Daily Mail - 27.08.2019

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Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 27, 2019

73

GREATEST

ASHES

TESTS

G

(^5) BY LAWRENCE BOOTH

1. HEADINGLEY 2019

IT IS over a century since a

team won a Test after being

bowled out for as few as 67

runs. And only once before

has a higher 10th-wicket

stand taken a side to victory.

That’s before we get to the

very human details of Ben

Stokes’s guts and skill, Jack

Leach’s glasses, Tim Paine’s

review and Nathan Lyon’s

fumble. For sheer drama,

we have a new name on

the leaderboard.

2. EDGBASTON 2005

And what a game it has pushed

into second place. Australia

needed three to win when

Steve Harmison had Michael

Kasprowicz caught down the

leg side by Geraint Jones. The

drama was heightened in those

pre-dRS days by the fact that

Kasprowicz’s glove was off the

bat handle, but England

weren’t complaining. Instead

of going 2-0 down, which would

inevitably have led to a ninth

successive Ashes defeat, they

ended up winning the mother

of all Test series 2-1.

3. HEADINGLEY 1981

FOR years, the Test to end all

Tests. Ian Botham slogged an

unbeaten 149 as England

followed on, then Bob Willis

charged in on his wonky

knees to take eight for 43.

Many details remain

legendary: England’s players

checking out of their hotels

early in expectation of

defeat, Australians Rod Marsh

and Dennis Lillee taking up a

bookie’s odds of 500-1 against

an England win, and Richie

Benaud’s commentary

during the Botham blitz:

‘That’s gone straight into

the confectionery stall —

and out again.’

4. THE OVAL 1882

THIS was the Test that gave

rise to the Ashes. England,

needing 85 to win, reached

51 for two before collapsing

to 77 all out, with Frederick

Spofforth — enraged by the

gamesmanship of WG Grace —

taking seven for 44. next day,

the Sporting Times printed a

mock obituary of English

cricket, but later that year an

England side captained by Ivo

Bligh took revenge down Under.

Bligh was presented with an

urn containing some ashes (of

a ball, a bail or maybe even a

veil) and a legend was born.

5. MELBOURNE 1982

ANOTHER close one that went

England’s way. Needing 292

to retain the Ashes, Australia

slipped to 218 for nine,

before Allan Border and Jeff

Thomson embarked on a

partnership that held two

nations in rapture and ended,

agonisingly, on 288 when

Thomson slashed Botham

into the slips. Chris Tavare

juggled the catch, but Geoff

Miller was alert to the

rebound and England had

won by three runs.

the chat from now on has to be all

about Ben Stokes.

NEWMAN: To cricketing great-

ness. To become the best all-

rounder in the world and the best

England have ever had. To fulfil all

that potential he was in danger of

throwing away on that dark night

in Bristol. To inspire children to

take up the game, as Ian Botham

did to me and so many others all

those years ago. And to create

that same sense of awe I still feel

whenever I bump into Sir Beefy in

various media centres around the

world, because ‘it’s Ian Botham!’

Stokes is capable of all this now

and more.

BOOTH: Onwards and upwards.

He’s still only 28, but he’s kept

himself in better physical shape

than England’s two other larger-

than-life all-rounders, Botham

and Flintoff, and he has a real love

for the game and his team-mates.

Stokes is the real leader in this

Test team, but vice-captain is

where he should remain: imagine

how many overs he would bowl if

he was in charge. now that he’s

got Bristol out of his system, he

can be as good as he wants to be

— or, possibly, as good as the ridic-

ulously packed schedule allows.

HUSSAIN: I think Stokes will

carry on doing exactly what he’s

been doing. He’ll train just as hard,

and he won’t get big-headed. He’ll

remain an incredibly popular team

man. The only question is how he

gets looked after, which will be a

debate for the ECB and his man-

agement company. Yes, he

deserves to make big bucks at the

IPL, and he’s probably just added

another ‘0’ to his contract, but

they will need to keep a careful eye

on his workload. He’s an all-

rounder in all three formats, and

we have to make sure he doesn’t

burn out, like Botham and Flintoff

before him.

WHAT SHOULD

ENGLAND DO NOW?

HUSSAIN: The big question is

the fitness of Jimmy Anderson. If

he gets through enough overs

before the fourth Test, and both

he and the medical staff think he’s

fit to play at Manchester, then he

fits into the equation ahead of

Chris Woakes. But we can’t afford

a repeat of Edgbaston. In terms of

the batting, I’ve said all along

that I’d like to move Joe denly up

to open, promote Stokes to

no 4 and allow Jason Roy to go in

at no 5.

