Australia Lead the Ashes Series 2-0 with Adelaide Victory
The Ashes series swung to 2-0 with Australia’s victory in Adelaide, meaning England would need a history-making turnaround to get a result. England’s short-lived resistance at the end of the 2nd test was a futile attempt in the end, and Australia stormed to a second win in the series beating England at Adelaide by 275 runs. It leaves the hopes of England for a first Ashes to win in Australia since 2011 severely weakened as the teams prepare for the third test starting on December 25th.
Australia put England to the sword in another display of their dominance. The Aussies move to 2-0 in the series, leaving a near impossible deficit for England to overturn. ©marcus_wallis/Unsplash
For all of the fight England demonstrated at the end of this match, Australia never looked anything but firm favorites to take this match by the horns. Big wickets from Australia like Richardson on Woakes were celebrated passionately nonetheless, indicating that the team was determined to find a wicket in the face of an England fightback. But Australia executed flawlessly their game plan and showed with calm expertise how comfortable they can work to beat England.
The England camp will now be thinking hard about how they can build on this little foothold, clutching at straws maybe, but Jos Butler’s innings was something we haven’t seen from an England batsman so far in the series. It’s going to be tough, but losing cheap wickets and edging it through to the slips is a pattern that is becoming increasingly detrimental to England’s ambitions in this Ashes series.
The vast majority of commentators have already given the Ashes series to Cricket Australia and claimed it is impossible for England to win from this position. But as we have seen countless times in elite sport, sometimes all it takes is a small sequence of luck and determination for the tables to drastically turn.
England in Disarray as Australia Push for the Series Win
If the England camp doesn’t quickly find a solution for their dismal on-field performance over the past fortnight then the only thing that will save them from a 5-0 series whitewash will be bad weather. The final throes of the second test did give some confidence to the fans, as Jos Butler a man under pressure following several dropped catches put on a defiant batting performance before treading on his own wicket. These small glimmers of hope do seem unfortunately just that, and England has been outclassed man-for-man in the first two matches.
The reality of the situation facing England is very bleak. Australia has been ruthless in their bowling attack, and formidable with the bat in hand. In both matches, England has torn apart in their first innings with the bat and left with it all to do when stepping to the crease for a second time. Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been aggressive with their length, pushing it further up the track than they would usually when there is so much to play for, clearly sensing the lack of confidence from England’s middle order and tail.
Another stark realization that is coming to the fore is the insurmountable deficit that the players are left with. England has never overturned a 2-0 start to win the series. Unless there is sudden evaporation of Australia’s bowling momentum and England plays the best cricket of their lives, Pat Cummins will be taking home the Urn. Frustratingly for England, the opportunities are coming, and Australia has proved that they are beatable, clearly a strong team, but not an exceptional one.
We all know that England needs to find a dramatic improvement if they are to get anything from this tour. Joe Root has already stated publicly that this will be the tour that defines his captaincy of England. It must be incredibly stressful for the young skipper staring at the potential of a 5-0 defeat where his bowlers don’t seem to have an answer. Getting the job done with the ball and pitching a fuller length will be his main priority going into the third test. If by some miracle they can get a foothold in this match, then all may not be lost, and we may yet have a nail-biting Ashes series on our hands.
