The Hindu : Sport : British media heaps praise on England

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

British media heaps praise on England

Home team’s spectacular escape from the jaws of defeat

London: “Great Ashcape”, a cricketing equivalent of ‘Operation Dynamo’ of World War II, triumph of “over-my-dead-body English batsmanship” — British media virtually ran out of adjectives as they lavished praise on England for grinding out a draw in the first Ashes Test against Australia.

The Sun summed up the mood with its catchy headline. “England’s Great Ashcape” and hailed Paul Collingwood, James Anderson and Monty Panesar as the trio who masterminded England’s spectacular escape from the jaws of an imminent defeat in Cardiff, as England finished at 252 for nine in its second innings.

Incredible guts

Anderson and Panesar showed incredible guts as the last-wicket pair saw off the final 40 minutes during a 69-ball stand that took England to safety after Collingwood’s marathon half-century had revived the hopes for a draw.

Former England captain Mike Atherton paid glowing tributes to the trio in The Times and said, “English batsmanship — classic nose-to-the-grindstone, down-in-the-trenches, over-my-dead-body English batsmanship — finally showed its face on the fifth day in Cardiff.”

In the same daily, Simon Barnes said only Test cricket could dish out such intense drama.

“England tasted one of those glorious dramatic draws on Sunday that only Test cricket at the highest level of intensity can deliver,” he said.

Not to be left behind, Daily Mail compared the England escape with a World War II British army operation under Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

“This was English cricket’s ‘Operation Dynamo’. It was a triumph for Andrew Strauss and his men, in the way the Dunkirk evacuation was a triumph for the British army in 1940,” Martin Samuel wrote in the newspaper.

Pat for Collingwood

Former captain Nasser Hussain, writing in the same newspaper, singled out Collingwood for special praise.

“He (Collingwood) provided a real lesson in how to apply mentally in a high pressure situation. England will be pleased to have escaped with a draw, but if I was coach I would be holding Collingwood up as an example of how to bat in a Test match,” he said.

Hussain’s view was shared by Paul Newman in the same daily.

“What a fighter England have in Collingwood. There were, as there invariably are, murmurings that he was again under pressure going into this series and he certainly looked out of nick. But Collingwood always does, yet there is no better man for a crisis in this team,” Newman wrote.

“No praise is high enough for the way Anderson and, incredibly, Panesar survived the last 11-and-a-half overs to give England an escape that they had no right to expect after being comprehensively outplayed for four-and-a-half days,” he added.

Chance to regroup

England now has an opportunity to regroup for the rest of the series after it courageously held off Australia’s bowlers for a tense draw in the first Test, Australia’s media said on Monday. Collingwood was the bedrock of the home team’s fighting rearguard, defying the Australian bowlers for nearly five-and-three-quarter hours in his gutsy 74.

“I’m sure England coach Andy Flower will be very relieved to go to Lord’s (second Test) with the series still level,” former Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill said on SBS TV.

“He’s got a great chance now to pull the team together. They have an amazing opportunity to put things right and get England back on track.”

Fellow SBS TV panellist and former Test all-rounder Greg Matthews said Australia’s batsmen and bowlers generally put in great performances in the Cardiff opener, but just couldn’t get over the line.

“England were 70 for five after 26 overs. In the next 77 overs Australia took just four wickets,” Matthews said.

The Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter Roebuck said it was up to England captain Andrew Strauss to turn things around for the rest of the series.

“He faces two main challenges. First, he needs to stop all the blather about the 2005 series (which England won 2-1) and he must make better use of his bowlers and fieldsmen.”

Cynical time wasting

Some Australian pundits were incensed by what they saw as England’s “cynical time wasting’ in the final heart-stopping overs.

The Australian’s Malcolm Conn attacked skipper Strauss for “his appalling cynicism.”

“Strauss is responsible for the fundamental fabric of the game, which has been tarnished as a result of his appalling cynicism,” he wrote.

“So whether to gratuitously attempt to waste time was his idea or not, he wears it.”

Conn said Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also has questions of his own to answer about his tactics.

“His decision to use occasional off-spinner Marcus North for two of the final four overs baffled the pundits and delighted England,” he said.

SCOREBOARD

England — 1st innings: 435

Australia — 1st innings: 674 for six decl. England — 2nd innings: A. Strauss c Haddin b Hauritz 17, A. Cook lbw b Johnson 6, R. Bopara lbw b Hilfenhaus 1, K. Pietersen b Hilfenhaus 8, P. Collingwood c Hussey b Siddle 74, M. Prior c Clarke b Hauritz 14, A. Flintoff c Ponting b Johnson 26, S. Broad lbw b Hauritz 14, G. Swann lbw b Hilfenhaus 31, J. Anderson (not out) 21, M. Panesar (not out) 7, Extras: (b-9, lb-9, nb-11, w-4) 33, Total (for nine wkts. in 105 overs) 252.