How I won the 2009 Ashes

[treva]

How I won the 2009 Ashes

Introduction

Boredom for me leads to writing, and having just completed my first Ashes series on Cricket Coach 2009, I thought 'why not go through the series with a fine toothcomb and bore anyone who chooses to read it?' So that's exactly what I am going to be doing over the next few hundred words, maybe even few thousand, who knows. Sit back and enjoy (or not) the tale of ‘how I won the 2009 Ashes’.

Background

Before the 2009 Ashes series came around I had to take on the West Indies in a Test and ODI series before hosting the T20 World Cup a month later. Both would act as build-up to the most important series in cricket, allowing me to have a look at who would make the starting XI come the first Test in Cardiff on July 8.

West Indies in England – May 2009

1st Test: England 520 (Prior 123, Bopara 94, Flintoff 91, Pietersen 82) beat West Indies 157 (Flintoff 5/33) & 242 (Flintoff 6/48) by an innings and 121 runs.

2nd Test: West Indies 253 (Chanderpaul 67, Ramdin 61) & 243 (Flintoff 7/54) lost to England 254 (Strauss 44) & 243/7 (Prior 85*, Strauss 59) by 3 wickets.

The first Test was a convincing display, in which we set up the win thanks to a superb first innings total. Flintoff dominated with the ball as West Indies crumbled under the pressure of a big first total. The second Test was a lot tighter, with almost identical scores in all the innings’. Strauss led from the front and Flintoff was once again the match winner with 7 second innings wickets. A very comfortable start to the Summer against not the greatest of opponents.

1st ODI: West Indies 81 (Smith 40, Broad 5/33) lost to England 85/2 (Shah 42*, Pietersen 28*) by 8 wickets.

2nd ODI: West Indies 187 (Nash 53, Pollard 52*, Anderson 4/31) beat England 162 (Taylor 4/26, Nash 3/15) by 25 runs.

3rd ODI: England 241/8 (Bopara 50, Collingwood 50) beat West Indies 210 (Chanderpaul 116) by 31 runs.

The series should have been won 3-0, but a poor batting display in the 2nd ODI cost us a whitewash. The bowling was superb as Anderson and Broad created a deadly opening partnership. Pietersen and Bopara were the only batsmen to look in good touch, although Luke Wright sparked in his one innings of 42. The key to the series win was stopping the explosive Chris Gayle who averaged just 1.33 in 3 innings.

T20 World Cup in England – May/June 2009

1st Match: England 188/9 (Flintoff 41*) beat Netherlands 100 (Broad 3/22) by 88 runs.

2nd Match: England 155 (Broad 52) lost to Pakistan 156/5 (Alam 64*) by 5 wickets.

3rd Match: Australia 184 (Hussey 46) lost to England 189/6 (Morgan 33) by 4 wickets.

4th Match: South Africa 114 (Flintoff 4/26) lost to England 117/2 (Bopara 56) by 8 wickets.

5th Match: India 161 (Sehwag 51, Collingwood 4/10) lost to England 163/5 (Trott 56) by 5 wickets.

Semi-Final: Pakistan 105 (Flintoff 3/23, Collingwood 2/0) lost to England 106/0 (Bopara 65*, Trott 40*) by 10 wickets.

Final: India 142 (Dravid 76, Collingwood 6/13) lost to England 146/1 (Bopara 71*, Pietersen 50*) by 9 wickets.

A stunning tournament saw us win the second ever T20 World Cup. We excelled in all components to guide us to 6 wins from 7 matches, including 10 and 9 wicket wins in the Semi-Final and Final. Bopara scored the most runs in the tournament with 259 from 7 innings @ 51.80. We dominated the bowling stats, with 4 bowlers in the top 5 highest wicket takers. Collingwood was superb coming on to bowl in the 15th over of most games, taking 13 wickets from just 7.2 overs and at 2.85 runs per wicket. Anderson topped the list with 17 wickets. Although a completely different form of the game, this win gave us great confidence heading into the Ashes with our amazing run chase against Australia during the Super 8 stage handing us the mental advantage going into the first Test at Cardiff.

