By Blake Bint
In an ashes series down under dominated by the home side, bowlers were the stand out in a rarity on the expected batter friendly pitches as Australia usually is.
Despite the similarities to England’s home pitches, the visitors suffered a 4-0 defeat, meaning they have now failed to win a test match in Australia since 2011.
In a record breaking series for all the wrong reasons, the Englishmen also failed to post a total over 300 in the whole series for the first time in more than 60 years.
- David Warner
273 runs @32.12
Australia’s attacking opener, struggled in comparison to his test career batting average of 47. The 35 year old’s average would’ve been significantly higher were it not for his pair in the fifth test on a bowler friendly pitch in Hobart. His top score of 95 in the series came in a dominant first innings display for the hosts in the second test match, assisting Marnus Labuschagne in a 172 run partnership. This backed up a positive series starter of 94 in Brisbane where he again had a partnership in excess of 150 with Labuschagne.
- Zak Crawley
166 runs @27.66
The 23-year-old Englishman wasn’t picked at the start of the series but came into the third test match as a replacement for the out of form Rory Burns. Although the record isn’t remarkable and he averages less than that of David Warner’s partner Marcus Harris, its his impact on the batting lineup that earns his place in this team. Crawley’s second innings 77 at quick rate in Sydney played a crucial part in England’s draw. He then followed up with a start of 36 in the Hobart test, participating in England’s only 50 run opening partnership of the series.
- Marnus Labuschagne
335 runs @41.87
The world number one’s overall batting record would suggest an underwhelming series. The truth of the story, however, is that the Australian number three was frequently at the crease early on in the innings due to the struggling partnerships of Warner and Harris throughout, in a series where batters struggled. As earlier mentioned, he also had two partnerships of over 150 with David Warner including one century and two 50’s of his own for the series. Playing with versatility, he took up both positive, attacking approaches when he took on Mark Wood and Chris Woakes on a challenging Hobart pitch as well as finishing the series with a strike rate of 48.
- Joe Root
322 runs @32.20
5 wickets @46.80
The English captain had an Indifferent series. Receiving many critics on his captaincy, his batting was often the rescue in a bad situation which England were frequently in. His lack of a century in Australia remains a concern but his three 50s in 10 innings earned him a place as the third highest run scorer in the series, bettering his opposing number four, Steve Smith.
The captain was also forced to bowl on numerous occasions with the absence of Jack Leach in two of the five test matches. His varying off spin, once picked up the wicket of the series danger man, Travis Head as well as the counter-attacking wicket keeper batsman Alex Carey twice.
- Travis Head
357 runs @59.50
The player of the series, Travis Head scored 357 runs in just six innings, averaging 18 more than the next best run scorer- Marnus Labuschagne. His rapid run scoring at number five led to his record breaking 100 off just 85 balls, where he then went on to make the only score in excess of 150 in the series. In the final test, entering the crease at 12-3 he scored his second century of the series, securing his player of the series award.
- Cameron Green
228 runs @32.57
13 wickets @15.76
The 22-year-old all rounder left an impressive impression in his first career ashes series. Raising a few eyebrows with just 52 runs in the first three tests, he came back with crucial innings’ of 74 in back to back matches, made his role at number 6 somewhat of an unsung hero in the Australian side. His role as the fourth seamer was what kept him in the team initially with impressive, consistent figures throughout the series, including being involved in frequent key battles with England’s reliance for runs- Joe Root. In England’s greatest hope for a victory in the series, Green played a crucial part in the visitors’ second innings when he dismissed all of the top three.
- Alex Carey
183 runs @20.33
23 dismissals
In a series where neither wicket keeper relished, Carey faired the better. Keeping consistently well led to his 23 dismissals across the five matches. Coming in at number seven for the most part, Carey scored just one 50 in the series along with a 49 which he had earlier received two lifelines in which to score.
- Pat Cummins
21 wickets @18.04
72 runs @14.40
The Australian captain had a remarkable ashes series once again, picking up the most wickets in the series for the third consecutive time in the ashes. With added pressure as captain for the first time, Cummins was unphased and appeared to make no devastating mistakes, seeing his team over the line with a 4-0 win. Responsible for one of three Australian five wicket hauls in the series, he never let up the pressure on the England batters working in tandem with Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Cameron Green for a majority of the series.
- Mark Wood
17 wickets @26.64
86 runs @10.75
England’s pick of the bowlers for the series was without a doubt Mark Wood. Although he didn’t have an average or economy as low as James Anderson or Ollie Robinson who was also impressive, he played the role required of him, not too dissimilar to Mitchell Starc’s for Australia, remarkably well. Coming into the series with divided opinions on the Geordie paceman, he proved the doubters wrong as he dismissed Marnus Labuschagne- the highest ranked batsman in the world. Wood was mostly hard done by for wickets in the series until he got his six wicket haul in the last test by using bouncers to great affect for the majority of his wickets.
Overall Australia dominated the 2021/22 ashes securing a comfortable 4-0 win despite some impressive individual performances for the Englishmen.
- Nathan Lyon
16 wickets @23.56
76 runs @25.33
Australia’s ‘GOAT’ had a magnificent series once again being ever present in the starting 11. Backing up the relentless attack of the seam bowlers, Nathan Lyon was both economical, achieving the most maidens in the series, and consistent in his wicket taking, taking at least three in each match he bowled in. He could’ve finished the series with more but he wasn’t required to bowl at all in the final test.
With the bat, Nathan Lyon joined Mitchell Starc in frustrating England for the ninth or final wicket. In the first innings of the fifth test, he added 31 runs at number ten, hitting England’s bowler of the series- Mark Wood- for three sixes.
- Scott Boland
18 wickets @9.55
24 runs @12
The undisputed newcomer of the series burst onto the scene in the boxing day test at his home ground, the MCG. After struggling in the first innings, he took six wickets for seven runs in the second innings, bowling the tourists out for 68. Becoming undroppable, Boland remained unstoppable for the final two tests, taking 18 wickets at an average of less than 10. His pressure from one end also allowed wickets to tumble in bowling partnerships with Starc, Cummins, Green and Lyon.
Following making his debut at age 32, his doubters would certainly have disappeared after such success for a unlikely 130kph bowler.
Australian dominance
In the combined team of the series given above an Australian dominance is clear with eight representatives. Even in the three English representatives in these selections were not convincing, showing the clear separation of the men from the boys.
Zak Crawley who ‘made a difference’ when coming into the England side averaged less than the Australian opener Marcus Harris who by the last test ‘deserved to be dropped’. Similar situations come with the other picks. Wood took less wickets at only a slightly better average than that of Mitchell Starc yet his impact on the other 10 players on their respective teams seemed significantly greater.
Joe Root perhaps the only Englishman who effectively wrote himself into this team, outscored his opposing number four batter- Steve Smith- for the first time in an ashes series which they have both played in. Not to mention his impact on the scoreboard total as there was a lack of runs coming from his English teammates.
As this 11 suggests, there are positive selection headaches for the Aussie’s backroom staff with Boland bursting onto the scene in place of the absent core member Josh Hazelwood. Usman Khawaja also didn’t make this 11 due to his lack of matches played, however he outscored the number of England’s centurions in the series in one match alone.
On the other end of the spectrum, Chris Silverwood(or alternatively a replacement head coach) has an impossible task picking his squad to travel to the West Indies in February with what seems no positions in the team secured, bar that of the captain.