beat the Australians in an Ashes series for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Even the start of England's treasured football Premiership over the weekend failed to trim columns of press commentary on what is being billed as the most exciting Ashes Test in living memory.

``It's agony,'' groaned the Daily Mail newspaper after Australia clung on for a draw to deny England victory with just one wicket standing in a thrilling finish to the third match in the five-part series at Old Trafford on Monday.

The Mail pictured Andrew Flintoff, England's favourite bowler, despairing after Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne survived one of his fearsome bowls.

``The Ultimate Test,'' declared the left-wing Independent on page one. ``So near ... and yet so far,'' the newspaper added across its back page, with a photograph of Flintoff taking Matthew Hayden's wicket.

The match even won a prime front page spot with pictures in the Financial Times under the headline ``Test proves a big draw as Ashes catches fire.''

Newspapers noted how Old Trafford, which shares its name with the nearby home of football club Manchester United, attracted twice as many people than its 23,000 capacity.

More than 20,000 fans, many of whom had camped outside overnight to buy one of the final day tickets, were turned away and had to make do with watching the nail-biting action on a television screen, The Times newspaper said.

``Interest in the game, which for much of the past decade has been as unfashionable as (former prime minister) John Major, is starting to eclipse even that of football,'' it said in an editorial.

``The opening of the Premiership season has been nothing like as exciting as this Test series,'' the right-leaning newspaper said.

The England cricket team has been growing in strength and popularity for the last couple of years, but wild dreams of beating Australia suddenly became a feasible reality when the team won the second Ashes Test on Aug. 8 by just two runs, the closest victory in Ashes history.

Both sides will go into their fourth Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Aug. 25 on level pegging, 1-1, leaving a guaranteed riveting climax at the Oval in London next month.

Surging interest in the game will likely equal more lucrative commercial deals for players and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on top of sponsorship contracts with corporate giants such as Vodafone.

John Perera, the ECB's commercial director, was quoted in the Financial Times as saying that the board expected to get ``a lot more interest from new commercial partners wanting to talk to us about cricket'', while it hoped to start a ``big licensing programme for the sport'' before Christmas.

The independent television station Channel 4, which currently has the rights to broadcast the Test series live, has enjoyed winning ratings as viewers tune in to feast on cricket.

`I am very proud'

England came into the Ashes series needing only to prove themselves against the Australians.

A 239-run loss in the series-opening match at Lord's last month heightened concern that the English would be no match for Australia for the ninth consecutive series.

But Michael Vaughan's line-up rallied with a series-levelling two-run win at Edgbaston and went within a wicket on Monday of being the first England team in two decades to beat Australia in consecutive Tests in an Ashes series.

It has changed the complexion of the series.

``We were one wicket away from going 2-1 up. People will say 'you must be disappointed,' but I'm very, very proud of the way the team has responded to going down at Lord's,'' said Vaughan. ``Three weeks ago we were written off — out of the contest — 5-nil we kept on hearing.

``It's now 1-1 and we've just dominated Australia in every session.''

Under Vaughan, England improved to No. 2 in the Test rankings with series wins against West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand.

Australia's lead in the standings was so high that it would have taken a 5-0 sweep by England to challenge the top ranking.

Australia was scrambling for a draw for most of the final day after deciding not to chase what would have been a world record target of 423. The Australians finished 371 for nine as darkness descended.

``We dominated the whole Test match against Australia — a day was lost to weather but we couldn't control that — and we came within a whisper of beating them,'' said Vaughan. ``There's a lot of positives. The team has shown, and individuals have shown, a lot of character. That bodes well.''

Vaughan said it was a good sign for cricket and England that the Ashes series is still competing for national headlines and attention with the start of English soccer's Premier League.

``We've just got to keep performing and still matching Australia in every department, like we have done here,'' said Vaughan. ``If we go to Trent Bridge believing we can do it, we should produce another great performance.''

Tough day: Ponting

Australia captain Ricky Ponting thought he had let the third Ashes Test against England slip through his fingers after getting out before today's dramatic drawn finale.

Ponting, who scored 156 and batted for almost seven hours before being ninth man out, told a news conference: ``I thought I had let the whole thing slip, I must admit.

``It's been mentally draining. The emotions have been up and down all day but I'm feeling pretty good about things now.''

Ponting said: ``there was a real good mood in our room after the game. It doesn't feel like a win, it just feels like we have worked extremely hard."

``It was a long, hard, tough day...we managed to just sneak through. It was an unbelievable Test match.''

He described his innings, his highest score against England, as ``probably one of my best knocks''. Ponting added: ``it's nice to put your hand up and do the big things the team requires of you.''

Reflecting on the last two Tests, the second match at Edgbaston ended in a two-run win for England, he said: ``You won't find two better Test matches, more tense, than you have witnessed in the past two weeks.

``They have been awesome.''

England captain Michael Vaughan brushed off suggestions his team would be disappointed not to have won.

He said: ``it can be hard to produce two good performances on the trot; it's such high intensity and high-pressure cricket. — Agencies

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