The Ashes 2006 - Gone up in flames.
England's demise on the final day of the Ashes test in Adelaide can be summed up in the way that Robert Muldoon - one of the keepers in Jurassic park - stands in the middle of the forest waiting to be gobbled by a raptor. The look of doom on his face is priceless. He knows what's coming.
Similarly England suffered from a similar dystrophy in the last couple of sessions of what will be seen in history as the defining moment of this years Ashes.
By not scoring 600 in the first innings, England offered Australia an emotional lifeline. Australia already knew that they could score well over that without being bowled out as they showed in The Gabba, and England's willingness to declare early, gave Australia the time and flexibility to score an amount of runs comparible to that of England.
With England starting already ahead by 40-odd runs, they should have had a prime position from which to build a score of around 200 in good time, leaving Australia a target on the final day that whilst not unreachable, would have meant a cricketing equivalent of a cavalry charge by the Light Brigade.
England are a team that are inspired and not bolstered by the intervention of Flintoff as captain. What he provides in bravado, he lacks in real leadership. Strauss being the calm, focussed man he is, would seem a more sensible successor to Vaughan's legacy.
This is a fractured England team, left battled-scarred after a year of injuries which has left them lame both physically and mentally.
The remnants of which is a skeleton squad living off the past glories when they were (albeit briefly) the second best team in the world.
Australia played terrifically well, and ol' Warner was just teasing England in the first innings at Adelaide, but the gloss of their win has been removed by the utter profligacy of England's batting attack in the second innings.
Giles in as an 8 eighth batsmen? Let's get the first seven right before we get too carried away Duncan.
Similarly England suffered from a similar dystrophy in the last couple of sessions of what will be seen in history as the defining moment of this years Ashes.
By not scoring 600 in the first innings, England offered Australia an emotional lifeline. Australia already knew that they could score well over that without being bowled out as they showed in The Gabba, and England's willingness to declare early, gave Australia the time and flexibility to score an amount of runs comparible to that of England.
With England starting already ahead by 40-odd runs, they should have had a prime position from which to build a score of around 200 in good time, leaving Australia a target on the final day that whilst not unreachable, would have meant a cricketing equivalent of a cavalry charge by the Light Brigade.
England are a team that are inspired and not bolstered by the intervention of Flintoff as captain. What he provides in bravado, he lacks in real leadership. Strauss being the calm, focussed man he is, would seem a more sensible successor to Vaughan's legacy.
This is a fractured England team, left battled-scarred after a year of injuries which has left them lame both physically and mentally.
The remnants of which is a skeleton squad living off the past glories when they were (albeit briefly) the second best team in the world.
Australia played terrifically well, and ol' Warner was just teasing England in the first innings at Adelaide, but the gloss of their win has been removed by the utter profligacy of England's batting attack in the second innings.
Giles in as an 8 eighth batsmen? Let's get the first seven right before we get too carried away Duncan.
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