EVEN THIS AUSSIE SIDE MAY STRUGGLE ON THE 2019 TOUR
So the Ashes have gone, handed back to Australia before Christmas and the Boxing Day showpiece in Melbourne. I predicted 3-1 at the start of the series and a tight 3-1, but even I have been surprised by the way England have been blown away.
I think it would be generous to simply say they lost the crucial sessions because the damage inflicted has been heavier than that; they have lost crucial days and despite showing more than the odd glimpse of fight, once they were knocked to the floor they were always chasing an Australian train that was very difficult to catch.
But we should get this in perspective: there are not many sides that travel to Australia and win. It just doesn’t happen. England did it seven years ago and South Africa have enjoyed success Down Under, but it remains such a tough place to play cricket for a touring side.
The disappointment has been the way England have handed over the urn. If you had said before the series that Dawid Malan, Mark Stoneman and, to a lesser extent, James Vince would have had the series they have had (so far), the England management would have been delighted because it was their senior players who were supposed to stand up and carry the team.
There is no doubt Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Alastair Cook have had very testing and very poor series. Broad is down on pace and just looks down and out; Moeen has been rendered almost obsolete as a spinner and looks lost making up the numbers batting down at seven. Meanwhile, Cook, England’s record run-scorer, is starting to look worn and weary. Three key players and three big guns, but they have looked on their last legs.
With Cook, again, some perspective; this is a player who has faced scrutiny his whole career. In his early days – even when he was scoring runs at a decent lick – his place was always under question. Critics pointed to his technique but he still found a way. This series he has been found wanting against the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and, particularly, Mitchell Starc, but there is no shame struggling to those bowlers and at 32 (he’s 33 on Christmas Day) he is still young enough and fit enough to enjoy an Indian summer in his career.
Justin Langer always used to say you “should never write off a champion” and those words ring in my ears when I think of Cook. He has had a poor year – certainly by his very high standards – but other great players have bounced back from dips in form and Alastair has that desire to do that. To think that people are even questioning his appetite for the game is ludicrous. One hundred and fifty Test matches on the bounce and over 11,000 runs – batting in the toughest position against the toughest bowlers; some slack needs to be applied here.
I have said all series that I don’t think this is a bad England side and you cannot compare them to Cook’s touring party of four years ago. They have something about them and they have stuck together.Yes, they have lost and lost pretty handsomely, but in 2013 you could just tell half of the side didn’t want to be there.
There is no doubt they have been hampered – and hurt – by the absence of Ben Stokes (who may not have been enough to win the Ashes but he would have brought some much-needed fire and aggression to the ranks), but they are developing and there is a nice mix of experience and youth.
For Australia, Steve Smith has the makings of a very good side with him, and the trio of fast bowlers he has had at his disposal will make them a threat wherever they play, so winning the Ashes in England in 2019 will be a huge priority for Cricket Australia. But winning in England is the ultimate test and I can still see this side struggling under the grey skies against the Dukes ball.
They haven’t won here since 2001, and that was with one of the truly great Australian sides – Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, the Waugh twins, Adam Gilchrist plus a stack of others – who had freakish skills to overcome the conditions.
They won two Tests in England back in 2015, but they were on absolute roads and when there was a bit of sideways movement they were easily blown away at Cardiff, Edgbaston and, of course, Trent Bridge.
Trust me; nobody in Australia will ever forget being rolled for 60 with Broad cashing in and taking 8-15.
Those horror stories never go away.
England have something about them. They’ve lost pretty handsomely but in 2013 you could just tell that half the side didn’t want to be there