The Ashes needs an away winner, but it WON’T be England
AUSTRALIA LEGEND ON THE BIGGEST RIVALRY IN CRICKET
The Ashes remains the pinnacle of Test cricket... but for me it now really needs an away win.
And the bad news for english supporters is that with the way Australia are currently playing, I expect it to be delivered in next year’s series.
Australia have to be favourites for 2019 based on what we have seen of the two sides this winter and the personnel they are likely to have at their disposal going forward. But they will need to buck a trend to win overseas. Only once in nine series has the Ashes ended in anything but a home victory.
Yet this pattern does not only apply to international cricket’s most iconic series. A lot of national teams are very strong at home only to suffer one- sided defeats on tour.
What’s the difference between a good player and a great player? A good player plays well in his own conditions — a great player plays well in all conditions.
There don’t seem to be as many of these players around any more — the ones who are able to adapt. england did not adapt well to playing in Australia and the biggest gap between the two teams showed up in the bowling department.
england have some quality bowlers, no doubt about that, just look at Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. But they didn’t take 20 wickets in any of the Test matches and unless you take 20 wickets you are not going to win.
A lot of the emphasis on international bowlers is on their pace and Australia coach Darren Lehmann is a big fan of bowlers who can bowl 90mph-plus. But for me the pace was not the big factor that made Australia’s the better of the two attacks.
If you are good enough to play international cricket, you can take wickets — but you have to bowl the right length.
Look back at when england won here in 2010-11. Who were their bowlers then? Anderson, Broad, Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan. There were no real express bowlers among them, but they showed what could be done with discipline. This time, too often they bowled well for a couple of overs but then sent down a couple of balls on leg stump which meant they failed to build pressure. Dotting teams up and bowling maidens back to back cannot be underestimated in Australian conditions because it gives you control of the game.
You have to get your bowling right for the conditions and they are not the only ones to get bowling abroad wrong. I remember the 1997 Ashes and in the first Test match we got well and truly thumped at edgbaston. We bowled too short, the wrong lines and it was totally embarrassing.
But we came out the following day and our coach Geoff Marsh made us all bowl for a couple of hours off the long run. he put markers on the wicket where he felt we should be looking to pitch the ball. The next game at Lord’s, we put what he recommended into place and from then on we didn’t look like losing.
When you are playing overseas it’s about identifying any issues you have, and executing what you want to do. That is Australia’s challenge now. There are still a few little holes in their team but not too many and if they can keep this unit together they are going to be tough to beat anywhere.
The opening position hasn’t quite been nailed down yet and the No 3 is still firming up. I quite like Cameron Bancroft and he did well in that first Test. Since then he hasn’t really cemented his spot — whether it’s confidence or a technical issue, I am not sure — and it was good to see Usman Khawaja get a big hundred in Sydney because he has so much potential.
It will also be interesting to see how many scars there are from this trip for england.
Because if Australia can keep the same bowling attack of Josh hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, supported by offspinner Nathan Lyon, who has gone to another level, it’s going to be hard work for england to get the Ashes back.
I know english players play better in their own conditions but with three guys bowling at high pace I predict they will do really well with the Dukes ball.
The last time hazlewood toured england he was more trying to pitch the ball up to swing it and he didn’t really achieve anything.
But he will have learned from that and if he replicates the way he’s bowling now, hitting the deck in search of a bit of seam movement, he will be very effective.
Meanwhile, as president of the McGrath Foundation it has been quite an amazing week for me. The way people embraced the Pink Test in Sydney was unbelievable.
Day three in memory of my late wife Jane is a big day for myself, the foundation and my family. This, the 10th year, was the best yet in terms of money-raising. We set ourselves a target of AUS$1.3m (around £750,000), enough to fund 10 breast cancer nurses for the year, and achieved it.
Going pink, I believe, is contributing to a lot more women and families coming to the game and I want Sydney Tests to be a celebration of hope and of enjoying life.