1st Ashes Test - my thoughts
Image courtesy of Michael Retout
As England fans, we have seen it all before. 1–0 down in an away Ashes series and a failure to be ruthless when on top in the game.
Before we analyse the impact and cause of the loss from my perspective, let’s jump back to Day 1.
After the 3rd of my alarms went off at 2:17am, I was hopeful to see a repeat of Zak Crawley’s crunching drive to the fence. Unfortunately, my weary eyes were instead subjected to a trademark snick to 1st slip, followed by a cracking spell from Starc which saw England stutter to 172 all out. Not ideal for early morning viewing.
The response however was exceptional. Archer and Atkinson set the tone admirably, operating at high pace and with immense skill. Combined with Carse, Wood and the skipper, England were relentless. The lines and lengths were metronomic and we could clearly see the vision which this ‘BazBall’ project has built towards to form a battery of fast bowlers. To end the first day being 1 wicket shy of a 50-run lead was an excellent effort.
So when my alarm went off again on Saturday morning, I was even more optimistic of a victory push. This was only heightened after safely reaching lunch with a lead of a hundred with 9 wickets still in hand. That is worth repeating and reflecting on : leading by 100 with 9 wickets in hand.
What followed was truly abysmal.
The English batters gave in when faced with any kind of pressure. There was a lack of grit and determination that is essential to possess if you want any chance of success down under. The batters placed no value on their wickets and so the Aussies wrestled back all momentum to cause the English to fully implode to set a target of only 205. I strongly suggest England take advantage of the pink-ball warm-up game before the next test.
From this point, Travis Head deserves all the plaudits for a truly remarkable innings. But if we are honest, the game should’ve been taken beyond the Aussies as a lead of 300+ was firmly on the cards.
As we move on to the remainder of the series, England must take some time to seriously reflect.
Playing an ultra-positive brand of cricket may win you games. It may indeed produce some amazing matches for the fans. But it will not win you big series. It will not win you the Ashes. England have to look to apply themselves more with the bat, really dig in if things get tough, and show the Aussie bowlers they are up for the fight. The bowling has showed huge promise and we know that the batters all hold immense talent. But can they perform on the biggest stage? Can they drag their side over the line and stand up in the crunch moments where ruthlessness is required?
We are about to find out - otherwise it could be a long series.
