Wagging tail hurting England most

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FOR all the blood and thunder of Mitchell Johnson's rejuvenated bowling, it is the batting of him and his tailend teammates who have helped put England to the sword.

Australia's lower order from Brad Haddin down have taken the third Test in Perth away from England, just as they did in Brisbane and Adelaide.

In all three Tests Australia's last five wickets have added more than the top five and this was most pronounced in Perth during the second day of the third Test.

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Australia collapsed to 5-143 on the opening day but was eventually bowled out Saturday for 385, adding 242 with the lower order.

This is in marked contrast to England, highlighting the success of Australia's ruthless plans to bounce out the England tail.

Chief amongst those responsible for the rescue mission has been Brad Haddin, with 320 runs at an average of 80.

Johnson did not add to his overnight score of 39 on Saturday but his 147 runs at 49 left him with more runs at a better average than any England player on tour before England began batting on Saturday.

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It also highlighted the lack of contribution from team mates Shane Watson (average 19), Chris Rogers (20) and George Bailey (24).

Johnson had scored almost as many runs as the entire England tail from wicket-keeper Matt Prior down.

Before he bowled a ball in this series it was Johnson's batting which turned the first Test in Brisbane and struck an early blow towards regaining the Ashes.

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On the opening day at the Gabba Australia tumbled to 6-132 and it appeared a case of "here we go again" after some dreadful batting collapses on the recent tour of England.

However Johnson scored an enterprising 64 in a century partnership with Haddin to ensure a competitive score before bombing Australia to victory with the first of two man of the match performances.

Peter Siddle was a thorn in England's side with the bat on day two. Photo: Gareth Copley Source: Getty Images

And again in this Test the match was in the balance when Johnson joined centurion Steve Smith and they added a brisk 59 together.

They were important runs, taking Australia comfortably past 300, a score England had not made in its first innings at the WACA Ground in almost three decades.

While Johnson's ferocious bowling has added a new and stirring dimension to this series, his batting has placed him in a rare and unique club.

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He is one of just four Australians to score 1500 runs and take 200 wickets.

It is a very exclusive club. The other members are Richie Benaud, Ray Lindwall and Shane Warne.

And of the quartet Johnson has the highest score, 123 not out.

He is one of three with a century while Warne has that famous 99 he scored at the WACA against New Zealand, which he terminated with a skied slog against spinner Daniel Vettori.

Warne would also have made a hundred if he was playing today given the umpires have become obsessed with checking no balls when a batsman is dismissed. Video later revealed that Vettori had overstepped.

Johnson currently has 1553 runs at an average of 23 in his 54th Test.

It compares favourably with Benaud (average 24), Lindwall (21) and Warne (17).

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

One wicked Mitch spell from series

Mitchell Johnson appeals for a wicket during day two of the third Test. Photo: Quinn Rooney Source: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

MITCHELL Johnson shapes as a decisive force against England's lower order on Sunday but their top order team-mates have managed improved resistance.

Since Johnson had Alastair Cook hooking in the second innings in Adelaide he has bowled 38.3 overs without taking a wicket, a stark contrast to his 6-16 in 26 balls in the first innings of the last Test.

Australia's bowling effort yesterday did not contain the blistering Johnson star bursts of Brisbane and Adelaide but it was impressive nonetheless as they sandpapered away with good control and constant pressure.

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THE DOMINATORS

Here is some heartening news for Kevin Pietersen following his dismissal to Peter Siddle for the 10th time in Tests yesterday.

Many batsmen have suffered worse at the hands of their bowling nemesis.

Former England captain Mike Atherton occupies three of the top four places on the list of players dismissed by one bowler.

He was snared 19 times by Glenn McGrath, and 17 each by West Indian greats Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. At first glance, the stats don't look great for Atherton but it does make you appreciated how tough it must have been to bat in an era of so many champion fast men.

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CHARGING RYANO

RYAN Harris may have been trapped in Johnson's shadow this season but his Test record remains superb.

When Harris bowled Michael Carberry his strike rate in Test cricket was a wicket every 46.8 balls, the best by any Australian Test bowler for more than a century.

Only the remarkable South African Dale Steyn (41.4) has a better strike rate than Harris among current world players.

