This is ultimately a humiliating defeat for England inside 2 days from a position of strength at the start of Day 2 against an ageing and injury depleted Australia.
The last time the Ashes was won by a side who lost the first test was in 2005. Certain parallels between this defeat in Perth and Lords in 2005. England faced a Dadās Army Australia (albeit possibly the greatest ever side in test history). This Australia side is nowhere near the level of 2005, but neither are this England side anywhere near the level of England 2005.
The feeling after the first test in 2005 was that England in defeat in that first test had shown they had a pace attack in Flintoff, Harmison, Jones and Hoggard that could beat Australia if the batsmen could front up. England were bowled out for 155 and 180, a mere 335 runs. England have scored 336 runs here in Perth.
England batted a lot better from second test on in 2005 and age and injuries caught up on Australia and England came back to win the series.
This England team is so wedded in the folly of how they are approaching test cricket though, it is difficult to see a turnaround.
Iād tend to agree that is the most likely outcome. If England lose in Brisbane, 4-0 or even 5-0 is all but a certainty.
Shades here of Adelaide 2006 in second test. England were in a position of strength after first innings. They were going along fine initially in 3rd inn nags of the match, then a full scale batting collapse, Australia chased down around 200 of a target. England were broken and lost series 5-0.
Itās a bit irritating. I like watching the highlights package I think because itās such lovely sunny weather glowing from the telly, and itāll likely now be short and one sided.
Only caveat is that the batsmen might knuckle down a bit, and England have a pace attack which ought to be able to trouble anyone.
I donāt get to see much cricket these days but was surprised that there wasnāt any British Asian representative at all in the English side. How is that when youth cricket in England has been packed with talented kids from that demographic for the last few decades? Is the simple answer here the obvious one?
This England team will get savaged over what has unfolded in the first test. First time in 104 years that a team has lost an Ashes test inside 2 days. The Australian press never miss a chance to put the boot in to āthe Pomsā but the English press will be queuing up as well.
There were a lot of questions asked beforehand about actual preparation for Perth as opposed to all the bluster from the Bazballers that this was 3 years in the making, the preparation for their final frontier of an Ashes tour in Australia. When the likes of Michael Vaughan and Lord Botham queried not having any meaningful warm up game in a fast pitch, in advance of playing on the fastest wicket in the world in Perth and wasting so much time in a nonsense of an ODI tournament in New Zealand in recent weeks, Captain Stokes replied that he had no interest in what old has been had to say about their preparations, that they know best.
Shaoib Bashir was in the 12 man squad but missed out as you donāt really need a front line spinner in Perth and Joe Root was assigned part-time spin duties. Iād expect him to feature as the series progresses on more turning wickets. Heās fairly unproven at test level though and England are not well stocked in the spin department.
Agreed. Heās not very good. Youād want to be careful though. The awkward squad could be screaming all kinds of things next for stating that heās not very good.
33% of all club players in England are of British Asian heritage and there is 1 representative in the squad? I read there are as many representatives in the squad from the white Barbadian community as there are from the Brisith Asian community - statistically the chances of that happening makes it some achievement by the selection committee. At least they arranged the official squad photo in a handy way for anyone who might be similarly minded to Sammy Wilson and want to āget the ethnics outā.
From your extensive knowledge of the English county scene, who do you see as meriting selection currently from the ranks of Asian cricketers? Rehan Ahmed is quite promising, but heās hardly going to displace Ben Stokes as the all rounder at this juncture.
I see thereās a big clamour in Australia now after the first test to retire the only Asian player ever to don the baggy green hat, Usman Khawaja. That in the same week that the convicted cheat captain Steve Smith launched a bizarre attack on one of Englandās most beloved Asian crickets, Monty Panesar.
