On the morning after, the sun glistened on the opera house roof, the spinnakers were up in the harbour and some brave souls were climbing up the bridge (though this would not have been a good idea for the majority of the England team and their supporters so soon after the celebrations).
All was well with the world – if we overlook the furrowed brows of Andrew Hilditch, Greg Chappell, Tim Nielsen, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and anyone else who holds a position of authority with Cricket Australia.
England could luxuriate in the wake of victory, but not for long. Andrew Strauss has a week off before rejoining the squad in Melbourne; Alastair Cook is heading home with Monty Panesar, which seems odd, but the selection for the one-day series was made before the monumental nature of Cook's feats became apparent. Jimmy Anderson, the nearest rival to Cook for the man of the series, is also popping back to England again for a fortnight. Matt Prior is going to play in the Twenty20 Big Bash for Victoria.
The rest, having said goodbye to their families, were setting off for Canberra and their 50-over fixture against the Prime Minister's XI, the solitary match before the one-day internationals get under way this week (there will be two Twenty20 matches followed by seven 50-over contests).
The England team director, Andy Flower, will not be letting his players luxuriate for long. He is as well-grounded as an ostrich, though his head is seldom found in the sand. For him the celebrations were now over and the time to put this Ashes victory in the context of his distinguished career in cricket was probably "after I've finished this job".
However, Flower remains ambitious for this team. "Our ultimate goal is to be No1. It's realistic. It's achievable." If Flower says that it must be possible. He is not a man for rash promises. In the Test rankings England are at three, behind India and South Africa. This summer England play India in July and August, as well as Sri Lanka, which represents a fine opportunity to narrow that gap.
Like most good cricket coaches Flower remains as anonymous as possible. He and his back-room staff were conspicuously absent during the celebrations at the SCG. "It is the 11 players who step over the line and who have to make decisions under pressure," he said.
"To be out on the ground afterwards is the place for those players. The captain did get us up on the podium and we appreciated that." Then the back-room boys disappeared again.
In his post-match conference Strauss had explained Flower's absence on the field by saying that his head coach wasn't very good at smiling. When informed of that remark, Flower did indeed smile – quite well. "That's Strauss just being his cynical self," he said, still smiling. "After the match we really appreciated each other and the occasion. We had some special times in the changing rooms and out on the grass afterwards. We will keep those memories for the rest of our lives."
After the 2009 victory Flower made a point of not going overboard. He had witnessed from afar the excesses of 2005 and would not be trapped into any repetition. "Of course that 2009 victory was special", he says. "But we are a better team now than we were then. Winning in Australian conditions has been a much better achievement and we won in a far more emphatic way. Everyone should be very proud."
But that was yesterday. Flower keeps looking forward. When England won the Ashes in 2009, they were subsequently trounced by Australia in the one-day games. "They were a much better one-day side than us, but we have improved since then," he said.
There is also the World Cup around the corner. Flower said that he would be mindful of what is required on the sub-continent when that competition gets under way in five weeks' time, as well as trying to beat Australia, who are still ranked No1 in the 50-over format. Don't worry. He has been thinking about that World Cup and the alien conditions. "New Zealand have just played a series in Bangladesh and lost 4-0," he just happened to mention.
Could England win the World Cup? There was a measured pause. "It is possible, but very difficult. We are nowhere near the top in the one-day game, but with our brand of cricket we have a chance."
One immediate source of concern for Flower is the IPL auction, which is now taking place and that might well include the majority of his players. "The IPL is a tricky subject for us because I personally don't blame any of the players for wanting to go there and to look for that pay day. But it is tricky because the schedules are so heavy and rest is sometimes as important as the hard training that we put them through. This applies especially to our front-line attack and they have made themselves available for the IPL this year. Because of the risk of injury and shortening their lifespan, the IPL is dangerous. Until the ICC or the ECB tell us different they are available for that."
Here the spotlight is on Anderson in particular. His importance to the England team has mushroomed over the past 18 months. Moreover, there is the dodgy scenario of Anderson going home for a fortnight now, but being eager to play in the IPL in April. When pressed about Anderson's schedule Flower recognises the pitfalls.
"He needs his rest right now, there's no doubt about that. So we can't say because you're going to the IPL we're going to play you through these games. If we don't rest him right now there is a significant chance he will break down. He has just played five Tests in a row and that's a magnificent achievement in itself. So he has to rest now."