Harris bowled splendidly again yesterday.

Ryan Harris was a nightmare for England on Saturday. Pic: Tony Ashby Source: AFP

A NEW HOME?

The magnificent Perth wicket brings a special flavour to cricket but you wonder for how long ...

It's becoming a financial nightmare for cricket grounds to exist as stand-alone ventures and the lure of playing cricket Tests at a new Burswood football ground will be strong.

As quaint as the WACA is, a maximum crowd of 23,000 struggles to cut it in an era when the new ground would hold almost three times as much.

The prospect of vacating the spring-bounced WACA for a drop-in deck excites no-one but, as Bob Dylan used to say, money doesn't talk, it swears and this is very much a matter of dollars and cents.

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HOT STORIES

The players were not the only ones feeling the heat in Perth yesterday.

At one stage the temperature in the open-air press box reached 42 degrees.

Some journalists had to put their laptops in the fridge to cool them down while others had red ears from using mobile phones which were steaming hot even though they had been placed in the shade.

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RISKY RUNS

They call it the Red Bull Run - Kevin Pietersen's frantic singles to start his innings.

Pietersen is renowned for having a can or two of Red Bull before he bats and the theory goes that the caffeine hit makes him a restless man when he first takes guard.

Yesterday he was at it again, charging for the quickest of singles to get off the mark with a bunt to mid-off and having to beat a shot at the stumps.

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FLYING SOLO

AUSTRALIA had a 13th man in England's first innings yesterday - the flies.

English skipper Alastair Cook had to pull away from the line of fire as flies buzzed around his helmet before lunch.

He was jeered by the crowd but escaped without the famous Bodyline taunt received by English captain Douglas Jardine ... "leave our flies alone."

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ON THE UP

PLAYERS can move quickly up the pay scale of Australian cricket these days.

When the last list of contracts were announced before the Ashes tour some judges felt Mitchell Johnson was lucky to be included on the list of Cricket Australia contracts given he was not going to England.

But if he can keep up the form of his first two Tests he will rocket into the top five on the list who have a guaranteed income of close to $2 million a year from Cricket Australia alone.

LARA'S THEME

STEVE Smith's first day century got a strong endorsement from master entertainer Brian Lara.

Lara tweeted he found the innings entertaining which is all the praise you need from one of the greatest entertainers the game has seen.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

State of Origin fight night

State of Origin stars will be offered $30,000 to take their rivalry into the boxing ring. Source: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

NSW and Queensland State of Origin players will be paid $30,000 each to step into the boxing ring next year, with the mouth-watering fight night set to be staged in Sydney.

Banking on one of world sport's most bitter rivalry's, the Origin showdown will be bankrolled by the same organisers of next year's inaugural NRL Auckland Nines tournament.

The prospect of Blues captain Paul Gallen and Maroons forward Nate Myles renewing their hatred over three rounds inside the ring has already attracted interest from pay TV network Main Event.

Billy Slater and Mitchell Pearce face off in game two of the SOO series. Source: News Limited

Organisers, who have also held preliminary talks with a major sponsor, are likely to pursue Greg Inglis in a match-up with Jarryd Hayne. The night would also allow NSW halfback Mitchell Pearce to settle old scores with 2013 Origin series nemesis, Billy Slater.

The $30,000 purse on offer to each player for three rounds in the boxing ring is a huge lure given they receive the same amount for 80-minutes of Origin.

With planning already underway, a collection of Origin stars, including Blues enforcer Greg Bird have already been sounded out by event organisers, David Higgins and Dean Lonergan, about pulling on the gloves for their state next year.

"There's definitely a lot of rivalries there that would be awesome to see,'' Bird told The Sunday Telegraph.

"There's even some rivalries from the past which wouldn't be bad to reunite, like Mal Meninga and Mark 'Sparkles' McGaw.

"But seriously, these are the things the fans want to see. They love the Origin hatred and boxing is a big part of our training nowadays.

"I watched Billy (Slater) do some boxing training during the world cup and he can throw them.''

The sticking point for Lonergan and Higgins is when exactly the event will be held following the NRL season, particularly when the 2014 season also includes an end of season Four Nations tournament that will conclude in late-November.

