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The Ashes So Far...

Wednesday 22nd December 2010 Three Test matches into the Ashes this year and there is hardly anything to separate the two sides. The series is tied with both sides having won a game after a dull draw on a flat Gabba track in Brisbane; the match-looking well alive and kicking thanks to Adelaide and Perth.

Brisbane has usually been termed as the Fort Knox for Australia but after the first day's play had seen Peter Siddle capture a hat-trick and push England back to 260 all out, the pitch died out. Australia struggled to begin with before Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin scored a century each to allow the side a 221-run lead.

What followed was something that the Aussies wouldn't have been prepared for. In the around-180 overs that they had to bowl England out and try to achieve the target set for them, they could pick up only one wicket. England scored 517 even as Alastair Cook made a double century while Andrew Strauss and Jonathon Trott chipped in with a century each.

To be fair, even the track at Adelaide was as friendly to the bowlers as a mongoose is to a snake. It was only that England were allowed to take full toll of the wicket thanks to a return-to-form double century from Kevin Pietersen and continuing run-making from the vice-captain Alastair Cook. A total of 245 was never going to be enough and with Johnson out of the side and no spinner to bank upon, England ran away winners. By an innings and 71.

At WACA, England seemed to have made the correct decision by electing to field first and reducing Australia to 69/5. The home team recovered through the batting of Hussey (again!) and Johnson as they took the total to 268. At this stage, it did look like Adelaide could repeat itself if England did manage to bat out for about a couple of days. As it turned out, the English side were bowled out for a combined total of 310 runs in less than 100 overs in their two innings.

Hussey got to another century and currently leads the run-making charts (517 as compared to Cook's 495) while Johnson announced his return to Test cricket with a stunning ability to swing the ball back into the batsmen. He picked up nine wickets and his demeanour was a far cry from what one had experienced in the first game. Interestingly, after the top two run-scorers with around 500 to their names, Shane Watson comes in at third with 293, clearly exhibiting the lack of consistency shown by all but the top two.

Ironically, despite Steven Finn's 14 wicket haul being at the top of the charts till now, there is a clamour to have him replaced by another pace bowler because of his propensity to concede runs.