It is a tricky problem, but a pinprick compared to the difficulties facing Flower's peers in the Australia set-up. Even so there is every chance that Flower, on the journey to Canberra, was turning over in his mind how best to deal with the issue. He never stops.
Best of the best
Openers
There are some very good left-handers not selected: Smith, Gambhir and Strauss. But how can we leave Cook out after his feats in Australia? One caveat: runs against Australia used to count double, but the currency has changed. Runs against South Africa and India now mean much more. Sehwag has to play to keep us awake if Cook gets in.
1 V SEHWAG, 2 A COOK
Middle order
Tendulkar and Kallis are foregone conclusions. Both appear to have found their fifth wind; both have decorated the Cape Town Test making it an extra special sporting occasion – like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer battling away at the Masters. Once we have ruled out Collingwood, Pujara and Prince there are plenty of candidates for the middle order and we will be omitting some exceptional players: Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Dravid and Laxman. Leaning towards the younger brigade I've plumped for Amla, gaining in confidence all the while, and De Villiers, who will also ensure that appropriate fielding standards are maintained.
3 H AMLA, 4 S TENDULKAR, 5 J KALLIS, 6 AB DE VILLIERS
Wicketkeeper
Another close call here. Matt Prior has had a fine tour in Australia with gloves and bat. Mark Boucher goes on and on as tenaciously as ever. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni just gets the nod, partly because we need someone to lead the side out now that Strauss and Smith have been overlooked at the top of the order.
7 MS DHONI
Spinner
The purist will not tolerate the wily Harris, who looks as if he has just been plucked from club cricket, so it's a straight choice between Harbhajan and Swann. Neither are shrinking violets but Swann qualifies as the more level-headed. His figures in Australia have not been startling, but he has played his part in a self-effacing manner - by Swann standards.
8 G SWANN
Pace bowlers
This is the easiest section to select, which may reflect that there are not too many fast bowlers around the world who have the ability to frighten. Only one man can consider himself unlucky to be omitted and that is South Africa's giant, Morne Morkel, but the subtlety of Khan is more appealing even if the emphasis of this attack is now heavily biased towards swing bowling. The added bonus is that being left-handed the Indian will create rough outside the right-hander's off stump for Swann to exploit. So we have a trio of artists; Steyn is the quickest, Khan is the cleverest, Anderson the most improved.
9 D STEYN, 10 J ANDERSON, 11 Z KHAN
All was well with the world – if we overlook the furrowed brows of Andrew Hilditch, Greg Chappell, Tim Nielsen, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and anyone else who holds a position of authority with Cricket Australia.
England could luxuriate in the wake of victory, but not for long. Andrew Strauss has a week off before rejoining the squad in Melbourne; Alastair Cook is heading home with Monty Panesar, which seems odd, but the selection for the one-day series was made before the monumental nature of Cook's feats became apparent. Jimmy Anderson, the nearest rival to Cook for the man of the series, is also popping back to England again for a fortnight. Matt Prior is going to play in the Twenty20 Big Bash for Victoria.
The rest, having said goodbye to their families, were setting off for Canberra and their 50-over fixture against the Prime Minister's XI, the solitary match before the one-day internationals get under way this week (there will be two Twenty20 matches followed by seven 50-over contests).
The England team director, Andy Flower, will not be letting his players luxuriate for long. He is as well-grounded as an ostrich, though his head is seldom found in the sand. For him the celebrations were now over and the time to put this Ashes victory in the context of his distinguished career in cricket was probably "after I've finished this job".
However, Flower remains ambitious for this team. "Our ultimate goal is to be No1. It's realistic. It's achievable." If Flower says that it must be possible. He is not a man for rash promises. In the Test rankings England are at three, behind India and South Africa. This summer England play India in July and August, as well as Sri Lanka, which represents a fine opportunity to narrow that gap.
Like most good cricket coaches Flower remains as anonymous as possible. He and his back-room staff were conspicuously absent during the celebrations at the SCG. "It is the 11 players who step over the line and who have to make decisions under pressure," he said.
"To be out on the ground afterwards is the place for those players. The captain did get us up on the podium and we appreciated that." Then the back-room boys disappeared again.
In his post-match conference Strauss had explained Flower's absence on the field by saying that his head coach wasn't very good at smiling. When informed of that remark, Flower did indeed smile – quite well. "That's Strauss just being his cynical self," he said, still smiling. "After the match we really appreciated each other and the occasion. We had some special times in the changing rooms and out on the grass afterwards. We will keep those memories for the rest of our lives."
