S_Harmison
International Cricketer
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The Ashes 2006/2007
As the celebrations at The Oval died down and the last of the confetti had been cleared from Trafalgar Square, the talk turned to the retunr series down under. Well... the wait is finally over. The England squad fly over to Australia today for what will surely be there most challenging overseas tour ever. They are defending the little urn, which they valliantly won just last year in a gripping series. The squad is greatly changed due to circumstances beyond anyones control but with the whole of England behind them and a mass of travelling support they could still put up a good fight! Heres a reminder of last years best... and worst bits to get you in the juices flowing again!
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Batting Performance of the Series:
Kevin Pietersen's blistering denouement will linger long in the memory, but by that stage of the series, the dream was there to be grasped. It took instead a similar feat of inspiration on the upward journey to set up England's shot of glory. Freddie Flintoff's devastating, last-ditch 73 at Edgbaston was the moment the series was transformed, as he and Simon Jones added 51 for the final wicket to revive an Ashes challenge that was sinking back to its knees.
Bowling Performance of the Series:
Warne at Edgbaston, Warne at Trent Bridge, in fact, Warne throughout the summer. His contributions were the single greatest reason why this series will echo through the ages. Without his 40 wickets (not to mention his 249 runs), Australia would have been rolled over after Edgbaston, quite possibly by the sort of margin that the Aussies themselves had envisaged. Instead, they came within an ace of plucking both defeats out of the fire, and could even have squared the series if they'd held their catches at The Oval. How the side will fare in Warne's absence doesn't bear thinking about.
Ball of the Series:
Two. For sheer significance, Harmison's branding of the Australian captain on the first morning at Lord's. The message was clear - England would not be cowed, in spite of the mixed messages they transmitted for the remainder of the Test. But for sheer eye-popping magnificence, Warne's ripper to Strauss at Edgbaston brooks no argument. With five balls of the day remaining, the seam gripped the rough like a tank track and rumbled into the stumps, leaving England in no doubt as to the contest that lay ahead.
Catch of the Series:
This is case of style versus significance. The photographers' vote goes unequivocally to Andrew Strauss, whose horizontal extraction of Adam Gilchrist at Trent Bridge was not only a seminal moment, but a collector's item that Mark Waugh would have been proud to pull off. But, in a summer when Geraint Jones turned every edge into a heart-in-the-mouth moment, he chose the perfect moment at Edgbaston to get everything right, by completing the catch that changed a world order.
Turning Point of the Series:
A seismic double-whammy at Edgbaston. First Glenn McGrath, fresh from nine wickets at Lord's, steps on a cricket ball during pre-match practice and is stretchered off to hospital. Then, Ricky Ponting wins the toss and neuters his one remaining champion, Warne, by choosing to bowl first. England rampage to 407 on the first day and the momentum of the series has been seized.
Wicket of the Series:
Kasprowicz at Edgbaston is the runaway winner, naturally, although Harmison's slower ball to Clarke the previous evening was perhaps even more invaluable. As the tail so amply demonstrated on that fourth morning, the pitch was good and England were fearful. Half a session of brilliance from Clarke, and it could have been all over.
Over of the Series:
Edgbaston again, and that man Flintoff again. At 47 for 0 needing 282, Australia were flying and England needed a shot in the arm. Enter Freddie, bundling in from around the wicket. His second delivery bludgeons through bat and pad, and onto Langer's off stump. His third, fourth and fifth deliveries curve into Ponting and torment his off stump. A tactical no-ball sets up a seventh stab of inspiration, and a wicked outswinger skims off the edge to cue pandemonium.
Stat of the Series:
For the first time since the 1978-79 Ashes - a series blighted by Packer defections - Australia failed to muster 400 in any of their innings. This, beyond all else, was the difference between the sides. As Adam Gilchrist graciously admitted, England's attack was the best he had ever encountered in his career. The fortunes of Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, two of the most aggressive batsmen in Test history, epitomised a side that had turned from hunters to hunted.
Best Moment of the Series:
At Edgbaston, Flintoff's consoling of Lee at the moment of victory was beautiful, a revival of the sort of chivalry that was supposed to be anathema to modern-day sport - just imagine Wayne Rooney producing a moment like that. But what preceded it was all the more important. If Harmison had not conjured that last-ditch dismissal, if Jones had not taken the tumbling chance, England would have lost an unloseable game, Australia would be 2-0 up with the Ashes in the bag, and a generation would be lost to the game forever.
Worst Moment of the Series:
Flintoff's apparent dislocated shoulder at Edgbaston. Not here, not now, not in this way. All the while that he struggled to regain his timing and nerve-endings, a sense of dread permeated every stakeholder in the game. England's wipeout at Lord's was none too clever either, and nor was the bungling bureaucratic idiocy that turned England's moment of glory at The Oval into a confused melee of umpire meetings and tannoy announcements.
----
Now your all worked up about the last series it time to get knocked back to earth as i bring you the squad that England will be using to conquer the Aussies for a second time! Stay Tuned!
