Final stop - Sydney

So the final test for England, and the final stop in Australia for me is Sydney. I have  been here a couple of times before, but it is such a large and diverse city there is always somewhere/something new to find.

The test match was probably the best of the series. Both teams had chances, the pitch was excellent giving rewards to batsman and bowlers that performed well and it lasted the full five days. From day 2 Australia always seemed slightly ahead but on the last day it could have gone either way.  A great ground, full crowds and some big moments with it being the Pink Test, Bethell's hundred and Khwaja's last match.

Outside of the test, its been a bit of a walking trip. I did the Bondi to Coogee  coastal walk - which is about 6km and gives you some great views along the way. Then I did the Harbour Bridge walk. This is really well organised, feels really safe and is not particularly onerous. The guide provided some excellent insights into the construction and ongoing history of the bridge together with commentary on the sights we could see. Highly recommended.

I also managed to get to two performances at the Opera House. I had previously gone on a tour inside which was very interesting but this time managed to book 1) Madam Butterfly and 2) Duck Pond which was a circus/dancing combination of Swan Lake and Ugly Duckling. Sounds weird but was really enjoyable. The acoustics in both halls were both not surprisingly top notch and the interior architecture fitted in well with the exterior.

Final sport on the trip - the evening semi final of the United Cup @ a relatively new tennis event for nations. USA v Poland - unfortunately Poland beat Australia in the quarter final - which together with the heat meant that the stadium was not full but grew for the women's match between Gauff and Swiatek, which deserved a full crowd. Overall Poland ran out victors through winning the mixed doubles - much to the pleasure of the crowd which had a significant and vocal Polish contingent.

So thats where Sydney and Australia trip ends - to bare me farewell the clouds have opened and Sydney is wet and a bit cooler. All very generous trying to get me to acclimatise before getting home  - in vain however as I am stopping in Dubai for a few days on the way back

The Ashes - unofficial review

There will be plenty of reviews written on this series, by journalists, ex players ("has beens") so i thought i would give my thoughts as an average cricket supporter. I think, being a Crystal Palace supporter, that i have quite a balanced approach to watching sport. I dont expect victory every time, i dont throw cushions at the telly or shout abuse at players on either side. I don't demand that England apologies to the fans when we don't win. 

Agnew (who i personally think has come across as a bitter "never was" during the series, says they should be embarassed as the fans he speaks to have spent their life savings coming over. Two points, i expect he has actually mostly spent his time speaking to fairly well off middle age people like me at evening do's with the various tour companies and secondly, if you have spent your life savings coming here then you should really blame your financial advisor not England cricket.

So my thoughts:

- Six months ago there was some hope that England would do well but that had to be caveated. They do have a lot of talented players but they were playing one of the best team in the world (including the best bowling attack and one of the best batsman of all time), on their home turf.

- In the weeks before, more hope was seen. Archer and Wood were considered fit enough to tour, Australia had injury problems and a number of their batting places were in doubt.

- As it happened, only one of their bowling attack played much, Smith was ok but not dominant (and matched by Root). England had 2 of the three top run scorers in the series,  four of Australia's batsmen averaged less than 30 - so how did England lose so easily?

- Well Australia had the three best performers.

-  Starc was amazing throughout the tour, mostly with the ball but also with the bat.

-Head was the only batsman that dominated the bowling and played a number of crucial "bazball" innings. The whole series could have been different if he had knicked off early in Perth (and he did play and miss a number of times). That innings gave him and his team confidence and with England never likely to win the pink ball test the whole series was probably lost in that one session.

- Carey was outstanding with bat and with gloves. Standing up to all the quick bowlers other than Starc overcame one of England's key tactics of trying to avoid Boland and others being able to dominate through just bowling consistently. Ahead of the series, many combined XI had Smith ahead of Carey (partly England bias) but he completely outplayed Smith

- Australia's depth in bowling (other than spin) was showed to be stronger than many expected.

- Most England players had not toured Australia before, and it showed. You cant do anything about that, but many of the current team are likey to be here next time and will understand the pitches, occassion and pressure a lot better.

