12 years of Adelaide 2006: Remembering the most painful defeat of my life

It seems like yesterday. England 97 runs ahead after stumps at day 4 with 9 wickets in hand. On day 5, they made the most painful 70 runs ever in around 55 overs at the cost of 9 wickets. Australia played ODI cricket in rest time and chased it down with ease. Ricky deservedly was the Man of the Match. 

I will never know what happened that night after day 4. It will always remain a mystery to me. Did England players sleep on the wrong side of the bed? Did God himself intervene and give divine powers to the Aussies? Did England players forget how to play cricket overnight? Was it written in the stars? Was it fate or destiny or was it one of those freaks of nature performances? Was it bad luck or was it years of hard work and mental grittiness of the Aussies? Whatever it was, it was a symbolic representation of everything Cricket stands for. That defeat was a recognition of how hard Aussies had worked hard to regain the Ashes after the debacle of 2005 and how much prepared they were this time. 

I was 13 and was in grade 8 at that time. We didn’t have cable TV and the only source of England-Australia matches were news channels or the newspapers. After day 4, I was so sure that the game was gonna end in a draw that I didn’t bother to check the score for the whole day. Next day, I casually opened the newspaper and as usual, went to the sports section first thing. I will never forget the sinking feeling when I saw the title, “Warne-Ponting magic steal an impossible Ashes test win”. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought that the paper guys made a mistake. They don’t know what they are talking about. So, I took some of my savings, went to the market and bought a few other newspapers. I was so sure that they were going to show a different scoreboard. The one, in which the test ended in a draw. The innocence of 13 year-olds. Ah! it still hurts as if it happened yesterday.

Well. All the newspapers, both in Hindi and English told the same story with different words and fonts. Everyone at my home was normal. None I knew really cared about Ashes or England. I had to grieve alone. I went to school, kept thinking about it. Whole day. Then the whole week and whole month. It was hard to move on. It is like they say, “The toughest lessons of life are always learned in your formative years.” I have sobbed in anger, in pain, and in frustration thinking about that defeat. I made a few pacts to myself later. I promised myself that day that I will never be England. I will always love them, but I will never be them. I couldn’t ever bring myself to love Aussies again. My relationship with them was over on that very day. 

That defeat had a constant and ever-lasting impression on me and I was never the same person after that. I started working harder and harder since that day. I was already rank one in studies in my class, but after Adelaide 2006, I made the second rank guy a far distant second. I stopped taking anything for granted and almost become paranoid. I became extra cautious and started to be over-prepared all the time. Adelaide 2006 made me who I am and who I want to be. That defeat transformed my inner self. I had never felt so much sympathy and love for anything like I did for England that day. I questioned everything since then. The defeat happened on December 5, 2006. Freddie’s birthday (my favorite cricketer growing up) was the next day. I felt for him. After all, he was the captain of that England side that summer. I wish I could have shared his pain.

I hated the Aussies while maintaining a deep respect for the way they went about their business. I wanted to be like them while being an English cricket lover in the heart. I vividly remember my diary entry from that night. I was crying and I had depicted my pain in words like,

“Dear Nicole Kidman and Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine

I dare you to alleviate this perpetual pain I find myself into. Just so you all know, that you are not a panacea. You can’t fix this. A part within me just died with England losing at the magical Adelaide today. That part will forever stay dead. Nothing and absolutely nothing will ever be enough to erase the memories of today. If a man were dying today and asking for my help and I happen to be there, my first question to him will be, “Hey mate! Show me your passport.” If it happens to be an Australian, I would call for help and wouldn’t help him myself. I know that is ridiculous as humanity is the biggest religion of us all, but I don’t care about that right now. 

I feel so much loathing for the entire nation today. I know that it is childish and England themselves are to blame for this, but I can’t help myself. God, please help me and ease my pain. Please, never again I want to go through something like this. Please God, comfort me.”

Note: My favorite actress growing up was Nicole Kidman (who happens to be an Australian) and my only dream in life has always been to win a Nobel prize in either of Physics, Chemistry or Medicine (besides making the fastest hundred on debut against Australia in Australia of course).

Every time something good happens in my life or I feel like I am getting ahead of myself, I watch that scorecard of Adelaide 2006 and it brings me back to earth. It is a mirror of the brutal and cold truth that in sports, anything can happen. You just never know what will you get once you cross that white line. The pitch, the bat and the ball can and will betray you. The moment you start taking things for granted, it will hit you back hard. 

I have read autobiographies of almost half of the players from both England and Australia involved in that match. Everyone said different things. Warne, Ponting, KP, Lee, McGrath, Hayden, Flintoff, Clarke: All had their own versions of that day. I am still not satisfied. The mystery in my head endures. How can England lose the unlosable? Ian Chappell said after that defeat, “The difference was in the mind.” I was thinking like, “What if the Aussies are fundamentally superior to English? What if every woman on earth choose them over the English? What if England never beat Australia ever again? What if every test match turns out to be Adelaide?” So many bad things. Such a little life. 

I have spent countless nights thinking about that defeat. It still hurts and haunts me. The wounds have just gone deeper in skin now. That defeat is a constant reminder of why sports is so pure and why victory in any sports is always morally appropriate. I still haven’t forgiven Australia for that day. I hate them, and yet I can’t stop thinking about them. It is weird. Someday, I may let it go. But, one thing is for sure that I will never forget the sinking feeling in my stomach when I saw the newspaper headline that day. It was as if I had seen a ghost. 

If I ever meet any of the England players from that match, I have only one question to ask, “What happened?"

I have celebrated every year of December 1 - 5 as a tribute to that magical match. I barely watch any cricket during that week. It is a no-cricket week for me. It is perfect. I still remember taking ice-bath in the chilling winter in Kanpur during midnight on the 10th anniversary of that match. Cricket has always been like a baby to me and it has taught me everything I know. Both about life and about numbers. Adelaide 2006 is a perfect representation of it. 

