Just a quick post tonight looking at the 3 Ashes test so far this winter and what I feel has been England's main downfall.
Firstly, congratulations to Australia, they have been the better team in pretty much every department, I still think their sportsmanship leaves a bit to be desired but none the less, congrats.
Right a bit of nitty gritty. I have read several articles, new stories and the like saying how England did not turn up with the bat, ball and/or the right mind set.
Yes form with the bat and ball has been lacking but there is one key area that has not had as much attention as I think there should have been. Fielding.
It has been mentioned that the fielding has been subpar this series, and it has been but I think what has been missed out is the discussion on how it affects the bigger picture.
In each test match England have had the Aussies on the ropes at some point (final innings score in brackets),1st test 1st innings 132-6 (295), 2nd test 2nd innings 65-3 (132-3 dec), 3rd test 1st innings 143-5 (385) but along the innings somewhere the fielding became wayward and lost it. Simple catches put down, run outs missed and general mis-fielding. These things have cost England not a few runs but a few hundred runs each time and snatched away any momentum.
Think about it, each time the Aussies recovered to double or more their score after each trouble spot. It took some bravery from their batsmen to dig themselves out but each run made matters worse for England, and each drop, spill etc magnified it. I have been there in games and have seen both sides of the coin, catches are missed, ground work is sloppy and heads drop, shoulders sag and tempers fray. Sound familiar? But a catch is taken and everything changes, the opposition are under a bit more pressure, the bowlers are buoyed as they know the rest of the team can support them when needed and everyone is happy. It also takes pressure off when it comes to batting, imagine if England had been facing only 250-300 runs to chase in the fourth innings of the match, I think we would have a different series scoreline. An oft mention factor has been so many batsmen out of form at the same time, well with lower scores to chase it would allow the batsmen to ease themselves back into form rather than try and do it under pressure chasing big totals.
It really goes to show the old adage "catches win matches" is very true and unfortunately England have shown us what happens when it does not happen, be aware all you cricketers out there, be very aware!!
It will be interesting to see what the final 2 games bring and if the fielding and results improve.
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