Act V

And now the end is near. Could I care less? Well, yeah, I could care less, but I'm not getting as excited about the last Test as I might. Why? I don't know. I'm a contrary bastard, I suppose, so whilst everyone else is getting very worked up about it, learning the lines to "Jerusalem" and planning where to stand for the victory parade on Tuesday, I'm sitting tight. There is something about mass celebrations of sporting victories which leaves me cold. It's just sport. There are more important things. Jingoism is ugly, from all angles. When it's English, it's particularly pasty.
Still, don't get me wrong, I will definitely be tuning in at 10.20 tomorrow morning, desperate to hear who has won the toss, hoping like hell that it's Vaughan and that we're batting, again. Then we could make 500 between the showers and declare, late on Saturday evening, with nine wickets down and the Ashes pretty much safe. I have a horrible feeling though that it's Ponting's turn to call correctly. For Christ's sake, if any selectors are reading this, please don't pick Collingwood. Anderson may not be the greatest bowler but he's not too bad and I'd rather have him coming on for the first time at 5pm tomorrow than Collingwood. Collingwood is not an all rounder. He's a batsman... and a very good substitute fielder.
Talking of selection issues, I read an interview with Graham Thorpe earlier today. How sad that he isn't still playing. I was so disappointed when he was dropped. I felt like I had when George Bush was reelected. How could anyone think that way? How could so much evidence be ignored? Everyone (including Thorpe) now says that it was the right decision to pick Pietersen. I'm not so sure. He's done pretty well. He averages over 40, but Thorpe averaged over 60 since his comeback at the Oval in 2003, and he wouldn't have thrown his wicket away like that on the first evening at Old Trafford, and his would have been a very reassuring presence during that last innings at Trent Bridge. I don't think he would have dropped 6 catches either. Still, Pietersen hasn't exactly been a failure. I didn't think he would be. Before the first Test, I suggested that they should both play and that Trescothick should be dropped, which shows how much I know. Saying which, I do think that Trescothick's success owes a lot to the demise of his twin nemeses, McGrath and Gillespie. Had the latter regained his form and the former not injured himself at Edgbaston, then things might have been very different. However, that could be said of the entire series. In retrospect, as Mike Atherton suggested at the time, Thorpe could have played instead of Bell. I'm quite sure that Bell will average over 40 for England over a long career, but he seems to have been a bit overwhelmed during this series, unsurprisingly. A lot more experienced players than him have been. You can't blame him.
Perhaps my diffidence owes something to the fact that, to a large extent, the story of this test series has already been written. The Australians have been beaten. If they do manage to win this next test, then it will just be a temporary reprieve. How many of them will be back in 4 years' time? Perhaps just Michael Clarke. Do they have any exciting youngsters coming through? None that I've heard of. The era of Australian dominance is nearing an end. No longer will we have to believe that the Australian way is best, just because they had a generation of extraordinary cricketers.