CRICKET: Ashes Series, second testAsk Andrew Strauss about the nerves before the first Test in Brisbane and he is perfectly frank. Of course there were, he says, he'd have been surprised if there were not. And not just in the England team.
You can bet your life Australia's been-there-done-it-all icon Glenn McGrath, back in the fold after the best part of a year away, was wondering, along with the cricket world, whether he still had it in him to bowl out a Test side. Now we know the answer, that given conditions that demand precision, there is still none better.
Yet even he admitted after his first-innings haul at The Gabba he needed some wickets to settle down, get into a rhythm, and that it was Strauss who kickstarted the process. McGrath works to a plan, a real architect of his success, and he had noted how the left-hander, in wanting to be aggressive, is prepared to take on the pull and hook stroke as a percentage shot that brings about his downfall occasionally but is also productive.
It was there to be exploited and how McGrath did so was exemplary: over the wicket, length ball, length ball, then the effort ball, quicker by 5 mph, directed short, heading across Strauss and chest high. The batsman could have ignored it but went for the pull, bat coming from waist high and upwards as he swivelled. As planned, the ball was on Strauss quicker than he had anticipated, he caught it low on the bat and it steepled to deep backward square leg where Mike Hussey kept his nerve brilliantly.
An errant shot, ill conceived under the circumstances, had brought the initial breakthrough. Alastair Cook was caught at slip next ball and McGrath had slipped the leash. On such small shifts in fortune can games and series hinge.
If not totally unrepentant yesterday, Strauss was keen to emphasise while, yes, he was disappointed to have got out as he did - and equally so in the second innings where Stuart Clark had him caught at long leg helping another short ball round - and also he appreciated four of his six dismissals on this tour have been to the pull or hook, he has not become unduly bothered. Indeed, with Adelaide's slightly shorter boundaries square of the wicket, any batsman might be more tempted to take the stroke on.
"Any time you are looking to do it," he explained, "it is a question of choosing the right ball. That's something I need to work on because the conditions here are different and playing the shot is also a function of the length of delivery and how old the ball is. I'm certainly not spending too much time dwelling on it, although it is important for me to learn the lessons of that. It is a big run-scoring shot for me so it becomes a question of balance really. It is about getting the right ball rather than worrying about technique. In fact, it is slightly better when you know it is your fault rather than the bowler has bowled a great delivery that your technique wasn't able to cope with."
The second Test, which begins in overnight, is where England simply have to come back at Australia or any perception that, like in 2005, they can turn early defeat around will have dissipated. They need to get the balance of the side right and the bowling attack firing as a unit. News on Steve Harmison is that in the nets, it would have been a brave soul who relished standing 20 yards away with a bat in hand. Now he needs to translate that into a performance on the field.
For Matthew Hoggard comes the encouragement of seeing the new ball swing dramatically in the first innings of the warm-up game against South Australia. Whether it is just Andrew Flintoff who provides the additional pace was still open to debate yesterday, although that seems high-risk given Harmison's match form and the desire to ease Flintoff's workload.
Although Sajid Mahmood is champing to be included, James Anderson was still favourite to retain his place, as was Ashley Giles (although Monty Panesar did some intensive work with Duncan Fletcher and Geraint Jones yesterday), which would leave England unchanged. Finally, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood showed the effect big partnerships can have.
Australia, too, would seem to be heading for an unchanged side, although there is some consideration being given for the inclusion of the rapid but unpredictable Shaun Tate instead of Brett Lee. Once Shane Watson's hamstring injury failed to recover in time, the idea of two spinners went out of the window, leaving four bowlers the likeliest option. That no doubt reflects the decision of Les Burdett, the groundsman, to flood the pitch yesterday.
