November 27th, 2006 by 
Gruff
As Steve Harmison walked back to his mark following that already infamous first ball of the 2006/07 Ashes series, he was probably wishing he could join his mentally frail kindred spirit Marcus Trescothick on the plane back to Blighty. They could have shared an iPod and listened to a bit of Radiohead:
‘Where do we go from here?
The ball’s are coming out all weird
Where are you now when I need you?
Alone on an aeroplane
Falling asleep against the window pane
My blood will THICKEN’.
If only their blood had thickened. Only to late did the England boys realise the force at and determination with which Australia were going to come at them. Their preparation was insufficient, and no matter what any of Team England say, their preparation has left them off the pace.
Their desire to play against New South Wales with 14 men robbed them of truly competitive cricket. But of course lest we forget there was the ICC Champions Trophy.Lets be honest the last thing England want to be doing right now is carrying their one day form into any Test cricket.Judging by Harmison’s first over though thats exactly what they did.Even through my hand covered sleep deprived eyes, Ricky Pontings first innings was watched
in awe. If some of England’s players had applied the same concentration and resolve to take the game by the throat they might not be staring down quite so many media gun barrels, with only the only escape route being a very large mountain. It is time for England’s fresh faced school boy cricket to be shelved. They need to toughen up and fast, or they might as well all join Trescothick on the flight home.So where do they go from here? Well it’s quite simple - to Adelaide. Although Flintoff was not found wanting with the ball he needs to front up in all departments, especially his captaincy. Surely one of the reasons he was given the nod ahead of Strauss, was not tactical nous, but a man who when the shit really started to fly, could lead his men out of the seige. He has a relatively young and inexperienced side who have the potential to be a great force in the future. The future right now is irrelevant though.England fans are tremendously loyal, of that there can be no doubt, but I wonder whether their loyalty towards Duncan Fletcher is becoming tenuous. His own loyalty to Ashley Giles and his refusal to change tack despite persistent team short comings is starting to smack of arrogant megalomania. Whatever the result however Fletcher will probably walk at the end of the World Cup, until which time he must be backed to the hilt, however painful at times. It is also worth remembering he was the man who changed Englands fortunes. He is a major part of the reason defeat in Australia isn’t just a given entity.The memories of Lords provides hope. The memories of previous Ashes fills me full of dread.
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