Dig in for the long haul
Australia must repose faith in patience and effort instead of relying on traditional cricket catchphrases and scouring for quick fixes to resurrect their Test match form writes Greg Baum of the Age
23-Jul-2013
Australia are blithely making changes in the hope one of them sparks an end to their decline. They have hidden behind traditional cricket catchphrases - something their world-beating predecessors overcame - instead of realising it takes patience, time and effort to to resurrect their Test match form writes Greg Baum of the Age
Two others catchcries, siblings really, are that "you have to play your natural game", and "you have to be aggressive". They don't stand up. Steve Waugh's natural game cost him his place in the Test team, and looked likely to waste a wonderful natural talent. So he reincarnated himself as a Puritan and had a long, productive and successful career.
Shane Watson's natural game now is to follow Jimmy Anderson's outswingers across the crease, driving merrily at one after another, then get out lbw when he nips one back. Yet still Watson refuses to modify it. The Australians' problem with DRS is not the disease, but a symptom. Simply, they cannot believe that they keep getting out. It wasn't like this once.
In the same paper, Malcolm Knox hints Australia will once again look to their "golden age" to pull them out of trouble
Scapegoats will be found, on a last-in, first-out basis. Pat Howard will go, as Mickey Arthur has already gone. John Inverarity and James Sutherland will eventually go, too, less for logic than for the appearance of decisive action. The resources of the golden age will be drawn upon - it has started with Lehmann and Mark Taylor, and eventually there will be legends in all high positions. This is the way cricket thinks. The West Indies did it a few years ago. It didn't make much difference on the field, but at least it removed a perception that the most distinguished cricket brains weren't being used.
Derek Pringle of the Telegraph explores an England side that is moving from strength to strength
Most dominant teams have five or six pillars that maintain their excellence, players on whom they can depend to perform more times than not. Before this Ashes series, they were James Anderson and Graeme Swann with the ball and Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior with the bat. But while Anderson and Swann have played their parts in England's two wins against Australia, the other pillars have not, with Ian Bell and Joe Root instead playing the telling innings. Happy situation though that is for the two leading run-scorers, it means this England team have consigned Australia to two defeats without ever firing fully.
Australia have blamed their losses in the Ashes so far on everything from the umpires and the DRS, to pitch conditions and bad luck. Glenn McGrath, in his column for The Guardian, identifies the simple truth behind the visitors' dismal performances.
Plenty of English fans have been telling me this is payback for all those years when their side couldn't even get a sniff of a series victory in the Ashes. I remember in the 1990s and early 2000s it seemed like every time we played there were a hundred different explanations each time England lost. We're seeing something a little similar in Australia now. Everyone wants to find a reason. To me a lot of those reasons sound like excuses. I'd say it is all pretty simple really, the 11 men in the team need to play better.