CRICKET ASHES SERIES FIFTH TEST:FOR SHANE Watson it looked like one apology too many. He apologised after Melbourne, when England looked certain to retain the Ashes, and now he had to apologise again in Sydney with England's victory in the series a formality.
He was asked if he was prepared formally to concede the series in advance, just as he had formally conceded the Ashes barely a week ago. He looked as if he wanted to run out of the room. After all he is Australia’s run-out specialist. “Yep, spot on,” he said.
Watson had looked sorrowful in Melbourne. He looks traumatised in Sydney. Australia had conceded their highest total against England in Australia. They were still 151 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat with only three wickets remaining, facing the prospect of a third innings defeat in a series. It is unprecedented. It is extraordinary. England seem to be making history on a daily basis.
A Watson Ashes media conference has become one of the saddest things in the world. It would be wise to place a box of tissues on the interview table along with the sponsors’ drinks. He stares upon the wreckage of Australia’s series and cannot comprehend it. Little wonder. Some of the statistics are beyond belief.
Only Mike Hussey among Australia’s players has had a better series than Watson. But he has his own personal nightmare to deal with: three run-outs. He was not sure whether it was his fault or his partners’, whether it was technical or mental, black or white, right or wrong, yes or no.
“It’s not good, is it? It’s hard to put a finger on it,” said Watson. “It’s a horrendous situation to be involved in three run-outs now. It’s something I’ve got to work on, no doubt, because it’s just not good enough. Batting at the top of the order is hard enough as it is without run-outs.
“We had so much to play for in this game,” he continued. “Unfortunately we’ve been totally outplayed again. There is no doubt we’ve let ourselves down in the way that we’ve played but the English have played extremely well in the last two games.
“They’ve made the most of all conditions, whether it’s been swinging or seaming in the first innings, or going reverse and turning. They have really been outstanding. Hats off to them, they’ve played unbelievably well. We haven’t played up to our standard.
“With the history of the Ashes, and playing in our home conditions, it has surprised me in a way. The way England have played, and how complete a team they are, and the way that all of their players have continually stood up throughout the series, it has been very impressive. The Australian team hasn’t done that. The English have totally outplayed us.”
Watson is a decent man, sensitive to the sapping of spirits around Australia. When he expresses his guilt about letting down the Australian public, you sense he means it. It is better to be an apologiser than an apologist. “We don’t want to be losing the support that we’ve had for such a long time,” he said. The Australian public are tough enough to withstand a thrashing or two.
He can be more confident than most of holding his place in any Australian shake-up but talk of him as a future Australia captain is desperate stuff, promoted by the Anybody-But-Michael-Clarke lobby. Australia need a captain full of resolve and invention, not one who can run 22 yards in a dream world. Watson must fear he will never play again in an all-powerful Australia side.
“It would be nice to be part of a golden era,” he said wistfully.
And with that observation he set off on his final guilt trip, completing the 22 yards to the door of the media room without further mishap. One run, safely negotiated. One of the unhappiest runs of his life.
Guardian Service
Morgan to gain as Collingwood goes
PAUL Collingwood is to quit Test cricket after the fifth Ashes Series comes to a conclusion, the England batsman said yesterday, going out on a high after helping to retain the famous urn in Australia for the first time in 24 years.
The 34-year-old will continue as captain of England’s world champion Twenty20 team and the one-day team, which will contest the World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh starting next month.
Collingwood’s decision to step down is sure to open the door for Dubliner Eoin Morgan to stake a claim in England’s all-conquering Test team.
Morgan has waited patiently in the wings during this series with many feeling he deserved a place in the starting line-up ahead of a misfiring Collingwood.
