England's dramatic defeat in the second Ashes test prompted a
chorus of discontent from the British media lamenting a return to
the dark old days on Wednesday.
"Chokers", ran the Daily Mail banner headline. "It took England
16 years to regain the Ashes - these men gave them back yesterday
in two hours of schoolboy panic."
"England lose the test that no one could lose," said the back
page of The Sun while the Daily Express headline read: "England
left in state of shock".
The Daily Telegraph chimed in with "England collapse brings
point of no return" and The Times added: "England punished after
hour of madness."
The Express said: "There have been some depressing days for
England since they last won the Ashes in Australia 20 years ago,
but few have matched yesterday in Adelaide for the mood of utter
despair that settled on Andrew Flintoff's team."
The British media had been confident of an England victory after
the first day, writing off experienced bowlers Shane Warne and
Glenn McGrath who struggled in England's huge first- innings total
of 551 for six declared.
With Australia making a remarkable recovery, however, the papers
were forced to make a rapid reassessment as England face up to the
challenge of fighting back from 2-0 down starting with the third
test in Perth.
"It is a long way to Perth from just about anywhere in
Australia, but England face an even greater journey when they get
there after losing their second successive Ashes test in crushing
circumstances," the Telegraph said.
Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott said in his Telegraph
column: "Make no mistake about it, the Ashes are gone. If you
support England, don't kid yourself that they might come back. No
England team in history have recovered from 2-0 down against
Australia. And let's face it, on current form, this is not a side
capable of making history."
Warne's compelling display brought a raft of praise.
"Shane Warne messed with the minds of England's batsmen so
completely they were stripped of their sanity, spirit and spine,"
The Sun said.
"Warne is cricket's Peter Pan, the King of Neverland who reduced
England to nothing less than a collective nervous breakdown," the
Independent's James Lawton wrote.
The Times said the defeat exposed failings in England's
management.
"There are failures of leadership behind England's approach, no
matter how difficult it was to get on top of Shane Warne's bowling
yesterday and how excellent Australia's cricket was throughout the
final day," the paper said.
Greatest win
Down under, Australian media on Wednesday hailed their team's
extraordinary victory in the second Ashes test and lambasted
England for their shocking last-day collapse.
"Best Ever", screamed the backpage headline in the Sydney Daily
Telegraph, describing the six-wicket win by Ricky Ponting's team as
the greatest in Australian cricket history.
"In a single afternoon, the mighty Australian cricket machine
not only crushed England's hopes of winning the second test
yesterday - they buried their dreams of winning the Ashes," Robert
Craddock wrote in the paper.
With the match apparently heading for a certain draw after four
days, England collapsed to 129 all out and Australia romped to a
victory target of 168 to take a 2-0 lead in the series as they bid
to win back the Ashes.
"Take That Poms," was the headline on the front page of the same
paper, while the Sydney Morning Herald said simply: "How could it
be? England falls apart."
Herald columnist Peter Roebuck praised the contribution of the
experienced Australian players, particularly bowlers Shane Warne
and Glenn McGrath, who were described as "Dad's Army" in an English
tabloid newspaper before the series.
"Against all the odds, against all prediction, Ricky Ponting's
side had secured a great victory," Roebuck wrote.
"So much for Dad's Army. The victory owed most to the sides's
supposedly fading champions. Seldom have two ageing masters raged
as strongly against the dying of their light as did Shane Warne and
Glenn McGrath in England's second innings."
The Australian's Mike Coward pulled no punches in his
description of England's collapse on the final day in a column
under the headline: "Holders of urn exposed as impostors in
ultimate arena".
"England's ineptitude was staggering," Coward wrote. "Its
cricket yesterday was as uneducated as it was unedifying and its
defeat among the most humiliating in the annals of the game."
(China Daily December 7, 2006)