The End of an Era

I thought the writing was on the wall : England were going to win the Trent Bridge test. I was hoping that it would go into the fifth day, which it didn't. It was a great duel, won by the better side of course.

The English are back in business then. After losing the first test at Lord's by a comprehensive margin, one would have written off England's chances at regaining the Ashes. Vaughan's boys (now, Men) were never really under any pressure. They played as if it was just a start to the Ashes test series, and they had to win all 4 out of 4 tests. Truly, it has been a team effort. Every single gentleman has played his part, even the substitutes!

Australia's worries continue as Hayden is struggling with his form, Martyn not doing justice to his reputation, and McGrath sitting out due to injuries in two out of the four test matches! To me Lee and Warne's scoring runs consistently only means subtracting from the hefty amount of runs they have gone for when they bowled. Gilchrist, world's most feared batsman, is so quiet, and so has been Clarke.

When Bangladesh beat Australia in one of the one-dayers, everybody was stunned that Australia lost the match. Nobody bothered much about Bangladesh's winning the match. Perhaps this was a precursor to the decline of a champion team that had ruthlessly ruled the cricketing world. Comebacks are really worth celebrating. And with Ashes, it is always something special. This is cricket at its best. Hope both the teams grow in strengths and keep the flame burning. It's always going to be victory for the game...

The headline in today's The Hindu shouts, "The End of an Era". This, though not wrong, is not a correct statement either. I would say, "The Start of an New Era".