James Anderson - Had the best wicket haul of any English bowler since the 1950's. Was a superb leader of the bowling attack and is such a
joy to watch when in form.
I remember when he first burst onto the scene, swinging the ball around corners at the
World Cup, barely able to say boo to a goose in interviews. Since then he has had a real journey as a player. He struggled to
fulfil his early promise in test cricket, had problems with his action, then injuries thrown into the mix, people a couple of years ago were writing him off.
It is a credit to him as a person that he has come back and persevered through these times and it has helped him gain an inner strength within himself. He now comes out and regularly does interviews and displays a great knowledge of the game.
Oh, and his bowling has improved too! Was able to swing the kookaburra ball he has struggled with in the past. He showed great control and discipline when the ball got softer to maintain pressure on the Aussie bowlers. He was also able to swing the ball which ever way he wanted when the ball began to reverse, the best example of this was the way he worked over Michael Clark in the final test.
Overall a great display from Jimmy and hopefully a sign of things to come from 2011 from the Burnley Bullet.
Alastair Cook - Broke so many records I'm not going to bother to mention them
all. To summarise, scored more runs than you normally see on a countdown maths problem, spent more minutes at the crease that Shane Warne spent bed hopping and showed more grace than David Beckham and co. being given a certificate for gaining one vote by a certain self loving french whats
a name.To put it into perspective, this was a man who was being named as the weak lin
k before the series, with many a pundit and settee experts 9including myself) questioning his place in the side.
How we were proved wrong in fabulous fashion. He showed great mental strength to play some gritty innings and really demoralise the Aussie bowlers, who never seemed to have a plan to stop him.
Let's the that the man who runs scored is only behind the wizard that is Tendulkar when looking at this stage of their careers can carry on to be a great, because he has the tempriment to be a England legend.
And my man of the series is.....
Andy Flower - The man behind the scenes has let the players take the limelight throughout the series, has always played back any compliments towards himself with a faultless straight bat. The man has transformed this England side into a real unit with direction, it says it all that Cook, Petersen and Prior were all under pressure coming into this series, because they all know that under Flower you need to be at your best or you will be out, it's a simple as that.
Example: Finn was dropped after the third test, the word being used was that he was 'tired'. He may have been, but the fact is that in the last game Finn had shown signs of scattergun bowling and was bowling a tad short.
The way Flower and Strauss have lead this side demands a great deal of respect and praise. They have been able to create a great sense of harmony and made all members of the squad feel valuable. The sense of it being a bit of a old boys club being part if the side has gone, the younger players are made to feel important, allowed the same guidance and support that the more established members of the team are given.
To put it simply, I truly believe that if it wasn't for Flower and Strauss, E ngland fans and players wouldn't be where they are now, poking a very sharp stick at the Aussies, and who can blame us?
There is still a one day series to play, but if I'm honest, I really couldn't give a stuff, for the first time in my lifetime we have won the Ashes in Australia, and I'm going to savour the moment for a little while longer yet...
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