End of Part I.

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In Part II: Cardiff dominated by centuries, Bopara doubles up at Lord’s and bowlers fight back in Birmingham.

(Part II will come over the next few days, maybe tomorrow)​

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Nice work Trev. Bopara is an absolute beast once he finds form but for me, he always goes through a massive bad patch at the start.

 

[treva]

The Ashes Series

Having beaten the likes of Australia, India, Pakistan and South Africa in the T20 World Cup we were full of confidence as the first Test at Cardiff drew near. Selection was going to be tricky – should I stick with the team that beat the West Indies so comfortably or should I bring back the likes of Swann who had missed the Test series due to injury. Rashid had taken just the 3 wickets in 43 overs during the West Indies series but was the leading wicket taker in the County Championship. I decided it was worth the gamble, chucking Rashid into his first Ashes series having just played the two Test matches against the West Indies in his career.

The other selection headache was caused by a finger injury to wicket keeper Matt Prior that would keep him out of the first two Tests. Inexperienced keepers like Gerard Brophy and Phil Mustard had batted well in the County Championship, but I wanted someone who would make a difference behind the stumps. That left me with two options: Chris Read or Tim Ambrose. I decided on Ambrose with the frame of mind that if the first two Tests went badly then Prior would be immediately shafted back into the team.

1st Ashes Test: England vs Australia @ Cardiff

England: Strauss (c), Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ambrose (wk), Flintoff, Broad, Rashid, Anderson, Onions.

Australia: Rogers, Warner, Ponting (c), M.Hussey, Haddin (wk), Clarke, D.Hussey, Lee, Hauritz, Tait, Hilfenhaus.

1st Innings: Australia 402 (Rogers 141, M.Hussey 104, Rashid 4/94) – 107.1 overs.

We lost the toss and Ponting decided to bat on a fairly good wicket. They got off to a solid start but we removed Warner for 18 in the 16th over. Ponting made 34 before he edged Broad to Ambrose on 34 with the score on 102. Then came the partnership that set up the game. Rogers and M.Hussey put on 185 for the 3rd wicket to provide Australia with an excellent base for a big total. Rogers went on to make 141 before Rashid trapped him lbw and Haddin could only survive 5 balls before he also fell to Rashid. Clarke hit a run-a-ball 22 but was given out lbw to Broad with the new ball. M.Hussey went to three figures in the 89th over but failed to keep out a straight one from Onions a few overs later. Australia’s lower order then collapsed, Anderson removing D.Hussey for 19 and Hauritz and Tait losing their wicket to the leg spin of Rashid. Lee was the last to go for 31, bowled by Onions just after tea on day two. Rain had caused a fair few overs to be lost and so we were shoved into bat with just under 30 overs to survive before the end of the second day.

2nd Innings: England 452 (Bopara 115, Collingwood 105, Strauss 66, Ambrose 64, Hilfenhaus 3/110) – 152.1 overs.

We knew we would have to bat well to ensure Australia wouldn’t have the upper hand going into the final few days. Cook was caught behind first ball leaving jus 8/1 after 7 balls, but Strauss and Bopara survived until the end of the day. The next morning the pair pushed on as Strauss and Bopara went past fifty. Just before Lunch Strauss was caught by Hauritz off the bowling of Lee for 66 and the very next ball Pietersen followed suit for a golden duck, the second first-baller of the innings. Collingwood and Bopara regrouped after Lunch and the latter of the two went on to make his 2nd Test century in his 6th Test match. Shortly after reaching three figures he was trapped lbw by Hilfenhaus but Collingwood and Ambrose continued the play freely. Their partnership of 126 pushed us past 350, and Collingwood to yet another Test century. Hilfenhaus removed him for 105 and Ambrose went on to make a Test fifty before falling to Hauritz on 64. Flintoff (47) and Broad (16) gave us a solid lead of 50 as Warner cleaned up the tail. This left us about a day to bowl out Australia and hope that we could pick up the runs needed with about 4 hours left on the final day to win.

