Ashes 5th Test at Sydney – A 5 nil whitewash

The outcome of the 5th test was entirely predictable given the gulf between the two teams that I had witnessed in the earlier 4 fixtures. In fact the script could almost have been written before the match started.

So we saw 2 England batting collapses and in both innings they failed to score over 200 runs. A number of terrible shots were played often by England’s most experienced batsmen. It really looks like the intensity of this series has got to them. Decision making over which balls to play and which to leave is generally much much poorer than you would expect from players of this talent and experience. I think their brains have become scrambled meaning they can not think clearly out in the middle. The England tail yet again failed to score many meaningful runs when the top 5 had failed.

Yet again we saw England’s bowlers getting us into a good position. On day 1, after Alastair Cook won his first toss of the series and put Australia into bat on an overcast morning and with a green tinged pitch. just after lunch the Aussies were 97 for 5. Then we saw a combination of poor England bowling, they bowled too short after lunch, and another fantastic innings from Brad Haddin well supported by Steve Smith. So Australia are let off the hook and managed to compile a score of 326.

Michael Clarke departs the field after being out for 10 on the morning of day 1 with England on top

Broad bowls to Harris as England let a good position slip on day 1

What was particularly galling about this defeat was that it happened in under 3 days. The England batting performance in the second innings was particularly pathetic. They were all out in only 31.4 overs. There was little fight and it looked like they couldn’t get out of the SCG quickly enough. Did they have a plane to catch?

England’s cricket supporters who have travelled to Australia at huge cost and in big numbers deserved far far better.

At the end of the game I did not linger for long. I watched the immediate celebrations of the Aussie team and headed out of there. I felt strangely emotional for a few seconds knowing this was my last day at the cricket on this trIp. In total over the last 7 weeks I have been to 20 days of ashes cricket and have only missed the last day in Perth and a couple of sessions in Melbourne. Although the results have been incredibly disappointing I have found much of the action compelling. The most memorable sessions have been the England batting collapses often when Mitchell Johnson was steaming in bowling at 145 km/h plus. He rightly was named man of the series. When England collapsed on day 2 at the Gabba amidst some incredibly hostile, fast and accurate bowling from Johnson the die was cast. Johnson had the X factor and England have no equivalent bowler. The speed of the bowling they faced unsettled the whole team and I don’t think they ever recovered from the shock of what happened on day 2 at Brisbane.

Oh dear!

Boyd Rankin is out to confirm the 5-0 whitewash

The Aussie players celebrate

Jubilant scenes

Steve Smith applauds the crowd

My last look at the SCG

Trip to the Blue Mountains

I was very much looking forward to the Blue Mountains trip and as it was being run by AAT Kings who had delivered an excellent 3 days in the Red Centre earlier in my trip I was expecting it to be high quality.

After being picked up by the tour bus at 7.30am we headed west out of Sydney on the Parramatta road and then joined the M4 motorway. We made a stop at the Featherdale wildlife park for an hour. The tour had been billed as “Blue mountains and Australian wildlife” so this was the wildlife part of the day… Having already seen koala, kangaroo, wombats and tasmanian devils back in Brisbane I looked for new species. It was a whistlestop tour as we only had an hour but in that time I saw little penguins, red necked pademelon, echidna and a crocodile. There was also the quokka which I had seen earlier in my trip at Rottnest Island.

Little penguin

Red necked pademelon

Echidna

A croc

After leaving the zoo, we headed to the Blue Mountains via the great western highway. We were travelling across the same route that the early settlers used when first crossing the blue mountains. They had to begin with found the mountains impenetrable but this seemed to suit some of those in charge of the early settlement as it meant it was difficult for the convicts to escape through the mountains! These days it is easy to cross the mountains. There is an excellent dual carriageway most of the way and this runs parallel to a railway line.

Having heard back in October about serious fires in the Blue Mountains which had destroyed 230 homes I was expecting this to be visible at some point during the tour but the mountains looked pristine.

We stopped for lunch in the pretty garden village of Leura.