-----
The Ashes 2006/2007
As the celebrations at The Oval died down and the last of the confetti had been cleared from Trafalgar Square, the talk turned to the retunr series down under. Well... the wait is finally over. The England squad fly over to Australia today for what will surely be there most challenging overseas tour ever. They are defending the little urn, which they valliantly won just last year in a gripping series. The squad is greatly changed due to circumstances beyond anyones control but with the whole of England behind them and a mass of travelling support they could still put up a good fight! Heres a reminder of last years best... and worst bits to get you in the juices flowing again!
---
Batting Performance of the Series:
Kevin Pietersen's blistering denouement will linger long in the memory, but by that stage of the series, the dream was there to be grasped. It took instead a similar feat of inspiration on the upward journey to set up England's shot of glory. Freddie Flintoff's devastating, last-ditch 73 at Edgbaston was the moment the series was transformed, as he and Simon Jones added 51 for the final wicket to revive an Ashes challenge that was sinking back to its knees.
Bowling Performance of the Series:
Warne at Edgbaston, Warne at Trent Bridge, in fact, Warne throughout the summer. His contributions were the single greatest reason why this series will echo through the ages. Without his 40 wickets (not to mention his 249 runs), Australia would have been rolled over after Edgbaston, quite possibly by the sort of margin that the Aussies themselves had envisaged. Instead, they came within an ace of plucking both defeats out of the fire, and could even have squared the series if they'd held their catches at The Oval. How the side will fare in Warne's absence doesn't bear thinking about.
Ball of the Series:
Two. For sheer significance, Harmison's branding of the Australian captain on the first morning at Lord's. The message was clear - England would not be cowed, in spite of the mixed messages they transmitted for the remainder of the Test. But for sheer eye-popping magnificence, Warne's ripper to Strauss at Edgbaston brooks no argument. With five balls of the day remaining, the seam gripped the rough like a tank track and rumbled into the stumps, leaving England in no doubt as to the contest that lay ahead.
Catch of the Series:
This is case of style versus significance. The photographers' vote goes unequivocally to Andrew Strauss, whose horizontal extraction of Adam Gilchrist at Trent Bridge was not only a seminal moment, but a collector's item that Mark Waugh would have been proud to pull off. But, in a summer when Geraint Jones turned every edge into a heart-in-the-mouth moment, he chose the perfect moment at Edgbaston to get everything right, by completing the catch that changed a world order.
Turning Point of the Series:
A seismic double-whammy at Edgbaston. First Glenn McGrath, fresh from nine wickets at Lord's, steps on a cricket ball during pre-match practice and is stretchered off to hospital. Then, Ricky Ponting wins the toss and neuters his one remaining champion, Warne, by choosing to bowl first. England rampage to 407 on the first day and the momentum of the series has been seized.
Wicket of the Series:
Kasprowicz at Edgbaston is the runaway winner, naturally, although Harmison's slower ball to Clarke the previous evening was perhaps even more invaluable. As the tail so amply demonstrated on that fourth morning, the pitch was good and England were fearful. Half a session of brilliance from Clarke, and it could have been all over.
Over of the Series:
Edgbaston again, and that man Flintoff again. At 47 for 0 needing 282, Australia were flying and England needed a shot in the arm. Enter Freddie, bundling in from around the wicket. His second delivery bludgeons through bat and pad, and onto Langer's off stump. His third, fourth and fifth deliveries curve into Ponting and torment his off stump. A tactical no-ball sets up a seventh stab of inspiration, and a wicked outswinger skims off the edge to cue pandemonium.
Stat of the Series:
For the first time since the 1978-79 Ashes - a series blighted by Packer defections - Australia failed to muster 400 in any of their innings. This, beyond all else, was the difference between the sides. As Adam Gilchrist graciously admitted, England's attack was the best he had ever encountered in his career. The fortunes of Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, two of the most aggressive batsmen in Test history, epitomised a side that had turned from hunters to hunted.
Best Moment of the Series:
At Edgbaston, Flintoff's consoling of Lee at the moment of victory was beautiful, a revival of the sort of chivalry that was supposed to be anathema to modern-day sport - just imagine Wayne Rooney producing a moment like that. But what preceded it was all the more important. If Harmison had not conjured that last-ditch dismissal, if Jones had not taken the tumbling chance, England would have lost an unloseable game, Australia would be 2-0 up with the Ashes in the bag, and a generation would be lost to the game forever.
Worst Moment of the Series:
Flintoff's apparent dislocated shoulder at Edgbaston. Not here, not now, not in this way. All the while that he struggled to regain his timing and nerve-endings, a sense of dread permeated every stakeholder in the game. England's wipeout at Lord's was none too clever either, and nor was the bungling bureaucratic idiocy that turned England's moment of glory at The Oval into a confused melee of umpire meetings and tannoy announcements.
----
Now your all worked up about the last series it time to get knocked back to earth as i bring you the squad that England will be using to conquer the Aussies for a second time! Stay Tuned!
-----
