Last night this game was very interestingly poised. A win for either side was very much on the cards, as was the draw. At the close of play tonight, there can only be one winner. No prizes for guessing which team that is. England began the day needing Cook to dig in and score another ‘daddy’, as his mentor Graham Gooch would say. Once again, in a manner that is becoming astonishingly regular, Cook batted and batted... and batted. By the time he was eventually dismissed he had eased his way to the small matter of 189 runs and in doing so has all but secured the series for England. It would take a collapse of Adelaide-esque proportions for England to lose now.
I have waxed lyrical about Alastair Cook before in this series and I will do it again but first, I must acknowledge his sidekick for today, Ian Bell. Bell has been incredibly unfortunate in this series. He has arguably been in the form of his life but a number of factors have stood in the way of his first Ashes hundred. These have ranged from running out of partners to not even getting to the crease (as was the case in Brisbane and for most of the innings, Adelaide). Despite not managing to score that elusive century, Bell has showed mountains of class during this series. He has scored runs when nobody else has, most notably in Brisbane and Perth when he scored two incredibly assured half-centuries which surely would have been converted had it not been for the lack of support from his fellow batsmen.
In Sydney today, Bell ran into no such problems. Bell batted with such beauty and serenity you felt like you could have been watching the ballet. I would argue there is no prettier player in the world at the moment than Ian Bell. Show me an alternative and I will show you an Ian Bell cover drive. The shot that stood out the most for me today was the one which took him from 90 to 94. It was a drive which split the small gap between extra cover and mid-off and then sped off towards the boundary. It was a shot of such elegance and precision that I could have happily sat and watched replays of it all day. When you also consider his nerves (moving into the nineties is incredibly nerve-wracking, especially so when your first Ashes hundred is at stake) the shot becomes even better. He moved to his hundred with ease and you could not help but smile as Bell recorded his first Ashes century. It is a special moment for any player but it’s even better if you have been waiting as long as Bell has.
Bell and Cook have moved England into yet another dominant position. They lead by 208 runs and will be dreaming of another innings victory if the lower order can add another 100 runs. Matt Prior will have the job of shepherding the tail, albeit a very capable one with Bresnan currently batting and Graeme Swann in next. Prior will be aiming to become the 6th English centurion tomorrow and you would be a brave man to bet against him. Barring his very lucky escape from the referral system (an escape which showed the UDRS is far from perfect) he was at his belligerent best. He is fast becoming one of the world’s most dangerous No.7’s. Some of the shots he pulled out this evening were of the highest class, most notably a scorching cover drive which gave Ian Bell a run for his money for shot of the day. Prior certainly does a good job of kicking an opponent when they’re down, something all the best sides do.
One must not forget the man who built the base for Prior’s late assault. Although I don’t know why I am worried. I doubt anyone will ever forget Alastair Cook after the incredible series he has had. The word incredible gets bandied around and has lost much of it’s meaning but believe me, Cook has been absolutely incredible in this series. Only Wally Hammond has scored more runs for England on an Ashes tour than Cook’s current tally of 766 runs.
Hopefully Cook can use this series as a springboard for future success. He certainly has immense talent, that much is clear to anyone who has watched him in this series, but he has always struggled to score heavy runs consistently. He will need to turn this around if he wants to be considered an England great, something he should be aspiring to be. He is very well placed to end his career as England’s all-time leading scorer as he is still quite young and will play many more Tests. Cook has laid down the gauntlet for himself, let’s see if he is up to the challenge.
I think it is safe to say that England have won this series. They are also very well placed to win this game by an innings for the third time this tour. If they do so It would be the first time this has been achieved in an Ashes series.
Before this series I had doubts over Alastair Cook. I did not think he was good enough to succeed in Australia. Has anyone ever been proven wrong quite so emphatically as me? It’s doubtful. Cook will leave Australia with a bunch of records and surely the man of the series award under his belt. All I can say is, I’ve never been so happy to have been proven wrong.
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