Plans come together for captain Cook
England's victory in Cardiff has put them 1-0 up in the Investec Ashes and it also unleashed a wave of positivity in the media
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Jul-2015
England's victory in Cardiff has put them 1-0 up in the Investec Ashes and it also unleashed a wave of positivity in the media. Unsurpisingly, plenty fell the way of Alastair Cook, England's captain, after his side outmanoeuvred that of his counterpart, Michael Clarke. Oliver Holt, writing in the Mail on Sunday, felt that England had finally stepped out of Kevin Pietersen's shadow after a trying period that had been particular hard on Cook:
Even if he did not excel with the bat here, this victory was a personal triumph for Cook as well. He has become the face of England's fall from grace in the last two years, widely pilloried for his caution as skipper and blamed for England's decline.
But Cook has also been liberated by the influence of Farbrace and Bayliss. His field settings were aggressive and imaginative during this Test. England came into the match with plans for each batsmen and Cook and his bowlers stuck to them. They were disciplined and they were patient.
During England's struggles, in particular the 2013-14 whitewash, Cook came in for heavy criticism as a leader. Steve James, in the Telegraph, suggests that while a lot of this was misplaced now was time to single him out for praise. The wicket of Brad Haddin, caught spectacularly by Cook at short midwicket off Moeen Ali, was one of the "sweetest" moments of the Test:
Falling backwards he thrust his right hand up to take the rebound to general delirium around him. Another plan had worked and another wicket was taken. Another good catch had been taken (Cook was to parry another for Adam Lyth later). In that one moment was encapsulated how far England have come in the field. The bowling, out-cricket and captaincy have all improved hugely.
While England's joy was unconfined, there was acute pain for Australia. It was a particularly tough match for Shane Watson, who was already facing competition for his place in the side from Mitchell Marsh. Greg Baum, writing in the the Sydney Morning Herald, described Watson as a "symptom" of the problems facing an ageing Australia side:
Watson wasn't the cause this day. This first Ashes Test probably was lost by the time he came in, and certainly long before he was out an hour-and-a-half later. But he was a symptom. In sport, to do the same thing over and over and expect a more favourable result is not necessarily the definition of insanity; what, otherwise, is practice? But there is a difference between training your habits and being set in your ways. There is a difference between just in time and too late. There is a difference between lowered eyes and blinkers.