The Hindu : Sport : England confident

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Wednesday, Sep 07, 2005

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England confident

Ted Corbett

LONDON: If England wins the fifth Test at the Oval, which begins on Thursday, the consequences will be so far reaching as to be breathtaking.

Especially when you consider that six years ago it was bottom of the world rankings and, as Nasser Hussain claimed — on that same ground — that he was proud of his team, the spectators who had bothered to remain behind for the presentation laughed out loud and began to chant What a Load of Rubbish.

Personal glory

First there will be personal glory for Michael Vaughan, the England captain, who will complete his 20th Test win and equal Peter May who needed another 10 Tests to reach 20 victories. There will be an open top bus parade through central London, the reward given to the triumphant Rugby Union players when they won the World Cup.

Unprecedented amounts of money will find a place in the pockets of the few players who have achieved the return of the Ashes — a maximum of 13 — and a visit to the Queen at Buckingham Palace for heaven knows what level of medal in the New Year's Honours' List.

It will raise the level of madness surrounding the game — already at fever pitch — to the highest peak since the end of the Second World War when people wanted to relax after bombing, rationing and blackout; or in 1953 when the Ashes were also decided in the final Test. There will certainly be sportsmen of the year awards on radio and television, from newspapers, magazines and websites; endorsement offers, sponsorship awards, advertising opportunities and all the other rewards that go to young heroes in their moments of triumph.

Happily England, leading 2-1, does not need to win. A draw will ensure the Ashes contained in that silly little urn make a return to this country for the first time for 16 years. It should be theirs for the taking, against demoralised Australians who now admit they underestimated the improvement made by England, whose attack conceded 502 runs to second division Essex on Saturday, who have all the back luck and too many injuries as well as the dive in form suffered by Matthew Hayden and Jason Gillespie.

Jones withdraws

Simon Jones, England's most successful bowler, had a fitness test on Tuesday and experienced pain from his injured ankle sprinting and was forced to withdraw. It is the only setback England has suffered in this series and how it copes will be a new measure of its rise to the top.

Now England has to decide whether it prefers to defend with Paul Collingwood or attack with James Anderson. I am sure it will be Collingwood, a tougher character, offering more skills and willing to fight hard for the cause.

Time to put one's head on the block. Who will win? England, no doubt about it. It has had the better of the last three Tests, it is playing on home ground; the Australians have, according to Adam Gilchrist, their wicket-keeper, gone seriously quiet, surely an unnatural state. Vaughan has shown throughout this series that he is a better captain than Ricky Ponting which has been crucial in tight finishes. History is on England's side too. In 1953 it won back the Ashes when everything depended on the Oval Test.

How different life was then. Fred Trueman, 74, one of four England players from 1953 still alive — the others are Alec Bedser, Trevor Bailey and Tom Graveney — remembers big crowds, enormous enthusiasm and the relief on the face of the captain Len Hutton when he held a catch off the left-hander Neil Harvey. England won, Trueman went back to the pavilion where he was told that his grandmother had died after hearing on the radio that "our Freddie" had done his best and England had made certain of victory.

Then he set off back to his RAF station to continue his National Service. Note: no high powered four-wheel drive, no huge bonus, no squad of show business girls to mark the occasion. "I missed the party — big cake, champagne — to catch the train to Lincoln, get on a bus and walk to the camp. The guard sergeant said `Ah, Trueman, back from leave a few minutes ahead of time. I'll book you in. Good night.' Not a word about the Test." Untold riches, instant fame and the praise of the nation await England if this match goes its way. Good for world cricket too if the leader loses; but the Australian reaction to Ashes defeat will show us if it can come back strongly from adversity, the sign of a true champion.

England did it after the 239-run defeat at Lord's and if the Australians search out new stars before the next home series that too will be a magnificent contest.

Do we ask too much? Not on the evidence of this wonderful series.

The teams: England (from): Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Paul Collingwood, James Anderson.

Australia (from): Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Shaun Watson, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Brent Bowden (New Zealand). TV umpire: Jeremy Lloyds. Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

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