Lessons from the Ashes

First of all, Eid Mubarak everyone – in advance.

Getting back to my blog today...actually posting some quick thoughts that I had written nearly a month ago, when the Ashes were won by England, who pocketed the last test with a day to spare.

It’s possibly a very wrong time to post this, as it seems like Australia is going to whitewash the English in the ODI series, but the Ashes victory held a few lessons for me, which I thought I might share, so here goes...

It was a very interesting series. Australia looked distinctly the better side, and statistics clearly point to it. However, the better side does not always win, as happened in this series. And this led me to think about the lessons one could learn from it.

Lesson 1 - It is not only about being consistent; it is about seizing the moment: As Andrew Strauss, England Captain, said, “When we were bad we were awful, but when we were good we managed to be just good enough”. And being just that good enough was enough to deliver.

Consider this – Australia scored more runs, lost fewer wickets, had 7 out of the top 8 scoring batsmen and the top 3 wicket taking bowlers. And yet they lost! The turning points? English bowling when it mattered. 7 out of the top 10 bowling performances in an innings and 5 out of the top 7 bowling performances in a match were by the English bowlers. English bowlers also claimed 5 wickets in an innings 4 times compared to 2 by Australia. Which brings me to the next lesson.

Lesson 2 - Work to your strengths that would lead to actual deliveries: It is no secret in cricket that batsmen can save you matches, but to win a match, you have to take 20 wickets. And England did that when it mattered.

Lesson 3 - Be positive, and results would come: Despite the fact that they were outscored by Australia in both batting and bowling, the one area where England were distinctly superior was in their Strike Rate, or Runs per Over. Definitely a sign of positive intent – they were not willing to retreat or go into a shell. And yet...

Lesson 4 - Dig in deep, even when nothing goes your way: Consider this – chasing 239 to just avoid an innings defeat in the first test, and at 70 for 5; it all looked to be over. But Paul Collingwood refused to give up. 74 runs was not a huge amount, but the 245 balls faced and the 344 minutes of occupation of the crease stood between England and defeat. But possibly the clearest indication of how the series would progress came in the final 40 minutes of the test. 12 overs to play, all Australia needs is one good ball, and a bunny by any standards at the crease. And yet, the way Anderson and Panesar blocked out every ball and saved the test must have played on the Australian’s minds in the 2nd test.

Lesson 5 - When things go wrong, take a break, and use it well to re-group and strategise: After the debacle of the 4th test, not even the most die-hard of English supporters would have thought of England winning the Ashes. But the team took their break right, worked out their weaknesses, took a few strong decisions and ‘Trotted’ away to glory.