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Ashes 2010 - They came they saw they conquered

Unlike Julius Caesar and his men, who saw the ships consumed by the raging fire while they set foot on the shores of Britain, Strauss and his men saw the plight of the degrading Australian cricket when they set foot on the Australian soil, as they made use of the degrading scenario to inflict further damages, and with it squander the hopes of an early Australian resurrection. The Australians are no more the pantheons of this trade, as they unceremoniously enter into the league of also-rans, with their pride annihilated beyond repair. With England retaining the Ashes, made possible by a convincing 3-1 victory, the Australian cricket is panic-stricken, with redemption unforeseeable in the near future.

For now, the battered and bruised Australian side has no answer to the future, and there is no sign of crafty bowlers on the horizon. The frail batting line-up adds more to their cup of woes. For long, the Australian administrators have been busy soaking up in the glorious moments, and have failed to spot, groom and nurture future talent, as complacency has really brought about the downfall of Australian cricket. This scene reminds us of the dark days when Packer cricket dented the potentials of Australian cricket, and when Alan Border was struggling to come to terms with the rebuilding process after Kim Hughes had left the cricketing scene unceremoniously.

England, on the other hand has been busy with the rebuilding process for the past two years, and has been adopting the horses for courses policy, where the players were picked to don a specific role assigned to them. The English pace battery did well to practice earnestly with the Kookaburra balls before the Ashes series, and whether old or new, they made the ball talk in the air. Reverse swing had surged ahead to be used as the potential tool behind this English success, and Jimmy Anderson, with 24 scalps has donned the role of the chief destructor to perfection. He was getting better and better with his reverse swing all through the series. The other pace bowlers were equally good with the art of reverse swing, and the words of wisdom from the bowling coach Saker, an Australian, did really well to set the tone up for a clinical Australian destruction.

The spine strength of the batting line-up has witnessed a remarkable improvement through the chiropractic efforts of Andy Flower. The resilient, redoubtable Andy Flower has been the chief architect behind this Australian drubbing. He deserves this share of acclaim, as do the fielding and the bowling coaches who stand alongside Flower, and who have expended unrestrained efforts to build the bench strength of this England team.

All in all, the swaggering pride of the Australian side has been jolted, as the Australian side will now find it difficult to deal with the lurking demons of the defeat. The English side came, saw and conquered the weakling.

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