The Dark Side of the Monday

Dawn attempts to break out over Feltham, thwarted by cloud cover and a reminder that "the summer's gone" rather than being in the meadow that the lyrics of the "Air from County Derry" so poignantly convey.
There's always a touch of the melancholy about this time, and yet the Summer won't actually be gone for another nine days yet when the autumnal equinox beckons the start of the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the great yellow presence in the sky has been struggling to put his hat on these last couple of days- and in so doing may just have been the salvation of English cricket!

The final test against the old adversaries from Oz, where Spring's about to begin, has put a spring in the step of eleven good men and true who may today fly from the wicket as phoenixes, and seal their place in the annals of cricket as the side that freed the ashes from the prison of Australian stewardship for the first time in sixteen years. With England in to bat on their second innings, the run race is on to meet their target and show themselves invincible.

Can they do it? Can those feet in modern time walk across Vauxhall's outfield green, up to the wicket and shine forth upon the crowded bails? Well, cricket's the sport of the clergy- the late great David Shepherd, former England cricketer and later Bishop of Liverpool- proved that. But The Independent, going against the trend of harmless jingoism which has filled the press and inspired the masses as eyes focus on the Brit Oval these last few days reminds us that God is impartial: he sends his sun on the righteous as well as the unrighteous.

Whatever side wins, this has been widely recognised as perhaps the greatest test series against the Australians ever. Even sporting simpletons like me who can't tell a silly mid off from a slip have been thrilled with every nuance these last couple of matches particularly. And Channel 4 has surpassed itself with some gripping and insightful coverage of every match. What a cruel irony it would be then if England were to snatch victory, only to find the jaws of defeat hold the false teeth of an Aussie-born media baron who is set to darken terrestrial screens to the glories of the game forever. The sky may save our side; Sky must not be allowed to steal our view.