Greg Inglis does some boxing during a Kangaroos training session. Source: News Limited

But given the recent success of their Fight For Life charity boxing events, which was held in Auckland last night and has previously included the likes of Gallen, Bird, Sam Thaiday and Willie Mason, a similar date in December next year is most likely.

Bird said that provided the timing of the Origin fight night suits, the players would support the event, particularly if the proceeds went to charity.

"If you figure out the right time of the year, I'm sure a lot of players would want to be involved in it,'' Bird said.

"You get a good charity involved and a handy pay check, I'm sure it would be supported.''

Lonergan said that as soon as the Nines tournament concluded in February, both he and Higgins would zero in on planning for the Origin fight night.

"As far as we are concerned, we are 100 per cent going to do an Origin Fight for Life next year and we may even rest the New Zealand event for one year to get it done,'' Lonergan said.

"We see these guys tearing into each other each Origin series, but to step into the ring and put their reputations on the line is a different story.

"We want it to be in Sydney and will begin to scout locations early next year.

"We will make this happen.''

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Pietersen losing battle within

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DEEP within the Ashes war on Saturday there was another rugged battle ... Kevin Pietersen versus Kevin Pietersen.

Pietersen's 19 off 59 balls was a tense, awkward struggle of a man fighting to put a muzzle on the tiger stirring within.

It was hubris versus humility and hubris, as it so often does, had the final say when, after 20 overs of robust defiance, Pietersen took a golf swing at a short ball outside off stump from Peter Siddle and holed out to an outstretched Mitchell Johnson at mid-on.

As Johnson got both hands on the ball and Siddle got his man for the 10th time in Tests, Australia put one hand on the Ashes.

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Pietersen walked off a shattered man in full knowledge that the Ashes are slowly slipping out of reach and he has been unable to turn the tide.

With just 120 runs at 24 he has been unable to deliver neither consistency nor the mammoth innings he often produces once a series against Australia.

The greatness of his career was spotlighted during his innings when he became the fifth Englishman to reach 8000 Test runs.

Significantly, he was the youngest and quickest to get there, joining Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart, Mike Gatting and David Gower.

Kevin Pietersen walks off the field as the Aussies celebrate. Pic: Theron Kirkman Source: AP

The joy of watching this great showman, for all his foibles, is that you are never sure of what you are going to get.

Saturday was a great challenge for him because after a week of people questioning his desire for Test cricket he could not come out and play recklessly.

The trouble was he was so determined not to play recklessly that he became bogged down against some high class Australian bowling.

Never before has he taken as long as 15 balls to get off the mark. His first four runs took 40 balls.

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He swatted a smoking cover drive off Johnson but there was no sense of rhythm about his innings.

There has been a lot of ingredients in Australia's Ashes domination and near the top of the list has been the success of Operation Anderson.

The blunting of crafty English seamer Jimmy Anderson has been like taking down the first enemy bayonet spotted advancing from a distance for he is the man who many follow.

If you knew Anderson was going to be reduced to starvation rations you could have had a sizeable bet that Australia would win the Ashes.

And so it has proved.

This series he has dined at the poors man's table - just seven wickets at 43 apiece.

For the moment Stuart Broad is the spiritual leader of the England attack with 14 wickets at 25 for the series.

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For reasons no-one can really explain, Anderson, like most of the bowlers in this series, have been toiling without one key weapon - swing.

The Kookaburra ball in Australia does not swing as much as the Duke used in England and this series has given even less than expected.

There was so little movement on the first day of the third Test in Perth that the entire day went without an lbw appeal which was also a sign that England had their line and length wrong.

Part of the story of Anderson's tour is that he has also been England's most economical bowler and the only one to go for less than three runs per over.

Australia has beaten Graeme Swann by attacking him. They have nullified Anderson, partially, by respecting his best work.

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You wouldn't quite say they have sat on him but there is no doubt Australia has been happy to absorb his finest work without feeling the need to counter attack with relish.

This has been a smart tactic and it has worked well because it has created the impression Anderson has bowled poorly which he hasn't.

Pressure rises quickly on frontline players expected to move mountains and Anderson candidly confessed to England bowling coach David Saker before the Test "I need some wickets."

Cricketers have long memories.

Scars gained early in their careers often take a long time to heal.

