da supremo： Quotes from the fourth day at Trent Bridge
Andrew Miller28-Aug-2005
Michael Vaughan – understandable delight © Getty Images
Michael Vaughan praised the character of his team and admitted thatEngland “were on the brink of something special” after theirnerve-shredding three-wicket in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, a resultthat carried them into a 2-1 series lead and to within touching distanceof their first Ashes series win since 1986-87.”Anyone who expected England to stroll after watching the previous threegames should probably have realised it was going to be hard work,” said arelieved Vaughan in the post-match press conference. “Shane Warne andBrett Lee bowled really, really well but full credit to our team. Onceagain they produced a performance of high standard and really putAustralia under pressure for sustained periods.””Simon Jones bowled exceptionally well in the first innings, so afterlosing him, the bowlers in the second innings deserve a lot of credit,”added Vaughan. “They kept running in on a placid wicket that was reallyvery slow. We had to use all our resources to whittle out those tenwickets and restrict them to a total where we only had to chase 130.”Even so, that target almost proved too much, as England’s top-orderimploded in the face of Shane Warne and Brett Lee. “When you’re chasing atotal of 220, you tend to bat time,” explained Vaughan, “A lot of teamshave done similar to us in the past, when they’ve lost a few wicketstrying to play their shots. The bowlers get a bit of momentum and thepressure mounts and sometimes it can be tricky. But I’m just delighted wegot over the line. To go 2-1 up in an Ashes series is not something we’vedone for a long, long time.”The obvious question on everyone’s lips is now: Can England win the Ashes.”We’re playing good cricket,” said an understandably evasive Vaughan.”Challenges have been thrown at us over the last few weeks and we’ve donealright in the last few. The Oval I’m sure will be an epic like the lastthree. Can we do it for the last game? I’m not too sure if we can but surewe will do.”If the match was unbearable for the spectators, then Vaughan was quick toremind them that the real nerve-jangler has already been and gone. “It wastense, but it wasn’t as tense as being out on that pitch at Edgbaston thatSunday morning,” he said, still wincing at the horrific alternativeuniverse that the team flirted with that day. “It helps that we’ve wongames like this before – we chased down runs against New Zealand here lastyear. We’ve liked to have won by a few more wickets, but that wasn’t tobe.”Vaughan added that he’d been happy enough to enforce the follow-on,despite the risks it entailed. “At the time there were clouds about and ithad swung nicely in the morning, and we expected the same in theafternoon. But to lose Simon Jones, ten overs in, was a huge blow, so fullcredit to the remaining four bowlers and Ian Bell. To restrict them to40-odd in a session this morning was a tremendous effort on that wicket.”Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, rued his team’s first-day performance as hefaced up to the reality of Australia’s situation – that they need to winat The Oval next month to save the Ashes. “It’s difficult to cope whenyou’ve given away too big a start,” he admitted. “We didn’t make as manyas we should, and ended up with our backs against the wall. If I’m beingrealistic, we once again got closer than we should have done.”The fight was there but not for long enough,” Ponting continued. “Englandhave been on top from the moment the last ball of the first Test wasbowled and now we’ve got no option. If the guys can’t get up for a gamelike the one we’ve got coming up, then they shouldn’t be playing.”