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Australia’s cricket board has promised a review of the Ashes debacle after the dead rubber test at The Oval and will seek answers to the team’s continued flops on foreign pitches.
18 months after blitzing England 5-0, Australia’s rout in Nottingham to surrender the Ashes 3-1 has again exposed the team as home-track bullies.
Australia have won four out of five of their past test series on home soil, but have been thrashed in away series against India, Pakistan and England in the last two years.
“After every series we will sit down and review and I think there is an opportunity for a reflection on (our) style of play,” Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland told reporters in Melbourne.
“It’s not easy playing away but it’s something we have to get better at. We want to be the best cricket team in the world and to do that we have to be better at playing away.”
Losing the coveted urn to arch-rivals England is depressing enough in cricket-mad Australia, but the manner of the team’s capitulation after entering the series favourites and pumped-up with confidence has prompted criticism from all quarters.
Most of the blame has been heaped upon the batsmen, who struggled to adapt to English conditions and appearing inept when facing the moving ball.
Selectors, including coach Darren Lehmann, have also been roasted for a number of surprising decisions, including the omission of long-serving wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for most of the series and for failing to pick an all-rounder in the decisive loss at Trent Bridge.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he believed up to seven players apart from Clarke may never play another test after the tour wraps up at The Oval, with the ageing team in dire need of regeneration.
Steven Smith is all but certain to take the reins from Clarke for the team’s two-test tour of Bangladesh in October but critics have suggested a new coach should also be brought in to help the young skipper rebuild the team.
Sutherland, however, said 45-year-old Lehmann, who has now lost two out of three Ashes series in charge, was safe in his role.
He also said Smith, who lead Australia to victory against India in the home summer, was more than ready to fill Clarke’s shoes despite the 26-year-old’s disappointing Ashes with the bat.
“We have someone in waiting who has had experience as a captain,” he said.
“In recent months he has been rated as the best test cricketer in the world. Steven is ready for this challenge but no one is ready-made to just walk into it.”
Australia captain Michael Clarke will retire after the final Ashes test against England this month, he announced on Saturday. Clarke was speaking after England won the fourth test at Trent Bridge by an innings and 78 runs to regain the Ashes. “I want to play the last test at The Oval and give it one more crack. The time is right,” the 34-year-old said.
“You never want to walk away. My performances over the past 12 months have not been acceptable to me. “Test cricket is about the Ashes. We tried our best, I certainly tried my best but we got outplayed.”
Clarke has played 114 tests and scored over 8,000 runs, including 28 centuries. “I certainly don’t want to jump ship and leave the boys now,” he said. “I pride myself on leading from the front so (my form has) been disappointing. “One-day cricket is about the World Cup, test cricket is about the Ashes. We got outplayed, we got beaten. It’s time for the next generation of players, the next captain, to have his opportunity to try to build the team again and get them ready for the next Ashes series.”
Clarke revealed that he made the decision on Friday evening. “I felt my performances weren’t as good as I wanted them to be,” he said. “The decision is never easy. I started playing this great game at six years of age. I’m 34. I wish I could play for another 30 years.”
ESPNCricinfo: Joe Root has moved to the top of the ICC Test batting rankings following his fine showing in the 2015 Investec Ashes, which England wrapped up 3-1 at Trent Bridge with a Test to play. Root moved from No. 3 to No. 1, exchanging places with Australia’s Steven Smith. AB de Villiers remains at No. 2.
In the bowling rankings, Stuart Broad has jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 following his Man-of-the-Match performance at Trent Bridge in which he destroyed Australia with first-innings figures of 9.3-5-15-8. Broad leapfrogged Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah, New Zealand seamer Trent Boult and fellow England pacer James Anderson, slotting in just behind South African quick Dale Steyn.
After four Tests in the Ashes, Root tops the batting charts with 443 runs at 73.83. He had scored a century and a fifty in the first match, in Cardiff, which England won by 169 runs. He scored a second century for the series in Trent Bridge, snuffing out any slim hopes Australia had of staying in the game after Broad’s lethal burst. Broad meanwhile leads the series’ wickets list, with 21 scalps at 18.09.
Batting rankings
1 Joe Root, 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Hashim Amla, 5 Kumar Sangakkara, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Younis Khan, 8 Kane Williamson, 9 Chris Rogers, 10 Virat Kohli
Bowling rankings
1 Dale Steyn, 2 Stuart Broad, 3 James Anderson, 4 Trent Boult, 5 Yasir Shah, 6 Vernon Philander, 7 Mitchell Johnson, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Morne Morkel
Alastair Cook soaks in the moment, England v Australia, 4th Investec Test, Trent Bridge, 3rd day, August 8, 2015
ESPNCrcinfo: Shortly after Michael Clarke had fought back tears on confirming his retirement, Alastair Cook let his emotions through as he tried to soak in his achievement of becoming just the third England captain to win two Ashes series on home soil.
Cook admitted his team - who regained the Ashes early on the third day at Trent Bridge - had surpassed even his expectations with their swift demolition of Australia. This Test barely reached the third day, following on from the two-and-a-half day victory at Edgbaston which came on the heels of a thumping defeat at Lord’s.
“Michael’s got emotional and it’s got me emotional,” Cook said at the presentation. “From where we’ve been over the last 18 months to what we’ve achieved, I’m incredibly proud of the lads and all the support staff. We’ve done something I didn’t think was quite possible at the beginning of the summer.”
Barely 18 months after a shattered Cook had stood on the SCG after Australia completed the 5-0 whitewash which led to a disintegration of the England team he reflected on the change in fortunes. “When you lose 5-0, there’s a turnover of players and a new side develops, it takes a bit of time but you see what talent there is in the country and we saw the end potential here,” he said. “Ben Stokes was fantastic here. Joe Root has gone from strength to strength - they have driven this side forward - and the senior players have led so well. As a captain, I’m very lucky to have a group of senior players, Broady to step up, Jimmy, Bell, the support I’ve had from them means a lot.”
Cook also made special mention of Peter Moores, who was sacked as coach at the start of the summer in another messy transition which opened the way for Trevor Bayliss to take the role - a position he only started officially a few weeks before the Ashes.
“Peter Moores isn’t here but the amount of work he did, you’ve seen the players grow as international players. Trevor has come in and taken that forward, but without Peter and that development - it was a tough time a few months ago - he’s put a lot of hard work in for that success.
“Today’s not about me, or me getting emotional, it’s about players who have taken that journey through some incredibly tough times to get the amazing times. That’s the moment you play for, when Woody gets the last wicket.”