Leura

After lunch we headed to nearby Katoomba to an attraction called Scenic World. It was a kind of theme park. There were 4 main attractions. A scenic railway at a 52 degree incline – the steepest passenger train in the world! A scenic skyway – the highest cable car in Australia. A scenic cableway – Australia’s biggest cable car. Finally a scenic walkway to stroll through the rainforest. It did feel a little tacky having “rides” that you queued to go on. I was given a wristband. Anyway putting any Blackpool pleasure beach thoughts to one side I went for it. I descended into the forest in the cable car. This lasted but a few seconds. I then had a very pleasant stroll through the rainforest before getting the train. This was a little scary – you basically were facing down into the forest whilst the train went upwards. At one point it felt like I was going to be thrown onto the row of people in front! But it was a short trip – a minute at most.

The view from the cable car

Australia’s biggest cable car

Walkway through the rainforest

The scenic railway

View from inside the railway carriage

We had an excellent coach driver, Chris, really funny and very knowledgeable. But rather bizarrely when we got back on the bus he suggested heading straight back to Sydney to visit the Olympic Park rather than going to Echo Point where you get a fantastic view of the most famous landmark in the Blue Mountains – the Three Sisters. This was over-ruled and we had a short photo stop at Echo Point. Anyway, in case you were wondering the Blue Mountains are so named because of the colour of the vapour that comes off the Eucalyptus trees.

The bluey tinged blue mountains

The Three Sisters

The Blue Mountains are very pretty but perhaps I am spoilt with the scenery that I saw in New Zealand as they didn’t really wow me.

We headed back into Sydney and Chris got his wish by driving us past the Olympic stadium and other sporting facilities from when they had the Olympics here in 2000.

The Olympic stadium

The real highlight of the day was a boat trip along the Paramatta river from Olympic park and back into Sydney with a stop at Darling Harbour and then under the harbour bridge to Circular Quay. Even though it was raining the views of the shoreline and the different parts of the estuary were stunning. I stood in the top deck snapping away although my camera battery chose to die just before going under the harbour bridge!

Stunning waterside properties

Heading towards Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour

Ferry trip to Manly

My New Years Day in Sydney started with doing laundry…. The hotel I stayed at in Melbourne did not have one and with my last laundry being done in New Zealand things had started to reach crisis proportions. Feeling much better when this chore had been completed I headed to Circular Quay to catch the Manly Ferry.

Lots of others had the same idea. The ferry was packed. I got some great views of the opera house as we sailed round it.

Manly was given its name by the first governor of New South Wales, Captain Arthur Phillip. He thought that the aboriginal men that he saw sunning themselves on the beach there were, well, manly! The resort has back to back beaches. A sheltered harbour beach on one side and an ocean facing surf beach on the other. The two beaches are linked by a lively promenade called the Corso. Even though the weather was cloudy it was warm and the surfers beach was busy.

The Manly Ferry

The surfer’s beach

Manly surfer’s beach

The Corso

So Manly gets my seal of approval as somewhere to go and visit when in Sydney.

New Years Eve in Sydney

I was booked on the midday flight from Melbourne to Sydney and was at the airport in plenty of time. The automated Qantas check in system at the airport give gave me the option of boarding either the 11am or 11.30am flights instead! Get in! So I ended up boarding the 11am flight. Just before the flight boarded I saw Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon clad in his international tracksuit carrying a baby. Perhaps I was flying with the Australian cricket team? As I was boarding and walking through business class I saw Lyon again and Ryan Harris sat with their WAGs. A tall dark haired guy in a track suit got out of my way as I walked past. I turned round and saw the unmistakeable moustached face of Mitchell Johnson. I attempted to give him a hard stare in the style of the stares he gives our batsmen. I’m not sure if the whole team was on the flight. I just saw those 3 and also Darren “Boof” Lehman in arrivals in Sydney.

On the flight I was pleasantly surprised with the scenery with most of the flight seemingly over mountains with many lakes. Were we crossing the Blue Mountains? As the plane descended we were rewarded with clear views of the harbour bridge and opera house and the stunning natural harbour.

Later, having checked in to the hotel I headed out to get my bearings and suss out my plan for viewing the New Years Eve fireworks. I am staying on George Street, in Chinatown, and around ten minutes from Darling Harbour. I headed there first. The harbour was busy with people enjoying the New Year’s Eve sunshine. I was aware that at 3pm there were already people getting in position for the fireworks that night!

The New Year’s Eve stage in place at Darling Harbour

From Darling Harbour I headed in the direction of Circular Quay. I headed past a huge construction project that is underway at the top end of Darling Harbour in an area called Barangaroo. This redevelopment will lead to further hotels, office space (including skyscrapers), residential, retail and leisure facilities within Sydney’s central business district. So next time I visit Sydney it will look noticeably different.

