England are facing one of the worst times as surprisingly they relinquished ‘The Urn’ inside 12 days. Aussies are 3-0 up with 2 more Test Matches remaining. Before the start of the Series there were a lot of negotiations done as ECB (England Cricket Board) demanded resort type of quarantine for players & their families. CA (Cricket Australia) fulfilled every requirement as the entire process was a helluva.
In the 3 Test Matches England’s Cricketers showed lack of intent. England’s batters succumbed to pressure so easily that Aussie bowlers weren’t required to toil significantly. In 6 innings England did not cross 300 runs mark for a single time nor any reputed/designated/novice batsmen struck a Century.
The experienced troika of Ben Stokes, Johnny Bairstow & Jos Buttler got into ultra-pro-defensive mode. This hampered England’s batting as all of these are expected to up the ante. Particularly Ben Stokes flabbergasted everyone by displaying defensive tactics.
Dawid Malan who was a part of 2017-18 Ashes made the most of his experience, as he struck 2 half-centuries. Once again, the burden was on the shoulders of Skipper Joe Root. Root got the starts & converted too but didn’t capitalize on it. He scored 3 half-centuries in 6 innings. Joe Root’s century jinx in Australia continues as this is his 3rd tour Down Under (*2013-14, 2017-18 & 2021-22).
Joe Root now has become the only 3rd batter in TEST Cricket to amass more than 1,700 runs in a calendar year. The list is as follows:
| Batsmen | Runs | Year |
| Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) | 1788 | 2006 |
| Vivian Richards (West Indies) | 1710 | 1976 |
| Joe Root (England) | 1708 | 2021 |
England would be disheartened as they have lost 8 Test Matches in 2021:
- 3 Away Test Matches against India, January-February 2021
- 1 Home Test Match against New Zealand, June 2021
- 2 Home Test Matches against India, August-September 2021
- 3 Away Test Matches against Australia, December 2021
Jos Buttler the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter literally dropped dollies. He jumbled regulation catches, missed easiest of stumpings & looked in a disarray. At the same time Jos was taking absolutely stunning catches. It has been a mixed bag of wicket-keeping for Buttler in Ashes as most of the times he has been under the pump. It is often said ‘Wicket-keeper is the Heart of the team’, a single error is enough to drag the team down.
The Stalwarts: James Anderson & Stuart Broad were off-color & looked like out of the gas. The Speedsters Mark Wood & Ollie Robinson weren’t able to wrap up the innings which is ultimate. England’s spear-headed fast bowling line up astonished the pundits as none of them bagged a 5 wicket-haul. Ollie Robinson was the pick of the bowlers as he took 9 wickets in 3 matches.
There was a lot of confusion & miscommunication as Root was seen saying that the bowlers need to bowl full length deliveries. Legendary Captain Ricky Ponting lambasted Root by saying that if the bowlers are not listening to you then what are you doing in that post?
Ways for England to bounce back:
- Joe Root knows that most probably his Captaincy would be snatched away at the end of Ashes Series. Joe & ECB should keep one thing in their mind that WTC (World Test Championship) points are at stake too. Currently England are placed at 7th Place with 6 Points as they played 8 Test Matches.
- Before the commencement of 2021 home season ECB sacked Selection Panel which was more than 140 years old & gave complete authority to the Head Coach Chris Silverwood. It resulted in monarchy as Silverwood was the whole & soul of selecting a squad. ECB should bring back the old traditional system as Coach’s responsibility is to train the players.
- ECB received a lot of flak when ‘Hundred’ (22nd July-21st August) was given priority over Red Ball Cricket (Couty Cricket). ICC WTC 2021-23 cycle was about to kick-start as India was scheduled to play 5 Test Match Series. England who are the founder of Game of Gentlemen are seen ignoring TEST Cricket. There is no doubt that England are a force to reckon with in white ball format. If England believe that TEST Cricket is their pinnacle then they should keep a separate pool of 30 Cricketers who are ready for any uphill task. Playing multiple-formats with same bunch of players back-to-back doesn’t look quite fruitful.
- ECB should take a leaf out of CA (Cricket Australia) performance. In 2nd Test Match Australia were without Josh Hazlewood (due to injury) & Pat Cummins (close contact of Covid-19), that didn’t stop them from winning as the tyro Jhye Richardson & Michael Neser filled their shoes. Australia’s bowling is blatantly dependent on their trio of Starc, Hazlewood & Cummins, yet they found a replacement on the 11th hour.
- The time has come now for ECB to have talks with the iconic ‘James Anderson’ & ‘Stuart Broad’ as investing in youth looks a formidable option. Broad & Anderson’s pair is the lethal bowling attack & would be remembered for ages as taking 1,165 wickets (amongst themselves) is beyond imagination. On any given day Broad & Anderson would rip off a powerful batting line up, but in doing so they are not giving ample chances to a 20–24-year-old fast bowler.
- Australia had never retained/won Ashes in England before 2001. CA used Dukes Ball in Sheffield Shield 2019 season as Dukes Ball swings wildly. Ashes 2019 proved to be a nail-biting contest where Aussies retained ‘Urn’ (2-2). Aussies main motto was to win an Ashes Series, but they broke the jinx of 18 years. It is often said home-work is crucial to excel, ECB have got the players, coaches & staff but they were somewhat bogged down.
- ECB should give a last rope to the entire squad. Giving a chance would mean that ECB is trusting the system. Regardless of the result players need to show some fight & grind the opposition as Test Cricket is the “TEST of Character”. Getting bundled out for 68 runs & losing by an innings is an embarrassing act (3rd Test Match, 2nd innings).
- Chopping & changing would sound the need of the hour, but the batters in the top-order (Zak Crawley, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed & Dawid Malan) are too scared due to such treatment.
After these 2 Test Matches England are slated to tour West Indies in March for a full-fledged tour. Richards-Botham Trophy (*Test Series) would be inaugurated when West Indies & England clash.
West Indies may look an easy opponent as compared to the Dominant Australia & Puissant India, yet they have the caliber to give sleepless nights to England. In 2019 Test Series West Indies had defeated England by 2-1, these are alarming signs as ECB can’t take the opponent lightly. ECB have a long road ahead & for that they need to take pragmatic approach.
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