England have no answer as rampant Australia pile on the agony
Smith and Marsh punish attack with 300-run stand Coach Farbrace says lack of pace is proving decisive
England’s fast-bowling frailties were laid bare after they endured one of their toughest days in the field in Ashes history as Australia captain Steve Smith crushed their spirit with a chanceless double hundred.
Smith’s team took a giant step towards regaining the Ashes by grinding down their opponents at the Waca, with England taking just one wicket all day.
Mitchell Marsh’s first Test century on his home ground completed the rout, with Australia finishing day three on 549 for four, a lead of 146, against an England team battered by an unbeaten 301-run stand for the fifth wicket. Smith was on 229 with Marsh on 181.
England took one for 346 in the three sessions and only once before, in 1934, have they conceded more runs while only taking one wicket or fewer in a day.
Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, admitted the team had not recovered from their first-innings collapse, when they lost their last six wickets for 35 runs and squandered the chance to make a total in excess of 500. “Yesterday [Friday] was very disappointing, to be in a position where 550 looked a good score for us. It does knock the stuffing out of you a bit,” he said.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad have combined figures of nought for 197 and England’s best seamer in the match, Craig Overton, has had a cracked rib diagnosed. He bowled through the pain with the help of medication, but will be a doubt for the Boxing Day Test.
“I don’t think we have learnt anything we didn’t already know. We don’t have extra pace and we haven’t got the highest quality of magical spin. We have had to work exceedingly hard and it has been a very, very tough day for our team,” said Farbrace.
“We have found it tough getting the ball off the straight on good pitches. In Adelaide, we saw when there was swing and movement we have highquality bowlers who can exploit those conditions.”
Broad, Overton, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali have all conceded more than 100 runs and if Anderson, who ended with nought for 85, brings up three figures, it will be only the eighth time in Test history that five or more bowlers have been hit for 100 runs or more.
“On flatter pitches, we don’t have express pace,” Farbrace said. “Unless we get balls to reverse, it is tough for our bowlers. Long term, stuff needs to be done. We don’t have bowlers bowling 90mph-plus in our set-up, and not too many waiting in the wings, either.
“English cricket is conducive to bowlers who hit the seam and make it nibble. In Australia, you need to be able to bowl 90mph to make a difference. They have a high-quality group of bowlers who can do so.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, writing for The Telegraph, has called for England to play on flatter Test pitches at home to encourage quicker bowlers to emerge through the system, and has also said it is time to rotate Anderson and Broad to give an opportunity to younger quick bowlers.
“We need new strategic thinking to make sure Test wickets are flat so we have to bowl with more zip and spin. We might have to take a few defeats along the way, but it will pay off in the long term,” he writes.
For the Marsh family, it was a special day at the Waca. Mitchell grew up every day seeing the photo of his father, Geoff, walking off at Trent Bridge in 1989 after he and Mark Taylor had batted through the day putting on 301 for the first wicket. By the close, he had gone past his father’s best Test score and was one short of matching his brother Shaun’s best.
“It was pure elation. It has taken me 22 Tests to score a hundred and I wasn’t really nervous,” he said.