Australia Must Wonder How They Lost This Series

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Which side is 3-0 up?

 

August 23^rd

 

[09:00 CEST] Needing a big performance to convince their sceptics, England looked just awful yesterday. The one good thing about the day was the way that Root and Cook knuckled down and managed a decent start against an attack that looked as insipid as England’s had been before the inevitable declaration. A lot of England’s credibility will stand or fall on how the side bats today. They need to get past the follow-on target of 293 with as few wickets down as possible, something that should not challenge them on so benign a pitch and be no more than 150 behind tonight.

After rain washed out the entire morning and the start of the afternoon session, here was something in the pitch for the seamers. England knew that they had a chance to keep Australia to 360-380 and leave the match very much alive. They responded with an initial burst that deserved better. Chris Woakes passed the bat time and again, as did Jimmy Anderson, without edges coming. The only reward was the wicket of Peter Siddle. This was the sort of spell that Woakes was picked for: he was superb. However, as Australia failed to capitulate, the errors started to come: Kevin Pietersen dived over the ball and let it through for 4, Haddin, who had only twice passed 13 all series started to get in and the pressure relaxed visibly and England wilted. Even when Jonathon Trott came on and dismissed Haddin at 385-6 the position was retrievable. Instead, the tail came in and threw the bat and England went totally AWOL. 

The 16 overs after Haddin’s dismissal produced 107 runs at almost 7-an-over. Instead of cleaning-up tail-enders who were just swinging, England let them score runs at will, with Faulkner, Starc and Harris all scoring at better than a run a ball. Broad was the worst sufferer, going at 4.2 per over, with Woakes, who finally took a wicket thanks to a brilliant diving catch on the boundary, only slightly better off. The one bowler who escaped the carnage was Swann, whose 33 overs went at well under 3 an over.

Steve Smith, who had looked at sea earlier in the series, scored a skilful century to re-launch his career, but there was no excuse for letting Siddle, Starc, Harris and Faulkner look like Bradman on steroids.

This has been a Test for the two batsmen in worst danger of being dropped. Watson and Smith have both made punishing centuries and that may just come back and haunt England later, as they will go into the return series brim fill of confidence.

It is definitely time for England to put a line in the sand and show what they can do. It has not gone unnoticed that every match has been dominated by the side batting first, but the way to show that you are as good as you want to be is to lose the toss and go on and take control still. It is not impossible that, with a good batting day today, Australia will find themselves in an awkward Adelaide 2006, “twist or stick” position tomorrow but, for England, the first job is to have a convincing morning session, put up a big opening stand and then build on it. Nothing less will do.