BOWLERS HOLD THE ASHES KEY

BOWLERS win matches. Batsmen say that's a lousy cliché coined by ordinary trundlers of the world who want to be big noters. I was one of those trundlers and I'm a true believer.

There's no better example than the first two matches of this Ashes series.

At Cardiff the Australians bowled magnificently and just failed to win a nail-biter. At Lord's the England bowlers were too good.

Ground knowledge is a critical aspect.

Slope

Neither team had an advantage at Cardiff. At Lord's England knew how to bowl on a ground with a big slope from one side to the other and where to land the ball.

I know the problems. I did nothing on that ground in 1953 and managed only a minor improvement in 1956 in a game known as "Miller's match."

The great Australian all-rounder Keith Miller loved Lord's and bowled almost unchanged in the Test from the Pavilion end to take 10 for 152.

It's not the first time in Ashes battles that Australians have taken time to adjust in this regard. Ricky Ponting has the job ahead of him at Edgbaston of getting Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus ready for a comeback.

Desperate

I thought Hilfenhaus and Siddle bowled well for a lot of the time in the Second Test but there were overs when they forgot about their game plan.

They were desperate to take a wicket instead of landing the ball in the best possible position to take advantage of the conditions and their length and direction stuttered. Ponting needs to make certain they stay in control.

Johnson is another matter. He is a fine young cricketer but needs to remember, or be reminded, that "keep it simple" is a key part of the bowling action.

For all bowlers the positioning of the front arm and the bowling arm are of prime importance.

That is a matter for bowling coach Troy Cooley and Johnson himself. But it needs to be successfully changed before the coin goes up at Edgbaston.

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