Victory of the mind at Old Trafford

Australia will go into 4^th Test of the Investec Ashes with a lot more confidence than they have been able to in the recent past.

The 3^rd Test at Old Trafford saw a reversal of fortunes with Australia dominating England for most part of the match. In the end, it was another English factor - the weather that ensured a save for the home team when Australia were starting to clean things up at a quick pace on Day 5.

Having faced criticisms and salvos all around them and with the looming danger of a whitewash to be made bigger with a third consecutive defeat in the series, the performance at Old Trafford was partly reminiscent of the Australian toughness and gave the fans something to cheer about.

Winning the toss for the first time in the series, Australia decided to bat and went on to put up a mighty score of 527 for 7 wickets declared. They had not crossed 300 runs in an innings prior to this in the series. The score was helped on its way by some near misses – a near double century missed by Michael Clarke and centuries sniffed by opener Chris Rogers and middle order bat, Steve Smith.

The declaration was a clear signal that Clarke was looking for a result in this one with the backing of the runs and was not going to be content with a draw.

England had plenty to be bothered about in their chase. But for a century from Kevin Pietersen, a century stand that he shared with Ian Bell and some quick runs on the morning of Day 4 by Stuart Broad, England could have fallen well short of the target to avoid follow-on. There was a phase when this plausibility exerted itself quite heavily. 

After England folded up and post some mild drama on Day 4 and with a full day’s game to go, the English were thrown a score of 332 to chase down. The Australian quickies in Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle bowled with a lot gumption and were on target once again. The scent of a victory was starting to set in at 3-27 when during lunch 4 overs later, the English weather contrived to stand in the way.

Australia could not come up with plans to tackle the weather’s challenges and had to be content with a draw. Michael Clarke and Deputy Brad Haddin might have sounded disappointed after the game but deep inside, they knew that they had fought for and won a mental victory half way through the series. The structure of the series would mean that England get to keep the Ashes even if Australia go on to win the remaining 2 Tests and draw the series but it was fairly unrealistic with the current constitution and form of the Australian and English teams that the Ashes would travel eastwards. Steve Waugh, one of the best skippers that Australian and World cricket have seen, was more forthright in his assessment about not being saddened at not winning the ashes.

Australia had made some right moves in the team combination ahead of this test and might further tweak the batting order as hinted by the skipper. A win would have done wonders for the confidence of Michael Clarke’s team but he and Darren Lehmann would be mighty proud of the fight back, the manner in which their down-slide was arrested, the resolve that both the batting and bowling departments displayed as a team more than just some spirited individuals and the momentum they get to carry forward to the next game. A more than interesting contest could be on the cards in the next couple of weeks!