Women’s
Australia’s depth is still unmatched and they are still the favourites going into the world cup.
With the right mix of youth and experience, as well as making those tough selection calls when required (like Megan Schutt being left out of the Test match in favour of Annabel Sutherland), the Australian women have the perfect balance and a bright future ahead long after the likes of Rachel Haynes, Alyssa Healey, Megan Schutt, Jess Jonassen, Elyse Perry, and Nicola Carey call time on their careers.
Tahlia McGrath is made for the big stage
With wickets in clutch moments and aggressive runs with the bat, Tahlia McGrath is at the top of her game and fast becoming one of the game’s most damaging all-rounders.
The world’s best teams win from any situation
Set the scene. It was 3/218 and England needed just 39 runs to pull off a famous victory against the all-conquering Australia but the Aussies rallied and England lost 6/26 to lose from an almost unlosable position.
The England batters need to back their ability more
With that spectacular collapse in the Test match and scores of 129 and 163 in the final two One Day Internationals, the English batters need to back their ability. In the Test match, they started off solidly, then gradually went through the gears before ending up a trigger-happy group impatient to seal a victory. In the ODI’s, they went to the other extreme, trying to preserve wickets and survive, forgetting that they only had 50 overs to work with.
England can beat Australia if they keep a stable temperament throughout a match and not fluctuate wildly based on the match situation.
Men’s
Has England forgotten how to play Test cricket?
Losing 7/74 in game one and giving Australia a victory target of only 20 and losing 9/56 in the fifth Test where they looked like taking something positive away from a series really demonstrated to me an English team not fit to face a full-strength Australia on their home deck.
Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood, and Ollie Robinson are long-term prospects for England
For me, these were the only fringe players in the England lineup that showed fight throughout the series. Wood regularly bowling at 150km/h and troubling the likes of Warner and Labuchagne, Zak Crawley’s aggressive 77 in Sydney giving England a chance, Bairstow the only English man to score a century on the tour, and Robinson among the leading English wicket-takers on the tour.
Wood can’t keep going solo
England needs to find a Jofra Archer-like replacement to partner Wood long-term to remain competitive.
Cameron Green needs to back his ability
This summer has been about (among other things) the rise of Cameron Green.
The towering quick and classy batsman has learned to play his natural game with his aggressive batting getting Australia out of trouble in both Sydney and Hobart. On the bowling front, he was regularly a first-change bowler, getting key wickets (such as Joe Root and Ben Stokes) on numerous occasions. Whoever coaches Australia next needs to remind Cameron Green to relax and play the natural game that has brought him so much success at domestic level.
Scott Boland is a handful on all surfaces
Another Ashes success story is the unearthing of Scott Boland as a Test cricketer.
In just three games, the right-arm medium bowler took 18 wickets at an astonishing average of 9.6 runs per wicket and an economy rate of 2.11 but what makes him so unique is his ‘injured Josh Hazlewood’ approach to bowling.
What I mean by that is Josh Hazlewood is a line and length bowler that bowls in the high 130s to low 140s. With his approach to fast bowling swing and seam play a role but are not defining characteristics in his impact on the game. Scott Boland is the same but slower, having a significant say on the game on barren pitches such as the MCG in recent years, making him a potential handful on the subcontinent.
Both Australia and England are now coachless
You wouldn’t think the Australian men’s cricket team would have anything to worry about after becoming number one in both Test and T20 but they do. Disquiet amongst players and an intense coaching style has ultimately cost Justin Langer his job.
In my humble opinion, you can’t rise to the top without being challenged and pushed to be your best. Langer’s resignation and the response by the current playing group have caused a divide between current and former players. Ricky Ponting, Andrew McDonald, and Trevor Bayliss are some of the names listed to fill the vacant position, however, after the likes of Ponting, Shane Warne, Mark Taylor, and Matthew Hayden were left stunned and angry by the move it doesn’t look like any would be in the mood to take over. Trevor Bayliss’s white-ball obsession might also cause problems for Australia.
For England Graham Thorpe (batting coach), Chris Silverwood (head coach) and Ashley Giles (Director of cricket) have all been sacked and eight players (Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Jos Butler, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Dom Bess, and Dawid Malan) with Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Fisher, Matthew Parkinson, and Alex Lees all getting their chance to debut in the West Indies. Sir Andrew Strauss has been installed as a temporary selector and cricket director whilst Paul Collingwood will temporarily lead the team. With Justin Langer now available, why not poach him?
Australia’s real test will come in the sub-continent
It is fair to say that whilst Australia has demonstrated the country’s bowling depth, the first true test for captain Pat Cummins will come in Australia’s upcoming tour to Pakistan, the first Australian tour to be held in the country in almost 25 years.
This will truly test the strength of Australia’s inexperienced middle-order and see if David Warner and Usman Khawaja have learned from their previous failings in Asia, it’s going to be a fascinating series and the first true indication as to how much Australia has evolved as a touring team over the years.
Before I go, I just wanted to point out something. Both English cricket teams that have toured this summer have gone winless the entire time. So much for a 22-hour flight!!!
What takeaways did you have from the Men’s and Women’s Ashes series? Let us know in the comments below.
Pioneer Australia 