I still remember at one stage Australia needed 43 off 67 balls with Freddie bowling 5 dots in a row to Clarke. The last ball of the over was clipped towards midwicket. Clarke ran three and then Pietersen overthrow costing additional four. Seven runs in one ball! That look of exasperation on Flintoff's face was not of disappointment, but of sadness. I just wish I was there stopping that boundary. It is like the title of this article shows, "You may smile at a six, but you will cry at a seven."

England: Consistently inconsistent

Finally, the humiliation is over. If you are an England fan, you will be relieved that the game didn't go to fifth day. It was almost comforting. The whole batting looked like a comedy show. Dean Elgar said last night that Proteas didn't want an easy win. Maybe England heard them. As if they were so desperate to prove him wrong, they didn't show any fight at all. Total surrender. Complete submission.

England have been amazing in terms of inconsistency for the last two years in test cricket. Since 2015, this is the 8th occasion on which they have lost a test match in the very next match after pulling off a victory. They have now lost 6 of their last 8 test matches. In this match, their combined two innings spanned for 96.1 overs, while South Africa's first innings stretched for 96.2 overs. You don't win many games by batting for less than 100 overs. They didn't last 2 sessions in second innings. Everyone talks about how much talent is there in this England's side. It annoys me a lot. Brutal fact: They don't deliver when it matters.

Their team selection is comical. Let me highlight more over this.

According to coach Trevor Bayliss, Moeen is England's 2nd best and Dawson is the best spinner in the country. (I doubt even Dawson's mum will agree with that). Moeen has picked 14 wickets and won Lord's test for his country. Dawson got a pair there. Dawson doesn't look threatening with ball, that is totally fine. He was picked over Rashid as he is miserly in giving away runs. The problem is : In both the tests, he gave away too many vital runs. His batting was bonus, which ran out of luck against world class Proteas attack. (He got 66* on debut against India, which led to his preference over Crane and Rashid). Sometimes, I wonder what would a team with 11 Dawsons look like (Imagine the 12th man is Dawson too). What in almighty God's name they are gonna do? Can't bowl. Can't bat. Fields at innocuous positions. By his reaction on the field, it seems as if even he has no idea why he is getting picked.

Coming to Gary Ballance. He has no idea what he is doing in the middle of a ground with a wooden thing in his hand. There is no doubt that he earned his England recall by scoring oodle of runs in county championship. (For the record, he was averaging almost 100 when he got picked). But, on international arena, he is just so clueless. His technique continues to betray him. He doesn't know whether to go forward or on back-foot. He was standing almost pacific ocean deep in his crease even when Vernon was pitching the ball so full. By the time he makes a decision, a whole parliament session is over. His weak craftsmanship against full balls were exposed dangerously in 2015 Ashes by Australian pair of Mitchells. He has already been dropped twice for his poor technique, I doubt there will be any way back for him to live this dream once another sack happens. He needs to pull up his socks and if he is lucky enough to be included for Oval test, that will be probably his last chance. He needs some vital runs if he wants a ticket for Brisbane later this year.

Opening pair: I can write a whole romantic novel over Cooky's long search for true love in the form of opening partner. Ever since Strauss retired, England have tried 11 openers (if my memory serves me right in this old age). Still everyone comes, hangs out for a while and then Cook is left frustrated. It is not that the openers England have tried have not been given long runs. Just the mere fact that the gap between County championship and international cricket is proving out to be too much to adjust. I liked young Hameed. It just disappoints me so much that he got injured when he was in sublime touch against India. This county season, his form has been abysmal. I really adored Keaton Jennings. From Durham. Good mates with Woody, Stokes and Collingwood speaks highly of him. His father has been an amazing influence over his cricket. He looks good when he bats. Getting a ton in your first game on Indian soil is something not many players achieve. Sadly, even he is turning out to be just another heartache. It is not that he has played very badly in this series. But, he seems to be getting too many unplayable balls, which indicates that he is not international quality yet.

Mark wood is proving out to be too one-dimensional. In white ball cricket, he is the go-to bowler for Eoin Morgan. He can run, bowl fast and reverse swing the old ball. A perfect weapon for any captain. But, I doubt he is yet ready for the rigors of test cricket. He last played a test in 2015 and has never played two tests back to back. He is averaging 197 in this series. One wicket in two games. That wicket too of JP Duminy. It is simply not good enough. Perhaps it was a mistake to include him for Trent Bridge. Maybe Toby Roland Jones should have been given his debut here. Well. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Everything looks so clear when we look at things in retrospect. Ah!

Another issue which is hampering their progress is : There are just too many all-rounders in this England team. Once Woakes returns, there will be 8 players in this line-up who can ball and 10 players who have got a first class hundred. It is certainly nice to have this cushion of skill in your team, but right now it is backfiring for England. Moeen doesn't know what his role is. He was not given the ball till first 45 overs in first innings and later he was the one who picked 4 wickets in second innings. Either he is doing too much, or nothing at all. Stokes: normally a helluva cricketer when on song. This series, he has not done justice either with bat or ball. He is bowling too many release balls at the moment. Bairstow, Root, Cook, Anderson and Broad have looked good, but haven't found much support from others.

This defeat won't be hard for any England's cricket fan to swallow. After all, they have been doing this for a while now. They are getting used to this. Anyway, tomorrow we have England and South Africa ODI game in Women's world cup. I can only expect that Knight's team haven't watched the highlights of this game and put on a better show.

Well. Enough already. Like it is: With England cricket, happiness is a rare episode in the general drama of pain. Let us await what unfolds in Oval.