- England got a lot of the basics wrong. Catches went down, bowiing (other than the amazing first innings at Perth) was generally poor, although Stokes, Tongue and Archer can probably be happy with their contribution. The batting did not score enought runs. Yes everyone will highlight a number of "dumb shots" and the fine line between controlled and uncontrolled aggression was missed on a number of occassions, but there were instances where the pitches and the strength of australia probably pushed them over the edge.

- It did show up how much of an evolving team this is. It needed the more experienced batsmen like Duckett (who at first looked unlucky and then appeared to lose all confidence), Pope (who its easy to say should not have been playing) and Crawley (who as always flattered to deceive) to help Root and Stokes. And it soon became clear that the England attack - had no natural leader as had been evident since Anderson/Broad. They all have talent - Archer in particular, but are still a very inexperienced unit

- Mistakes were obviously made. 

- I dont buy all the talk from Agnew/Vaughan in particular that there were major failings but they did not get things right. I did get very bored listening to the two of them say England should have prepared at the Waca - you never know what happened , did England ask too late or did Australia cricket board not want to let them? Those being interviewed were never going to be able to answer that question during the tour, but there were constant jibes that this reflected a lack of interest in preparing

- The coaching set up seems a bit unbalanced. Talk of not being able to get a fielding coach, having to find a bowling coach last minute, all have implications for an inexperienced team. Whether this was due to ambivalance or lack on budget once again will remain unclear.

So where do England go? i am writing this sitting overlooking Bondi beach. The last time i was here was 2003 ahead of the RWC final. That England team benefited from a much more experienced team - had a "warrior" captain in Johnson (not unlike Stokes) a talisman in Wilkinson (not unlike Root), once in a generation player in Robinson (perhaps Brook) and a coach with a different approach. Woodward took over in 1997 asking to be judged on the 1999 world cup - failed there but was perserved with. He then developed his and the squads ability and experience and was rewarded in 2003. I expect the RFU was full of similar charachters to the current ECB, it will be interesting if they take the same approach and are rewarded. There is certainly the talent there.

Canberra - "the Cumbernauld of the southern hemisphere?"

Canberra was a bit of a fill in to my itinerary,dealing with the gap between the Melbourne and Sydney tests. I could have spent a few days more in Sydney but thought I would check out somewhere not often on a non Australians holiday plans.

It's a 20th century city, so i was not sure if it would similarities to Milton Keynes or Cumbernauld. It does have wide boulevards, plenty of concrete and a a variation on a grid style arrangement. There are lots of open spaces and as national capital plenty of government buildings, museums and memorials. It has a bit of a Washington feel to it with a government/ museums area.

I was staying close to the Australian War Memorial/Museum and found myself going there a couple of times to see the various areas. It's very respectfully done and a fitting tribute to those that fell primarily during WW1, WW2 and subsequent conflicts such as Korea and Vietnam. 

Most of the museums were open and I spent some time in the National Portait Gallery and the Old Parliament House where you can see previous chambers used and various exhibitions on political/society issues. This included an exhibition of the best political cartoons from 2025 which seemed to suggest that this "art form" is probably more vibrant than currently in UK. Not surprisingly there were a lot of coverage of global issues but the domestic issues highlighted were uncannily similar to those in UK.

Overall I could probably have spent a bit longer here - which is a good sign that its worth a visit.

Travel to Sydney is by train - well actually one train and one rail replacement coach - something also uncannily simialr to UK.

Melbourne ..........finally a victory

So the fourth test would take place in Melbourne.

I was travelling from Adelaide by the Overland which is one of the four tourist trains run by Journey Beyond. The others are longer and are sleeper trains, whilst this was just a full day. I had previously had an enjoyable trip between Perth and Adelaide in 2010.

These are prestige trains, looking to represent the glamour of historic train travel. The Overland was enjoyable but felt a little less classy than my previous trip – Journey Beyond is now owned by a US private equity firm so you fear slightly they are cutting back on investment and certainly the train carriages could do with some TLC.