When Anderson was a 24-year-old rookie he came to Australia in 2006-07 and had a dreaful tour, taking five wickets at 84 in three Tests as Australia stormed to a 5-0 win .

Some say his hostile sledging towards Australia in recent series is a reaction to those bitter early memories when his dejected body language seemed to be a mirror into a tortured soul.

He has transformed himself from an insecure, inconsistent youngster into a world class force but he may have lost a metre of pace in recent times and when you are only fast medium in the first place that can be telling.

England's bowling plans this summer have been ripped apart.

The destruction of Swann has hurt them, the theory that beanstork fast bowlers would "put Australia on the stepladder" never got off the ground because their tall timber of Boyd Rankin, Chris Tremlett and Steve Finn just didn't fire.

Indian great Rahul Dravid once said to beat Australia you need eight players in form. England have one - Stuart Broad and that was never going to be enough.

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Smith century puts Aussies on top

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THREE years after so surprisingly becoming a million dollar man Steve Smith has played the million dollar innings that may win back the Ashes.

Highly rated from a young age but paid and promoted above his station, Smith played a vital innings to rebalance the third Test in Perth following another flaky Australian batting performance.

Now 24 and playing his 15th Test, Smith was unbeaten on 101 at stumps, his second hundred, as Australia recovered from 5-143 to finish 6-326 at the close. England roasted in near 40 degree heat after Michael Clarke won a third successive toss and had no hesitation in batting.

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Smith and Australia's Mr Fixit, Brad Haddin (55), have set the platform for a barnstorming Mitchell Johnson to unleash on his favourite ground. He is currently unbeaten on 39, frustrating a baked and weary England.

The bouncy WACA Ground wicket is traditionally faster on the second and third days as it dries out.

England has not scored 300 in its first innings at the WACA for almost three decades and the last four have not bettered 215, suggesting Australia is marching ever closer to regaining the Ashes.

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Regarded as a better player of spin than pace, Smith played some crunching pull shots, including the one that raced to the mid-wicket boundary to raise three figures.

He waited until the ball hit the rope before an exaggerated leap in the air and wave of the bat signalled just how much his first hundred on home soil meant.

Haddin has been extra-ordinary during his latest incarnation as Australia's wicket-keeper, playing match-changing innings in every Test.

The 36-year-old now has 320 runs at an average of 80 for the series with a century and three half-centuries.

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Smith and Haddin added 124 in two and a half hours yesterday to right another listing ship.

Four of Australia's top six partnerships this series have featured Haddin, highlighting his own outstanding form and the inconsistency of some Australian batsmen.

Shane Watson is averaging 19, Chris Rogers 20 and George Bailey 24 in this series. All found different ways of throwing their wickets away yesterday.

The match was evenly poised heading into lunch when Michael Clarke (24) advanced to spinner Graeme Swann and drove at him.

The ball took the inside half of Clarke's bat and his 100 Test counterpart Alastair Cook came forward to gather the catch at a strategically placed short mid-wicket, giving England three wickets and the first session.

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Just when it appeared David Warner (60) would be Australia's saviour he attempted to cut a ball from Swann which merely looped to Michael Carberry at backward point.

Rogers (11) pushed the last ball of Broad's first over and the second of the match to mid-wicket and called a quick single only for Jimmy Anderson to swoop from mid-on and throw the stumps down as a diving Rogers was well short of his ground.

Shane Watson (18) made the cardinal Perth sin of attempting to drive a ball too far from him, edging to Graeme Swann at second slip.

Then after Clarke and Warner went George Bailey (7) was caught by a tumbling Pietersen at deep square leg hooking at Broad during a hostile spell.

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Henrique makes way for Miller

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BRAZILIAN speedster Henrique has been axed from Brisbane Roar's starting team to make way for Irish playmaker Liam Miller at Westpac Stadium today.

The inclusion of Miller from the opening whistle is one of two changes Roar coach Mike Mulvey has made for this afternoon's clash against Wellington Phoenix, with fit-again goalkeeper Michael Theo returning at the expense of the unlucky Matt Acton.

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Miller's impressive second-half cameo last Friday in Brisbane's 2-1 away win over Adelaide United, coupled with a below-par performance from Henrique, convinced Mulvey to give the former Manchester United midfielder his first start since tearing his calf in October.

