56p to get in but England still leave us short changed

It cost as little as 56p to enter the Adelaide oval yesterday, so one would think England could not fail to deliver value for money. And yet, trooping back across the River torrens, six wickets gone and the test concluded in less than one session, it was plain some were feeling a little gypped.

A test that should have reached a cracking conclusion had fizzled out as another exercise in futility, England tumbling to inevitable defeat from a position that offered hope and redemption.

If this tale has a moral it is that any team losing the first eight sessions of an Ashes test will find it hard to win down the line. Australia’s first-innings 442 did the damage and that England had momentum on their side after day four came as a shock. Had they secured a victory it would have been one of the greatest comebacks in Ashes history.

so the odds favoured ured Australia, yes — but not by this much. England’s ’s capitulation from m a competitive position was a crashing disappointment, even to those who paid a mere one Australian dollar charitable donation to enter.

they were 169 for three ree late on tuesday night,, and 188 for seven after little more than an hour the following day. Next is Perth at the WACA where England have won a solitary test, in 1978. By popular consent, the Ashes is expected to end as a contest there. too fast, too furious, England beset by too many problems.

trevor Bayliss, the coach, is talking of keeping the same XI, so no Mark Wood, meaning no injection of pace. ‘I can’t see any reason to change the team,’ Bayliss insisted. ‘We’ve competed in both tests for two out of five days, both on an even keel and in some good periods where we were actually on top. this Australian team plays with that intensity for four or five days, though, and we’ve got to match that. We’ve got plenty of fight. We’ve just got to fight for longer.’

Encouraging sentiments, but the numbers, and not just the 2-0 scoreline, are not bearing this out. Australians occupy the top four positions in the batting averages, and three of the top four in the bowling. Australia have the top three run-scorers, the leading two wicket-takers, four of the five highest individual innings, and the top two innings totals. England lose a wicket at an average of 23.9 runs, Australia every 38.6. Root strongly disagrees, but the talk is of another 5-0.0 England can take some heart from their fightback in Adelaide but perhaps not as much as the management would wish. When Bayliss says he sees Ashes rookies good enough to make test hundreds, one has to ask who that can be, when no nominal batsman is averaging over 35.5 for England this series.

Against this, Australia have Pat cummins, batting No 9, with an average of 48.5. England’s talismanic opener, Alastair cook, is doing slightly worse with the bat than Australia’s No 10, Nathan Lyon. We live in a sporting age ruled by statistics, yet England seem happy to ignore them when they contain inconvenient truths.

Bayliss’s case is that England’s Ashes virgins have got 30s, 40s and 50s, and if a man can make 50 it is a small step to doubling it. try telling that to Root, who has failed to convert seven of his last eight half-centuries into hundreds.

With cook also struggling, the pressure on young batsmen in Perth will only increase. Lyon has the many left-handers, and Moeen Ali in particular, in his grip, while the physical frailty of the bowling attack that was going to play such a big part in Australia’s weakness this winter is yet to be tested.

there is a friendly rest period between now and the next test on December 14, and Australia’s quicks are already lightly raced. Mitchell starc showed no sign of flagging yesterday as he delivered Australia’s first five-for of the series. And cummins, far from cracking, is emerging as the player of the series — a genuine all-rounder.

England’s all-rounder, Moeen, is struggling with bat and ball. He is Lyon’s rabbit and has taken two wickets on surfaces that have yielded 11 for his Australian equivalent. In Adelaide, he was like one of those very expensive fireworks that has failed to trigger. Root knew he shouldn’t go back to him, but he just couldn’t help himself.

‘Moeen is a vital part of our team and an outstanding cricketer,’ Root argued. ‘there are times when you have a couple of bad games, but you are only ever one ball away from things turning in your favour.’ to speak of England’s forlorn spinner and turning in the same sentence almost felt cruel.

As Lyon has used the Ashes to assume his position as the leading wicket-taker of 2017, Moeen’s lack of focus with the ball has been ever more apparent. If Bayliss was in a mood to change the team in Perth, he would be as vulnerable as any.

that would mean promoting Jonny Bairstow, and there is a reluctance to do that, too. Bayliss says England’s wicketkeeper — and one of their best batsmen — is happy at seven, although he often runs out of partners. Adam Gilchrist batted at seven for Australia and was inspirational — but he wasn’t playing for a team who are struggling to amass 250.

Bairstow needs a running mate and Moeen has not been there for him. hi ‘th ‘ the batting b tti has h been b the th most disappointing,’ Bayliss admitted, ‘ but when you look at our line-up, only cook has been here before, and Root in a couple of tests. so it is new for these guys to be playing with this scrutiny and intensity.

‘All our batters have had positive periods. Dawid Malan has shown he’s good enough but he’s got to do it for longer. It’s exciting to have h players l who h are good d enough h to make test hundreds.

‘We’re not going to give up and get the next plane home. If you’ve scored 50, all you’ve got to do is that again. It’s about going through that ceiling.

‘ sometimes it’s a gut feel. Ask the guys who have played international cricket, and they’ll tell you Mark stoneman looks the part. He’s a tough, nuggety