The test match started on Boxing Day. I had been to MCG before but it was not at full capacity then as it was being redeveloped for the commonwealth games. It’s a mighty impressive stadium and had a great atmosphere with over 93,000 in attendance ( a record for a cricket match). The cricket itself was similar to the rest of the series – mental and manic. Over in two days, and whilst the Curator (or Groundsmen as we would call it) probably did not quite get it right both sides batsmen did not really cover themselves with glory. It was almost a replica of Perth with this time England ending on top and getting their first victory in Australia since 2011.

So once again this provided more time for sightseeing! This is not a burden in a city like Melbourne, which is easy for a tourist to get around, has lots of interesting areas and places to visit. So during my stay I managed to fit in visits to a few museums, visit the beach at St Kilda,  take a river cruise and take a guided tour of the MCG. All very enjoyable.

New years eve not surprisingly saw an impressive fireworks display against the city skyline.

My trip now takes me to Canberra for a couple of nights before final stop for the last test in Sydney.

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island

So the third test was in Adelaide. Despite the two matches played, i still had some hope - at least for a better performance - at best the start of a proper comeback. In the end it was not to be. The match was better, both teams had periods of good play but overall australia continued to have the edge. But five days in one of the most iconic cricket grounds in the world, in good weather (thankfully cooling down as the match went on) has to be enjoyable regardless of the outcome. Given the match went to the full, i did not see a lot of Adelaide, but per my previous trip it appeared a relaxed city, with a good vibe albeit a bit quieter than other venues on the tour.

In between Adelaide and Melbourne tests, i had decided to spend a couple of days on Kangaroo Island. So this meant picking up a hire car, around a 90min drive and then a 45 min ferry journey to the island. Good decision. The island is quite small, you can drive to most places in an hour or so, and there are a lot of sites with either great scenery, great wildlife or both. So that includes Kangaroos, Wallabies, Dolphins, Penguins, Seals and lots of different birds. I managed to book onto a number of guided tours, all of which were well organised with guides that both had excellent knowledge of the particular wildlife, but also an obvious love and pride in the area in which they live. Kangaroo Island, like Tasmania, was booked on the back of a general feel that it would be interesting rather than a detailed knowledge/recommendation of what it offered. In both cases it has turned out to be a great decision.

Melbourne test starts Boxing Day. I have done the reverse journey from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide and Xmas day consists of a train journey to Melbourne. I took its "sister" train from Perth to Adelaide back in 2010 and that was very enjoyable. This trip is shorter - just a fairly full day - with no organised stops - but hopefully will be a good experience.

A week in Tasmania

Tasmania is the one part of Australia that I knew the least about before booking this trip. I don't think that I know anyone that has been here, but I had read that it was quite different to mainland Australia and thought it would make a good break between 2nd and 3rd test.

So, my trip was a flight from Brisbane (to Hobart), pick up a car and then three main stops in Strahan, Cable Mountain and then Swansea. Then a flight to Adelaide (from Launceston). There were tours organised at each of the three locations, but otherwise I would just decide on what to do whilst travelling in between.

Landing at Hobart was quite a shock. The temperature had dropped, as had the humidity, and the scenery looked quite different. If I did not know better, I would have thought that the pilot had got things a bit wrong and had ended up in New Zealand (the more the time you spend in Tasmania the more the comparison with New Zealand comes up – including the town names). I guess I should not have been two surprised about the differences between Tasmania and the rest of Australia (which to be fair itself is very diverse). It’s about 150 miles between the two islands and that’s very similar to the distance between the Orkneys and Shetland Islands. Those two islands are massively different in terms of culture, climate and scenery, not all of which can be blamed on the Vikings.

So, the first full day was a drive from Hobart to Strahan, about 300kms and 4 and a half hours. The joys of AI meant that I could simply ask Gemini to put together a suggestion of places to stop along the way, to break up the journey, take in the local attractions and stop for coffee and lunch. The trip is stunning, going through the Derwent Valley, past the central highlands and into the rugged West Coast wilderness. At times you think you are in New Zealand, the Scottish Highlands or the Lake District with views over unspoilt scenery and plenty of stops/view points along the way. Thoroughly enjoyable full day of travelling.

