There may have been a host of new faces on display, but it turned out to be the same old story for England on the opening day of the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney.
Haddin the game-changer
If a rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson has proved the difference with the ball for Australia, it has been Brad Haddin who has set the tone with the bat for the Baggy Greens with a series of game-changing innings. Out of favour not so long ago, the veteran wicketkeeper is arguably playing the best cricket of his Test career at present and has caused England's bowlers no end of headaches. Haddin has amassed 465 runs to date in the series, averaging over 66, and it was
his exuberant knock of 75 that turned the contest on Friday. Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton hailed Haddin's "match awareness", stating: "Because he's coming in down the order, he's always responding to a situation... and the fact that he's a very experienced cricketer now at 36, he's seen all these situations before and is able to size them up very quickly."
What will 2014 bring?
For England and their supporters this Ashes tour probably cannot end soon enough, but
there is plenty for cricket fans to look forward to in 2014 (once you have managed to erase the memory of Mitchell Johnson's moustache and those regular batting collapses). The ICC Twenty20 championship takes place in Bangladesh in March and England will prepare for the tournament with a three-week limited-overs tour of the Caribbean. Meanwhile, next summer will bring tours of these shores from both Sri Lanka and India, while England's women will take on their Indian counterparts. You can watch all of that action, as well as the best of the domestic game, live on Sky Sports and, with a bit of luck, the Ashes will soon just seem like a bad dream!
