Aussies relaxed, eye whitewash
MELBOURNE: Josh Hazlewood acknowledged Australia can relax after reclaiming the Ashes, though they are determined to close out the series with a five-match sweep. The Boxing Day Test gets underway in Melbourne on Tuesday, with Australia holding an unassailable 3-0 lead against England.
Australia put England to the sword in Perth, where the hosts won by an innings and 41 runs and while a heel injury has sidelined Mitchell Starc, paceman Hazlewood insisted his teammates are not prepared to take their foot off the pedal.
“We can relax a little bit, with the series won, but hopefully our best comes through now,” said Hazlewood, who has taken 15 wickets in the series so far.
“Watching the last time the Aussies went 5-0 (in 2013-14) and a couple of times before that it’s good to watch and hopefully to replicate it this year. It’s been good start, and now we have two games to go.”
Hazlewood and the Australians will once again set out to target England’s tail. England have been unable to make the most of some promising starts, losing 56-6 and 82-6 in the first Test, 57-6 in the day-night match at Adelaide and 35-6 in Perth.
“I think that has been one of the big differences, our middle to lower order has wagged a fair bit, especially Pat Cummins and Tim Paine,” Hazlewood said. “We know if we get them four or five down we can go through that bottom half quickly. We don’t need much in the wicket to take those last six. It’s about grinding out and getting those first four or five, doing our work there, then reap the rewards.”
ROOT HITS BACK AT CRITICISM
Joe Root has hit back at criti- cism from former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who claimed the England skipper looked like “a little boy” leading the tourists in their losing Ashes effort.
England have already surrendered the urn having been beaten in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with captain Root struggling to find his usually imperious form with the bat.
Root has scored only 167 runs at an average of 29.33, but it is his leadership skills that have been called into question by Ponting ahead of the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Ponting said Root needs to “step up big time” but, in response, the Yorkshireman rejected that assessment of his captaincy during the tour.
“He’s entitled to his opinion but he doesn’t spend any time in our dressing room or around the squad,” Root said.