Alex Massie Alex Massie

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: If Swanny Don’t Get You, Anderson Must

So, little blogging here. Partly because, even more so than usual, I’ve been living on Australian time these past few days. I’ve a quick piece up at Critical Reaction on the Adelaide Massacre:

Never mind ‘Were you up for Portillo?’ Were you up for Adelaide? An entire generation of England supporters have waited all their lives for this sort of payback moment. Not since 1985 have England dominated a series in this fashion; not since Mike Gatting led MCC to victory in 1986-87 have England enjoyed even a marginal supremacy Down Under. 

Indeed, Gatting’s side was the last to win a ‘live’ test in Australia. You have to be over 35 to recall such blissful moments; you have to be over 45 not to have been waiting all your adult life to savour them again.

So England supporters should revel in this moment. It has been a long time coming. Victory in Perth will, gratifyingly, ensure that England have retained the Ashes by Christmas. That’s the first objective; winning the series the second. Pitying the Australians for their feebleness can wait.

You get the picture. Of course, over-confidence should be resisted. This is cricket and everything may yet change. But form and momentum counts for a lot and, at present, it’s all with England. I doubt many Australian supporters are as sage as Norm but, like him, they too must make do with the consolations of their recent supremacy. It was a mighty, if over-long, run. I’ll say this, however: Punter will get runs in Perth…

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