I stopped for a coffee at Walsh Bay and got my first glimpse of the harbour bridge. I saw huge crowds already in position for the fireworks on the other side of the bridge. I walked round to circular quay and got an excellent view of the opera house. It was already getting very busy some eight hours before midnight. I needed a plan!

The Harbour Bridge viewed from Walsh Bay

The crowds in place for the fireworks 8 hours in advance!

I walked along George Street for around half an hour before I reached my hotel. I turned on the tv in my room and learnt that there were to be fireworks earlier in the evening at around 9pm and that they would be at Darling Harbour as well as around the harbour bridge.

So I headed out again at 7.30 and went to Darling Harbour. As dusk approached the crowds swelled. There was a stage set up in the harbour and the entertainment included Chinese dragons and fire dancers. The crowds included lots of families and kids and the ethnic mix was highly oriental reflecting the part of the city I was in. At 9pm the fireworks started and were fantastic. Definitely better than Denby Dale Cricket Club Bonfire Night fire works! I did however feel that this firework display was a mere starter for the main course to come.

Crowds gathering at Darling harbour

I headed to the Barmy Army New Years Eve party at the Paragon Hotel. I spent an enjoyable couple of hours or so there. They had a Coldplay tribute band playing and in between breaks there was Barmy Army song singing led by Billy the Trumpeter.

At 11.45 I headed out of the Paragon to look for a vantage point. Police had stopped any more people getting into the Circular Quay viewing area. So I headed with others at some speed to a road that was up above close to the harbour bridge. I was in position by midnight and saw some fantastic fireworks. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a great position. In cricketing terms I had a view from square leg rather than from behind the bowlers arm. This meant that I didn’t see the fireworks going off at the opera house and for those on the bridge I had a side on rather than front on view. Oh and I also had a street light in the way!

It was a great experience and after the fireworks had finished, after about 10 minutes, I walked down George Street with the massive crowds.

The crowds heading down George St after the fireworks

I enclose here some of my best photos and some I found online. I am sure you will be able to tell which is which!

My last day in Melbourne

So with my time in Melbourne being dominated by cricket and Christmas I was determined to spend my last day there getting to know the city better.

From my hotel I headed for the docklands area. This was just a few minutes walk but had been hidden for me for the last week by the Southern Cross railway station. I had been told there was another big sports stadium in that direction. Well before long the Etihad Stadium was in view. No, I had not been teleported to Manchester! The Melbourne Etihad stadium has a capacity of just over 50,000 and is primarily used for Aussie Rules football. It is also the home of Melbourne Renegades in the big bash cricket and Melbourne Victory in the A-league soccer.

Melbourne’s Etihad stadium

Melbourne’s docklands area

Melbourne’s free city centre circular tram

From the Docklands I caught the free (no. 35) circular tram that is an excellent way of getting to know the city. I got the clockwise tram which enabled me to see the North side of the city centre for the first time. I got off at Carlton Gardens which is where the Melbourne Museum is and also the site of the Melbourne International Exhibition held in 1880. The international exhibition building and surrounding gardens are mightily impressive.

The building from the Melbourne international Exhibition in 1880

The Melbourne Museum were holding an exhibition on James Bond but I was much more interested in finding out more about the history of Melbourne and of Australia. One of the first exhibits I encountered was a incredibly well preserved star Australian racehorse called Phar Lap who in the late 1920’s and really 1930’s won 37 out of 51 races including the prestigious Melbourne Cup.

Phar Lap

Now there are some aspects of Australia’s history I find deeply troubling. In particular the way the Aboriginal people were treated by the early settlers. Being forced off their lands and deprived of rights of access to resources and foods. The whole impact of settlement on them was totally devastating. However I was not prepared for the next exhibit. It was based on the national apology made in 2009 to forgotten Australians and former child migrants . These are children who were robbed of a childhood. Aboriginal children taken from their families. British and Maltese child migrants. Children whose parents were unable to cope. They were kept in state care but many were frightened, abused and neglected. The handwritten extracts written by some of these children, now adults, were totally heartbreaking. I watched some of the footage of the apology delivered by the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2009 to the Forgotten Australians. In the audience were 900 survivors of this period of “state care”. I would recommend this as something for you to view. It’s available on You Tube. It’s not an easy watch but it gives a very good insight into this ugly episode of Australia’s history.

