The 24-year-old can look forward to his first year of uninterrupted Test cricket after an Ashes that looks to have laid to rest an injury-plagued start to his careerSydney is a city of celebration in January. A place that really loves a firework to see in the new year. What they enjoy more than that is the coronation of a rampant Australia finishing off a five-nil Ashes whitewash, or saying farewell to a champion (or three). But with neither of those joys available and the opening morning of the fifth Test washed away, it was all a bit drab until, with a late surge, the ground awoke.The best treat locals have had at the SCG in modern times was when...
Cook’s 244 not out in Melbourne underlined his status as a great of the game, just as Warner’s versatility showed there is no one-size-fits-all route to successCricket is a sport of wonderful contrasts and during the Melbourne Test we saw the beauty of this in Alastair Cook and David Warner. Here are two champions who are performing the same job for their team and yet could not be more different in terms of personality or the way they go about their business. “Finding a way” is a very good coaching phrase in cricket. It denotes the individuality of this team sport. There is no one-size-fits-all route to success, rather a unique path that each player must take to get the...
The Australian opener demonstrated his maturity and judgment in a duel with the England seamer that showcased two masters of their craftThe impulse on sodden days is to say nothing much happened but there is a joy in our game in locating something meaningful from these moments. Fractals within fractals, where the greatest beauty sits within the deepest detail.Sure, there will not be a documentary made about the middle session of day four of this Ashes Test, where 33 runs were tallied in not even 19 overs before rain intervened. When the Wisden bible reports on this middling fixture, it may not even warrant a line. Related: Rain stalls England's push for victory after attritional day of Ashes cricket Warner...
In addition to his speed machines enduring a slowdown and England’s Alastair Cook in imperious nick, Steve Smith experienced a sudden bout of butter fingers on a draining third day for Australia’s main manYou know it has not gone well for Australia when their coach fronts the media at stumps. Bad Day Boof is what it’s called when Darren Lehmann steps in front of the cameras but this was a case of Sad Day Smudge. Steve Smith started the morning with an upset stomach and could only have ended his draining shift in the field feeling worse.Run ragged by a champion in commanding nick, dropping catches, drawn into increasingly funky fields and, by the end, playing an unwilling game of...
The absence of Mitchell Starc and illness of Pat Cummins were mitigating factors but after a damning day for Australia at least some fingers should be pointing at 22 yards of Melbourne blandnessIf, as the Libertines sang, there is no more distressing sight than an Englishman in a baseball cap then surely there is no sadder image than an Australian seamer operating with the wicketkeeper up to the stumps on the second day of a home Test.But don’t blame Mitchell Marsh. Sure, he’s far from hitting the speed gun’s high notes since his return from shoulder surgery – but this is the story of the placid Melbourne pitch. In all the enthusiasm about the best-attended and most anticipated fixture on...