The return of Miller allows Socceroo Ivan Franjic to revert from the midfield to the right wing, the spot Henrique has occupied in recent weeks.

"We were better last week after Liam came on and Ivan moved out wide," Mulvey said from Wellington yesterday.

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"Ricky (Henrique) wasn't as dynamic as he has been, so we'll give him a rest this week.

"But he's done a good job for us and scored a few goals."

Acton will join Henrique on the bench, despite producing what most considered a man-of-the-match performance in the Roar's win victory over Adelaide.

Despite the young gloveman's heroics in just his second A-League match, Mulvey had little hesitation in opting for Theo once convinced the experienced custodian had recovered from a shoulder injury.

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"Michael will start, but Matty's done a great job for us," the Roar boss said.

"We've picked up six points from the two games Matty's played and he should be proud.

"He's taken the news well. He's got a good mindset. We've got a good goalkeeping unit at the club."

The first-placed Roar are aiming for their fourth straight win and their eighth of the season. They will start as raging favourites against the winless Wellington, but Mulvey is adamant complacency won't be a factor.

Liam Miller of Brisbane wins the ball during the round nine against Adelaide United. Source: Getty Images

"We'll need to control the tempo from the start better than we did against Adelaide," he said.

"Wellington have got a lot of attacking weapons and I thought they would have done a lot better so far."

The Phoenix will welcome back playmaker Carlos Hernandez, who has recovered from a leg injury, and hardman Manny Muscat, who returns from suspension.

Wellington coach Ernie Merrick was confident his side could reverse the result of the first-round clash between the two teams at the same venue, where Brisbane prevailed 2-1.

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Winning team saving Watson: Crash

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SHANE Watson has become a fortunate beneficiary of Australia's cricketing resurgence.

Had Australia been one down in the series he would be facing mounting pressure to retain his place in the side after making just 22, 6, 51, 0 and 18 in this summer's Ashes.

But one of the joys of having a winning team is that you can carry out-of-form players and the pressure on the selectors is to conjure stability not change.

So Watson lives on as Australia's great cricketing enigma.

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Watson's failure on Friday took his Test average to just over 35.

As good as he is when the planet's align, someone with that average should not be holding the number three spot for Australia in modern Test cricket.

It is not a case of he should be batting down the list because the stats show us the further down he bats the less he scores.

In 13 Tests in the last 12 months Watson has averaged around 30 and even with his handy bowling that is less than a pass mark.

If he was a 22-year-old you might get away with calling it an investment for better days in a Steve Waugh sort of way because all-rounders traditionally take time to develop.

But the trouble is he is a 32-year-old who should be in the prime of his career.

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Yesterday Watson fell in familiar fashion, sparring at one he should have left, edging high to the glue-fingered Graeme Swann at second slip who took the ball with both feet off the ground.

It was one of those shots that would have sailed harmlessly to third man had this been a white ball game and the slips area was near vacant.

But Test cricket demands more scrupulous radar and Watson's has been scrambling all series.

His dismissal was not a mortal sin.

Edges behind or to the slips comprise the lion's share of wickets at this pepper-decked venue.

But it was part of England's plan for him.

The press box at the WACA is located at the side of the ground and it gives you the chance to appreciate that a significant feature of Watson's technique is that he moves forward to almost every ball he faces.

The England team celebrates the dismissal of Shane Watson. AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD Source: AFP

England know this so they try and drop the ball a fraction short to him in the hope he will reach for balls that will fool and foil him as they rise from just short of a length.

They want him driving on the up and are happy to see the odd half volley whistle to the cover fence in the knowledge that his commitment to thse sorts of strokes could eventually trigger his demise.

This plan has done the trick in Adelaide and Perth.

Planning for Michael Clarke is more difficult for England because his nimble footwork takes him forward or back so quickly he transforms the length of the ball to area where he wants it to be.

Watson has only bowled 11 overs in the series but his canny medium pace should get more exposure here with the famous Fremantle Doctor breeze enhancing the potency of his outswinger.

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Mitch to turn WACA into a demon

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YOU just would not want to be an English batsman at the WACA on Friday.

Punters may have read tweets from fans and ex-players saying this is a true, even paced deck and it was - while England bowled on it.

