Australia send Root an Ashes warning
Australia may have followed England by losing a test series in india yesterday, but there were signs that steve smith’s team will pose a formidable threat in next winter’s ashes.
Only last November australia looked in turmoil when they were thrashed by south africa in Hobart and suffered a rare home test series defeat to follow their whitewash in sri lanka.
Yet since that embarrassment smith has led a recovery that has seen the aussies push india all the way and they lost only 2-1 following yesterday’s defeat in Dharamsala. remember, England were thrashed 4-0.
it means England captain Joe root will go into what is still the most important battle in cricket knowing that his team will face a big task to replicate andrew strauss’s win Down under six years ago. ‘ this team has grown so quickly,’ said australia captain smith after an eight-wicket defeat in the final test of a rancorous indian series.
‘i am proud of the way we have turned things round and really competed in these conditions. We were written off coming here. People said we would lose 4-0 but we fought hard throughout and to fall at the final hurdle hurts.’
the biggest difference between australia’s gallant failure and England’s humiliation was spin. Nathan lyon took two five-wicket hauls and the unheralded steve O’Keefe returned figures of 12 for 70 with his slow leftarm in the first test victory in Pune.
But in australian conditions it will be the home side’s ability to keep the seam attack of Mitchell starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins fit and firing that will be crucial.
australia’s fast bowlers have been too brittle in recent years, but there is no question that if those three rock up at Brisbane on November 23 England will have their hands full.
and with smith leading from the front with 499 runs and emerging with his reputation intact after his verbal skirmishes with Virat Kohli, australia have an impressive successor to the flawed leadership of Michael Clarke.
it is not all gloom for England as root and Ben stokes look to avenge the 5-0 debacle of their last visit.
australia’s batting does not look formidable with the exception of smith and David Warner while root will fancy his chances against the two batsmen who will be wearing the Baggy Green with strong links to England — Matt renshaw and Peter Handscomb.
renshaw, born in Middlesbrough to a family well known to root and his parents, emigrated first to New Zealand and then australia nine years ago and his father ian has had to defend his son’s status as a fair dinkum aussie.
‘it’s important for people to know that Matt loves australia and is as aussie as they come,’ insisted renshaw snr before his son’s debut. ‘We, his parents, are English but he left England when he was six. He has been back but says it doesn’t feel like home.’
Handscomb, meanwhile, may have been born in Melbourne but mum and dad are English and he has a British passport. He also spent time with Gloucestershire, as an overseas player. Neither have looked totally at home in international cricket.
renshaw has shown the obduracy of an archetypal Yorkshireman rather than flair while Jimmy anderson in particular will fancy his chances against Handscomb’s quirky technique.
the fitness of anderson, stuart Broad and Mark Wood will be as important to England as australia’s big three pacemen are to them but we could be contemplating a close ashes.
it has always been hard for England to win in australia, but at least root will have seven tests this summer against south africa and West indies to settle in.
australia are in a much better place than they were just three months ago while England, though full of promise, remain inconsistent and stuck in mid-table in the iCC rankings.
the start of the domestic season may be dominated by talk of a new modern twenty20 competition but it will not be long before English thoughts turn to australia. already it is an appetising prospect.