Ricky Ponting and his mates were right after all: they do perform best when it matters most, and they did come back from being a match behind with two to play
Peter English at Headingley09-Aug-2009The Australian way is starting to win again and the team’s internal prophecies are coming true. Ricky Ponting and his mates were right after all: they do perform best when it matters most, and they did come back from being a match behind with two to play. For two-and-a-half days they looked like the best side in the world again, but the innings-and-80-run victory in Leeds had as much to do with what Australia did as what England didn’t.These are not two wonderful teams clawing at each other, but outfits whose performances blow between below and above average. Whoever slips first loses and at Headingley that was England. Despite Australia’s swift success, the most damaging result of the series, it is still impossible to retain absolute faith that they will do it again at The Oval on August 20. This young-and-old collection does not yet have winning as an ingrained habit. If they did they would not have slipped so far after their mountain climbing in South Africa earlier in the year.While they don’t carry the heroes or status of previous Australian sides, they cling to the same expectations when it comes to results and playing styles. They only need to draw in south London to win the Ashes but will only consider victory. Australian cricketers don’t like being stuck in the middle ground and stalemates, except for the one at Edgbaston, feel more like defeats.By maintaining their attacking values in the fourth Test they were able to negate England’s month-long advantage and will now start as a team that feels on top rather than behind. These are intriguing shifts for players still trying to get to know life in the upper realms.What is not in doubt is this squad is tougher than over the first half of the series. In Leeds Brad Haddin kept wicket with a broken finger, the bowlers’ aggression was real, not manufactured, and once the batsmen were set they didn’t exit to casual shots. They were collectively in-tune and on form.”I’ve been ultra proud of the way we’ve responded in a big game,” Ponting said. “I said before the game that there’s been a real feeling of excitement around our group. I just felt a really good performance was around the corner and I think we’ve shown that over the last couple of days.”Mitchell Johnson is no longer a weak link, finishing the game off with 5 for 69 in the second innings, the bowlers were complementary instead of a catastrophe and the middle order, where Michael Clarke and Marcus North stood, has kept the side safe for two matches. This makes Australia a team rather than an awkward composition and they have traded places with England, whose sudden mis-match of personalities suffer without their alpha males.For two innings Johnson operated like a leader again, a performance which was a relief to everyone but the England batsmen who thought he was fast and over-rated. Ian Bell’s life now revolves around not only evading Johnson’s short balls, but also getting his pad out of the road from his inswingers. The return of the occasional curve signals Johnson’s comeback.”Having him in that sort of form and having that confidence under his belt going into the Test at 1-1 are really good signs for us,” Ponting said. “He’s worked exceptionally hard with Troy [Cooley, the bowling coach]. Any minute he’s got outside of actually being out on the field bowling, he’s been working on his action or little things he can do to make himself better. It’s great to see when guys have got that attitude that things can turn around pretty quickly.” It didn’t feel like a fast recovery at the time, but it appears complete.Still, this series has swung with every match so neither the teams nor the individuals can look at anything as a long-term trend. What has changed is the Australians have started to do what they said they would. “We did everything we talked about in the team meetings,” Ponting said. Losing sides become weighed down in discussions, but the tourists were able to turn on the action.In the opening session they grabbed control on the way to dismissing England for 102 and were not interrupted until the final day when Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann cut the final margin to an innings and 80 runs. While it was incredibly entertaining and good fun, the free-hitting did nothing but delay Australia’s party.”I feel that the last couple of days have been the best that we’ve played for the series and it’s given us a blueprint for what we need to do for the next Test,” Ponting said. If Australia replicate this performance at The Oval then a 2-1 series victory is theirs, but backing up is not guaranteed for a regenerating side, especially one that has more than a week to consider the consequences.They have five days before their next tour match, a two-day affair in Kent at the weekend, and start with two days off in Leeds before travelling south. Unless Brett Lee takes five wickets or a bowler breaks down, the warm-up will have no influence on the line-up at The Oval. The conditions will determine whether they go with the same four-man pace attack or three quicks and a spinner in their most important match.Although Australia have developed instant feelings of security, in this series moods can change as quickly as the time taken to set off a fire alarm. For those who have watched Australia since the mid-1990s it’s unusual feeling uncertain about an outfit that has just been so comprehensive. These are different times and this is a team which is developing faith in each other and their supporters.At Headingley England were rubbish and Australia were great, just like old times. This topsy-turvy campaign has been absorbing and intense, but both teams have enough frailties that they can’t guarantee victory at The Oval.