We said the same in Brisbane and Adelaide after England's first day bowling efforts but when Mitchell Johnson emerged on day two those tracks suddenly sprouted claws.

This deck has more new ball bounce than Adelaide and looks roughly similar to Brisbane.

Former Test firebrand Jeff Thomson expects it to be quicker and bouncier on Saturday.

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Near the end of a blistering hot day, England's exhausted fieldsman looked up at a scoreboard trivia question asking what was Johnson's bowling average in Perth Ashes Tests just before the ground announcer revealed "9.11 per wicket.''

Johnson must be frothing at the mouth.

England beware.

FANCY FEET

STEVE SMITH's first Test century on Australian soil was a major moment for a nation who needs him to excel for all sort of reasons.

His homemade technique has its soft spots but Smith's footwork to slow bowlers is something to behold.

To see him move three metres out of his ground and smack Graeme Swann for six - to get off the mark, if you don't mind - confirmed him as a player of rare adventure and skill.

With so much cricket now played on the turning decks of the Indian subcontinent, Australia needs to unearth more players of his ilk against the turning ball.

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WACA MAGIC

Perth will not host a Test next season and we are missing it already.

Sadly India will play just four Tests and the WACA, mainly because of its small capacity, has missed out.

The facilities here are vastly inferiors to other Australian grounds but you just have to love the rampaging, blood and thunder tone of WACA cricket.

SETTLED AT LAST

AUSTRALIA has played the same side for three Tests in a row for the first time since the 2006-07 Ashes series when it beat England 5-0.

Half of Australia's top order - Chris Rogers, Shane Watson and George Bailey - are averaging under 25 but winning takes the pressure off everyone.

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BROAD SWORD

STUART Broad continues to be heckled as an Ashes anti-hero but it is time for Australians to concede he is an exceptional player.

Australian batsmen say privately Broad just feels all over them when he is bowling and that is how it was yesterday in a world class, post-lunch spell in which he supremely tested e Smith, Brad Haddin and George Bailey who he claimed to an airy pull shot.

Broad's returns for the series at that point were 13 wickets at 23 and no other English bowler in the Test had a series average of less than 54 per wicket.

NO SLIP UPS

At their team meetings before the game England's bowlers were told - and retold - that batsmen don't get bounced out at the WACA, they get caught in slips.

The bowlers were ordered to pitch the ball up and they duly did.

The problem was, with the ball not swinging, they were driving fodder and duly conceded 17 boundaries in the 24 overs before lunch.

Only one of the first six wickets fell to an edge.

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SILLY BILLY

ECCENTRIC umpire Billy Bowden made his first Ashes appearance of the series and that splash of controversy that seems to shadow him arrived as well.

Bowden twice failed to call "over" at the correct time, - cutting a Stuart Broad over to five legal deliveries after failing to have an extra one for a wide then making Ben Stokes bowl a seventh delivery in the 45th over.

YOU'RE HIRED

WACA curator Matthew Page should pick up a fulltime job on the strength of his excellent debut Test strip.

Page was a six year deputy to former curator Cam Sutherland who two months ago left after a dispute with WACA management.

He has yet to be appointed on a fulltime basis but the job should be his after a producing a strip which has been warmly praised by both camps and should provide a gripping contest between bat and ball.

TOSSED OUT

When England's Alastair Cook lost the toss a collective groan drifted from English supporters on the terrances - but history offered them salvation.

The side winning the toss at the WACA has won 14 and lost 19 Tests confirming what Darren Lehmann said before play that it does not really matter whether you bat or bowl first at the WACA, it is generally a sprited contest between bat and ball for most of the match.

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Can Pup remain a successful tosser?

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CAN Australia take advantage of a WACA pitch that looks greener than Kermit the Frog's selfies and go to Melbourne with the series tied at 3-3?

Yes, 3-3. Because, incredibly, we might soon have to visit our psychoanalysts and exhume the repressed memories of that other Ashes series to keep this summer interesting.

You vaguely recall that series don't you? The one where England played the moustachioed villain tying their helpless victims to the railway tracks and Australia couldn't untie the ropes before the express streamed through?

