Very disappointed to say the least as now the edge will not be there given the ashes is gone.
Strauss certainly has had a few shockers - same happened to Martyn in the last series.
Panesar v Gilchrist - Monty could take a real beating now there is no pressure on the Aussies.
Looks like Gilly is back.
From the Guardian's The Spin email:
THE STORY SO FAR
So, they're gone. But the Spin continues. Rather than single out
"certain individuals", as Duncan Fletcher would put it, let's have a
look at the efforts of the 13 men who have lost the Ashes in the
equivalent of two sessions over 13 days. Optimists look away now ...
Andrew Strauss: 113 runs at 18.83
He looked all set for a repeat of his 2005 series (five
disappointments followed by a century) when Rudi Koertzen triggered
him for 42 in the second innings at Perth. He had to accept the blame
for two mistimed pulls at Brisbane, since when he must have broken a
few mirrors. Unless things change at Melbourne, he could go down as
the 2006-07 answer to 2005's Damien Martyn.
Alastair Cook: 221 runs at 36.83
His century at Perth might just set him up for life. He coped boyfully
with his two technical issues - fiddling outside off and playing
Shane Warne - and now just needs to add two strokes to his
repertoire: the cover-drive and the slog sweep. That, and his
fielding, which still has the whiff of Bedford School about it.
Ian Bell: 223 runs at 37.16, no wicket for 12 runs
Three fifties, two ducks. The only time Bell has been anything other
than all or nothing was when he was run out for 26 to hasten the
Adelaide debacle. Luckily, the alls are outnumbering the nothings,
and with good reason: Bell actually looks like he knows he will score
runs this time, and has responded to Warne's taunts with some lovely
footwork. Oh, and he's only 77 runs away from earning the Spin a bit
of cash. Which is entirely irrelevant, of course.
Paul Collingwood: 345 runs at 69.00
Has veered between looking out of his depth at No4 (the first innings
at Brisbane, both innings here) and looking the gutsiest thing on two
legs. But he shouldn't take it the wrong way when the Spin suggests
he play at No5 in Melbourne. He bats better with the tail than Kevin
Pietersen, who is wasted if he is left 60 not out. At least no one
can now argue he does not belong at this level.
Kevin Pietersen: 398 runs at 79.60, no wicket for 112 runs
Just two failures so far: once when he was Billy Bowdened at Brisbane,
once when he took leave of his senses and tried to sweep Warne's
leg-stump half-volley at Adelaide. Otherwise, he has looked a class
apart, except when taking a single off the first ball of the over
when he should be shepherding the tail. And he should keep working on
his off-spin: England need to be able to play Andrew Flintoff at No7.
Andrew Flintoff: 120 runs at 24.00, seven wickets at 49.71
The loss of Flintoff's joie de vivre has been the most tangible aspect
of England's misery. After taking four wickets at Brisbane, he has
had only yesterday's saloon-style half-century to keep his pecker up.
The Spin argued before the series started that he was right man for
the captaincy. The Spin was wrong.
Geraint Jones: 63 runs at 10.50, nine catches
Has any image better summed up the plight of anyone than that of
Jones, back leg out of his crease, mesmerised by Warne's lbw shout
while Ricky Ponting ran him out? He has specialised in careless
dismissals in this series, but this was a new low. His keeping has
been decent, but Duncan Fletcher might now have no option but to make
a third change in two Tests and bring in Chris Read for Melbourne. We
really might have seen the last of Geraint.
Ashley Giles: 74 runs at 24.66, three wickets at 87.33
Now is not the time to reflect on Giles's performances in the first
two Tests. He is back home with his wife Stine, who has been
diagnosed with a brain tumour, and we wish the Giles family the very
best.
Sajid Mahmood: 14 runs at 7.00, no wicket for 87 runs
When the Spin wonders what exactly Mahmood was doing in the team at
Perth, it is a dig at Andrew Flintoff rather than Mahmood himself. It
was understandable that he was underused during Australia's first
innings, when Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar hardly needed the
help. But to give him only two overs out of the first 73 in the
second was utterly mystifying. England might as well have played Ed
Joyce.
Matthew Hoggard: 16 runs at 3.20, 12 wickets at 33.66
Hoggard usually pulls off one extraordinary performance overseas, so
perhaps we shouldn't be surprised he did at Adelaide. At 3.36 runs
per over, he has been England's most economical bowler, a stat which
is put into perspective by Brett Lee's figure of 3.62, comfortably
the most expensive of the Australians. Why do England keep playing
him as a nightwatchman? It ain't working.
Steve Harmison: 44 runs at 8.80, six wickets at 75.33
One very good performance, in the first innings at Perth, cannot
disguise the fact that Harmison has reverted to the standards he
produced in South Africa two winters ago. In other words, not good
enough. The whole of England knew he was the key; and the whole of
England winced when the ball supposedly slipped out of his hand at
Brisbane. Australia could hardly believe their luck.
Jimmy Anderson: seven runs at 7.00, two wickets at 151.50
All might have been forgiven if Anderson had hung around for another
20 minutes on the last afternoon at Adelaide, but the grim truth is
that he was never going to trouble motivated Aussies on their own
turf after barely bowling at all since March. His form in the warm-up
games was the reddest of herrings: the Ashes is all about big-match
temperaments, and it remains to be seen whether Anderson has one.
Monty Panesar: 17 runs at 17.00, eight wickets at 29.62
Oh, Monty. In the ever-wistful minds of regretful Englishmen, it could
all have been so different if you had played at Brisbane and
Adelaide. Instead, we are left with one of the great what-ifs of
English cricketing history. He was a little flattered by his
first-innings five-for at Perth, then flattened by Adam Gilchrist,
but surely now he is here to stay. Isn't he?