Re: The Ashes: Perth.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:21 pmbigfluffylemon wrote:Anyway, let's talk about Perth. After the joke of a warm-up fixture, and yet more off-field shenanigans to distract England (you have to wonder if they're doing it on purpose at this point), there doesn't seem to be any clarity about England's situation going forward. So, great.
I think it's clear that England's problems are not going to be solved by selection. Bumping Bairstow up a notch or two, swapping out quicks, rearranging the batting order, it's all window dressing. The players lining up are, for better or worse, the best we have available to us at this point in time. The key is going to be getting the best out of what we have. That means Cook scoring runs, Root converting, and the bowlers creating pressure from ball 1.
England do have some comfort in that they have been competitive at points in this series. The Australian batting has looked frail. The bowling is strong but not impossible to score off if you are patient, and as the series wears on the strains on the 4-man attack will tell. The key I think for England is patience. It's no coincidence in my mind that England were successful under Flower overseas when they had a mindset of grinding the opposition down. Play long innings, and with the ball just keep drying up the runs and building the pressure. Under Bayliss, what has turned them into a pretty good ODI side is the attacking instinct that it seems that players cannot turn off in the test arena. So we see poor shots with the bat and too much short bowling with the ball trying to be aggressive. It's not working.
Perth is a very difficult place to play well, but historically that has been the case for Australians as well as touring players - those not used to the WACA's bounce have not always thrived. Players from WA usually do well, but from other states it's a bit of a toss-up. Case in point: Johnson was always a handful here, (he was man of the match in 2010, the only game Australia won), as it was his home ground. Warner loves batting here, but most of the other Australian batsmen have middling records here at best, and Lyon has averaged over 50 in his four games here.
The Perth pitch has also not been quite what it was. Two years ago it was a pathetic road that really should have been reported (I can't recall if it actually was or not, but it is interesting to note that in the run up, the curator was saying exactly the same things as have been said in the run-up to this game: that he wants a spicy wicket to replicate the WACA of old. Hahahaha. I seem to recall that being said of Adelaide too. Drop in pitches in Australia are responsible for a lot of sins. But I digress). Last year Australia suffered a humiliating loss to South Africa. So while England's record here is beyond horrible, it is not an impossible place to do well for a touring side.
It would be a brave person to bet on anything other than an Australian victory, but as we have all said all along, England are not THAT bad, and Australia are not THAT good, especially under pressure. England have underperformed so far. If they actually play to their potential, get Australia on the ropes again as they have in the past two games, and follow it up rather than let it slide, they could pull a win out of the bag. Improbable, but not completely impossible...
Have been a bit too busy to post lately but just wanted to say that I think this is an excellent summary of the situation leading into this Test Match.
Lots of reasons to say England have no hope this week ; but on the other hand : they're due...
