Had a few things to say about the Ashes this year, and thought I should put them down here for posterity. The series has been oddly lop-sided - most "pundits", including myself, thought that it would be a tough series with England having a small upper hand.
However, it has to be said, that Australia have underperformed very badly, and will have to do some serious thinking in order to rebuild the team from here on.
Some of the individuals deserve a more in-depth examination :
Alastair Cook : He has been in prime form, breaking all sorts of records for Ashes series runs. A dismal summer led to many questions being asked about his technique and place in the side, but he has answered his critics with the bat, as they say. He spent much of the summer falling over onto the off-side because, according to Boycott, he planted his front foot on the line of the ball, and then looked to play the ball around his front pad instead of under his eyes.
He has corrected his technique, and has shown that Gooch's faith in the kid is well placed. Kudos to both Gooch and him for finally coming good on their promise.
Paul Collingwood : The calls for his retirement are getting louder everyday, but I find this "public lynching" by the media a little too tiresome now. He is a fantastic fielder, and a good, solid batsman. In 2010 he gave England something they had never had before - an ICC trophy (in the form the World 20-20 cup). If he is to retire, it would be best, therefore, to leave it to him. One bad series does not imply that he will never come good. He is only 34, after all. Nowadays, the life-span of cricketers (particularly batsman) has increased substantially with modern physiotherapy and fitness regimes.
We should give him some time, and let him be the final judge of his form.
Chris Tremlett : The dark horse of the tournament for me. He was kept out of the first test by an established bowling quartet, and made it in only thanks to injury to Stuart Broad. He has more than made up for Broad - he has bowled a beautiful length to extract optimum bounce and seam movement, and has rarely bowled a bad ball.
Fantastic prospects for England if this kid can continue to improve.
Ricky Ponting : The failure of the tournament, by a long distance. He scored two fluid 70s in India in October, and came into the series with the possibility that this would be his last. He has been caught fishing outside the off stump too many times for a player of his calibre. When the need was to buckle down and play out spells of good bowling, he opted to hit out, and only managed a couple of boundaries before edging one to the slips.
A player of his experience and ability should have known better.
Mitchell Johnson : A player who just refuses to learn. He is obviously talented, but spraying every third ball down leg-side when you are the leader of the attack is just irresponsible. He managed one glorious spell in the series, and that will continue to keep him in the good books of the selectors, but I don't think he should play for Australia until he works out how to bowl the ball at the stumps.
Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, and lately Ryan Harris have proved that they are much more reliable (if a little less penetrative) than him, and should be chosen over Johnson in the future.
I could go on. Mike Hussey, Usman Khawaja, James Anderson, Andrew Strauss (for his captaincy more than his batting), and the incorrigible Graeme Swann all deserve a mention, but I must stop here.