Ashes Diary: England must buckle down for one last effort

Ashes Betting / James Masters / 31 December 2010 / Leave a Comment

A turning Sydney pitch can help Swann finish the Test series on a high

"A 2-2 draw would be a huge anti-climax and possibly a backwards step following last year's draw away in South Africa."

The final Test begins in Sydney on Sunday morning and England must seize the glorious opportunity in front of them, says James Masters

The Ashes might have been retained but don't let anybody fool you into thinking England are ready to take their foot off the gas.

As wonderful as it was to see the tourists stick the knife in at the MCG, an overwhelming sense of unfinished business remained.

The celebrations were huge of course but there was still a feeling that the whole adventure will not be considered a success unless victory is achieved in Sydney.

A 2-2 draw would be a huge anti-climax and possibly a backwards step following last year's draw away in South Africa.

This England team has already demonstrated they are a superior side to an Australia team full of average players and a captain whose days are surely over.

Under Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, England have already shown they are a focused and determined unit and with the chance to win a series Down Under, they are determined to make the most of it.

While the players let their hair down following their stunning success, some of us more cautious followers were already letting our thoughts turn to Sydney.

This tour has of course already shown that England are no longer like the teams of old who would simply allow themselves to be overwhelmed as soon as they touch down on Australian soil.

But anything but an outright series victory here will leave many of us wondering just how we failed to see off one of the worst Australian sides in living history.

Certainly, the appointment of Michael Clarke as captain is unlikely to give the hosts a lift with the New South Wales star one of the most divisive figures in Australian cricket.

Clarke, who has been groomed as Ricky Ponting's successor over the past few years, is not universally popular within the camp while his recent performances have been nothing short of abject.

To be fair to Clarke, he is not the only one who has performed poorly but there probably isn't enough room on this page to examine the failings of each Australian player.

Only Brad Haddin and Michael Hussey will emerge from this series with any credit, while the likes of Xavier Doherty, Michael North and Phil Hughes will go down as selection shockers.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the victory in Melbourne felt so surreal was because it was simply far too easy.

We had been told that the MCG would 'intimidate' England and that the tourists would feel the full force of a world record Boxing Day crowd. Neither of those things happened and the ease with which England swept Australia aside was embarrassing.

Now, they have the opportunity to make the margin of victory an emphatic one. There are only two roadblocks which stand in England's way as they seek the Holy Grail.

First, and I don't believe this will be a problem, is the notion of complacency. England were undone in Perth by a stunning spell of Mitchell Johnson-inspired swing bowling and some extremely difficult conditions.

The performance was largely an aberration on what has gone before and with Flower so meticulous in his preparation, expect England to 'hit the ground running' in Sydney.

The only problem for England may be the weather with showers forecast throughout the game. If the rain holds off, then back an early finish on the fourth day at [14.0].

And with Sydney expecting to turn, Graeme Swann can make a back of a five wicket haul at winner at [1.8].

With immortality awaiting, this is one opportunity England must seize.