As England celebrated, the Australian media’s inquest began, with black humour, bitter self-reproach, a few excuses and (mostly grudging) congratulations the order of the day. Tom Dart samples the day-after mood Down Under
For Australian cricket fans the 2009 Ashes is a series best forgotten. Emphatically beaten by the Poms, the Aussie team has sunk to its lowest ever Test ranking. We lost at Lord’s for the first time in 75 years and, worst of all, we have nothing to brag about for another two years.
Mitchell Bingemann The Australian
In the wake of Australia’s humbling at the Oval, someone — I think it was my wife — told me to get a grip. Ashes cricket is not life or death.
I beg to differ. It’s more important.
As a cricket tragic who risked his health and marriage by watching nearly every ball of the five-match Test series from England, the realisation that the Ashes are lost is devastating.
I couldn’t feel this miserable if I had swine flu. For the next week or two there will be no jokes about English weather, warm beer or notoriously poor hygiene standards.
We could complain all we like about the questionable decisions from the so-called neutral umpires that the Aussies copped.
We could blame selectors for not picking the right teams. (Hint: on a spinning pitch, pick a spinner.) We could also accuse the Poms of “doctoring” the pitch for the final Test.
But patriotic fervour aside, any fair dinkum Aussie has to admit (as hard as it is) that England were the better side.
As tough as it was watching Ricky Ponting’s men collapse again and lose the Ashes in the early hours of yesterday morning, it will be much worse having to watch and listen to the English celebrate because I doubt there are worse winners in sport.
Ray Thomas The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
Leading psychologist Peter Terry said Australians were experiencing all the symptoms of grief that are more usually associated with the death of a loved one.
“It’s not an insignificant impact if they lose the Ashes cricket series to England,” Professor Terry said. “It takes a bit of swallowing.”
Black armbands, finger-pointing, casting blame and bitchy back-stabbing were the orders of the day yesterday as the nation threw the Ashes to the wind.
Kelly Ryan Herald Sun
The balance of the touring squad was questionable and the Australians then failed to select in-form players best suited to the conditions in each Test. Similar mistakes contributed to the 2005 defeat. Of course, Australia has recently lost several great players and could not expect to win for ever. Yet, on paper, Australia still fielded the stronger side in this series and lost, falling to an unprecedented fourth in the Test rankings. The loss of the Ashes for the second time in four years is more than a hiccup. Australia must take stock, on and off the field.
Leading article The Age
Beep beep. The text messages started a millisecond after Michael Hussey’s prod to short leg disappeared in Alastair Cook’s hands.
When you logged on the email inbox was full. The Pommy bloke at work swaggered straight up to your desk with that cat-who-got-the-fish grin.
Suddenly, English friends that for all but a brief period in 2005 feigned indifference to cricket — “We’re only interested in soccer, mate” — and instead bored you stupid with their Premier League obsession are claiming to be Geoff Boycott’s love children.
Richard Hinds The Age
For Australian cricket fans the 2009 Ashes is a series best forgotten. Emphatically beaten by the Poms, the Aussie team has sunk to its lowest ever Test ranking. We lost at Lord’s for the first time in 75 years and, worst of all, we have nothing to brag about for another two years.
Mitchell Bingemann The Australian
In the wake of Australia’s humbling at the Oval, someone — I think it was my wife — told me to get a grip. Ashes cricket is not life or death.
I beg to differ. It’s more important.
As a cricket tragic who risked his health and marriage by watching nearly every ball of the five-match Test series from England, the realisation that the Ashes are lost is devastating.
I couldn’t feel this miserable if I had swine flu. For the next week or two there will be no jokes about English weather, warm beer or notoriously poor hygiene standards.
We could complain all we like about the questionable decisions from the so-called neutral umpires that the Aussies copped.
We could blame selectors for not picking the right teams. (Hint: on a spinning pitch, pick a spinner.) We could also accuse the Poms of “doctoring” the pitch for the final Test.
But patriotic fervour aside, any fair dinkum Aussie has to admit (as hard as it is) that England were the better side.
As tough as it was watching Ricky Ponting’s men collapse again and lose the Ashes in the early hours of yesterday morning, it will be much worse having to watch and listen to the English celebrate because I doubt there are worse winners in sport.
Ray Thomas The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
Leading psychologist Peter Terry said Australians were experiencing all the symptoms of grief that are more usually associated with the death of a loved one.
“It’s not an insignificant impact if they lose the Ashes cricket series to England,” Professor Terry said. “It takes a bit of swallowing.”
Black armbands, finger-pointing, casting blame and bitchy back-stabbing were the orders of the day yesterday as the nation threw the Ashes to the wind.
Kelly Ryan Herald Sun
The balance of the touring squad was questionable and the Australians then failed to select in-form players best suited to the conditions in each Test. Similar mistakes contributed to the 2005 defeat. Of course, Australia has recently lost several great players and could not expect to win for ever. Yet, on paper, Australia still fielded the stronger side in this series and lost, falling to an unprecedented fourth in the Test rankings. The loss of the Ashes for the second time in four years is more than a hiccup. Australia must take stock, on and off the field.
Leading article The Age
Beep beep. The text messages started a millisecond after Michael Hussey’s prod to short leg disappeared in Alastair Cook’s hands.
When you logged on the email inbox was full. The Pommy bloke at work swaggered straight up to your desk with that cat-who-got-the-fish grin.
Suddenly, English friends that for all but a brief period in 2005 feigned indifference to cricket — “We’re only interested in soccer, mate” — and instead bored you stupid with their Premier League obsession are claiming to be Geoff Boycott’s love children.
Richard Hinds The Age
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