Symonds absence made the difference

It was scenes of unseen ecstasy that unfolded when England beat Australia by 197 in the final Test at the Oval to win back the Ashes they lost in 2007 in Australia.

When the final wicket fell the England players did the jig of joy embraced and kissed each other, while the spectators and the now famous 'Barmy Army' made the biggest din.

The England lions who were humiliated 5-nil in the Ashes battle in Australia two years back, came back and set their sights and were determined to gain sweet revenge and show the Aussies their capabilities.

Things did not seem good for England when new skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores clashed which saw the England management siding with Pietersen and dumping Moores.

Flower the coach

Then came Andy Flower the Zimbabwean to take over the mantle as England coach, put matters on a good pitch and what England finally achieved was a great deal due to this former Zimbabwe skipper. Flower was supported by former West Indian paceman Otis Gibson as bowling coach.

England deserved to win the Ashes. They played as a team, played the better cricket and were fortunate to have South African born Andrew Strauss as leader. Strauss always led from the front.

Before going on to further sing the praises of England's triumph, I would like to tell the Aussies where they went wrong initially. There will be autopsies in Australia and scapegoats would be found. But I think where the Aussies committed 'hara kiri' was when they dumped dashing allrounder Andrew Symonds. Appreciated that the Aussies sacrificed Symonds for discipline. But a bit of positive thinking by the Aussie management could have settled the matter to the satisfaction of all and Symonds would have made the difference. But now there is no point in crying over spilt milk.

Symonds all class

An allrounder in the class of Andrew Symonds is not easily found. He can be devastating with bat, demoralising with his dual purpose bowling and magnificent with his fielding on the ground and in the air. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting would certainly have missed the allround abilities of Symonds.

With the entire nation of England celebrating this momentous victory, Queen Elizabeth 11 congratulated the England side and praised both teams for their performances during the series. The Queen is head of state of both Britain and Australia.

Sports loving Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a note to England captain Strauss, praised his 'patience, resolution and courage' and saying the series had 'gripped the entire nation'. Brown has also invited the England team to Downing Street for a reception.

When England and Australia walked into the Oval for the Final Test, they were even with each side winning a Test and leaving this one to be the decider. When Strauss won the toss, half the England battle seemed to have been won. The onus was on England who had to win and for Australia a draw would suffice to retain the Ashes.

Magnificent fight back

But the Aussie bowlers fought back magnificently to restrict England to 332, considering that the wicket was going to be difficult for the side batting second. Then when Aussies took strike what unfolded after being 73 for no wicket was a lesson on how to throw away a game.

That the Aussie batsmen just got blown away by medium pacer Stuart Broad was unbelievable. The batsmen looked 'stroke less wonders'. Broad who was moving the ball about appreciably, had the batsmen manacled as it were and in bundling them out for 160, paved the way for this now famous England victory that would be spoken about until next Ashes time comes around in Australia in 2011. Finally when England left Australia 456 for victory with nearly two and half days in which to sink or swim, the odds were in favour of the home team. If Australia were to win then they had to climb cricket's Mount Everest.

In the final Australian batting comedy, the run out of skipper Ricky Ponting would certainly earn a place in ' Mr. Bean's' comedy series. Accepted that the fault was striker Mike Hussey's. But Ponting has no excuse. He hared blindly and threw away the chance, if there was a chance, of bringing his side a victory with poor running that would have rewritten the record books.

Credit to skipper Strauss

Coach Andy Flower was all praise for his skipper Andrew Strauss. Flower said: 'It helps a lot having a leader like Strauss around. He has been a rock around which the team was built, and he has shown very strong leadership on and off the field'.

After the victory when asked what being a coach meant, Flower had said that one of the things to do is to get the players to build good habits. Like thinking, playing and training and then taking those habits onto the field and making them serve well'.

Andrew Hilditch, the Australian Chairman of selectors has said that the hitch was that the selection panel erred by not choosing specialist spinner Nathan Hauritz for the final Test, but he refused to blame the selection of an unbalanced side on a spin-friendly pitch for Australia's humiliating defeat.

All these excuses would not have been, had the devastating Andrew Symonds be there to fight England's fire with fire. Congratulations to England who played the better cricket and won the right to be in charge of the Ashes Urn till 2011 comes around, when the Ashes battle will begin in Australia.