Reasons to be cheerful. 1, 2, 3 (For Aussie fans)

by PeterCS Tue 13 Aug 2013, 21:18

No, not so much that, with a few tweaks and breaks, and with all the umpiring decisions going the way of Oz, the current series could easily be standing at 1-3 (only Lord's being a writeoff).

It would probably be better to risk 4-0 and learn something new in the process. Except there are no batsmen left to try, it seems. A consequence of picking a squad packed with a top end of dicey batters.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL (1, 2, 3 ..)

1. Despite eventual results, all the Tests but one have been close run. Apart from two derisory innings of collapses, it has not been the non-contest debacle most of youz lot were dreading only two months ago. A reason to be cheerful for the imminent return series.

2. Some bowlers have been a bit raw, others injured. But good signs from all the seamers - England have never got away to a good start, or a high total, which suggests the homework has been done and lessons effectively applied. On home soil, this coming Australian summer, there is a good chance the bowlers can build on this.

3. Some lessons are slowly being learnt about the batting - especially about the wisdom of packing the top of the order with technically and/or temperamentally deficient biffers.

The best of all, though, is that, back on the true, hard-baked, fair dinkum tracks of sunny Oz, with the same homer umpires, these same abject flops may be able to return in triumph. Imagine the exhilaration in Aussie breasts if the top order of Watson, Warner, Cowan or Khawaja, Hughes, Clarke become feted heroes as they despatch these shoite Pommie pie-chuckers to all parts of the Gabba, the WACA, the AO, the MCG and the SCG!! All Mickey Arthur's hard work on team selection and fostering team morale will then be gloriously vindicated!! Another Hawaii is surely in the offing, as in days of Pidge and Warney!

If that last one in particular is not a reason to be cheerful, nay ecstatic, I don't know what is!

Cool