England draw was a victory, not defeat

Some viewers watching the crucial final of the third Ashes test on Monday may have been fooled to think that failure to win was as good as defeat against Australia.

However England fans must take a step back and remember some very important points.

Firstly the statement of Glenn McGrath before the first test when he said that Australia were going to win the series 5-0, which I think many will agree silly after three tests played.

I can't remember celebrating a draw, the emotion of drawing was nearly as strong as if we had won it.

Then we must take into account that England have basically dominated two tests from the first day to the last. Previous England sides have buckled under the pressure of the Aussies but the resilience shown by Michael Vaughan's troops is clear to see and clearly has shocked the tourists.

Indeed such is the turn in the tide that Aussie opener Justin Langer said in his tour diary: "In my whole career I can't remember celebrating a draw, but on Monday, the emotion of drawing such a match was nearly as strong as if we had have won it."

Can you honestly remember any Australian player in living memory saying such words. They would been incomprehensible, but such has been the change of forunes for both sides.

Indeed, on the pitch, the side that has the long list of problems to fix are the Australians. The bowling team as a whole has struggled particularly Jason Gillespie. When bowlers don't well then the pressure relents on the batting side, something England have succeeded in doing themselves.

Their bowlers have not let their side down and the batsmen have improved. Most notably Ian Bell.

As you may read on this site, I called for England to drop Ian Bell for Paul Collingwood as I felt that he would get the runs rather than the incumbent. However, Bell has dug in and grinded out his runs and towards the latter part of the test match started playing shots with confidence.

Whereas Australia have three players that average over 50 with the bat and the other four batsmen average over 40. Until the innings 156 from Ponting no Aussie averaged over 40 in the series. Indeed Gilchrist and Hayden, who are the other batsmen averaging 50 besides Ponting, have been under so much pressure from England's bowlers that they average only 24 this series.

All these factors should give English fans cause for hope so look forward to Trent Bridge because if the hosts stay focused they should improve themselves!