Cricket lovers all around the world relate the gentleman’s
game most famous and oldest rivalry with
excitement, drama and absorbing cricket .And it was no different this year
,enthralling the fans with top notch display of finest cricket. After an
abysmal Ashes series down under, England were surely looking for revenge
against their age old rivals and tasted blood during their dominating
performance in the 2015-16 Ashes series. It’s rare to see an Australian side,
which lifted the World Cup 2015, boasting of big names like Micheal Clarke,
Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson go
down in such a humiliating manner in Trent Bridge.
Here are the reasons why Australia failed to defend the
Ashes:-
1.
Lack of
Proper Teamwork:-Barring Steve Smith, none of the other batsmen showed any
resistance to the ruthless English attack anchored by Stuart Broad. The openers,
Warner and Rogers, did have good starts , but failed to convert those into big
ones leaving too much pressure to the middle order and the tail and eventually
leading to failure in putting up big scores.
2.
Inability
to Adjust to English Pitches :- Australia never did their homework
correctly. The seaming , bouncy pitches gave them a pretty hard time in all the
four tests. The batsmen failed to adjust
to the conditions properly, leading to heavy defeats in Trent Bridge,
Edgebaston and Cardiff. England on the other hand took full advantage of their
home conditions and their bowling strength to rip off the Aussie Batting order.
3. Absence of a world class All-Rounder:- The
Aussies have lacked a proper world class all rounder in the test format. Shane
Watson probably came the closest to
filling that spot, but constant injuries forced him to give up his place in the
team. Steve Smith is in the team as a batting specialist and Mitchell Johnson
can give a quick few runs, but cannot provide stability in a serious situation.
Mitchell Marsh is inexperienced to be a top gun. Be it Andrew Flintoff in 2005
or Ben Strokes in 2015, a match winning all round performance is a must to lift
the most coveted trophy in the test arena.
4. Michael Clarke :- Australia needed
their captain to shine big time, but sadly Michael Clarke called it a day after
the Trent Bridge test. He has a highest score of 38 till now with an average of
16.7.He failed to contribute in the brittle middle order, leading to harsh
criticism from the Australian Legends. While his position as an all time great
batsmen is safe , but his inability to pose a fight to a mediocre English team
would not be the thing which he wants to be remembered for.
5. Arrogance:-Though Australians are quite
famous for their attitude on the field, but their aggressiveness and proud
exteriors cost them the Ashes this time. Their recent successes in the tests against
India, South Africa and the World cup must have sowed seeds of overconfidence
in them to make sure a humiliating defeat is in store for them in the future.
Players like Mitchell Johnson and David Warner, who have made sledging their
hobby perhaps, think that playing mind games with the opposition is totally
legitimate and will give them an upper hand in the game. Their plan backfired
disastrously and cost them the Ashes.
With the dead rubber coming up, with
nothing but pride to play for, Australians will be hoping to give Michael
Clarke the farewell he deserves and England will be looking to spoil their
party. Let’s see who triumphs in the Oval.
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