Cricket the winner at Edgbaston

An absolute thriller of a contest, two giants exchanging powerful blows and a deserving win for one of them at the end of it all.In the larger picture of things, the game of cricket was definitely the winner. No,oh no, I'm definitely not talking about the Indian oil cup here, its all about the ashes. Thats right,a series which has lived up to every ounce of the expectation that preceded it.A superhuman effort from that giant amongst giants, Freddie Flintoff, all but clinched the test match for England, until the never say die Aussie spirit came to the fore. When Australia were 7 down chasing 282 needing more than 130 to win, Michael Clarke kept taking singles and 'exposing' Shane Warne to a fired up English attack. I thought that it was a bit mundane, given that he should have tried to face as many balls as possible himself, but the aussie approach, almost, proved us wrong yet again. They were positive till the very end. England were given a scare, to lose from a position of near invincibility would have shattered the english morale no end and it might well have been the end of another Ashes dream. However, like the phoenix, England have emerged again from the Ashes and are ready for battle.



After the win, the sight of Freddie consoling a battered Brett Lee (physically and mentally bruised) emphasised the good spirt the game was played in. On the field, during the game, not an inch was asked for, and not one given. The moment the game ended, Freddie walked up to a shattered Lee and offered him words of comfort. Great game, cricket.

Until the final day, it was a test match comprehensively dominated by England. They pulverised the Aussie bowlers into submission, ending up with a 400 plus total, after punter ponting perhaps took a wrong punt on the pitch. Trescothick got England off to a brilliant start, Pietersen and Freddie laid the foundations for the test match win. After bowled Australia out and securing a 99 run lead, England were 'Warned' by Australia but Flintoff was having none of that. He crucified Kasprowich and belted Lee to all parts of the ground. The Aussies, set 282 to win, never looked in the contest, with England looking inspired on the field until their lower order flourished.The tension was unbearable as Lee and Kasprowich raced towards the winning target. With Flintoff unable to provide the winning breakthrough, Harmy did with an absolute ripper to Kasprowich and a good catch by Geraint Jones resulted in a 2 run win for England and the end of a great test match, one that shall be remembered for decades to come.

'Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Freddie doesn't get you, Harmy must'...and he sure did

Karthik