Australia Thrash England to Retain the Ashes
Many are calling it one of the most one-sided Ashes series in recent memory. It took Australia just 12 days of cricket to win and retain the Ashes in Melbourne, taking them to an insurmountable 3-0 in the series, and leaving the possibility of a 5-0 whitewash looking very likely. A meek and underperforming England side has been well and truly outclassed, and this result will be incredibly painful and tough to recover from.
The third test in Melbourne marked the moment of Victory in the 21/22 Ashes series for Australia, and simultaneously marked an incredibly embarrassing and abysmal defeat for a woefully ill-prepared England side.
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The third test went very much along with the momentum that had been gathering following the comprehensive victory in Adelaide. England was bowled out for a dismal 68 runs, inside just 81 minutes of play. The collapse in the England batting lineup was primarily down to the work of Australian seam bowler and debutant Scott Boland, who recorded an incredible 6-7. The tumbling wickets came to the jubilation of the home Melbourne crowd who must’ve loved every minute of what they were seeing.
This final batting performance offered by England Cricket in the second innings at Melbourne will go down as one of the worst innings in the history of the national team. In terms of Ashes history and statistics, it is the lowest total scored in an innings in Australia since 1904. An incredibly toothless display that has made the final two matches of the series raising serious concerns for Joe Root’s men, as to how they’re going to fix the terrible performance with the bat.
In the end, the Australian crowds in Melbourne were showing bewilderment at the lack of competitive fight being offered by England. Whilst they celebrated the fall of England wickets, there was a sense growing that they were not getting much enjoyment out of a match that has clearly become a one-sided onslaught. The gulf in class between Australian and England cricket has never been as stark as its current position.
Nothing Changes for England in Third Test
Even by the incredibly lackluster and amateur performances, England’s cricketers have displayed throughout this Ashes test series, the rapid defeat in Melbourne will go down in the history books as one of the most abysmal ever witnessed. The signs had been there from the early stages of this series, England’s batsmen have not been able to find an answer for the ferocious and meticulous Australian bowling attack, but nobody in either camp could have seen this total capitulation coming the way it did.
Having already been torn to pieces by the relentless pace of Mitchel Starc and Pat Cummins, England’s batsman was unable to adapt to the slightly slower but incredibly accurate Scott Boland. Looking tired, fed-up, and short of match practice, the England squad have truly been a sorry sight throughout the 12 days leading up to the official defeat. Whilst there are no excuses for the way the team experienced this epic downfall, those in charge will have been asking how they had been so woefully ill-prepared for the biggest match on the calendar.
Root tried to do what he has been doing for England for a long while now, and carried the team valiantly, being one of the only players to put together multiple good innings in this series. Bowling does seem to be having a few bright spots, with James Anderson and Mark Wood causing the Aussies a few problems in day two, but even despite making 4 changes to the batting lineup ahead of Melbourne, this third test saw one of the nation’s worst-ever performances with the bat. There still seems to be no solution.
Australian Dominant and Relentless in Melbourne
The Melbourne Crowd would have wanted to see more of a fight from the visitors, as watching sport when one side is taking that much of a pummeling is never a satisfying thing for anyone. Heading out onto the field for the final day where the wickets tumbled, it was clear from the outset that England was in no frame of mind to play. The Australians outplayed England as they have done throughout the entire series, and today the home crowd really had a memorable day of cricket to watch.
England’s dismal display has left many on the side questioning their careers and whether they will be able to represent the country again. It will be unlikely the end of the onslaught either, and with the fourth test set to begin on January 4th in Sydney, the Australians will likely turn the screw and look to demolish the visitors over the last two matches.