The following day I had a six-hour cruise booked. This takes you out into the Macquarie Harbour, which is the second largest in Australia after Port Philip Bay and six times the size of Sydney Harbour. It is guarded by Hells Gates, which provides a narrow entry into the Southern Ocean. After that you cruise down Gordon River, a world heritage site saved from a potential additional dam being built in the 1980s by local campaigners. It’s a beautiful area and the fact that the large cruiser was able to switch to a much quieter electric motor for this element was very beneficial. You get to stop at a heritage landing which you can walk through local rainforest and then at Sarah Island, a penal colony with an "interesting history". Overall, the cruise was very well organised, helpful commentary along the way and knowledgeable guides on the two trips.

Next journey was from Strahan to Cradle Mountain, where I was to stay for one evening during which I had "an evening with Tasmanian Devils" booked. Once again Gemini suggested a couple of stops along the 150km journey. I reached Cradle Mountain early after lunch, saw the sign to visitor centre and decided to pop in. Right decision. I had not really understood that Cradle Mountain was a massive national park, with plenty of walks and once again stunning scenery. Jumped onto the shuttle bus from visitor centre into main park and then spent an enjoyable couple of hours on one of the suggested walks. I have quickly worked out that the Australian definition of walks - from 1 Easy to 6 Strenuous are very much based on Australian normal outdoor life. So what is Moderate to an average Australian is a bit more challenging to other nationalities. It’s a bit like asking for a small portion in US.

The Tasmanian Devils evening was remarkably interesting. Knowledgeable guide provided oversight of history of animals (as well as Devils they have their closet cousins - the quolls), their breeding programme and how they live both in/out of conservation areas. The Devils fight as much through noise as through power, with the females often dominating their much larger male equivalents.

From Cradle Mountain, it was a similar shortish drive to Launceston - with a couple of stops along the way. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania, after Hobart, and like Hobart was more of a stopping place to see the other areas in the Island. I am sure there is more to both the cities, but in my short stops they were less interesting than the rest of the trip.

Final drive was from Launceston to Swansea - again around 150kms. The main purpose was a cruise to Wineglass Bay. Unfortunately, as I was driving, I received a call saying that due to weather the cruise the following day was cancelled. I was able to however to spend the day in Freycinet National Park, including walks that provided stunning views of both Wineglass Bay and other local harbours. Whilst it was bright sunshine, there was a bit of a breeze and when you got down to waterfront you saw how choppy the water was, hence the reason to cancel. Unfortunate but the other locations with the National Park were really interesting.

Overall Tasmania was stunning and whilst not on everyone's itinerary when coming to Australia I would certainly recommend spending some time here.

The following day i had a six hour cruise booked. This takes you out into the Macquarie Harbour, which is the second largest in Australia after Port Philip Bay and six times the size of Sydney Harbour. It is guarded by Hells Gates, which provides a narrow entry into the Southern Ocean. After that you cruise down Gordon River, a world heritage site saved from a potential additional dam being built in the 1980s by local campaingers. Its a beautiful area and the fact that the large cruiser was able to switch to a much quieter electric motor for this element was very beneficial. You get to stop at a heritage landing which you can walk through local rainforest and then at Sarah Island, a penal colony with an "interesting history". Overall the cruise was very well organised, helpful commentary along the way and knowledgable guides on the two trips.

Next journey was from Strahan to Cradle Mountain, where i was to stay for one evening during which i had "an evening with Tasmanian Devils" booked. Once again Gemini suggested a couple of stops along the 150km journey. I reached Cradle Mountain early after lunch, saw the sign to visitor centre and decided to pop in. Right decision. I had not really understood that Cradle Mountain was a massive national park, with plenty of walks and once again stunning scenery. Jumped onto the shuttle bus from visitor centre into main park and then spent an enjoyable couple of hours on one of the suggested walks. I have quickly worked out that the Australian definition of walks - from 1 Easy to 6 Strenuous are very much based on Australian normal outdoor life. So what is Moderate to an average Australian is a bit more challenging to other nationalities. Its a bit like asking for a small portion in US.