From the Museum I headed to the delightful Fitzroy Gardens. In the grounds is Captain Cook’s cottage which has been transported from Great Ayton in North Yorkshire to Melbourne and was rebuilt here in 1933. For a small sum (I got a discount with my Barmy Army membership card!) you can go inside the house and walk in the gardens. The girl in the shop told me that Captain Cook had never actually lived in the house but it had been the Cook family home.

Captain Cook’s cottage

The kitchen in captain cook’s cottage

From Fitzroy Gardens I headed along Collins Street, known as the classiest street in Melbourne. There are some great buildings on there. I was impressed by the preserved trading hall in one of the original Australian banks in Melbourne. I made a diversion to get a photo of Flinders Street station which is one if the iconic buildings in Melbourne.

A festive Flinders Street station

On Collins Street

The ornate ceiling of an early bank on Collins Street

So for me the highlights of Melbourne are the trams, the sporting stadia, the bar and restaurant scene on the south bank, St Kilda, the many parks and some fine old buildings.

Next to Sydney…

Afternoon in St Kilda

So after the cricket finished early I headed for St Kilda by tram. This brought back memories of when the cricket finished early in Adelaide and I headed to another coastal location, Glenelg, by the same mode of transport. So at least England’s failure to bat for long period’s does have its upsides!

A number of friends had mentioned St Kilda as somewhere I should visit. Indeed it had been suggested as a possible location where I could stay. It didn’t disappoint!

One thing I love about Melbourne is the trams. Indeed Melbourne has the largest urban tram network in the world. To use the trams you need to buy a MYKI card (cost 6 dollars) and then top it up to use when you travel. You “touch on” and “touch off” using the card when you get on and off the tram. So having got my head around this and bought and got some credit on the MYKI card, I took the no. 96 tram from close to my hotel on Spencer Street. St Kilda is 7km south from the centre of Melbourne and takes around 30-45 minutes in a tram. On arrival on Acland Street I headed straight away in the direction of the sea. It was a sunny afternoon but was quite cool due to a southerly breeze.

I checked out the marina and the beach but didn’t linger for long due to the cool breeze. The beach was pretty quiet.

The beach at St Kilda

The real vibrant part of St Kilda was Acland Street with bars, restaurants, ice cream parlours and trendy shops. There is a bohemian type feel to the place. I bought a magnificent strawberry cream pastry at a cake shop with one of the most inviting shop windows you could imagine.

Acland Street, St Kilda

Acland Street, St Kilda

Yum!

After checking out Acland Street I headed for Luna Park. This delightful old amusement park was built in 1912. It was designed by Americans based on the first Luna Park built in Coney Island, New York in 1903. Melbourne’s Luna Park contains the most elaborate carousel in the southern hemisphere and the original rollercoaster which was restored in 1999 but didn’t appear to be in operation when I visited.

The entrance of Luna Park

The Luna Park carousel

St Kilda is a place you must visit when in Melbourne.

 

Australia go 4 nil up in the Ashes

I have been watching this series from the start in Brisbane. During today’s performance I started to get angry!

The day started with Australia on 30 without loss requiring 231 runs to win the match. Although Australia were firm favourites this would have been the highest fourth innings score to win a test match at the MCG for many years. I was just about to take up my seat shortly after start of play when I saw a chance dropped in the slips. It looked to me as if Alastair Cook had dropped a difficult chance at first slip off Stuart Broad’s bowling. On the radio commentary, they blamed Jonny Bairstow for not diving across from wicket keeper to take the catch. Broad was surprisingly taken out of the attack after bowling just 2 overs. Soon after this Cook drops a total sitter off Ben Stokes’ bowling. Catches win matches!!

After only half an hour of the day part time off spinner Joe Root came onto bowl. What’s going on? Aren’t we trying to win this match? We need our front line bowlers not part timers?

Joe Root brought into the bowling attack after 30 minutes

A wicket falls. Warner is caught behind from Bairstow. A wicket for Stokes. 64-1.

in the Aussie first innings England bowled really well. They bowled really tightly and made it difficult for the Aussies to score. In this innings England are really sloppy. Runs flow easily at 4 an over and the fielding is sloppy. Cook takes an age to make fielding changes and some of the crowd, including me, get annoyed.

Australia reach 100 for the loss of one wicket. Rogers gets his fifty.

