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Thus far our Ashes post-mortem has focused exclusively on England. And understandably so. English cricket is in a terrible state. Supporters are at each other’s throats and it’s becoming increasingly obvious that our domestic calendar simply can’t prioritise our Test team unless the ECB either drop their beloved pet project, The Hundred, or sacrifice 50 over cricket instead.
However, what about our Australian cousins? Presumably everything in their garden is rosy after winning the Ashes 4-0?
Pat Cummins and the Australian bowling attack looked in fine fettle this winter. There’s strength in depth, too. Scott Boland enjoyed an extremely impressive start to his Test career. Even Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson were on point when Josh Hazlewood and Cummins missed time.
The big challenge for the Aussies, however, is finally winning on English soil. Something they haven’t achieved since 2001. Are they finally on course to achieve this ultimate goal? The bookies think so. They’re as short as 8/13 on the cricket betting at Betfair.
However, I suspect these odds say more about England’s structural problems, and the obstacles preventing our Test team from improving, than the strength of Australian cricket per se. What’s more, I wonder if those who write the cricket tips have considered England’s contingency plan in tough times: if in doubt, prepare a series of green tops!
We’ve all seen how Australia’s top batsmen have struggled in county cricket when the ball is seaming around. Travis Head and Manus Labuschagne found life extremely difficult last summer. The state of pitches in England has rightly come under fire in recent weeks but it might be these ‘home conditions’ that ride to our rescue in 2023. Who cares if England struggle to score 300 if the Australian batsmen struggle just as much?
Let’s not forget that the Aussie batsmen didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory this winter despite winning handsomely. Outside of two centuries from Head and a memorable match for Usman Khawaja, Australia’s batters were far from imperious.
David Warner was mediocre at best outside of a knock of 93 and was clearly reeling towards the end of the series. England also found a way to stymie Steve Smith, who posted only two half-centuries in five matches. Even Labuschagne cooled towards the end of the series, failing to make a score of note in his final five innings.
Labuschagne will be 29 by the time of the next Ashes, so he should be in his prime, but Smith will be 34 and Warner nearly 37. Khawaja will be 36, too. Australia’s key men are therefore hardly spring chickens. They’ll clearly need to find some new blood soon. And given the miserable form of Marcus Harris, they might need to find two new openers as desperately as England do.
The last time that Australia toured England, Smith held their batting together almost single-handedly. The truth, however, is that he simply hasn’t been the same force since his suspension. And unfortunately for Australia, there are not many options beyond the existing squad.
Will Pucovski could provide a solution, although he has struggled with a series of concussions. Given England’s battery of pace bowlers – Jofra Archer working in tandem with Mark Wood is a mouth-watering prospect – Pucovski probably shouldn’t play unless he can learn to handle the short ball better.
Elsewhere, Nic Maddison, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns and Matthew Renshaw have all tried and failed to hold down spots in the side. Renshaw will play for Somerset in 2022 and it’s possible that he might find a way to make scores in English conditions. However , he’ll need to make significant improvements.
Consequently, although Australian cricket appears to be on top of the world right now, such impressions could prove to be extremely superficial. What’s more 18 months is a long time in professional sport. Injuries (not to mention loss of form) can ravage squads.
If England’s best bowlers are available in 2023, Australia’s are crocked, and it becomes a shootout between two batting line-ups with more holes than a golf course, then I can see Australia’s drought on English soil stretching to a quarter of a century.
Now wouldn’t that be delightful.
James Morgan
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