The Ashes is gone and England are down and out. They did well to draw the game at Sydney but the day-night game at Hobart will be a real challenge. Will they be able to defy Australia one more time? Will someone or a group of players stand up to be counted? Or will Australia stroll all over England one more time? All will be revealed in about 5 days and that is if England last that long. What can England do?
Increased confidence
The confidence of the English cricketers must have certainly improved after that display at Sydney. They perhaps finally believe that they can challenge the might of Australia and that they do have bit of a fight left in them. It is somewhat late in the day but nevertheless, it is a realisation. England must treat this and the last test as a new era. The 2021 Ashes is gone and there is nothing that can bring it back. Australia have been superior at all levels. England just have not turned up at the grounds.
England are likely to make quite a few changes. Buttler has returned home, Stokes and Bairstow are injured. Haseeb Hameed just does not look like an international player. Buttler may have played his last test match for England. It will be a miracle if he still retains his spot in the playing eleven. His failures with both bat and ball during the series is quite stark. All of this means that there will be 3-4 changes in the squad. Sam Billings is likely to take over the gloves from Buttler, Ollie Pope from Bairstow and Burns from Hameed. All that is left of this game is to play for pride.
Anderson and Broad
As for Anderson and Broad, this test is likely to be their last in Australia. They will want to make this memorable. Anderson will be 44 by the time the next Ashes comes around. Even for Anderson that will be a far stretch. As for Broad, though much younger than Anderson, he is unlikely to be part of the English setup once Archer, Stone and other fast bowlers are back.
England will be hard pressed to follow up on Sydney. The main architects of that draw was Bairstow and Stokes and both of them are injured. At the start of the series, no one would have imagined that it will be Bairstow who will be only centurion for England by the time the teams are in Hobart. In the likelihood of one or both their absence, will England still be able to attack the Australian bowlers? Crawley played aggressively but Sydney’s pitch was an absolute beauty. Something Hobart is unlikely to be. It will have lot of carry and the grass will be lively.
Hobart will call time on this rather one-sided series. A series that did not manage to raise upto expectations. England will be pleased to go back to their home amidst the middle of the winter whereas Australia will be much happier after the debacle last year.
In the end analysis, though the Ashes was lost in 11 days, 0-3 or even 1-3 will give a better feeling than 0-4. If rain is not forecast, a draw is unlikely in a day-night game. England will have to try and win the game.
Future for England
Michael Vaughan has called for Anderson to be sidelined. He wants England to focus on bowlers like Mahmood and Stone. He wants England to build their attack around them because he does not think they can win Ashes in Australia in 4 years with Anderson at the helm.
‘Managing Jimmy’s retirement is going to be key to this team moving forward. His future is the big elephant in the room. England cannot move on and be a world force with Anderson at the helm. I love watching Jimmy bowl. He is a poet with the ball in hand. He could still be England’s best bowler for another two years.’
I will say that Vaughan is correct. If England is serious about winning in Australia, they cannot do that with Anderson still being their primary bowler. As I had written before, he will be 44 and perhaps ineffective. The new bowlers will need miles on their legs and rhythm before the next Ashes.
Australia are in fairyland
As for Australia, they will be happy to have the won the series. Now that 5-0 is out of the question, they will want to end the series on a high. They have the resources to make it 4-0. The Australian bowlers have not bowled that many overs except in Sydney. Hence, they must be alright for one final assault on the old enemy.