How England can cause hosts problems in Perth
Tourists are in trouble but it’s not all doom and gloom
had match figures of nought for 92 in 21 overs as India won by 72 runs. India’s pace attack comprised RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma. They ceded a few yards in pace to the Aussies, but were relentlessly accurate while not getting carried away with the bounce on offer. They pitched it up often and used the short ball judiciously to account for 14 of the wickets to fall. Anderson and Stuart Broad need to bring all their experience to bear to make sure England do the same. dust off the cut and the pull, and employ them wherever possible. Ranged against that is the reality that Australia will try and set you up with the shortball trap. On the last Ashes tour, one of the few saving graces for England was Stokes’ century in Perth.
His 195-ball 120 contained 18 fours and a six. In his absence, and after the meek batting of the first two Tests, England will need to find some feistiness and fast. Smith, who once said of his Ashes century there in 2013: “To get that hundred (his first in Australia) gave me a lot of confidence to know that I can do it. I guess since then it’s been quite a nice little ride for me.” Smith has scored two centuries in four Tests at the WACA, but has been dismissed for under 40 in six of eight innings.
Yes, the WACA was once a scary place. In the first three decades of Test cricket there, a total in excess of 500 was registered only four times. Since then, in 16 years, there have been nine such scores. The quicker bowlers still have their moments, but this is no longer the venue where Curtly Ambrose terrorized the hosts during a spell of seven for one (1992-93). England need to play the ball, and not the WACA’s reputation.