Don't mention the wigwam - Lev
Adam Leventhal has come up with an alternative way of avoiding talk of the whitewash.
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I'm on the other side of the world and I'm again in the privileged position of reporting on an England one-day tour. I've now been in Australia for seven weeks, I was lucky enough to have come out on holiday to watch the Ashes and also travel around this massive country. I'll keep it brief, but my journey so far has taken in Brisbane, Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas, The Whitsundays, Gold Coast, Perth, Alice Springs, Ayres Rock (Uluru), Melbourne and Sydney - its been absolutely fantastic.
Having seen the New Year in with a picture postcard view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House celebrations I began to get myself prepared for the start of my working brief which began after the conclusion of the final Test. As we did in India on my first tour back at the start of 2006, myself and Tim Abraham were able to have a period of transition as his work with the Test squad came to a close and I prepared for the one-day series.
After the changing of the guard ceremony (quick lunch in Hyde Park) where Tim handed over the Sky Sports News cricket reporting baton (lap top computer and mobile) it was time to get my teeth into what promises to be one of the most challenging one day series England have had for quite some time.
Before we start in earnest let me establish one thing, the word whitewash is banned from my Australian diaries, instead I will insert random words beginning with W to replace it, just to spice up the mention of something that is not that easy to stomach. For example, if I wanted to remind England that they had suffered the first Ashes wig wam for 86 years instead of using the word Watford I would instead replace it with wrench. Get it? Good.
Having waved Tim off on his magic carpet to Noosa for a week of well deserved sun, sea and 'slip slap slop' (steady, that's another way of saying sun cream over here) it was time for my opening day of work.
Thankfully it was a meaty story to start with, the welcome return of Michael Vaughan as England captain. Both he and England Chairman of Selectors David Graveney were sitting at the top table for the press conference and the main thing that struck me instantly was the ease in which the skipper slipped back into his cool, calm, collected way of dealing with the media. Although Andrew Flintoff was always a big draw at press conferences due to his world wide star status, it was a breathe of fresh air having Vaughan back in the hot seat, a place where he's so comfortable.
As the press conference unfolded, I thought for a moment what Vaughan must be thinking deep down, surely part of him must wonder where the rosy, sweet smelling England squad that he left has gone. The 5-0 window (see above explanation re the word I'm not allowed to use) has brought the team back down to earth with a deafening thump and he has a massive task to be able to lift levels of belief back to where they were in 2005. Plus, he also has to ensure he doesn't break down again after what must be the last operation his knee can take.
How rude of me, I haven't introduced you to my cameraman, ladies and gentlemen Mr Ben Wilkins, an Aussie who has been drafted in to cover this tour, he possesses a near permanent smile, a cracking sense of humour, an eagerness to get shots whenever called upon plus one of the best voices you'll ever here.
After the presser, we went off to get some shots down by the beach, it was a humid and hazy day down by Bronte and Tamarama beaches on the Sydney coastline, but we managed to get some quality shots of the surfers plying their passion, crashing waves and rocky scenes plus a fisherman who proudly showed off his bulging net of catches.
There was one moment when I had to watch my step, recording a piece to camera on the edge of the rocks overlooking the ocean and shuffling back a little too close to an extremely early end to my tour!
It was then time to go back to my hotel room which also doubled as the editing suite. Unlike previous tours we're able to cut our pieces here in Oz which means you have absolute control over what goes to air, which is excellent. After a smooth edit and a club sandwich it was time to get to the Channel 9 Studios to feed the material back to London so it could make their early morning deadline of 6am.
We were also able to send back some footage of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath playing in a charity match which made for some nice shots plus a John Buchanan presser ensuring we started off the tour on a positive note with some material they weren't expecting back at the office.
It was 2020 preview day next. First we watched the Aussies net for the first time since their Ashes Wimbledon (getting used to it yet?) was sealed. They were oozing with confidence. There were two pressers to go to, first Andrew Symonds and Mitchell Johnson were doing a special promo shoot at a driving range where they were hitting golf balls with cricket bats. There was quite a funny twist though, Johnson actually strained his side in the process and had to miss the match.
England put up new keeper Paul Nixon who was very impressive in his presser. Although I feel for Chris Read a touch, I do really hope Nixon succeeds because he's full of beans and self belief but most importantly he's a nice bloke, who gives you the time of day which isn't the case with all sportsmen.
Matchday meant a colour piece around the ground. Fortunately there was a lot of fun stuff going on. We shot some great pictures on the pitch prior to the start of DJ Judge Jules having a scratch battle, which sounds like something a pair of twins with fleas might have, but provided some an entertaining musical start. There was also a bevy of beautiful cheerleaders that were present and we had to grab a word with them didn't we!
The atmosphere at the ground was really buzzing, England fell flat though and the 77 run defeat provided a little bit of an anti-climax. It was a late night for us though, we had to film some pieces to camera on the pitch after the post match pressers then go back to the hotel to cut the piece, which was quite fiddly!
An early start followed, which wasn't particularly welcome, as we had to leave Sydney and head to Melbourne for the first one-dayer. There was quite an interesting moment as we waited in the departure lounge though, Ben and I were sitting minding our own business when Shane Warne and his family turned up and pretty much took charge of our seats. That did provide an opportunity to have a chat with Warney and warn him that I'd be chasing him down for an interview when he returned to Hampshire after his holiday.
On landing in Melbourne, it was straight to the team hotel for a presser with Paul Collingwood, no rest at all. Then, once we'd finished, it was off to feed a package back to London.
It was good being back in Melbourne now that it was hot, having spent time there over Christmas when it was very much like being at home during winter.
Prior to the first one-day match we heard from Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey as well as Andrew Strauss. However, we made an important breakthrough and returned to usual protocol of having a one-on-one interview prior to matches. Rights issues had stopped them during the Ashes, but a few words in a few ears sorted the situation. Nice one!
Speaking to Andrew Strauss on the pitch at the MCG one-on-one provided me with an excellent window into the thinking of the England squad, but also his feelings towards the captaincy that he missed out on prior to the Ashes. It was heartening to hear that he had no bitterness about losing out to Freddie, and that he felt he wouldn't have necessarily done a better job. He also admitted that both players now felt they had a point to prove in the one-dayers and wanted returning skipper Vaughan to be in the post for a long time in the future.
Unfortunately, the lift that everyone craved after the Ashes and the Twenty20 didn't arrive in the day-nighter the next day. Australia were once again too good. However, once news of Kevin Pietersen's tour ending rib injury came about as the home side were cruising to victory even the nature of the result seemed irrelevant.
We had already produced one piece that day, based on the Aussie art of Pommie-bashing and the fact that wherever you seem to go, people had a wise crack for you if you were English. However, once the news broke regarding KP, all systems switched to getting the best reaction to the fact that he would be going home. Everything worked out very well. We were able to get instant reaction from Ian Botham and Nasser Hussain, then after Ponting and Gilchrist did an entertaining presser, the man himself walked into the room.
It was a wise decision by the ECB and their media department and by KP himself. If he hadn't done a presser then people would have been chasing him around until he departed, but this way he could say his piece before leaving for home and rest.
He'll be ok for the World Cup, but as I said in my piece that night, he leaves behind a team that is far from high on confidence and one that needs him desperately. Another body blow for England at a time when they're on the ropes.
