England hope for history repeat

ADELAIDE – Doubts about the fitness of Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath have left England wondering whether history may be about to repeat itself in the second Ashes test starting at Adelaide Oval today.

Australia lead the five-match series 1-0 after their convincing 277-run victory in Brisbane last week but there is a sense of deja vu about McGrath’s foot injury. Australia easily won the first test of last year’s Ashes series in England but eventually lost the series 2-1 after McGrath injured himself on the morning of the second test.England skipper Andrew Flintoff said the tourists were not relying on McGrath missing the Adelaide test but there was still a familiar feeling in the camp going into the second match one-down.”I think the atmosphere going into this test is very similar to last time,” Flintoff told a news conference after a training session on Thursday.”Everyone realises we’re better than what we did last week, we’re a better side than that.”Our heads were never going to go down, we’ve got four test matches to go.”The Australians have also been mindful of what happened last year, with skipper Ricky Ponting determined not to let any hint of complacency slip into their game.Ponting said he had no doubts England would be better in Adelaide than they were in Brisbane so the challenge facing his team was to maintain their own high standards.”You have to expect that they’re going to play better than they did in the first test match and they’re very capable of doing that so we just have to look after ourselves and prepare ourselves for what we know England is capable of.”Ponting said.”It’s up to us really to make sure we repeat what we did in Brisbane.I thought we played at a very high calibre and it’s important we start this test match off the same.”If McGrath is fit, Australia will almost certainly field the same team as in Brisbane, with Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson on standby if the veteran paceman is ruled out.England, however, are likely to make at least one change to their bowling lineup after their attack badly misfired in Brisbane, conceding more than 800 runs for just 10 wickets in the match.Strike bowler Steve Harmison attracted most of the headlines for his erratic performance that included a comical wide off the first ball of the series, though he is likely to hold his place after some encouraging signs in the practice nets this week.Matthew Hoggard, who shared the new ball with Harmison in Brisbane, is also likely to stay despite being expensive, but England will consider adding left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, possibly at the expense of James Anderson.The Adelaide Oval is regarded as Australia’s most reliable batting wicket, at least for the first three days, but usually favours the slow bowlers late in the game, giving England the option of going with a two-prong spin attack in Panesar and Ashley Giles.England have delayed naming teir team until the morning of the match but Ponting said he was expecting Panesar to be included.Nampa-ReutersAustralia easily won the first test of last year’s Ashes series in England but eventually lost the series 2-1 after McGrath injured himself on the morning of the second test.England skipper Andrew Flintoff said the tourists were not relying on McGrath missing the Adelaide test but there was still a familiar feeling in the camp going into the second match one-down.”I think the atmosphere going into this test is very similar to last time,” Flintoff told a news conference after a training session on Thursday.”Everyone realises we’re better than what we did last week, we’re a better side than that.”Our heads were never going to go down, we’ve got four test matches to go.”The Australians have also been mindful of what happened last year, with skipper Ricky Ponting determined not to let any hint of complacency slip into their game.Ponting said he had no doubts England would be better in Adelaide than they were in Brisbane so the challenge facing his team was to maintain their own high standards.”You have to expect that they’re going to play better than they did in the first test match and they’re very capable of doing that so we just have to look after ourselves and prepare ourselves for what we know England is capable of.”Ponting said.”It’s up to us really to make sure we repeat what we did in Brisbane.I thought we played at a very high calibre and it’s important we start this test match off the same.”If McGrath is fit, Australia will almost certainly field the same team as in Brisbane, with Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson on standby if the veteran paceman is ruled out.England, however, are likely to make at least one change to their bowling lineup after their attack badly misfired in Brisbane, conceding more than 800 runs for just 10 wickets in the match.Strike bowler Steve Harmison attracted most of the headlines for his erratic performance that included a comical wide off the first ball of the series, though he is likely to hold his place after some encouraging signs in the practice nets this week.Matthew Hoggard, who shared the new ball with Harmison in Brisbane, is also likely to stay despite being expensive, but England will consider adding left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, possibly at the expense of James Anderson.The Adelaide Oval is regarded as Australia’s most reliable batting wicket, at least for the first three days, but usually favours the slow bowlers late in the game, giving England the option of going with a two-prong spin attack in Panesar and Ashley Giles.England have delayed naming teir team until the morning of the match but Ponting said he was expecting Panesar to be included.Nampa-Reuters