What A Climax !!

After a great final at Wimbledon today, it seems almost dreamy that the Natwest Series should reach such an amazing climax !! It is indeed a great day for sport in London. Amazing fightback by England to match Australia's score. The tie will surely give England much more satisfaction than Australia after they were reduced to 33/5 !! Once again Australia's lack of backup bowling prowess has been exposed - with Gillespie being out of form - and I have always considered Symonds and Hogg as overrated bowlers - who do well only due to the pressure built up by McGrath and Co. early on. Great that Jones and Collingwood exploited this weakness - and full marks to Goughie and Giles for keeping their cool. I think the fact that Australia let England come so close itself was a mistake and something they should kick themselves for. They should have buried them by giving McGrath and Lee more overs perhaps at the start or at least in the middle.

Anyway, it is a pity that the ECB have decided to scrap the Natwest series from next season. It is one of the few ODI tournaments in the World that produces great cricket - well not always, but it has this time and it definitely did in that glorious summer of 2002.

So the Natwest Trophy is shared huh !! I hope that won't be the case with the Ashes though - it would be a pity to see it end at 2-2. Btw anyone knows what the bookies say now about the Ashes and how much have the odds changed since the moment the Aussies put their foot on British shores ??