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It was inevitable! Somewhere, the buck had to stop. As much as all the thrills it brought, deep inside we all feared of how this could all spiral down. The final Test at the SCG, farewell test for Usman Khawaja, was a classic case of how the Pommies messed it up, once again.
Every cricket fan imagined the what-ifs,
Aussies had to chase down an extra 75 runs.
Jamie Smith did not decide to slap away a few minutes to break
Will Jacks could take a few balls for before choosing to clear the vow corner
A specialist spinner
It is important to have belief in your theories and do everything within you. But, Test cricket is still the pinnacle of the sport, due to the varied challenges it posses, which despite of all the modernization, demands grit of highest order. As an Indian fan, this series was a testament of the greatness the Indian team achieved in 2021, under Ajinkya Rahane, with lion-hearted performances from the team.
Even the neutral fan didn’t expect a 4-1 result. Remember, Mitch Starc was elevated to the strike bowler position in this series. Hazlewood didn’t play a game. Regular captain was mostly absent. Spin spearhead had limited role. And the Aussies have been playing musical chairs with openers. They still have no answer today, Uzzie is retired and Weatherald doesn’t look the part so far. Marnus’ entire luck for his career was granted in his initial years and he had a mediocre series. Green, is still the prodigy, yet to fulfill the potential. Yet, this celebrated England team managed to loose 4-1!
At the end of 2nd Test, the pundits and fans knew deep inside, this series is not going to live upto what they thought it would be. It was not just the English commentators who were getting frustrated on air, even the Aussies and neutrals were like “I have seen this movie before”.
By the end of 3rd Test, it was clear that England would not get through unscathed, if they didn’t quickly address their tactics, or the lack of it. But, for 5 match series, England did not have enough replacements for their non-performing assets.
Ben Duckett had no half centuries across 10 innings. Zak Crawley was my way or highway. He failed to capitalise and score big, when he looked in imperious touch. The mode of his dismissals were horrendous mostly. Just when you thought he was launching to his career-defining innings, he ensured to throw it away. Mitch Starc managed to take a wicket in the 1st over 4 times in 10 innings, is a testimony of how shambolic the English starts were. Ollie Pope, the designated number 3 was a clear misfit and had clear technical shortcomings in his game, to survive in Australia. He found the going difficult, quite early in the series and never recovered.
Joe Root is a generational player and he finally got the donkey off his back in Aussie land, century in an away Ashes. He scored 400+ runs in the innings, but if you take away his hundreds, the cupboard has been bare for him, as well. The dab, plays a pivotal roll in his game. His unsuccessful attempts at running the ball down to the third man, affected his ability to rotate the strike and stood in the way of how, he constructed his innings.
The world belongs to Harry Brook, when he gets going! The audacity of his shots and the methods he uses to unsettle the bowlers are breathtaking. And then, he plays the silliest of shots, without respecting the circumstances to get out.Somebody, needs to sit him down and tell him its not about the flashy 30s and 40s in Test cricket! That he is gifted, is a given. But, converting it into meaningful results is solely unto him!
Jamie Smith grabbed headlines with senseless shots. It is still a mystery why James Foakes does not deserve a place in this team.
At the start of the Ashes, the build up suggested the English would blow up the Aussies with the pace of Archer and Wood. Wood lasted one game. Archer three, for namesake. Neither could bowl 100 overs in a 5 match series. England needs to be serious about where they invest their eggs. True that Jimmy and Broad are too big shoes to fill in the short term, but there needs to be some proper planning.
Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue bowled their hearts out. But, the fact is, they were only good to be the third seamers.
The non-selection of Shoaib Bashir was another baffling tale from the series. England invested years in him, ahead of Leach, only to not play him for their marquee series. He staring at the Adelaide Oval was truly a sorry picture.
Ben Stokes had lion sized efforts, particularly with the ball. But, as Michael Vaughan rightly pointed out, there is a bit of cult built in the squad by him and Mccullum. You can’t be stubborn and cocky when you are not producing the right results.
If you can’t adapt in test cricket, you are bound to lose Ashes after Ashes, down under. There was the blueprint laid down by India in recent history for England to adapt. You can’t expect fancy things to get you over the line in Australia. Preparation and perseverance are non-negotiable. You need specialists for roles. The top 3 have to grind down the bowling attack for the middle order to capitalise. And if it’s your day, not making it big is inexcusable down under. It took a zillion body blows and one legged efforts for India to get over the line.
It is quite unlikely Root or Stokes would be around when England travels to Australia next time. It is a shame that they would end their careers with a single test win in Australia. The Barmy Army deserved much more for the immaculate enthusiasm they carried throughout.
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