The Ashes can safely stay at home

The Ashes have once again brought us some of the emotions needed to make a successful sporting event. We have experienced joy, laughter, nerves, shock and a lack of sleep.

We had the morning of the 2-3, with Ricky Ponting getting out for a golden duck. A moment I won’t forget as I nearly dropped my pasty and dropping a Cornish pasty would be unforgiveable.

Other great moments include Cooks domination of Australia’s woeful bowling and the sprinkler just caps off the entire series. What sporting team have their own dance except New Zealand and the Haka? Maybe we should do the sprinkler to intimidate opponents too?

Photo: buzzbox.com

So, what have been the deciding factors in helping Andrew Strauss to an England captain’s first tour victory in Australia since 1985? Has it been our players just being better? Have the Aussies withered away? I picked out a few significant points that I believe have brought the Ashes home…

Diverse Bowling Attacks

The big point of Test match cricket is that you must take twenty wickets. Sounds obvious but it’s harder said than done sometimes. England have struggled in the past due to a lack of wickets and therefore putting pressure on the batsmen who haven’t been able to compensate.

You look at the stats and can see our bowlers have caused the Australian batsmen all sorts of problems. Jimmy Anderson has been a handful with his swing and more consistent bowling by claiming 17 wickets only just ahead of the 6’7 Steven Finn who has 14 wickets.

Next in line is Chris Tremlett who incredibly in two matches has 13 wickets in comparison to Australia’s Ben Hilfenhaus who has only taken four wickets in three matches, it shows you how big the difference in quality really is. Tremlett has bowled at an average of 19.00, Hilfenhaus has bowled at an average of 73.50. The stats really say it all.

Photo: The Guardian

Mitchell Johnson had the one inspirational spell in the third test but otherwise, Australia’s main bowling threat going into the series has been pretty wayward and quiet. Ryan Harris has been a threat but has also taken 11 wickets along with Johnson but again has struggled to take key wickets.

Peter Siddle has been the only real ray of light for the Australians in the bowling and could have taken more than the 13 wickets he got but again England’s batting has been able to cope.

Ricky Ponting

The Australian leader, the face we usually despise and the batsmen who has dominated bowling attacks all across the world. Well, he’s done none of that in this series.

He hasn’t led from the front like previous successful Ashes or Australian test series victories and with a career average of 53.51, you would expect him to be able to be a rare shining light in amidst of below par performances.

When Ponting has walked to the crease this series it has been followed by thoughts of ‘we could take another quick wicket here’ usually this phrase would be said as a small joke. He has only scored at an average of 16.14, and with poor form at the top of the order, with Shane Watson being the exception, it gives England a big head start.

Photo: Getty Images

With Ponting struggling, it brings the whole team down and England have benefitted from this. Ponting has got out in some unfortunate ways such as inside edges onto the stumps but, he is an out of form batsmen whose captaincy is under threat.

Did the Aussies know their first eleven?

Another issue for Ponting is the fact of not seeming to know his first eleven. The team that went into the first test got a draw and in hindsight, did well. However Australia rang the changes and that was the beginning of the end.

Australia showed no faith in their bowling attack and brought in Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris. This was a bold move that didn’t pay off. It could have been an inspiring change but they didn’t stop there with Mitchell Johnson coming back into the squad for the third test and it was just disarray in the Australian camp.

Andrew Strauss and the England boys

But let’s not just focus on the Australian faults, we did also play some great cricket. We have spoken of the bowlers winning the battle at that end of the team, but the batsmen set massive scores that just took away lots of enthusiasm from the Aussies.

Alastair Cook came into the series as a man who needed runs and boy, he made some runs. He is so far, with a test match to go, the leading run scorer on 577 and has also made his highest ever score in test match cricket of 235 not out.

Having this at the top of the order provides the crucial backbone to the start of an innings especially when England’s next top scoring batsmen is Jonathan Trott coming in at three. He has made 445 runs so far and having this start in the innings to rely on 9 times out of 10 is going to provide any team with confidence.

There has always, except the defeat in the third test, been batsmen who can produce a score at crucial times. It all seems so simple, but Cricket really is this simple at times when things are going well for your side.

