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Journalism of Courage
After a washout in Scotland, we have had a good practice game in Northamptonshire. We are obviously happy with the way Matthew Hayden has scored runs and our bowlers have also had a good outing.
In the situation that we are in, players8217; mindsets are the key. There are certain individuals in the side who realise this is their last Ashes tour, who want to retire without having lost the Ashes. This fear of losing the Ashes might have put extra pressure on them. Those players could prove to be the key ones in this match.
Our skills have not evaporated, our gameplan is intact and it would be wrong on our part to go with a mindset of drawing the series. We know we will retain the Ashes if we win at Trent Bridge, so we have no reason to play for any other result.
Jason Gillespie has not been able to live up to his, or the team8217;s, expectations. So we have invested in raw pace for the match. Shaun Tait is a different type of bowler from McGrath and Gillespie, who are both tall, hit-the-deck kinds. Tait is more comparable to Brett Lee. He has a low, slinging action, which helps him generate a lot of raw pace.
Michael Kasprowicz was an obvious contender for the spot but the selectors have shown faith in Tait. Besides, the English have not seen much of him.
McGrath is on his way to recovery; the MRI of his elbow has shown basic wear and tear, and we are working very carefully on him. It depends on how he feels when he wakes up in the morning. Kasprowiscz is on standby.
Our batting has failed to give us one big first-innings score so far. If we score 400-plus, half our troubles will be automatically solved. Every player has an individual batting plan of his own but we have not been able to synchronise it as a team effort. Ponting, Langer, and Clarke, have got it right at various stages in the series, but have not been able to synchronise it as a team effort.
A big plus has been the runs Hayden got against Northants. However, his gameplan for Trent Bridge will probably not include going for a double hundred. He will be the first to know he has to play one ball at a time, each on its merits.
The Trent Bridge track looks pretty good, a typical English pitch with conventional swing under overcast skies. The weather has been wet, so it might rule out reverse swing.
The surface, though, is dryish. The curator says the track will be good for batting but the wet weather has made the toss more important than it should be.
Team news
Warne is bowling as well as ever but the Aussies, confounded by Gillespie8217;s poor form and McGrath8217;s freak injuries, are looking for the ideal pace combination. They may have found the answer in Shaun Tait8217;s raw pace and swing and a Thomson-like slingshot action.
8220;I can8217;t wait for a bowl at England8217;8217;, Tait said on Wednesday. 8216;8216;My action is different, something they haven8217;t seen before.8221;
If McGrath doesn8217;t play, Kasprowicz will make the cut 8212; meaning Gillespie has probably played his last Ashes match
The hosts go in unchanged, with Simon Jones believing the Trent Bridge air will help the more conventional swing of Hoggard.
Vaughan, meanwhile, has underplayed the Tait threat. 8220;He8217;s bound to be nervous; it8217;s his Test debut. Although we haven8217;t played him before, we have played a similar bowler in Fidel Edwards.8221;
