I’m sure you don’t want to read about England’s predictably meek surrender in Perth this morning, so let’s talk about something else. I quite like speculating about Perth’s long-term sustainability as a city. Apparently, water shortages in the Western Australian capital are now so severe that the city might have to be abandoned in the next twenty years or so. Hallelujah! England might not have to play in this God forsaken town much longer.
England were bowled out very quickly this morning (it took about an hour), but we all knew it was going to happen. Thoughts must therefore turn to the MCG. We also have to put things into perspective. It’s 1-1 in the Ashes with two games to go. One of those is at Sydney, where England usually play well. The other is in Melbourne, where we also occasionally manage to win. I’d have taken that a month ago.
Who cares that Australia now seem to have the momentum? Neither side is consistent enough to get on top and stay there. This series has proven, as the 2009 series did, that momentum means sod all in recent Ashes history. Every time a team has won convincingly, they’ve fallen apart in the next match. It’s because neither team is particularly good.
Mitchell Johnson is not only the enduring image of the third test, he’s the emblem of the Ashes – a contest between two teams with flawed techniques who have the ability to play good cricket one day, but then look appalling the next.
England have glaring flaws, but so do Australia. We’ve known for ages that England’s batting is generally rubbish – we pointed out yesterday that we’ve reached 300 just six times in our last nineteen innings against meaningful opposition – but the Australians’ batting line up is also in disarray. This is especially true now that Ponting has hurt his pinkie. My heart bleeds for you Ricky.
The funny thing is that the Aussies now think they’ve got a potent attack. Ho ho ho. England made Siddle and Co look good because we can’t bat on bouncy pitches. We’d make New Zealand look good if we played them at Perth. I can see the press reaction now – ‘Ooooh that Tim Southee’s a handful you know’. I hope Australia pick exactly the same side again. They’re a batsman short and they still don’t have a spinner; trying winning at the SCG without one of those.
Consequently, I’m actually feeling quite optimistic. Insane isn’t it? After our innings victory in Adelaide I feared the worst. Now the worst has happened, it doesn’t quite seem so bad. Our defeat at the WACA, which was always likely to be our most difficult match, has created a new sense of realism. The series is now unfolding as most observers expected – and most experts expected us to emerge from a close contest victorious.
The Perth test hasn’t taught us anything new, so why should we get down about England’s chances? The expectations are on Australia’s shoulders now. In 2009, the team that was expected to win each test match choked. Meanwhile, the team coming off a heavy defeat thrived. England are now the underdogs – and that’s exactly how Strauss and his team like it.
James Morgan
I agree James – don’t panic. We were bound to have a reality check sooner or later, and better it’s come with two Tests still to play. The Aussies were always going to come back strongly after Adelaide, and Perth was the pitch that would suit their quicks (who, Hilfenhaus apart, are all 5mph or so faster than ours) and negate the threat of Swann.
I’d keep things pretty much the same for Melbourne. Finn is looking a bit tired but is still taking wickets in every innings, so with a week off between the Tests I’d let him rest up and resist the temptation to bring in Bresnan. Colly could be one game away from the axe, but that always seems to bring out the best in him, so Morgan may have to wait his turn a little longer. Melbourne generally has a bit in it for both batsmen and bowlers, and may turn on days 4 and 5. We need to bat first and bat well, and then we’ll see how Australia fare when the boot’s back on the other foot.
I agree James – it must be something to do with the English mentality that in all sports, we struggle when there is expectation. The only recent example I can think of when a team has won a tournament that they were expected to was the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The last two home Ashes wins and the World T20 were won by not being favourites and scraping for victories. I hope Australia stick with the same make up of their team as it will suite England to have a big advantage in the spinning department; especially at Sydney. I might consider swapping Bresnan or Shahzad for Finn at the next test as I thought he was struggling physically and mentally with the heat and the pressure placed upon as he is still young and inexperienced.