3rd Innings: Australia 249 (Haddin 65, M.Hussey 59, Onions 3/44, Flintoff 3/75) – 76.4 overs.

Australia’s top order had a steady start with all of their top six making starts. However, good bowling from Flintoff managed to reduce Australia to 84/3 by removing Warner, Ponting and Rogers for scores inside the twenties. M.Hussey continued his fine form from the first innings with another half century and Haddin also made it past fifty with a well played 65. Both were dismissed lbw by Broad before Lunch on day 5 causing a small collapse, with Hussey and Clarke following shortly after. Onions came back on after Lunch and knocked over the tail to leave us with a target of 200 to win with roughly 50 overs to get them. It would need a fine balance of attack and defence depending on the situation, but I was certain of one thing, I would not come away from the game with a loss.

4th Innings: England 139/6 (Cook 47, Hauritz 3/46, Lee 3/50) – 47 overs.

Things got off to a slow and bad start with Strauss making just 2 from 14 balls when he was bowled by Lee. Bopara came in and hit 22 but both he and Cook struggled to score at the needed rate. Once Bopara fell Pietersen came in and hit 5 fours in 24 balls to give us hope of victory. However, Lee removed both Pietersen and Collingwood in one over to reduce the score to 104/4. Ambrose also departed without troubling the scorers and when Cook fell three short of his half century we decided it was time to shut up shop. Flintoff grinded out an unbeaten 22 and Broad was watchful for his 3* from 30 balls as the match petered out to a draw.

England 0-0 Australia after one Test.

End of Part II (I wrote more than I expected, so from now on each part will be a different Test match)

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Part III: Bopara lands his name on the Lord’s honours board.​

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I could see a draw on the cards after the first innings. Ambrose was a bold move but once Prior gets back to fitness he should jump his way back into the side. Bopara is in great form, great way to start the series.

 

[Dutch]

Nice work Trev. Are you going to be doing in-game screenies as well? There is a wealth of info there of course. But I am a stats fan! Keep it going. Great start and well presented.

 

[treva]

I certainly can put in some in-game screenies. If you want I can throw in the scorecards or summary cards for each innings/match?

For the review of the series I will be basically looking at all the key stats that won me the series, so expect screenies then as well.

Thanks for reading chaps

 

[Simbazz]

This is fantastic, I enjoy anything like this be it CC or ICC.

 

[treva]

2nd Ashes Test: England vs Australia @ Lord’s

Drawing the first Test left things wide open going into the Lord’s Test, and with no side having the upper hand, it made this occasion even more crucial. Taking a 1-0 lead with three Tests remaining would see both sides within touching distance of the Ashes Urn.

With Rashid taking wickets in the opening Test and Prior still out there was no selection issues ahead of the Test. We remained the same, hoping to do a little better in the bowling department if we were forced to bowl first.

England: Strauss (c), Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ambrose (wk), Flintoff, Broad, Rashid, Anderson, Onions.

Australia: Rogers, Warner, Ponting (c), M.Hussey, Haddin (wk), Clarke, D.Hussey, Lee, Hauritz, Tait, Hilfenhaus.

1st Innings: Australia 265 (M.Hussey 76, Clarke 70, Anderson 6/60, Rashid 3/68) – 85.2 overs.

Once again Ponting won the toss and put his side into bat but this time we got on top of them early. We removed Warner in the first over and then got rid of first Test centurion Rogers for just 18. Ponting followed swiftly after, bowled by Broad for 10. Haddin and M.Hussey steadied the ship but Haddin couldn’t resist a drive at Anderson, only finding the edge to Flintoff at slip. Clarke and M.Hussey settled down and ensured they would make over 200, but as soon as they both fell in the seventies the tail crumbled. Rashid removed Clarke and D.Hussey thanks to neat stumpings from Ambrose, and Anderson took his 5th and 6th wicket with good swinging deliveries to Hauritz and Lee. Ambrose took the catch of Lee to end the innings, his fourth involvement in a wicket in the innings. 265 was a below par score, but the pitch wouldn’t be easy to bat on, and so we knew we needed to ensure we batted sensibly to build a strong first innings lead.

