England’s long wait for an away Ashes triumph will continue on for another four years, this 4-1 drubbing marking 15 years since the side last came away victorious.
Criticism has been levelled at England’s preparation for the tour, with just one tour match, played against the Lions at a club ground in Perth. Combining this with a white-ball tour of New Zealand, itself fraught with controversy, in the guise of a Harry Brook hangover, left England underequipped.
Brook’s drinking escapades came to light after the conclusion of the series, the one-day and T20 captain having been involved in an altercation with a bouncer in a Wellington nightclub, the night before an ODI. He was not the only member of the squad to come under the spotlight, with a video of Ben Duckett after a night out in the infamous Noosa going viral on social media.
Aside from these dramas, England’s performance on the pitch left a lot to be desired. Across the series, England were bowled out for 172, 164 and 110, the art of absorbing pressure and batting time thrown out of the window. Among top order batters, only David Warner in 2019 faced fewer balls in a full Ashes series than Duckett’s 221.
Other batters may find this Ashes to be career ending—Ollie Pope has been usurped by Jacob Bethell, his dazzling 154 at Sydney encouraging fans to believe England have found their next number three. It was an innings of class and calm, the like that Pope has yet to provide in test cricket, with the often jittery Surrey batter’s international career appearing to be at its end. Crawley, averaging just 27 this series, is also under extreme pressure for his place, only keeping it due to lack of alternatives.
Joe Root answered any critics, ending his Australian drought with two centuries. Harry Brook and Jamie Smith both had brainless moments, the latter’s shot to be dismissed by Marnus Labuschagne surely one of the worst of all time. Smith’s body of work before the series should be enough to keep him in the side, but his place is certainly not assured. Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue are the two others leaving Australia with their reputations enhanced, both with encouraging series.
This was meant to be Ben Stokes’ magnum opus, a career-defining series in which he entered the upper echelons of England captains, regaining the urn and rewriting history. In actuality, it will go down as his, and Bazball’s, nadir. His inflexibility with bowling attacks, the often hapless Carse getting the new ball in every game, sub-par batting, averaging just 18, and apparent refusal to back his methods, striking at 36, combine for a poor series.
Despite losing Hazlewood for the whole series, and Cummins for all but one, Australia were easily good enough to counter England’s frail side. Head had a stunning series, promoted to open the batting, and scored 629 runs, with three attacking centuries. Starc was equally devastating, winning the Compton-Miller Medal for the first time, with 31 wickets at 20, and a 12 wicket haul at Perth.
With another Ashes loss in the books, England’s next assignment of note is a T20 World Cup, before a home summer, where they face New Zealand and Pakistan. Anything less than five victories out of six would be a disappointment here, against two sides in transition.
“Edgbaston E v A 2009 – Flintoff Drives Through Mid-On” by Gareth1953 All Right Now is licensed under CC BY 2.0.