England will breathe a sigh of relief after Sydney. They have avoided another soul-crushing 0-5 whitewash. It would have been difficult to avoid the whitewash had they lost this game because the next game, a day-night at Hobart, England stands no chance. Was it really excellent batting that saved the game for England? Were Australian bowlers too tired and were unable to enforce themselves? Let me analyse in England have avoided whitewash
England did bat well but was it the reason?
Was it really dour batting on the part of England that saved the game or was it because the pitch wasn’t providing any kind of assistance to any of the bowler? I firmly believe that the latter was the reason. England did bat well. Especially, Bairstow, Stokes and Leach but it will not be wrong to call the pitch as flat road. It did not have anything on it for the bowlers. Just sample this. Australia scored just over 400 and they batted for 134 overs. That is a runrate of just over 3. By Australian standards, that was slow scoring and they were not bowled out despite playing that many overs. Australia declared because far too much was lost because of rain.
If a team had batted for that many overs, it is natural to expect them to be bowled out or score in excess of 475 but Australia were neither. I agree that the frequent interruptions because of rain must have disturbed the rhythm of the batsmen but still the pitch didn’t allow for strokeplay nor for bowlers to pick of wickets.
Cummins’s brilliance kept the interest alive
Now, coming onto the England’s second innings. English fans will appreciate their tenacity and perseverance for pulling off a draw. It was indeed a creditable achievement but scratch the surface, the lack of role the pitch played is stark. On the last day, things were going rather smoothly for England with Bairstow and Stokes batting fluently. Things towards tea pointed to a dull draw. It was Cummins who induced life into the game. If not for his brilliant over, the game would not even have gone into the hour. Both the teams would have been happy to shake hands as soon as the first ball of the mandatory overs was bowled.
One can argue that the pitch allowed only for the best bowlers in the business to pick up wickets and that the rest who prostrate as bowlers never had a chance to pick wickets. The two wickets that Cummins took had nothing to do with the pitch. It was beautifully executed yorkers.
The point is, the game wasn’t a thrilling draw. The pitch did not have anything in it for the bowlers to pick up wickets and that was the sole reason for the draw. It has draw written all over the game right from day one. This is the second successive game that was drawn at Sydney. Last year, Ashwin and Vihari were able to bat for 41 overs and now, England’s tail bailed them out.
Lyon’s inability
All said and done, the failure of Lyon to either run through England or at the least, provide timely breakthroughs stood out from anything else. The drop-in pitches is not helping him or any of the bowler for that matter. Perhaps, Australia must revert to the traditional method of preparing pitches.
About the test itself
The test did have some brilliant individual performances. Khawaja’s twin hundreds is now part of the folklore. He will have fond memories to tell his grandchildren. He has created a nice headache for Cummins and Langer. Head who scored a brisk hundred at the Gabba is likely to comeback but how will Australia leave out a twin centurion? It is difficult but that is the way it is. Khawaja replaced Head not based on Head’s performance but because of Covid. It is only proper Head gets his spot. The only opening is at the top. Now that the Ashes is already decided, probably Australia will try Khawaja at the top.
It really is a surprise that Smith hasn’t scored a single hundred in this series. He has got a couple of 50s alright but the hundred has eluded him. This may perhaps become the first series in a longtime for Smith not to score a hundred.
Bairstow and his invaluable contribution
Bairstow has secured atleast for the foreseeable future with a frantic hundred and a sedate second innings. Ever since the keeping gloves was taken away from him, he hasn’t been himself. This innings will give him a lot of confidence though England would have liked this to have come of in the 3rd test. It will be a huge surprise if Buttler still keeps his spot despite multiple failures. Bairstow may not want to keep again but for now, he is secured.
Conclusion to England have avoided whitewash
Though I am not taking anything away from the batting rearguard, England must remember that a better pitch would have meant they are 0-4 down. Their batting is a real concern and the sooner they bring in quality batsmen, the better it is for them.