2nd Innings: England 494 (Bopara 216, Collingwood 99, Strauss 56, Hilfenhaus 4/107, Lee 4/136) – 167.3 overs.

We notched up an opening partnership of 53 before Cook fell for 16 to Lee. Another fifty partnership saw Strauss past fifty himself, only to nick one to Haddin on 56. Pietersen was unable to make a substantial contribution once again, making just 26 before misjudging a Hilfenhaus straight delivery. The match turning partnership came between the two centurions in the first Innings at Cardiff, Bopara and Collingwood. They racked up 314 runs between them, a partnership of 222 for the 4th wicket. Collingwood fell agonisingly short of his second successive century, edging to Haddin on 99. However, Bopara continued to bat on, going to his third Test century, and then past 150. Ambrose went cheaply and Flintoff could only make 24, but Boparastayed steady, notching up his maiden Test double century from 388 balls in over ten hours at the crease. He was eventually dismissed for 216, by Hilfenhaus causing our lower order to follow suit. Bopara and Collingwood had dragged us to a lead of 229 effectively forcing Australia to have to bat out the remaining two days to save the Test.

3rd Innings: Australia 236 (Hussey 60*, Lee 55, Warner 53, Flintoff 5/44) – 79.1 overs.

Australia needed a good opening partnership but we got stuck into them early and reduced them to 29/3. Rogers was bowled by Anderson and Onions dismissed both Ponting and M.Hussey for just 1 a piece to leave the visitors in all sorts of trouble. Warner and Haddin calmed things a little with a partnership of 60, but Flintoff, Broad and Rashid chipped in to put Australia six down for 112. D.Hussey and Lee fought back with a stand of 97, both going on to their first fifties of the series. Flintoff ripped through Australia’s weak lower order to leave D.Hussey stranded on an unbeaten 60, and leave us with just 8 runs needed for victory.

4th Innings: England 8/0 (Strauss 5*, Cook 3*) – 2.3 overs.

The two openers took just 15 balls to knock off the runs needed to ensure an emphatic 10 wicket win within 4 days. We now had the upper hand going into the week break ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston. Prior would be fit, but could I really change a side that has just beaten the World’s greatest Test nation?

England 1-0 Australia after two Tests.

End of Part III.

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Part IV: Bowlers dominate but will the rain ruin the chance of a positive result?
​

 

[TheGreemSim]

This is a good read so far, Trev!

 

[hedger_14]

WTF is this. Warner playing in a test match


Anyway, good work here treva. Looking forward to the third test.

 

[treva]

3rd Ashes Test: England vs Australia @ Edgbaston

We now had the lead but knew that winning this Test would leave us on the verge of regaining the Ashes. The team was clicking and there was no need for anything to change. This meant Ambrose would hold onto his place over the now fit Prior. The Warwickshire keeper took 3 catches and 2 stumpings in the last Test and deserved to hold onto his spot. Prior would be on stand-by, having averaged 114.50 in the 3 innings he played against the West Indies at the start of the Summer. With that decided we stay unchanged for the third Test in a row.

England: Strauss (c), Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ambrose (wk), Flintoff, Broad, Rashid, Anderson, Onions.

Australia: Rogers, Warner, Ponting (c), M.Hussey, Haddin (wk), Clarke, Hussey, Lee, Hauritz, Tait, Hilfenhaus.

1st Innings: Australia 288 (D.Hussey 67, Haddin 50, Rashid 3/64) – 88.2 overs.

For the third successive match Ponting won the toss and decided to bat, something I wasn’t concerned with. Rogers began with a flurry of boundaries but was caught by Ambrose wafting at a full delivery from Onions. Ponting struggled with English conditions once again and was beaten by Anderson for 11. Hussey followed an over later edging Onions to Strauss at slip for a duck. Warner’s two hour stay at the crease for 31 came to an end in Flintoff’s third over as he was comprehensively bowled. Haddin and Clarke fought back with partnership of 88 but Rashid and Onions struck to dismiss the pair in successive overs, Haddin for 50 whilst Clarke 4 short on 46. D.Hussey and Lee finally found some grit to hold off a lower order collapse, with an exact 100 partnership for the 7th wicket. Once Hussey was dismissed by Rashid, Lee followed quickly after. Hauritz added 12 but Australia could only make it to 288 before he was bowled by Anderson. Once again we had got stuck into them early and now had pretty much the whole of day two and day three to secure a strong position.