The Tasmanian Devils evening was very interested. Knowledgble guide provided oversight of history of animals (as well as Devils they have their closet cousins - the quolls), their breeding programme and how they live both in/out of conservation areas. The Devils fight as much through noise as through power, with the females often dominating their much larger male equivalents.

From Cradle Mountain, it was a similar shortish drive to Launceston - with a couple of stops along the way. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania, after Hobart, and like Hobart was more of a stopping place to see the other areas in the Island. I am sure there is more to both the cities, but in my short stops they were less interesting than the rest of the trip.

Final drive was from Launceston to Swansea - again around 150kms. The main purpose was a cruise to Wineglass Bay. Unfortunately as i was driving, i received a call saying that due to weather the cruise the following day was cancelled. I was able to however to spend the day in Freycinet National Park, including walks that provided stunning views of both Wineglass Bay and other local harbours.Whilst it was bright sunshine, there was a bit of a breeze and when you got down to waterfront you saw how choppy the water was, hence the reason to cancel. Unfortunate but the other locations with the National Park were really interesting.

Overall Tasmania was stunning and whilst not on everyone's itinerary when coming to Australia i would certainly recommend spending some time here. 

 

Brisbane - its going to be tough to win ashes from now on

 So, the second test is in Brisbane somewhere I had visited a couple of times previously but did not really know very well. Both previous trips were quite short, firstly in 2001 for the first Lions test match (a great evening with the ground flooded in Lions red, and Jason Robinson scoring a try in the corner near us early in the match) and then RWC quarter final in 2003. I had come out for the quarter final onwards and losing at half time to Wales (sat with a load of Welsh supporters) did question my choice. Thanks to Mike Catt, that match and the following couple of weeks went the right way.

Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia but seems less interesting than other places. I guess most people that come to Queensland end up on the Gold Coast and so Brisbane itself is less touristy. Think about Manchester/Blackpool and you get the gist.

With this test match being a day night match (starts at 2pm and finished at 9.30pm) the feel is very different to other test match stays. You do have some time in the morning to explore, but not really afterwards. And you never know when to eat - "Lunch" is taken at 4pm, "Tea" at 6.40pm or you eat after the match.

I spent the mornings doing a bit of sightseeing - Brisbane is situated on a river and so there are plenty of places to explore along that (Botanical Gardens, South Bank including art galleries and some museums) - but there does not feel to be too much to do unless you want to go further afield. The city hall (and its free tour) was interesting and provided some context on its Scottish connections which I have noticed on previous trips. There are a few river cruises, and I enjoyed a 90mins morning cruise.

There were less free days here as the cricket went on longer than 2 days! It was another strange match, partly due to the pink ball and lights (which start to come on at around 5.15pm and are in full use at around 7pm) and does appear to have a massive impact in particular when new ball is being used. England did not play well, but in reality, even against an Australian team lacking Cummins/Lyon it was always going to be difficult. Australia have played so much more in these conditions that you are never going to match that experience (even if they had played a day/night match in Canberra as suggested by some commentators). Ok they did not bowl well, dropped catches and played some poor shots, but even if they played as well as they could I am not sure if they would have won here. 

The first two venues are clearly the most difficult for away teams and therefore an obvious tactic for Australians to choose. So, despite the Australian team having its challenges, it was always likely that it could go 2-0. Perhaps naively I still have some hope that in the last three tests we might be competitive. Who knows.

 I am getting a bit bored with media coverage. I knew the Australian press would be partisan (and that’s fine) but there are a number of English commentators (Vaughan and Agnew in particular) who just seem to want to criticise. There is a constant "well there is a lot of unrest in travelling supporters" which feels like something they are trying to create rather than the truth. I don’t think the team are badly prepared, unprofessional or don’t care, they have just not performed. That happens on occasions - a lot in strange environment like Australia - and to constantly whine that England should have done something different is hindsight and naive.  For example to constantly question why England did not practice at the WACA before Perth test, ignores the fact that Australia set the whole schedule including warm up venues - and England are not going to criticise their hosts at this stage.

So now off to Tasmania for a week before going to Adelaide.