The Ashes: Analysis by a 10 Year Old

Hello! I am a 10 year old budding sports writer who is going to tell about what’s going on in the Ashes.

In the last four tests, England has dominated. In the first test, they won a nail biter.  Australia’s batting wasn’t too impressive. England should have bowled better but they allowed Australia to have a last wicket partnership of 65 runs. They almost blew it after Australia was 231-9.

In the second test, England was up 1-0 in the series. Australia’s batting failed in the match as they were behind by 233 runs. They lost the test later on. England did very good bowling at Lord’s.

In the third test, England was a step away from retaining the Ashes, but Australia spoiled that by making 527-7 in the 1^st innings. England responded with 368. Australia packed on the lead with a fast knock from David Warner. They made 172-7. But bad light came and finished the day. Australia declared the next day straight away and set a target of 331. England started poorly. They were 37-3 at lunch. But rain fell and abandoned the day. 

And England retained the ashes. 

In the fourth test, England started well, but collapsed to 238 all out. Australia started poorly at 76-4, but made their way to 270. England set a target of 299 by making 330. Australia was coasting, but Stuart Broad sparked a comeback which made England win the series.

I think in the next test England will win. They have been playing good. They still need to work on their batting. Australia will have some tough time winning. I think Harris and Lyon will be key because they’ve been bowling well. England’s key players are Bell and Swann. Bell has saved England in the series. Swann is also taking a lot of wickets. This might be another close match.

In the next series, Australia might win. Their batting will be very important in the series to deliver. England’s batting will also be key. Australia’s fielding and bowling is good. England has good batting and bowling. This will be a tough Ashes. Australia has the capability of doing this.

Our 10 year old guest writer has been an avid cricket fan for the last 2-3 years. During the India v South Africa 2011 World Cup game, he came in to watch the game on TV with the rest of us; with India cruising at 260 odd for 1 with 11-12 overs still remaining. After a couple of balls, ignoring Ravi Shastri and projected scores, he said "India...290 odd all out". India finished with 296. He knows something, that we don't. The next generation usually does.