This week’s Ashes special looks at the fallout in the respective camps after Australia’s thrashing at the hands of England in Adelaide. Where do Australia go from here? We also check out how India are shaping up just a few months away from the World Cup on the subcontinent.   

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Swann soars

So, Brisbane was just a blip for Graeme Swann after all despite the doom and gloom merchants suggestingthat he was just the latest off-spinner to find Australian wickets a graveyard. Here in Adelaide though Swann has provided both wickets and control to produce match figures of 70.1-14-161-7. The pitch may have been on his side in the second innings, but Swann bowled beautifully and will be confident that he can strut through the rest of the series now.

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Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

Meatloaf’s signature tune proved prophetic for England as they snared two of Australia’s big three by the close of Day 4. If rain doesn’t save Australia, the home side needed one of their three big guns to score a massive hundred to escape to Perth with a 0-0 scoreline. But first Graeme Swann ensured that Ricky Ponting wouldn’t repeat his brilliant 156 to save the Old Trafford Test of 2005, by inducing an edge to Paul Collingwood at slip. Then with the final ball of the day, Kevin Pietersen staked an unlikely claim as a golden arm with the wicket of Michael Clarke for a classy 80. Australia’s hopes now rest on rain and the last of their big three Michael Hussey - who continued his renaissance with an unbeaten 44.

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Form slump? What form slump?

If you’d waited 21 months to score a Test hundred, you might as well make it a double when you finally reach three figures again. That seemed to be the policy of Kevin Pietersen as he banished all talk about his form to the waste bin with a sparkling 213 not out before Ricky Ponting’s rain dance finally worked. KP looked back to his best technically and the way that he dismissed the Australian bowlers suggested that mix of supreme confidence with a twist of arrogance is back.

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