2009 Ashes / Paul Moon / 19 August 2009 / Leave a comment

On the eve of the decisive final Test, Paul Moon looks back at four key moments responsible for the Series being drawn at this moment in time.

"My third key moment and a golden opportunity lost was at Edgbaston when skipper Andrew Strauss dropped a pull shot off Michael Clarke when he was on 38. Australia were 219-4 at the time with a small lead of 106 runs. There was still 53 overs to be bowled and that let-off ended England’s chances of going 2-0 especially as there was no Brad Haddin to follow and they would have been into the tail."

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it must not be confused with rank bad decision-making! It is possible that this Ashes series is in danger of being remembered for its gaffes instead of the cricket. Errors of judgement feature heavily in my five key moments of the Ashes series so far and are in chronological order.

What if KP or Flintoff got injured?

For the England selectors to go into the most important cricketing series with no contingency plans regarding the fitness levels of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff was irresponsible and they have failed the English public. This mistake could be the defining moment of the whole Ashes series.

Of course both these players are world class and it is hard to impossible to replace them but Bell was deemed not to have the bottle for the Ashes prior to the series. When a gaping hole appeared it was decided he was the man to fill it - a contradiction in terms if ever there was one!

Replacing Flintoff with Harmison was wrong for many reasons but his selection debilitated the balance of the team thus exposing the already fragile middle order further. We must remember that England led 1-0 and did not have to chase the game - there was an option to play the extra batsman.

Punter's failed punt

Getting the crucial strategic decisions wrong does not only apply to England. Ponting has his detractors and he gave them an arsenal of ammunition when bizarrely calling up gentle off-spinner Marcus North to force victory in the first Test at Cardiff. This man has just two Test wickets at a cost of 86 runs each.

Where were the bouncers into the midriff, yorkers and chat? Where were the three short-legs and two silly mid-offs? Panesar defied Australia for 40 minutes receiving 35 deliveries without being seriously roughed up. This rates as a howler and a half and should Australia lose the final Test this decision will take on gigantic proportions!

There was one sad moment in this game when Test cricket was damaged. England tarnished the game and themselves by sending on their physiotherapist and 12th man in a blatant attempt to waste time during the last wicket partnership!

Dropped catches stop you from winning matches

My third key moment and a golden opportunity lost was at Edgbaston when skipper Andrew Strauss dropped a pull shot off Michael Clarke when he was on 38. Australia were 219-4 at the time with a small lead of 106 runs. There was still 53 overs to be bowled and that let-off ended England's chances of going 2-0 especially as there was no Brad Haddin to follow and they would have been into the tail.

Beautiful batting by both Michael Clarke (445 runs at an average of 89) and Marcus North (349 runs at an average of 69.8) has been complimented by their relationship with each other. It is no fluke that they both head the runs scored and averages in this series. They have a settled look about them and this significant partnership looks likely to last for the next few years and they could become the next foundation stone of the Australian batting.

Aussie seamers have England batsmen in a spin

One brilliant decision by the Aussie selectors was to play four seamers at Headingley where they bowled superbly, the best of the series by far. The line and length were sublime throughout most of the game. I disagreed with Shane Warne through this column when he said they should play a spinner there - the quartet that was chosen for this particular track was ideal. Michael Holding has always said that on a good bowling wicket four frontline bowlers are enough and it was on this occasion, an inspired decision.

Latest Betfair prices on the final Test at The Oval includes: England [5.5] Australia [2.62] Draw [2.28]. Surely, even allowing for the nature of this wicket, not to mention brittle batting, the draw looks a touch short and represents an initial lay.

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