England sink to abysmal humiliation at the Gabba
Photo courtesy of Charlie Fisher
Out batted. Out bowled. Out fielded. Out played.
Australia were the far superior outfit in all 3 facets of the game and thus rightfully romped home to establish a rather ominous 2-0 lead in the series.
For Stokes, McCullum and the rest of the England management, there is a lot to think about. Once again, the batting unit succeeded in getting out to poor ‘nothing shots’. Crawley and Root were the only batting positives, the latter in particular notching up an exemplary maiden Test ton down under.
There has to be pressure and scrutiny on the batters as to whether they keep their place. Jamie Smith failed to impress both with the gloves and with bat in hand. The regulation drop of Travis Head set the tone for the English bowling effort, while his current batting form leaves a lot to be desired. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope both had very poor games. Pope had 2 horrific dismissals, while Duckett made errors in the field and his run scoring was virtually negligible. Harry Brook, as we are unfortunately becoming more accustomed to see, played yet another dash through the offside (to the premier Australian bowler on the second ball of his spell). Someone who has been tipped as a future captain is not currently displaying the attitude and mental discipline that is worthy of that appointment.
The bowling department didn’t fare much better. England looked significantly less threatening than Australia throughout. Jofra Archer bowled well in patches but somehow escaped without wickets, and his pace dropped each time he returned for a new spell. The biggest disappointment, however, was seeing him walking the boundary with a pillow - as if expecting England to take quick wickets so he could put his feet up. Something tells me that pillow didn’t get much use…
From an Aussie perspective, they were excellent. I thought Smith marshalled his troops superbly and as ever Mitchell Starc led from the front putting on a masterclass in pink ball bowling. England could pick up some tips from his application when batting too. His partnership with Boland not only added useful runs but also the length of time they occupied the crease meant Australia opened the bowling under the lights. It is this sort of tactics and situation awareness that England are lacking.
Where does this leave England for the next test?
Selection wise, England do have some options. Jacob Bethell could replace Ollie Pope at number 3. Alternatively, Will Jacks who looked assured in his technique could get promoted and Bethell could slot in lower down the order. I think the bowling also needs to be freshened up. I would bring in Tongue and think about Potts as well.