Back home Australians were curled up in the foetal position in front of the fire barely able to watch Stuart Broad put the top order to the sword. Manly, Collingwood, Robert Mugabe and whoever wrote that annoying Coles jingle were then ahead of England in the sympathy queue.

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Now, entering the Perth Test, Australia is expected to do to England what a five year old with a new magnifying glass does to an ant. Which leaves those holding tickets for the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests with a tough choice.

Do you want Mitchell Johnson to finish the job in Perth? (I'll leave the psephology to Antony Green, but I'm guessing the 'yes' response is about 99.72 per cent.) Alternatively, do you hope England can somehow sneak out of Perth with a draw - hell, even a win - and thus ensure the MCG and SCG witness more than a ritual burial? (Unless the Barmy Army have Clive Palmer's resources, I doubt they're getting the numbers here.) Personally? Paul Keating famously told John Hewson he had not yet called an election because ''I want to do you slowly''. Australia's defeat in England is still too raw to entertain the notion Michael Clarke's men can pick and choose where and when they reclaim the urn.

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With Broad and Graeme Swann's feats with the ball, and even the flagging Kevin Pietersen's pyrotechnics still in mind, Australia - and Australians - will want to do England right now. Before they get off the spit and take the apples from their mouths.

Is there any prospect England could turn the heat back on Australia? Clarke has proven to be quite a tosser in this series, and not in the way some unfairly imagined in his sports car driving, model dating days.

But should Australia be forced to bat first in Perth there is still some chance they will be hoist on their own very green petard. Stuart Broad showed what he could with the new ball in Brisbane. He doesn't have Mitchell Johnson's pace but he has more guile.

Joe Root's stubborn innings and Matt Prior's half century were small things salvaged by England from the Adelaide rubble. Ryan Harris has a sore knee, which might provide some respite for the English batsmen, at least at one end.

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But the level of defeatism in the England camp is measured by their laments about Perth temperatures forecast to be in the high 30s. Should the tourists spend more than a day in the field, it might be one of the few times the term ''well done'' has applied to them this series.

Which brings us back to the bright prospects of another Australian victory, and the idea of a home and away Ashes score. Something given some credence by Ian Botham who boasted England would win 10-0.

How satisfying then, if Australia can climb back to level things at 3-3. And go to Melbourne and perhaps Sydney looking for the winner.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Penn pours $1m into Manly juniors

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THE Penn family has confirmed its commitment to the Manly Sea Eagles with a $1 million pledge to fund junior rugby league on the northern peninsula.

Majority shareholder Rick Penn yesterday scuttled rumours his family wanted out in light of the bitter battle for control of the district football club.

"We are here for the long term, and to prove that, we will provide a $1 million propagation to junior rugby league on the peninsular over a 10-year period," Penn said.

Penn is one of Australia's wealthiest men and is determined to ensure the Sea Eagles survive at Brookvale Oval, despite the NRL's move to play at bigger stadiums.

He has challenged the NRL to match his offer dollar for dollar to fund the juniors over the next decade.

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"We would expect the NRL to match our propagation and give an assurance that the Sea Eagles remain at Brookie," Penn said.

"Our juniors should be run by a committee with representatives of the District Football Club and the Leagues Club.

"We would ask someone of Bobby Fulton's legendary standing and passion for junior development to chair the committee and use the Leagues Club as headquarters for meetings.

"This way the Leagues Club is reunited to the heart of the Sea Eagles. It's 16,000 members deserve nothing less.

"I'd also like to see junior matches played at a redeveloped 'Brookie', in addition to the Sea Eagles home games.

"There are some outstanding possibilities for our future growth."

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Penn is one of Australia's most successful businessman who has enjoyed enormous success in the seven years since becoming involved as an owner at Manly.

The club has reached the finals every year, made four grand finals, won two premierships and a world club championship.

In the hope stability among warring factions on the Manly board, Penn has offered to get behind the appointment of an independent chairman.

The position is currently held by his son Scott, who is having to spend increasing time on overseas business.

He also wants prime minister Tony Abbott on board as the club's No. 1 ticket holder.

"Once we feel that we have a stable Sea Eagles board working to good governance principles we would be very happy to have an independent chairman and we would be very proud and honoured to have the prime minister as our No. 1 ticket holder," Penn said.

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