the newts.net

I love this little excerpt from this article written by Aussie John Huxley in December 04:

“The Pakistanis are being signed up for psychological counselling. The Kiwis have limped away, licking their wounds. The Indians are still recovering from a hiding on their own, brown, brown grass of home. And many of the other so-called cricketing nations around the world are in disarray.

But former captain and current team selector Allan Border has the perfect answer for all those fans now lamenting Australia’s long run of lopsided Test triumphs. Bring on the Poms!

Seriously. “I know they’ve said it all before, but I really think the English are on the way back. They’ve learned from the way Australia does things, put together a useful team and I’m hopeful this time that they can provide us with some really hard-fought games.”

Bring on the Poms indeed, and we’ll do more than provide you with some really hard-fought games, we’ll whip your cork dangling, XXXX swilling, kangaroo hide arses into the bargain!

What an absolutely fantastic and well deserved culmination to the summer spectacle that is already being dubbed in some very expeienced cricket circles as the best ashes series EVER. A fantastic team performance where, to coin an Americanism, someone always ’stepped up to the plate’ when it really mattered. Freddie Flintoff - man of the series - obviously. Enough said. Ashley Giles’ contribution with the bat, hanging in there when the ship needed steadying - remarkable - something it seems the English tail has lacked for a number of years now. Kevin Pietersen’s heroic century at the Oval - awe inspiring - how on earth did South Africa let HIM slip through their fingers? Trescothick and Strauss the rock that is the opening pair and Vaughny. Vaughny, Vaughny, vaughny. Great inspiration, great leadership, great captain, great guy.

I was brought up playing cricket at school (a rareity now that the government’s sold off all the school playing fields), and have followed where possible every ball of every test match every summer and winter. Even staying up throughout the night listening to overseas tours into the wee small hours of the morning on Five Live or Radio 4’s TMS. And today is like pay day. It’s like 25 years of paydays for the hours I’ve put in. Today we WON THE ASHES! Today we relinquished the arch enemies vice like grip of that tiny little urn they’ve had for far too long that belongs to us. Today the Ashes came home.

I was astounded by this poll on Sky News. The question was Which is the more beautiful game, Football or Cricket. My guess for what it’s worth, before this ashes series, would have been 85% in favour of football. Probably 90%. In the light of what’s gone on, the current result is Cricket - 48.30% (4,475 votes) / Football 51.69% (4,790 votes). Gobsmacked.

Enough of my partisan ramblings about our rapacious rollocking of the boys from down under, lest not we forget it takes two to tango. A huge amount of credit goes to the Aussies for their out and out good sportmanship. They gave their all every step of the way, never said die, and above all were men enough to be magnanimous in defeat. You can never take away from them their amazing achievements reigning supreme over the last 15 years. And let’s be fair, until we beat them on their home turf like they’ve done us for so many years, they are still the best cricket team in the world.

That crown’s taken an almighty whack and slipped precariously today though, er, and we hold the Ashes :0))