So, England have retained the little urn with ease and the Ashes can now not just stay at Lords like it always does, but we can look at it and truly say it is ours!

In a final message to Australia, you could try and fight for a drawn series but Strauss and Co will hopefully put the rubber stamp on one of England cricket’s biggest tour and Ashes successes.

WWE Year In Review

It's been a year of shockers, some good and some bad. However, did we see one of the greatest matches in wrestling history at Wrestlemania 26?

It’s been an odd year with moves made to bring about the next generation of WWE superstarbut some decisions that haven’t been made leave you wondering what could have been.

The feud that will be remembered is the Nexus v John Cena. This rivalry started on the 7^th of June and ended just over six months later. It was a big risk by the company, putting rookies up against the biggest star in the company. If anyone can carry the storyline obviously it’s Cena but to make it a feud to remember it has to work both ways.

When we first saw the storyline start at the 3 hour special, I was stunned at the graphic nature and the tenseness of the situation. You could tell this was the start of a big rivalry and from the start it had you wondering where it was going.

During the feud there were the ups and the downs. We will start with the ups and the shocks that we didn’t expect. Cena during this feud became a part of the Nexus. John Cena, the ultimate baby face of the WWEbecame a part of the most hated group in the company.

When this match was made for the Hell in a Cell PPV, I thought this was going to be the end of the rivalry with Cena winning but this showed that the WWE creative team do have guts. They put faith in the Nexus and went outside the box for one of the few times in recent times. It had controversy and shocked all fans, something that WWE doesn’t produce enough these days.

Another up was the fact WWE has started to push new talent through the Nexus. WWE needs new talent and can’t just rely on Cena, Orton, Edge, Kane, Mysterio, Undertaker, Big Show etc…to just feud on a loop.

Wade Barrett has shown he has good mic skills and can feud with the best in the company. His wrestling skills need improving but he created a good character that was entertaining to watch every week. Other members like Justin Gabriel and David Otunga have potential that needs to be worked with.

The downs are the fact WWE didn’t fulfil the potential this rivalry had. It was a big opportunity for John Cena to turn heel. It could have created a group and moment that would have lived long in the WWE memory. Cena turning heel would have been a big risk don’t get me wrong but it would have been a real shake up.

Another way they didn’t fulfil potential was that Barrett lost much credibility over the last weeks of thefeud. Ithink he will struggle to hold down a singles career and they also need to follow up from the Nexus burying The Undertaker, which they have to do. Barrett will need the Nexus behind him to make it a convincing rivalry.

In recent months we have seen the best part of the year as The Miz finally fulfilled his potential by cashing in the Money in the Bank and becoming WWE Champion. If I had to pick a superstar of the year, it would have to be The Miz. He has gone from a ‘Todd Grisham’ to WWE champion.

He has been a breath of fresh air with his brilliant mic skills and interesting character. He comes across convincingly and is a character you truly love to hate. He can divide a crowd much like Cena does, but for a different reason.

He now faces the real opportunity of going into Wrestlemania 27 as the WWE Champion. I hope he does and I can see him probably facing John Cena, a rivalry they did around two years ago when The Miz first turned heel. This match, if built up well, can give that real crowd edge that makes Wrestlemania special.

So, we look back at 2010 and actually can see big moments have been created. Shawn Michael’s retirement at Wrestlemania was done brilliantly in probably one of the tensest matches in recent history. The build up wasabout three months long and it all had a purpose. It won Match of the year…I’d put it up there with one of the best of all time.

We saw the return of Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, something we thought we would never see. Sadly the match at Wrestlemania won’t be remembered, but the fact Bret Hart could even attempt to wrestle was a monumental achievement for the Hitman. The build up to the match writes itself, but the boss once again proved just how good he is as Mr McMahon.

We have seen Batista and Chris Jericho leave our TV screens but we have seen the emergence of Dolph Ziggler and ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes along with The Miz.

And in 2011, I hope to see more stars going up the ladder as WWE has to one day bring through new talent. We have seen glimpses of potential from many but now it’s time for these guys, for example Drew McIntyre, to make the step up.

We are heading towards the 2011 Royal Rumble, who will win? For my thoughts, check back soon.