Our front line spinner, Monty Panesar, hasn’t bowled yet. What’s going on? Cook finally turns to Panesar when the score is 118-1. But it’s far too late. Monty bowls badly and is hit for 10 off one over.

Runs continue to flow. A century partnership between Watson and Rogers. Then Chris Rogers gets his 100 off just 135 balls. Soon after Shane Watson gets his 50 off just 70 balls. Interestingly, 39% of Chris Rogers runs were through 3rd man but Cook refuses to place a fielder in that position.

This is getting embarrassing. Bresnan goes for 14 in one over. It’s a shambles.

Rogers finally departs for 116 and gets a standing ovation as he leaves the field. A wicket for Monty. However scoring continues to be very quick. Monty goes for 14 off an over.

Before long, at 2.26pm, Australia reach their target. I decide not to linger for the presentations.

An embarrassing scoreline

I am now beginning to seriously question our captain. Some of the decisions today were, to me, inexplicable. Is the pressure of the job getting to him? Would it be better if he reverted to batting?

Over the four days of the test match the total attendance was 221,865. That’s a staggering number of people. I have enjoyed the spectacle of watching a match at the MCG but not the England performance.

I had an excellent seat to watch the action. It was two seats away from a seat which marks the point where the biggest ever 6 hit at the MCG landed. In 1993, during a Sheffield Shield match, a shot by Simon O’Donnell from the bowling of Greg Matthews landed there. It’s denoted by a plaque and the seat is a different colour to the others in the section. All I can say is it must have been one helluva strike!

Marking the spot where the biggest. 6 at the MCG landed

So with the match finishing a day early this gives me more time to explore Melbourne. Stay tuned for blog updates on this.

4th Ashes Test at Melbourne – Day 3

I have been getting behind with my blog entries so I decided to get up to date today. To enable this I stayed in my hotel room and blogged whilst watchIng the cricket coverage on Channel 9. This was the first time I have had the opportunity to watch the cricket on TV. It’s not bad to be honest. Not dissimilar to sky back home. It’s fronted by the polished but always slightly too smug Mark Nicholas. Their commentary team includes Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Michael Slater, Ian Chappell and Bill Lawry. To give some English balance they have Michael Vaughan and David Lloyd providing commentary alongside their commitments to the BBC and Sky respectively.

England started the day requiring only one wicket to finish off Australia’s second innings. However this was easier said than done and having resumed overnight on 164-9, the last wicket pair of Haddin and Lyon put on another 40 runs. The channel 9 commentators were highly critical of Alastair Cook’s captaincy during this period. They thought his field placings were far too defensive and he wasn’t asserting himself over the team.

So England had a second innings lead of 51 runs. England’s second innings started well. At lunch they were 54 without loss. Alastair Cook was playing really well but Michael Carberry was struggling to get runs.

Soon after lunch Cook gets a well deserved fifty. He then gets snared lbw by Mitchell Johnson and is out for 51. England are 65-1.

Joe Root is given out, caught behind, for a duck. He is reprieved after a DRS review.

Carberry’s batting struggles are finally over as he is out for 12 after batting for over 2 hours. Root is then run out for 15. He takes a chance on Mitchell Johnson’s left arm and is a yard out of his ground. What a suicidal run to take! Then Bell is out for a golden duck. A wicket for Lyon. 3 wickets have been lost in 5 balls. Another England batting collapse!

When I leave the hotel to walk to the MCG, England are 100-4. No wickets are lost on my 45 minute walk. At tea England are 115-4 with Pietersen and Stokes playing sensible cricket.

After tea Stokes falls for 19. He takes on Nathan Lyon but is caught at mid on. Why play that shot?

Johnson comes onto bowl. It’s really windy out there. Rubbish is blowing across the pitch and the bails keep blowing off. It all starts to kick off when KP backs away from a delivery just before Johnson releases the ball. In frustration Johnson throws the ball really close to KP. Words are exchanged in the middle.

KP batting in England’s second innings. He and Cook were the only batsmen to acquit themselves well

A chaotic scene with rubbish blowing across the pitch

Bairstow is playing shots. He hits a couple of sixes and a couple of fours. However Johnson angles the ball across him, Bairstow has a nibble, and is out for 21. The score is 173-6. Bresnan and Broad quickly follow Bairstow back to the pavilion. They are both wickets for Lyon and have got out for ducks playing poor shots. Three wickets have been lost for 1 run. The second batting collapse of the day.

