England have cause for optimism despite Ashes reversal

Played 13, won four, lost seven, drawn two

Review of the Year by Stephen Lamb28-Dec-2001Played 13, won four, lost seven, drawn two. As an end-of-year Test ledger it leaves a lot to be desired, but it also fails to tell the story of some doughty campaigns fought by England in 2001. Take out the Australians (how they would have loved to!) and it would look a whole lot brighter. But in the real world, Steve Waugh’s men are never that far down the track. By this time next year the Ashes will be ablaze once more, and on current evidence the heat looks likely to be on England once again.

It began badly in the cauldron of Galle, and ended in unseasonably sopping, Bangalore frustration. But in between came England’s greatest achievement of the year, to win a three-Test series after going one-nil down, and in Sri Lanka at that. There were early signs of Marcus Trescothick’s coming of international age (his maiden Test hundred in the Galle defeat), and the bravery in adversity of Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick. Crucially, there was Nasser Hussain’s return to form in Kandy, after a wretched run of form compounded by poor umpiring decisions in Pakistan. And all the while there was Graham Thorpe, unflappably nudging and nurdling, and ultimately playing the decisive part in Colombo as he conquered heat exhaustion to ensure England’s triumph.Four series wins in a row. “Bring on the Aussies!” they started to cry, but there was a short and significant encounter first, which could we but know it, would turn England’s progress into disconcerting reverse. At the outset it seemed merely a triumphal continuation, with an innings victory over an under-cooked Pakistan at Lord’s. Gough and Caddick were rampant again, the duo now bearing reasonable comparison with Trueman and Statham. Then came Old Trafford and a true feast of a Test match, but for England the taste was ultimately sour. After competing effectively for four-and-a-half days on an excellent pitch, they contrived one of their horrible collapses. To the near-disbelief of many watching, England subsided from 201 for two to 261 all out, leaving Pakistan victors by 108 runs and England’s growing reputation for tenacity tarnished. Steve Waugh, who had promised to reopen some old scars, was sharpening his scalpel delightedly.With Hussain out injured since the Lord’s Test, Alec Stewart led England through a one-day tournament which can only have encouraged the doubts to fester. To the increasingly ludicrous strains of “The Great Escape”, batsman after batsman was snared by Australia or Pakistan, as England were trussed up and roasted in six matches out of six. Only at Bristol did they do themselves justice, as they ran Australia close before Ian Harvey clinched it with a towering six at his home from home. Although a 5-0 thrashing of Zimbabwe brought an autumnal revival to England’s one-day spirits, there is a lot to do in the year and a bit before the World Cup in South Africa.The build-up to the Ashes, already blighted by recent defeats, was further disrupted by a string of injuries. Although Hussain returned for the first Test at Edgbaston, the batting line-up was weakened there by the absence of Thorpe and Michael Vaughan. The blow to Hussain’s finger which put him out of the next two Tests with his second injury of the summer could hardly have been more sickening, either for him or for England supporters. With Ashley Giles suffering from a long-term Achilles problem, England were at no stage able to field their first-choice XI.

That said, in the face of truly magnificent Australian opposition, it is doubtful whether the outcome would have been very different. The tourists retained the Ashes at the earliest opportunity, going 3-0 up at Trent Bridge after dominating session after session. England compounded their problems by spilling several catches at Lord’s, including the awesome Adam Gilchrist, who left an indelible impression on his first Test series in England. Steve Waugh was at his most immovable, twin Mark at his most sublime. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne again proved that they are world-beaters.But for the flash of inspiration when Mark Butcher played the innings of his life at Leeds, there would have been nothing to savour at all. But Butcher’s unbeaten 173 delighted the capacity Monday crowd, while enhancing Headingley’s reputation for unpredictability. That was as good as it got. Australia made it 4-1 by an innings at The Oval, and Michael Atherton retired without an Ashes-winning series to his credit.So if India could beat Australia at home, what on earth would they do to England, shorn as they were, for various reasons, of Atherton, Stewart, Gough and Caddick? Cricket has a wonderful way of rendering such questions facile, and it was greatly to their credit that after a disastrous start in Mohali, England had the better of the two drawn Tests that followed. Although Tendulkar twinkled as only he can, support at the other end was often brittle. Several England youngsters progressed, among them Matthew Hoggard, who bowled his heart out, and the debutants James Foster and Richard Dawson. In the end it was defeat with honour, with much of the credit due to the experienced partnership of Hussain and Duncan Fletcher.Hussain himself has pointed out that there are no easy Test series these days. New Zealand are a more than handy outfit, who will no doubt extend England in March. Before that they must measure October’s progress in Zimbabwe against successive one-day tournaments in India and New Zealand. Last summer showed England that their renaissance was more fragile than many had believed, but events since have reassured their many supporters that it is far from being snuffed out.