I’M dining out on humble pie this week, and I have to say, it tastes bloody good.
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You see, a bit over a month ago, in this column, I picked England to win its fourth Ashes series in a row.
I said Alastair Cook was in ominous form, and questioned the selection of Mitchell Johnson.
Dark days, I said. We’re lulling them into a false sense of security, I said.
Fast forward three or so weeks, and we see how wrong I was.
We’re up three zip, and many are picking the Aussies to keep their feet on the Poms’ throats for the whole series.
Mitchell Johnson is bowling like a man possessed. The commentators were using all sorts of fruits, seeds and lollies metaphors to describe what he was hurling down the pitch.
Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Davey Warner are belting balls to all corners of the ground.
It’s like there’s super glue on our blokes’ hands in the field. We can’t do a thing wrong.
We haven’t just beaten the Poms, we’ve smashed them.
There are a couple of statistics which, to me, tell the story.
Mitchell Johnson scoring more runs in the first two Tests than any English batsman is one of them. The English spending time in the field on every single day of the series is another.
Those blokes haven’t batted out a single day all series.
The English are walking in the shoes the Australians occupied just months ago, and that country’s press is being suitably harsh.
There are a couple of shining lights for Cook and his band of far-from-merry men. Joe Root is one of them.
In years to come, he’ll be the captain of that side. He’ll lead English teams into battle against Steve Smith’s Australia.
Ben Stokes showed maturity well beyond his tender years in that second dig on Tuesday. It’s hard to fathom that he was playing in just his second Test.
You’re probably expecting another bold prediction about the rest of the series. I’m keeping that to myself after the last one.
I might share some of this pie with Sir Ian Botham, who said England would win 5-0. Tuck in there, Beefy.
And while revenge is best served cold, I’d rather my pie hot, thanks.