Kevin Pietersen is running out of partners. He needs to get some runs. He tries to hit Lyon for 6 but falls short of the boundary and is out for 49. Lyon has taken 5 wickets.

Monty Panesar is out for a duck and England are all out for 179. How very very disappointing to have collapsed from a promising position at lunch.

So Australia need 231 runs to win the match. At close of play they reach 30 without loss without any close calls.

Something needs to change with this England batting line up. History keeps repeating itself!

4th Ashes Test at Melbourne – Day 2

Having batted very patiently on day 1, Kevin Pietersen started day 2 in a different mindset. He hit a 4 from the first ball of the day. It looks like he means business! Bresnan is out from the first ball of Mitchell Johnson’s first over. He is unable to successfully fend off a short ball from Johnson and is caught at short leg. KP is out from the 5th ball of the same over. He hits across the line of the ball and is clean bowled. It was a silly reckless shot.

Broad is then out lbw. Another wicket for Johnson. He has now taken 5 wickets with the new ball. A spell of 5 wickets for 18 runs. Another devastating hostile spell of fast bowling reminiscent of his spells in Adelaide and Brisbane. There is some resistance from Monty and Jimmy. But then Monty leaves a ball from Lyon and is bowled. England have collapsed from 226-6 to 255 all out. Another batting collapse!

Disillusioned I go walkabout. I need a coffee and head to the bottom tier to find one. Whilst in the queue the Aussies start batting and I watch the action on a monitor on the concourse. Having got my coffee I watch whilst stood behind the section where the Barmy Army are sitting. Warner is out for 9. He miscues a ball from Jimmy Anderson high in the air and is caught by Jonny Bairstow. The Barmies sing a rousing chorus of “oh Jimmy Jimmy! Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Anderson”. I join in!

Soon after Ben Stokes gets Shane Watson’s wicket. The Barmies start singing the “Hokey Stokey”. Despite practising this on Christmas Day I am still struggling to remember the words and actions to that one.

At lunch Australia are 38-2. A good start by England. I head out of the MCG to go for a walk. I reach a pub called the Cricketers Arms and head in for a beer. It’s an old pub with cricket memorabilia on the wall. A sign on the wall in the bar refers to the authentic pre World War 2 Art Deco German bar fittings. Having enjoyed a VB I head back to the MCG.

The Art Deco bar at the cricketers arms

The cricketers arms

After lunch Rogers is hit on the helmet by a ball from Broad. There is blood and a delay whilst he regains composure. Clarke is bowled by Jimmy and is out for 10. “Oh Jimmy Jimmy!”.

Rogers gets his 50 just before tea. In the tea interval I watched some pantomime going on in the nets at the MCG. TV personality Piers Morgan had been very disparaging on Twitter about England’s batting performances on this series and in particular how they have performed against Mitchell Johnson. This had led to some banter and ultimately to Morgan facing an over from legendary former Aussie fast bowler Brett Lee. Quite a crowd had built up to watch this. Lee steamed in. Morgan failed to connect with the bat in any of the 6 deliveries. During the over he gets hit on the body, backs away from a ball and is bowled by one delivery. It was a good laugh.

Piers Morgan facing Brett Lee

After tea, Broad breaks a partnership of 48 between Smith and Rogers. A great catch in the slips from Bell. Smith is out for 19. 110-4.

Bresnan strikes. Rogers is out for 61. KP takes the catch in the deep. Bailey is out for a duck after a DRS review goes our way. Thanks snicko!

Haddin is in and yet again in this series is batting well. Oh no! Jimmy drops Johnson off Bresnan.

Monty thinks he has a wicket. Haddin is given out lbw by the umpire but survives on a DRS review.

Johnson is gone! Bresnan gets him in the end and Anderson this time takes the catch. The Aussies are 151-7 and are rocking!

The crowd for day 2 is announced at 78,346. Another fantastic attendance!

Harris is out for 6. A wicket for Broad. Siddle then falls. It’s close of play and the Aussies are 164-9.

This has been the best day of the series for England. They have bowled really well with all the bowlers playing their part. They have bowled a good line and length and exerted real pressure. It’s been just like how the Aussies have bowled all through these series. England are giving a rousing ovation from their fans as they leave the pitch.

The tv cameras view at the MCG.

