England’s cricket team faces the biggest challenge of their careers as they get ready for the third Test against Australia on December 17. Despite a plucky attempt at making amends following a lacklustre showing during the second Test, the team were rocked by an absolute hammering. Today, they find themselves 2-0 down in the five-match Ashes series. We’ve certainly had our share of adversity down under. They will have to make drastic adjustments if they hope to overcome the 3-0 hole.
The series opened with great expectations for England, mainly because of the missing Australian stars. They squandered this opportunity. Despite some individual resilience, such as Ben Stokes’ watchful knock of 50 runs off 152 balls, the team’s overall performance left much to be desired. Stokes’ partnership with Will Jacks, which added 96 runs for the seventh wicket, was notable but highlighted the lack of urgency. It lasted longer than either of England’s two innings in Perth and recorded the second-slowest run-rate for any England stand exceeding 50 runs since Stokes assumed the captaincy.
In truth, things have never gone well for England at the Gabba, the last win in Brisbane coming back in 1986. The Stars team are up against it with an Australian record 17-match winless streak. They have lost 15 times along this arduous route. What made the situation even worse was their recent performance. They’ve lost 10 of their last 14 away Tests to other opponents. It’s hard to overstate the bind England now faces. They are hungry to prevent a clean sweep in the season series.
England were defying Australia with the bat on the final day of the Second Test at Adelaide. It proved insufficient and was unable to save the company. Their combination opportunities ahead of the third Test in Adelaide are dwindling. In order to bolster their bowling attack, they should look towards the England Lions squad. Matthew Fisher has come through as an outside candidate to provide more pace-bowling cover, but questions about consistency and length persist and depth is an issue.
The pressure continues to build as England heads into the third Test. Should they all turn in a sleepwalking rendition of their recent efforts, it’ll be one long and humiliating series embarrassment. England showed remarkable fight in coming back from 2-0 down to level the 2023 Ashes series in the UK. Replicating that same success in Australia appears more difficult.
Leave a Reply