We are now just days away from the start of the 2017/18 Ashes series and the excitement is palpable among both sets of fans.
There have been some electrifying clashes over the years between England and Australia and the all-time record is now split straight down the middle, with 32 series wins apiece. Whoever wins this will enjoy bragging rights for the next two years and recent history is not in England’s favour.
The home team has won the Ashes in six out of the last seven series, and England’s last tour of Australia was an unmitigated disaster. It resulted in an embarrassing whitewash for the team and England fans will have to pray they have learned their lessons from that utter humiliation.
It all started so well for England, who reduced Australia to 153-6 by tea in the first innings of the opening test at The Gabba. Just a few months earlier, fans had witnessed meltdown after meltdown from the Australian top order as England won the Ashes 3-0 at home, and they could sense another victory for Alastair Cook’s team.
Then along came Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, who added 114 for the seventh wicket, before Johnson started tearing through England’s batsmen with a virtuoso display, driving his team to a 1-0 lead in the series.
That set the tone for the next six weeks as Haddin continued to embarrass England’s bowlers and Johnson led a rampant pace attack to thoroughly destroy the opposition.
Johnson, who had missed the series in England through injury, bowled with raw aggression and put Cook’s men to the sword time and time again. It was Joe Root’s maiden Ashes and he quickly found what a hostile place Australia can be for batsmen as he was unnerved by the pace of the hosts’ attack and was eventually dropped.
Root finished the series with a batting average of just 11.25. The devastating batting that had defined their 3-0 series win earlier that year went out the window in the face of treacherous high balls flying at England off rock hard pitches. Their best figures were posted by the unheralded Michael Carberry, with just 36.2 runs per game, while Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell all flopped.
England managed just 21.6 runs per wicket, while Australia were almost twice as effective and ended with 41.4 runs per wicket. It amounted to the fourth largest ratio between the averages of the winning and losing teams in Ashes history, illustrating just how dominant the hosts were. England enjoyed just one century stand, their poorest performance since the 1950-51 series.
Australia’s top order remained out of sorts throughout but it did not matter as Haddin ended the series with an average of 81.4, while Steve Smith and Michael Clarke both enjoyed better averages than any England batsmen.
The Australians were equally aggressive with the bat, and Graeme Swann in particular was on the receiving end. David Wagner attacked him mercilessly and England’s spinners were ineffective throughout. Australia’s lower order continued to punish them throughout and it resulted in several convincing wins for the home team.
All in all it was a grim six weeks for everyone associated with the England cricket team, but Root, now the captain, insists his team have learned their lessons. He said the pain of the 2013/14 whitewash spurred them on to a 3-2 victory in the last Ashes series, held in England a couple of years ago. He said he will ensure he plays at his own pace Down Under this time around, rather than being dictated to by the aggressive Aussies. However, the tourists are still the underdogs.
The expert statisticians at Sporting Index, which offers thousands of sport spread betting markets, make them outsiders and they will have to collectively raise their game if they are to have a chance.
But it is possible to learn from their failings four years ago and turn it around. In 2013/14 they tiptoed through the Ashes, while Australia tore through the series. England need to match those levels of aggression and rise above the mind games and the baying crowds and the hostile settings. They need to be ruthless with the Australian lower order and win more personal duels.
James Anderson was blunted last time he toured Australia, so he needs to find a way to hurt the Australian order, while Root and Cook need to keep their heads at the crease. England are struggling and have been written off after the exclusion of the talismanic Ben Stokes, but the home side have problems of their own and if England can exploit them it could lead to a tight and gripping contest.
Author bio
Martin Green is an experienced sports writer and has been covering international cricket for many years.