After play I was invited to go for drinks by the tour company my tickets have been supplied through. Former England player Adam Hollioake, who I met in Brisbane, is working for the tour company out here. He would be at the drinks reception with the possibility of a current England player. When I turned up there were a number of the tour party in the bar listening to Adam and Michael Carberry. This gave me the opportunity for a photo….

Me with Adam Hollioake and Michael Carberry.

After Adam and Michael left I headed off to the Barmy Army bar, PJ O’Briens, for a couple of drinks. There was an excellent live band playing. I then walked back to my hotel along the south bank before crossing over a bridge over the Yarra River.

Melbourne at night reflected in the Yarra.

4th Ashes Test at Melbourne – Day 1

The Boxing Day test match in Melbourne is a massive tradition. People in these parts are big sports fans and Boxing Day always attracts big crowds to the MCG.

After collecting my tickets I walked along the banks of the Yarra river towards the MCG. There were loads and loads of people heading in the same direction. At a bend in the river the MCG came into view. It looked huge! I was also impressed to see other sporting arenas in the area including Melbourne Park where the Australian open tennis is held. Heading over a railway bridge close to the MCG there was a clear view of the Rod Laver arena and outside courts. Melbourne is clearly a great place to come to watch live sport.

My first view of the MCG

The crowds heading to the MCG

The Rod Laver arena viewed from the MCG. This is the main show court for the Aussie open tennis

In entering the MCG I went looking for my seat. This was no easy task in a ground which can accommodate over 100,000. Having successfully found where I was sitting I looked around me. The MCG is a huge cavernous bowl and it’s jaw dropping when you first enter. I have been in huge stadia before such as Wembley and the Nou Camp but this feels on a different scale. I have a great view of the action from my seat which is close to behind the bowlers arm. I am quite high up in the 3rd of four tiers.

The MCG

A panoramic view of the MCG

My view of the action

The toss was held in very overcast conditions. Yet again it was won by Australia. The surprise was that Michael Clarke put England into bat. Now there is a saying in cricket that 9 times out of ten when you win the toss you should bat and the 10th time you think long and hard about bowling and then decide to bat. I can only think that Michael Clarke fancied having a go at the England batsmen under overcast skies. There were a couple of changes in the England line up with Jonny Bairstow replacing Matt Prior behind the stumps. Monty Panesar was in the team for the retired Graham Swann.

Day 1 was much like other days I have watched in this series. The Australia bowlers were excellent. They bowled a good line and length and made it difficult for the England batsmen to score. A number of batsmen got in, then got bogged down and then got out. Cook 27, Carberry 38 and Root 24 are examples. This was a big innings for Kevin Pietersen. He has endured much criticism on this tour for his peformances. He has massive talent but also a big propensity for getting himself out by playing daft shots. Whilst on 6 he hits a slog and is caught out on the boundary. However the substitute fielder, Coulter-Nile, can not prevent himself stepping over the rope. KP is reprieved.

Scoring is really slow. To be honest the cricket is a bit boring. There is talk on the radio commentary about this being potentially the lowest ever score in a  test match on Boxing Day at the MCG.

I had been set a challenge by Kathryn my next door neighbour back home. Her two brothers would be at MCG on Boxing Day. I had their seat numbers so it sounded quite a straightforward task to find them. They were on the 4th tier. It took me around 10 minutes to find the section they were sitting in. After a bit of an explanation between me and the steward she told the two brothers, Martin and Paul, that there was guy from the UK looking to meet them. Martin had emigrated to Melbourne 30 years ago and Paul is on holiday here with his wife Lynne. This was only the second time that they had spent time with each other in over 30 years. Martin last visited the UK back in 1996.

Me with Paul (left) and Martin (right)

After tea, Bell falls for 27. England are 173-4. Pietersen is still in though. Soon after a drinks break, he is dropped by Bailey. Pietersen is not happy. There is a big delay whilst he goes down on his haunches. He wants another drink. The Aussies in the crowd give him dogs abuse. There is talk on the radio that he had swallowed a fly!

The crowd is huge. The official attendance is announced as 91,092. This is a record official attendance for a day of cricket. There are rumoured to have been bigger attendances in Calcutta but there are no official records. It was great to be part of a world record crowd.

Before the end of the day Stokes is out for 14 and Bairstow falls for 10. At stumps England are 226-6. Pietersen is unbeaten at 67 and has been batting very patiently. It’s a good wicket though and so Australia will be happier with their days work than England.