Ashes 2013 1st Test: Five things Australia can take away

Australia can hold their head high inspite of their 14-run defeat at the first Ashes Test of Trent Bridge as they made an uninhibited effort to win the game to give us a delightful spectacle as well as a match that will go down in history as one of the most memorable Ashes Test matches.

They have a lot of positives to take away from the Test match and they will need to replicate those in order to turn around the deficit. The squad has answered their critics who maligned them cruelly prior to the tournament. The effect of Darren Lehmann was evident on this group of players as they played fierce, yet fair, cricket in hostile circumstances.

They move onto the Lord’s Test now within the blink of an eye. The brief-gap between the Test heightens the pleasure for the fans but it can be dangerous for Australia if they are not mentally and physically rejuvenated by the time. Only rejuvenation is not enough either, they need to acknowledge their failures and find a way to address them and assimilate those changes.

Here is a list of five things that Australia can take away from the first Test:

Chris Rogers

5. Watson and Rogers can do it

The opening-pair of Shane Watson and Chris Rogers was hastily put together ahead of the first Test as Darren Lehmann brought the two players with contrasting styles together.

While Shane Watson looked like a bundle of nerves in the first innings flirting with balls floated outside the off-stump and eventually losing his wicket, Rogers doggedly defended his wicket until a James Anderson delivery crashed into his pads.

The pair showed their true colours in the second innings when the side needed a stable platform to chase the record 311 run-target set by England.

They ensured they negotiated the early phase of swing bowling but also capitalized upon the hardness of the ball to get quick runs as they were aware that once reverse-swing sets in and the ball is softened runs are harder to come by. They put up 84 runs together before Watson was dismissed and it’s a pity that the middle order could not capitalize upon that successful start.

Peter Siddle

4. Tail or top-order?

Here is a stat to give us some perspective. The total number of runs (two innings) Australia scored prior to the fall of 6 wickets was 277 as opposed to the 299 runs scored when the last four batsmen were dismissed.

This included Australia’s highest individual score of 98 which was made by Ashton Agar. The larger point is that the Australian tail is more competent than the English tail but that remains an asset only as long as the top-order can cancel out the English top-order’s performance which was not the case at Trent bridge. Australian top-order batsmen need to make sure that they do not enter their shell when the pressure is applied but play to the merit of the ball.

Michael Clarke

3. Michael Clarke must deliver

Alastair Cook pipped his opposite number at Trent Bridge in a number of ways. Cook scored a significant half-century in the second-innings providing the team with a launchpad that allowed them to set a total.

Michael Clarke, on the other hand, failed to hold the middle order together that crumbled in both the innings leaving Australia on the edge. He scored a golden duck in the first innings when he received a beauty from James Anderson (the defining moment of the match in some ways) whereas he could only contribute 23 runs to the chase.

Australia’s batting order severely needs his runs, and they cannot win the Ashes without his contribution of 500 runs through the course of this five-match series.

Another area where he was pipped to the medal by Cook was in decision making when using the review system. Clarke had already used his two reviews when the Stuart Broad ‘dismissal’ happened. It’s an additional job that the captain needs to do on the field and Clarke would have made a note of that.

Ashton Agar

2. Ashton Agar’s potential

The biggest positive for Australia in this Test match was that they unearthed a gem in the 19-year-old debutant Ashton Agar. He was instrumental in keeping Australia in the game as he bailed out the first innings from a dismal 117/9 to a total of 280 runs.

His innings was marked by a maturity rarely seen in a number eleven batsman, perhaps present because he is definitely not one, but yet the ease with which he absorbed the pressure was astonishing.

Batting with Phil Hughes, he played his game negotiating competently against one of the world’s best spinners. He was not afraid of playing his shots as he had nothing to lose.

However, still more impressive to the author was his performance with the ball. He looks like a replica of the young Daniel Vettori. He bowled with great heart in the second innings picking up the crucial wicket of Alastair Cook and finished with figures of 2/82 in his 35 overs.

He should have had the wicket of Stuart Broad but that was unfortunate. Australia need to harness his potential and help him develop into what he can become.

James Pattinson

1. Bowling Report Card

Even when the harshest critic of this Australia side put blood and dirt to the paper ahead of the series, he reserved some respect for the pace battery constituted by Siddle, Pattinson and Starc.

They did their job on the first day of the Test match sending a signal to anyone who thought that the Ashes was done and dusted. Siddle’s five-for was one of the high-points for Australia in this Test match but Starc and Pattinson were underwhelming. They seemed struck by nerves in the first few overs as they threw the ball wide-outside the off-stump wasting the generous swing that was available.

They worked harder in the second-innings but the pitch had eased out a little by then and was more suitable for batting. Siddle’s effort was top-quality and he will need to continue that whereas Pattinson and Starc need to go beyond odd-unplayable deliveries and occasional bursts. They need to learn and improve as the series goes on if Australia wish to make a fist of this series.