For about 18 hours, from the end of play on Day 4 to the conclusion of the Test match in the first session of Day 5, the British media and fans had that marvellous feeling of hope in their hearts. They had fought hard from being a long way behind in the Test match, and now, with 178 runs to win and six wickets in hand, including Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow, they were set for one of the best and most famous victories of all time. The only problem that faced them was the vaunted Australian bowling attack that was unlikely to bowl as poorly as it had the previous evening, the new ball being just 18 overs away, and the history that only ten teams had chased and won the 354 runs in total that was their aim in the history of Test cricket. Everything had to go right for England to win. Within 17 deliveries the dream had evaporated thanks to Josh Hazlewood.
England needed a good start. They needed to not lose a wicket in the first hour, and to slowly cut down their deficit. They knew Australia had no reviews, so they had to hope that any close calls went in their favour such that they could not be reviewed by the fielding team. As it turned out, none of those things happened. Hazlewood got the tiniest flick of Woakes bat with his second ball of the day, and Aleem Dar’s delayed decision kept everyone on tenterhooks before he finally raised his finger, and the roar of the crowd cut short the Barmy Army’s daily rendition of ‘Jerusalem’. It was fateful. If Dar had not raised his finger it would have hurt the Australians. That it did – in a correct decision – hurt England. The momentum of the Barmy Army was halted, and Australia had the early breakthrough they needed. Better was to come in Hazlewood’s second over, when he ripped a similar delivery past Joe Root and again caught the edge. The captain walked, hugely disappointed for a number of reasons, and Australia celebrated a barely believable perfect start considering their toil the previous evening. Root had once again failed to convert a start to a big score, and also still has only one century in a second innings. He knew that with him went England’s chances for victory, and that he would now also come under renewed questioning for having sent Australia in on the first day. No doubt it sobered him up from the high of the previous evening.
Though there was resistance from Bairstow, the rest fell swiftly. Moeen was dismissed by Lyon for the fourth time in the series. Ovenden was crushed under the heart by a fearful ball from Cummins, before Starc’s first ball with the new ball was far too good for his defences. Broad tried to stay as far back from the ball as he could before edging behind, while Bairstow followed a lovely cover drive with being terribly beaten for pace by Starc, with his bat barely on the downswing as he played on to complete England’s misery 120 runs short of the victory target. Starc had done the job he does so well at first class level by cleaning up the tail quickly, and finished with five wickets for the innings as his reward.
Where does that leave the series? For England, who will have gained something from the last 48 hours that they would not have expected, they know they must put everything together if they are to come back and retain the urn. Vince and Malan still look dicey, Cook may well be cooked, and Bairstow must bat higher in the order. A case could be made to have Bairstow and Malan swap positions, but overall England need to find more runs. With Gary Ballance their only real alternative to bring into the line-up, it means their decision making is probably to keep faith with who they have. Their bowling attack looks okay and no doubt they will look forward to bowling at the W.A.C.A. Ovenden had a terrific debut with ball and bat and showed the kind of resolve that England would like to see from all of their team. With the lack of real pace in the England squad becoming a glaring problem, the opportunity remains to blood young leg-spinner Mason Crane as an attacking bowling option, and leaving out either Woakes or Ovenden. Unless Ben Stokes suddenly becomes available, they don’t seem to have anything else in reserve, unless they recall Mark Wood. In the end they will probably have to trust in the same eleven to find themselves a result.
Australia has done enough to have the lead, but will still need more from some of their individuals. Khawaja and Handscomb will both want a big score to erase doubts about their futures. Both of their techniques are still being questioned by the England bowling, and they will be looking to tweak and polish for the next confrontation. Bancroft too will be looking to make a big score in his first Test at his home ground. The problems with numbers 6 and 7 – for the moment – seem to have been satisfied, while the bowling group looks strong. The selection of Mitchell Marsh in the extended squad for Perth shows that the selectors haven't given up their dream of a seam bowling all-rounder playing in the team long term. While they will be concerned about the bowling workloads, the eight days between Tests should be enough to allow Australia to retain their eleven from the first two Tests. The younger Marsh's selection is a pointer towards the slower tracks in Melbourne and Sydney, and the possibility of adding some bowling help at that stage looks more likely than Marsh being thrown in at Perth. The batsmen in the team deserve the opportunity to make runs away from the two wickets that favour the bowlers in Australia.
England must win in Perth to keep the series alive, while Australia will be looking to close out the series before reaching Melbourne for the third time in the past four home Ashes series. If England truly believes it has found something from Adelaide then they must attack remorselessly in the 3rd Test to keep the series alive. If it was all just a flash in the pan, drawn from the generosity of Smith’s decision not to enforce the follow-on, then their problems have only just begun.
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