Unerve me, swerve me, it's Merv!

Merv Hughes,

The name just had to be uttered and batsmen trembled but having watched The Saturday Story on Sky I have to say he was one of the main reasons why Australia showed so much dominance for so many years. Aggressive hard working and very talented. My kind of fast bowler!

When Australia return home at the end of this Ashes series and all the dissecting of the reasons why they didn't do better I, as a passionate Englishman, will say one thing 'The Spirit of Merv'

I am all for modern sports science. Had they had it when I was playing I probably would have had a long career because the injury that I picked up to both ankles would have been spotted and dealt with. It's no longer a case of injection, ice, crutches, play, bowl 20 overs, injection, ice and crutches, which is what I was basically doing when I was trying to break into County Cricket. Now cricketers are treated as professionals who should be looked after rather than a few old boys out for a nice little game. I remember watching Mark Benson in preseason down at St Lawrence at Canterbury. There was me bowling away as fast as I could at Chris Cowdrey in the nets (mainly because my girlfriend fancied him) whilst Benson was riding a bicycle around and doing stretching exercises. About the only people not amused at that was Alan Ealham, the coach, his son Mark and a young lad, me. It was the start of my journey into coaching and it was a lesson learned about the body as well as the mind.

So what has this to do with Merv?

Well apart from being fit and training hard on technical skill there is one simple thing you can not teach to a fast bowler easily - natural aggression or how to get under someone's skin without them realising how you do it!

Controlled aggression is the secret of winning the contest between bat and ball. And I say controlled because at the end of the day raw aggression dissipates energy. It is the focussing of that energy that makes the difference. Psychology is the key therefor and this is why Merv was so good. He got under a batsman's skin he got into places with his attitude as much as his ability.

Sky asked the question would Merv do as well in today's game? I think he would have done better. He certainly wouldn't have allowed the Australian team to give up and fold. He would have probably terrified the bejesus out of the batsmen still in the pavilion even though it was not politically correct. And that was what Australia were missing true street fighters who you would want in your foxhole with you. Someone who you could rely on no matter what. That's what England have developed over the past few years, a sheer belief that they will win, that was the Australian way for so many years. That was the Merv way!

Nothing new ever really gets invented in modern sport it just gets repackaged or rebadged.

I bet Australia wish they could repackage Merv right now!

 

He would give a batsman a XXXX wouldn't he?

Darkness looms as Ashes embers burn bright

Oh dear what a disaster BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY

Poor Michael Clarke, Pup was apoplectic. Well you can't really blame him can you? After all if ever a deck of cards were stacked against you now seems to be the time don't you think? The DRS isn't working or rather the third umpire seems blind, the crowd love a pantomime villain and David Warner uses up a review in the first innings and then low and behold Pup runs out Steve Smith. Then the final insult when the umpires take them off for bad light. Not that I think it matters too much having looked at tomorrow's weather forecast but you can see the clear frustration.

However I think that this may all light up the next few moths for ironically all that is going wrong now may just be pointing the way for Australia to find their way out of the darkness. So England beware those Ashes may get too hot to handle. What was that old phrase about not poking a sleeping tiger with a stick?

Or should I say don't throw a punch at a Root?

I know, bad taste, but I have to say I am warming to David Warner. If there is one thing that you could be sure of the great Australian Teams is that they fought with a passion for the Baggy Green Cap and that is something that has been little in evidence in the last few years. In David Warner they may just have found another of those rough tough Australian characters who will give everything for those from down under. And that is a good thing for cricket or particularly Test Cricket.

The Ashes after all is the premier test competition but unfortunately that status in it's own right means that other countries have not had the same look in. How many other test series are 5 test series? Most other countries would prefer to have 15 one day internationals and 10 20/20 games to replace the 25 days that a 5 Tests series brings us. And therefore the Ashes must survive if Test Cricket is to survive.

We need pantomime villains, no doubt Broad will get the same reception as Warner did here when England play in Sydney but that is good for the game. At the end of the day there is nothing malicious about it or rather there shouldn't be.

Darkness may be looming but for the sake of cricket the Ashes embers must glow bright