Strauss’ England Retain Ashes at the MCG as Ponting’s Reduced to a Shadow

By Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

   The road has been long and difficult, even treacherous at times. Even as England have yet to complete the mission of their summit down under, they can ring in the New Year with renewed energies as they have the cushion of having retained the Ashes urn to fall back on.
  
     The victory became more facile than expected as England did not even need an hour on the morning of the fourth day to complete the rout against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to defeat Australia by a margin of an innings and 157 runs. However, it is what happened on the previous three days that culminated in the victorious celebrations for England.

          If Australia were expected England to roll over twice in a row, they had another thing coming, quite literally. This time it was not Alastair Cook or Kevin PIetersen. It was the other man who had cost them the Ashes 2009 and has been silently going about his business with diligent purpose unmindful of being seen as someone behind the scenes, not in the forefront. Not any longer.

       With an unbeaten 168 to go with his Test century on debut, Jonathan Trott has written himself into the annals of cricket, into the glorious chapters of England’s history and epic battles against Australia in the most traditional of cricket conquests, the Ashes. After all, it has taken twenty-four years, since 1986, for England to retain the Ashes after winning it. While the job is not done as far as Andrew Strauss, the England captain, and Andy Flower, the England coach, are concerned, because there is the small matter of actually winning the Ashes after getting an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series, as far as the majority of England fans are concerned, England have redeemed themselves for the mishaps of the Perth Test that threatened to bring back England’s demons.

           Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain to lose the Ashes thrice, would envy England for the choice changes that have paid off as opposed to Australia who have been shooting darts in the dark. England would have felt they made a reasonable gamble in dropping Steven Finn for Tim Bresnan because while Finn has been a tired sensation of late, Bresnan is amongst untested water. To his credit, not only has he come good, but his inclusion has actually paid dividends for England with his four wicket haul in the second innings that hastened Australia’s demise in the eyes of their fans who are now calling for a heavy load of sacking. 

 As some Twitter fans have taken to the fancy badgering of #itspontingsfault.