The Ashes Diary - Preview, Oval Test

The Ashes Diary: Preview Oval Test
It is down to the last Ashes test and the series is still undecided. I don’t know when such and occurrence was seen. It would have been definitely before I could spell cricket. I have not followed cricket for ages but I can say that this is one thing I always follow like many million of fans in India and thousands abroad.
This test like the series is likely to go to the wire down to the last ball on the last day. The table have been turned in a sense that England will be without Simon Jones. Simon Jones has done well along with Flintoff. Harmison has been more of stock bowler and less of a lethal bowler. It is more of the fact that, he has maintained pressure with some accurate and hostile display of "hit the deck" fast bowling. Flintoff and Jones have reaped huge dividends in the form out of form Aussie batsmen from the other end.
The Aussies have been such a hospitable treatment by English bowlers that they share only one test century in eight innings.
I read the following line in a paper which said that English have been more Aussies and the Aussies have been more English. The more heartening scenario for me has been the display of traditional, conservative form of test cricket. The run-rate through out the series has been breaking into the ceiling of four runs an over. This has ensured the audience an edge of the seat affair for the audience.
This is as good as a cricket series one will see. On matter which team one may support the game of crickets has lots of positive which came to foray from this series. These things may be ingredients which may act as a catalyst to English cricket.
The Oval pitch has been forever a very batsmen friendly. One can expect the pitch to be as flat as performances of Team India in final. It doesn’t get any flatter than that.
Talking of team India, I think its time for changes at the top. Ganguly will do a world of good to everyone including himself if he steps down gracefully and passes the baton to Rahul Dravid. The time is ripe for change. The team is struggling to find a winning path. I wonder how much does it has to do with absence of Sensei Sachin. India has not won a series for nearly two decades outside sub continent. I hope Indian bowlers steam roll Zimbabwe. I hope we can expect that to be done without much fuss.
Now returning to the Ashes…. Will there be heads rolled if Aussies lose the Ashes to England? The batting has been lacklustre and kind of dragging itself to the pitch. One more starling fact is this, the series where most number of sixes have been hit against Australia is it bad bowling or superb bowling. One thing is for sure if a team to beat the Aussie, they must give it hundred percent. There are records broken when Aussies are defeated. The performance has to be record breaking.
The series is wide open. The Aussie retains the Ashes if they win this one. This will ensure that people remember how Aussie drew level the series and English lost to regain the Ashes. All good work done will go down the drain for the English. I wish they are not praying for rain to play naughty at the Oval. The series is interestingly poised and nobody wants a wash out in the last match.
Is this the end of a era which saw the Aussies claiming the last frontier? Has English team enough fire in their bellies to reclaim the Ashes and their lost pride on the road to victory.
The Ashes Diary returns to give a reasons and facts of the Ashes. Do watch out for the review to the Ashes series and a final sum up of what was a fiery Ashes.