After the 2009 victory Flower made a point of not going overboard. He had witnessed from afar the excesses of 2005 and would not be trapped into any repetition. "Of course that 2009 victory was special", he says. "But we are a better team now than we were then. Winning in Australian conditions has been a much better achievement and we won in a far more emphatic way. Everyone should be very proud."
But that was yesterday. Flower keeps looking forward. When England won the Ashes in 2009, they were subsequently trounced by Australia in the one-day games. "They were a much better one-day side than us, but we have improved since then," he said.
There is also the World Cup around the corner. Flower said that he would be mindful of what is required on the sub-continent when that competition gets under way in five weeks' time, as well as trying to beat Australia, who are still ranked No1 in the 50-over format. Don't worry. He has been thinking about that World Cup and the alien conditions. "New Zealand have just played a series in Bangladesh and lost 4-0," he just happened to mention.
Could England win the World Cup? There was a measured pause. "It is possible, but very difficult. We are nowhere near the top in the one-day game, but with our brand of cricket we have a chance."
One immediate source of concern for Flower is the IPL auction, which is now taking place and that might well include the majority of his players. "The IPL is a tricky subject for us because I personally don't blame any of the players for wanting to go there and to look for that pay day. But it is tricky because the schedules are so heavy and rest is sometimes as important as the hard training that we put them through. This applies especially to our front-line attack and they have made themselves available for the IPL this year. Because of the risk of injury and shortening their lifespan, the IPL is dangerous. Until the ICC or the ECB tell us different they are available for that."
Here the spotlight is on Anderson in particular. His importance to the England team has mushroomed over the past 18 months. Moreover, there is the dodgy scenario of Anderson going home for a fortnight now, but being eager to play in the IPL in April. When pressed about Anderson's schedule Flower recognises the pitfalls.
"He needs his rest right now, there's no doubt about that. So we can't say because you're going to the IPL we're going to play you through these games. If we don't rest him right now there is a significant chance he will break down. He has just played five Tests in a row and that's a magnificent achievement in itself. So he has to rest now."
It is a tricky problem, but a pinprick compared to the difficulties facing Flower's peers in the Australia set-up. Even so there is every chance that Flower, on the journey to Canberra, was turning over in his mind how best to deal with the issue. He never stops.
Best of the best
Openers
There are some very good left-handers not selected: Smith, Gambhir and Strauss. But how can we leave Cook out after his feats in Australia? One caveat: runs against Australia used to count double, but the currency has changed. Runs against South Africa and India now mean much more. Sehwag has to play to keep us awake if Cook gets in.
1 V SEHWAG, 2 A COOK
Middle order
Tendulkar and Kallis are foregone conclusions. Both appear to have found their fifth wind; both have decorated the Cape Town Test making it an extra special sporting occasion – like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer battling away at the Masters. Once we have ruled out Collingwood, Pujara and Prince there are plenty of candidates for the middle order and we will be omitting some exceptional players: Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Dravid and Laxman. Leaning towards the younger brigade I've plumped for Amla, gaining in confidence all the while, and De Villiers, who will also ensure that appropriate fielding standards are maintained.
3 H AMLA, 4 S TENDULKAR, 5 J KALLIS, 6 AB DE VILLIERS
Wicketkeeper
Another close call here. Matt Prior has had a fine tour in Australia with gloves and bat. Mark Boucher goes on and on as tenaciously as ever. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni just gets the nod, partly because we need someone to lead the side out now that Strauss and Smith have been overlooked at the top of the order.
7 MS DHONI
Spinner
The purist will not tolerate the wily Harris, who looks as if he has just been plucked from club cricket, so it's a straight choice between Harbhajan and Swann. Neither are shrinking violets but Swann qualifies as the more level-headed. His figures in Australia have not been startling, but he has played his part in a self-effacing manner - by Swann standards.
8 G SWANN
Pace bowlers
This is the easiest section to select, which may reflect that there are not too many fast bowlers around the world who have the ability to frighten. Only one man can consider himself unlucky to be omitted and that is South Africa's giant, Morne Morkel, but the subtlety of Khan is more appealing even if the emphasis of this attack is now heavily biased towards swing bowling. The added bonus is that being left-handed the Indian will create rough outside the right-hander's off stump for Swann to exploit. So we have a trio of artists; Steyn is the quickest, Khan is the cleverest, Anderson the most improved.
9 D STEYN, 10 J ANDERSON, 11 Z KHAN
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