Australia 5 – 0 England
Defying expectations of a defeat before the series, the Australian cricket team has taken revenge by sweeping England cleanly in the Ashes. England had shown supremacy in the Ashes played in England earlier this year wherein they had won by 3-0, but the hype created by the British media was somewhat excessive.
The way that Kevin Pietersen was given the status of a legend and James Anderson was portrayed as the supreme bowler who cannot be beaten, it was a little unrealistic. But then, over the years, the Ashes urn has become so prestigious, that the team winning it automatically gets the status of a world beater.
Though they were well beaten in England, the Australians had no option but to wait till the beginning of the Ashes to be played in Australia. In England, the Australian players – especially Pattinson, Lyon and Starc – had failed miserably. On the other hand, their batsmen like Watson, Hughes and Khawaja were also not able to contribute much.
With a very close defeat in the very first match, team Australia got demoralized in the beginning and could not recover till the last match played in England. The benefit of home ground and huge local support also played a major role in the victorious journey of England.
So, Australia had to affect the required changes in order to equal the score. Not only did the whole team player like a compact integrated unit, but they were determined to excel in front of their home crowd. First of all, Mitchell Johnson was recalled and he has proved his worth, as he has taken 37 wickets in this series, with a wonderful average of 14.
George Bailey also contributed well in his first ever Test series. In a very fruitful change, Shane Watson was sent to bat at number 3 position, which proved to a good decision. Also, in order to take revenge, few of the Australian players such as David Warner raised their game. He has scored more than 500 runs in this series. Lyon has been spreading magic throughout his bowling and was successful in containing the batsmen of England.
Haddin and Smith bailed out their team from sinking on a number of occasions through their excellent batting. England had have their own problems which led to their defeat – such as Trott, who had gone back early in the tour owing to stress. Swann retired in the middle of the series and no suitable replacement could be found so soon.
But overall many of the fans felt that the England team was riding on the waves of overconfidence and a sense of complacency led them to a gross defeat. Although team England did try to take necessary remedial steps and the vice captain Prior was shunted out, but this was of no avail.
However, the Austrailans have displayed their tremendous fighting spirit and their never say die attitude. Team India should learn how to win a lost battle from Australia. The name of the game is to keep the things simple and give your best. Congratulations to Clarke for his excellent leadership.