Rising from the Ashes?
View(s):At the Ashes squad announcement, former captain Mark Taylor gave the compliment of an era. ”I think the Australian side has played pretty well in recent years,” he said, ”and they can do the same thing that we did back in 1989.”
That was the year the Australians arrived in England to ridicule as the worst Ashes tourists yet. By the series’ end, Taylor had amassed 839 runs, second to Don Bradman’s 974 in 1930. Steve Waugh went from struggler to superstar, averaging 126.5. Dean Joes, Allan Border and David Boon were rocks in the order. Terry Alderman toyed with illustrious England batsmen on the way to 41 wickets, assisted by Geoff Lawson with 29, and leg spinner Trevor Hohns, who snared big scalps at critical times.
Only 12 players were used in the 4-0 sweep, which might have been six but for rain. A dynasty sprouted and England would not regain the Ashes until half a decade into the next century.
The title ”worst ever” now belongs to the class of 2013. As in ’89, it brings immense opportunity. It is the chance to not only win against the odds but also spark Australian cricket’s next renaissance.
”We had a lot of inexperience and players who were trying to prove themselves, including myself, and all of a sudden we just clicked,” Waugh said at the squad announcement.
The first Test, in which Australia scored 7 (dec)-601 in the first innings, set up the series and vindicated the players’ quiet confidence. Lawson kept newspaper cut-outs leading up to that day. ”The English media wrote us off, but we didn’t feel that way,” he recalls.
”We held meetings and talked about what crap it was. At the press conference when we landed, they were quite condescending. That’s why I’m loving the Poms’ complacency this time again.”
Lawson feels good about the 2013 squad, largely because of its likeness to 1989.
Cricketing royalty: The Queengreets the 1989 Australian team. Photo: AP
Border was the one certain pick, such as current skipper Michael Clarke. But also included was the experienced Geoff Marsh, similarly to Chris Rogers.
There was a group consolidating or determined to step up – Taylor, Jones and Waugh – today’s David Warner, Phil Hughes and Ed Cowan.
The bowlers – Lawson, Alderman and Merv Hughes – had belief and spirit, as do Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris and Mitch Starc. Hohns’ turners proved as useful as Nathan Lyon’s may.
There was, too, a sense of ownership. Bob Simpson was coach but, Lawson said, players dictated tactics. Border trusted his bowlers’ plans. Alderman and Lawson had captained their states. ”There were plenty of decision-makers in the team – one reason we never believed we were as far behind as some thought.
”We had some good young players and some experienced cricketers. We had a team that had the potential to play well, and did. Australians like being underdogs. As long as everyone in the dressing room believes they can win.”
Comparisons with 1989 will extend to day one at Trent Bridge on July 10. But a less pleasant comparison might emerge if things go awry. Four years before everything went right, much went wrong.
The lead-up to the 1985 series was fraught, not distinctly different from the upcoming series. The retirements of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh had left a gaping hole, like those of Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey. Kim Hughes had ceded the captaincy, given, more dramatically than Shane Watson’s relinquishing the vice-captaincy.
The rebel tour tested team dynamics, not entirely unlike ”homework-gate” on the recent India tour.
”It wasn’t the most conducive environment leading into it,” said Lawson, one of only three, with Border and Boon, who played in ’85 and ’89. ”Some of us wondered about our teammates’ dedication to playing for Australia. It got a bit messy.”
Nevertheless, the team played well at times and came close to snatching an unlikely win. As can happen in cricket, a crucial decision had fateful consequences.
”We were about to draw in Edgbaston and then came the worst decision in the history of Ashes Test matches – [Wayne] Phillips given out off the boot [of Allan Lamb] after a 10-minute discussion, when it was clearly not out,” Lawson said.
”We lost that Test, which made it 2-1. If not for that, by the last Test we were still a chance of bringing the Ashes home. It was a series of lost opportunities. We were 1-1 at Edgbaston, got ripped off, then dropped our bundle in the last Test.”All things considered, he said, the team performed well. And, in the same way, the current team’s uneasy lead-up may have been harped upon (Taylor believes that, apart from India, Australia’s recent efforts have been good), Lawson believes the idea of ”the bad old days of the ’80s is an exaggeration”.
The fate of the class of 2013 is found somewhere between those of ’85 and ’89. The batting line-up is more settled than in ’85 but less so than ’89.
”What’s Hughes going to do?” Lawson asked. ”Is [Usman] Khawaja going to play? If Rogers opens with Watson, what does Warner do?”
There is confusion over the spinners – three in ’85, two in ’89, one this time. ”If you put all your eggs in the seamers basket and turn up at Edgbaston or the Oval and it’s a Bunsen [turner] like it was last series, you might get egg on your face,” he said.
Overall, however, he sees more shades of 1989 than the previous tourists in this squad.
”I haven’t backed the Australian selectors much with all the problems and whatnot, but I like the squad they’ve picked and I just have a good feeling about this team. I just think there’s a bunch of good selections,” Lawson said.
”And, it’s a huge opportunity for Clarke. The next 12 months, with 10 Ashes Tests, if he’s 5-2 in front, or 5-3, he’ll be doing very well and will have some good players around him.”
Possibly setting up a new great era for Australian cricket.
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