LLOYD: Will Anderson be prop-

erly fit? It’s a risk, especially after

Edgbaston. What he needs is

proper mileage in his legs, not

some two-day second-team exhi-

bition game. And if Jason Roy was

good enough two Tests ago, he’s

good enough now. We can’t just

keep jettisoning players. The only

possible change I’d consider is

bringing in dawid Malan for Joe

denly, but I’m inclined to stick

with the same side.

BOOTH: Two players are looking

a bit weary: Jos Buttler and Chris

Woakes. They’ve both had emo-

tionally draining summers, and

there’s no shame in giving them a

game or two off ahead of the

winter. I’d give Ollie Pope a go at

no 6 (not at no 4, where he batted

in two Tests last summer against

India), and Sam Curran at no 8.

There’s talk about Jimmy Ander-

son, but are they going to risk him

after Edgbaston? Plus, the tail

would then consist of two no 10s

and two no 11s. That could

prove costly.

NEWMAN: We cannot just think

everything is rosy in the England

garden now. Yes, they can bat

properly, but they have to go on to

win the Ashes now and I’d make

some tweaks. The experiment

with Jason Roy at the top of the

order was worth a go but it hasn’t

worked and I’d move him to the

middle order. Chris Woakes and

Jos Buttler still look to be suffer-

ing from a World Cup hangover

and I would take them out of the

firing line. And, sorry Jonny, but

Ben Foakes to come in and take

the gloves. He is a proper Test

cricketer and deserves another

shot. Ollie Pope and Sam Curran’s

time will come.

WHAT ABOUT THE

AUSSIES? HOW DO

THEY RECOVER FROM

HEADINGLEY?

BOOTH: Captain Tim Paine

talked a good game on Sunday

evening, saying Australia could

have won all of the first three

Tests. And he’s right. So the fact

that it’s 1-1 may leave them with

the kind of sinking feeling they

experienced in 1981 and 2005.

nathan Lyon, in particular, will

have to pick himself up, though

not many English cricketers will

be shedding a tear for him. The

return of Steve Smith changes the

dynamic once more, and he should

replace Matthew Wade, who has

only a help-yourself hundred in

the second innings at Edgbaston

to his name.

NEWMAN: It will be very tough

for Australia to come back from

this, and England’s job is to make

sure they don’t. Who knows

whether Steve Smith will be quite

the same when he comes back but

there are two clear candidates for

him to replace in Usman Khawaja

or Matthew Wade. All the pressure

is on the Aussies and a captain in

Tim Paine whose leadership was

as dodgy as his batting in Leeds.

Mitchell Starc will play on the

quickest pitch in the series, which

is not over yet. But I stand by what

I said the moment the Lord’s Test

was drawn. And what I wished I

hadn’t said when they were bowled

out for 67 on Friday. England will

win the Ashes.

LLOYD: Australia will be reeling.

They messed up a run-out and

used up their reviews, although I

still think that lbw shout against

Stokes was sliding down the leg

side. Hawk-Eye doesn’t seem to

have picked up the fact that it

deviates after hitting his front pad.

As for nathan Lyon, people will

think back to the moment when

he dropped the ball on AB de

Villiers after he was run out in a

Test in South Africa. For me,

Smith comes in for Khawaja.

HUSSAIN: Australia’s issues will

be psychological. They still have a

fantastic bowling attack, and they

know all about England’s batting

frailty. But they have to put Head-

ingley behind them. Mitchell Starc

should come in on what is expected

to be the quickest pitch in the

series, probably for James Pattin-

son, although they may decide

that Pat Cummins needs a rest.

And Steve Smith plays instead of

either Travis Head or Matthew

Wade. Usman Khawaja has enough

credit in the bank to survive. Tim

Paine’s a problem — both because

of his lack of runs and his poor

reviewing — but they’re not

dropping the captain.

genius... but we

doesn’t burn out

HUSSAIN’S ENGLAND TEAM: Burns, Denly, Root

(capt), Stokes, Roy, Bairstow (wkt), Buttler, Archer,

Broad, Leach, Anderson.

BOOTH’S TEAM: Burns, Roy, Root (capt), Denly, Stokes,

Pope, Bairstow (wkt), Curran, Archer, Broad, Leach.

NEWMAN’S TEAM: Burns, Denly, Root (capt),

Bairstow, Stokes, Roy, Foakes (wkt), Archer, Broad,

Leach, Anderson.

LLOYD’S TEAM: Burns, Roy, Root (capt), Denly,

Stokes, Bairstow (wkt), Buttler, Woakes, Archer,

Broad, Leach.

OUR LINE-UPS FOR OLD TRAFFORD...