2nd Innings: England 370 (Bopara 97, Strauss 91, Cook 56, Tait 3/84, Hilfenhaus 3/109) – 128 overs.

A good opening partnership was needed, something that had eluded us so far in the series. However, Strauss and Cook dug in and scored at a rate below a run every two balls. Cook brought up his fifty in 109 balls, and Strauss in 124 balls. With the score at 120 we lost our first wicket to Hauritz and reached tea just one down. After the break Strauss continued where he left off with new partner Bopara. Bopara lifted the run rate and brought up his fifty in 69 deliveries. The partnership strolled past 100, with Bopara scoring 60% of the runs and the score nearing 300. With the new ball just around the corner Strauss was dismissed by Lee for 91 and the day closed with us just 36 runs behind. Pietersen failed once again on day three, and Collingwood followed a few overs later. Bopara was in touching distance of his third Test century in as many matches but fell agonisingly short on 97. Flintoff made little impact and despite a fifty partnership between Ambrose (39) and Broad (24), we failed to make 400. Still, we took a lead of 82 going into the Australian 2nd innings and we were in control of the match.

3rd Innings: Australia 220 (M.Hussey 48, Warner 44, Anderson 4/41) – 66.2 overs.

Rogers failed once again having survived the initial new ball overs, out lbw to Onions on 16. Flintoff knocked back Warner’s off stump for 44 and Ponting once again failed to make it past 30, chopping a short ball from Broad onto his stumps. Haddin made 11 before he was cleaned up by Flintoff, and Onions removed M.Hussey two short of a half century. Clarke, D.Hussey and Lee all made starts but failed to convert them into big runs as Anderson trapped all three of them leg before. Rashid and Anderson took the final wickets as we knocked the Aussies over for a measly 220. Needing just 139 to take a 2-0 series lead I was very confident of another big wicket victory.

4th Innings: England 139/2 (Bopara 71*, Pietersen 38*) – 45 overs.

Despite losing Strauss late in the day, we never looked like being tested by the Aussie bowling attack. A 54 partnership between Bopara and Cook was ended by Tait, who picked up his 2nd wicket of the innings. Bopara cruised past yet another fifty helping us stroll to victory with 8 wickets in hand and roughly a session and a half remaining. Things were looking very comfortable indeed. A draw in the next match would see us regain the Ashes, but it I knew it would be easier said than done.

England 2-0 Australia after three Tests.

End of Part IV.

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Part V: Rashid performs in front of his home crowd.​

 

[Dutch]

Good win for England. Would love to see some screenies. I love the statistics-show this game produces! Have you thought of having the thread moved yet?

 

[treva]

What I will do is post spider diagrams, partnerships, worms and scorecards after I write up all the Tests. There will be some in-depth look at different players using screenies of their stats.

I am tempted to keep it here, just to give this forum a bit of life, even if it means my writing gets little publicity.

 

[Dutch]

What I will do is post spider diagrams, partnerships, worms and scorecards after I write up all the Tests. There will be some in-depth look at different players using screenies of their stats.

I am tempted to keep it here, just to give this forum a bit of life, even if it means my writing gets little publicity.

Great. Good idea about keeping it here in this forum. By the way, slightly off-topic, have you heard anymore details on Cricket Coach 2011?

 

[treva]

I have. Check out Oli's Twitter page. He is creating new features for the game as we speak, including match highlights, which I am very excited about. I don't watch any highlights when I play, but I'd love a feature which shows you the key highlights of a day's play within a few minutes.

Here is the link: Oli Norwell (rocksoftgames) on Twitter

You don't need a Twitter account to view it. Also, there is a small forum with just a couple of threads on the Cricket Coach forum - Rockingham Software's Forum • View forum - Rockingham Software Releases