By Joe Man
Another Ashes is done and England will be climbing all over each other to get on the plane home. A truly terrible last day of the series that promised early but, inevitably, disintegrated beyond belief!
Let’s not take too much away from Australia, who have been very good all summer. They are a team on the up and have a real chance to dominate for the next few years. For the first time in a long time, they were able to dominate a series even though Steve Smith didn’t really fire and they weren’t totally reliant on Marnus Labuschagne. Travis Head looks like he is developing into the player we knew he could be. He absolutely dominated at the crease and is playing the exact number five role Australia want. Pretty much everything Australia touched turned to gold this Ashes. The revelations that where Usman Khawaja and Scott Boland weren’t even in the first eleven and yet smashed England.
My pick from them for this series has to be Cameron Green. He is a truly frightening prospect. As the series went on, his bowling went to new levels. Viscous pass, bounce and at 6 foot 6, he is already a nightmare to face. He is only 22 years old too!
He totally changes the game for the Australian selectors and gives them a positive, metaphorical headache. It gives them the ability to have a selection of bowlers with serious pace plus Nathan Lyons spin.
Pat Cummins had a good series as captain, and has brought a great energy to the role. The players look happy and together as a unit. Australia’s next tests will be against Pakistan, where the Ashes hosts will become the visitors. Furthermore, that will be a much truer examination of this team.
For England, it’s truly crisis time, if it wasn’t already.
Like most England supporters already know, their performance in the final test was so disappointing. After fighting their way out of Sydney with a draw, we all hoped to see some real fight in conditions that should have been well suited to them. And it all started so well!
Having won the toss and selecting to bowl, Australia were 12-3 in no time. Broad and Robinson were all over them. The only blemish being that Labuschagne should have been gone too. Dropped by Zac Crawley. Once again a chance missed (not the first time we’ve said that this series).
On came Wood and Woakes and it all fell apart. Root couldn’t set a field anywhere. Balls were bowled short, left, right and full, allowing Head and Labuschagne to clean up. The anger was visible on Roots face and he looked like a man ready to explode. Cameron Green joined in party and what could have been 100 all out, suddenly was instead 303 all out.
As England walked out to bat, you could feel the tension in the camp.
For a change, a lot of the English players got starts. But starts they didn’t go on with. The pitch was doing a lot and you felt 188 wasn’t the worst effort, had Australia been restricted to the score they should have got.
Again, England took apart the Australian top order with their best bowling performance of the tour. Mark Wood was exceptional ending with a six wicket haul. However, you felt the Aussies got fifty more than they should have, extending their lead to 271.
So there it was 271 to get in three days. On this pitch and with this batting line up. No chance!
Yet there we were 68 for no loss. Could it happen? Of course not!
What followed was the worst collapse of the series, losing all ten wickets for a Sorry score of 56.
English test cricket is now in a total shambles. It’s the way they lost that was so telling.
In reality, Rory Burns could have been out ten times before chopping on. Dawid Milan nearly got out every ball and was nastily hit on the head by Cameron Green. Zac Crawley looked good again and got a peach of a ball from that man Green again. Root was so unlucky getting a ball that didn’t bounce at all. All he could do was laugh in disbelief. Ollie Pope looked like he had forgotten how to bat completely and the rest pretty much just through in the towel.
England clearly have a a culture problem as well and an ability one. If you look at this batting line up you are going to keep Root, Stokes, Crawley and Bairstow. The rest have to somehow turn things around. Ollie Robinson seems to be a problem. He has fantastic talent but it doesn’t look like you are getting a hundred percent. He needs to be fitter, stronger and be able to go his hardest when things aren’t working out. Players like that bring a team down. Chris Woakes has not worked again and Broad and Anderson are still Englands best bowlers.
There will be a long investigation into this, but the change has to come from county level. Big slow, seaming green top pitches are creating batsmen and bowlers who can only play in England. This recommendation has been made many times but this time the ECB must listen.
As a series, its been a huge disappointment to see it so one-sided. Australia, though, fully deserved their win and it’s up to all that is English cricket to make sure we are ready when the Ashes return to England in 2023.
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