Chapter 1 – The Gabba Reconquista
The stage was set. The Australians’ proud Gabbatoir become just the Gabba and England after a disappointing season, had to finish on a high. They were in confidence as they had got one of their most important member, Ben Stokes, into the team. The English team was completely dominated by the Aussies on their previous tour. but now after vigorous practice and the return of the Headingley Hero, they had a real chance.
But, Mitchell Starc got a wicket of the very first ball and even Joe Root had fallen for a duck, and England, after winning the toss, were cut short to 11 for 3. But some counter-attacking knocks from Buttler and Ollie Pope got them to 147 after the carnage of Pat Cummins, the new Australian captain, with a fifer. Australia got a really good lead of 278 because of one of the best test 150s of all time by Travis Head (152 of 148). Now everyone knew that England was out of this game as the Aussie bowlers created havoc in the England camp but, England, after day 3, just trailed by 58 and lost only 2 wickets because of a wonderful and determined partnership between Malan and the Root. Just when England sensed their chances, Nathon Lyon spun a web around the English batters and they just managed to hit just 77 runs since their overnight score. He even joined the 400 wickets club after the dismissal of David Malan. With just 20 runs required, Australia easily managed to score them by 5.1 overs with a wicket lost.
This was a major setback for the Englishmen as they needed 3 wins in 4 games to win the Ashes which was a Herculean task with a formidable Aussie side. The next test match, in the Adelaide Oval, was a difficult ask for England as the Aussies were formidable under the lights with the pink ball. For England, just a small spark was required for them to lift their spirits and fight back in Adelaide.
Chapter 2 – Dominance of the Pink Adelaide
After the win at the Gabba, England had to re-think their tactics and strategy to take down an Aussie side, which has bowled out a formidable Indian Team for 36 with the Pink ball. The main problem of the English team was their batting and they had got delightful news about the number-1 test bowler and Aussie captain, Pat Cummins ruled out from the 2nd test due to being in close contact with a fellow mate and because of this, Steve Smith had was ready to take over the mantle. Again, England thought they had an opportunity with even Hazlewood ruled out of the series.
Steve Smith, won the toss in his return to captaincy and as every captain would do, he elected to bat first at the Adelaide Oval with Jyhe Richardson and Micheal Neser coming in. England went with a full-pace attack with their big guns Stuart Broad and James Anderson coming back into the playing XI. Like the first test, Australia destroyed the morale of England by posting a mammoth 473 thanks to their three big match-winners, Warner, Smith and Labuschagne. Surprisingly, England gave a strong fightback against the Aussie attack with Root and Malan stitching a wonderful 100+ partnership. However, when Joe Root was caught by Smith bowled by Green, the collapse had very much started and they were bundled out for 236. Australia chose to play again and they got to 230 because of fighting fifties from Labuschagne and Head, giving England a massive target of 468. Again the top order collapsed for England but they went on to fight till the last session of day 5 because of an impressive and brave fight from the lower order, especially Jos Buttler, who got out hit wicket unfortunately after batting out for almost 35 overs for his 26. In the end, the task of saving the test match was too much for England and they lost the 1st pink ball test by 275 runs.
Now, an Aussie Ashes looked inevitable and they just needed one solitary win for the Ashes and the series. England now really needed to get to the top of their game and it was do-or-die for them at the mighty MCG.
Chapter 3 – “There it is, the Australians up, they retain the Ashes on the back of a home town hero!”
The Australians were high in confidence after the two big wins at the Gabba and the Adelaide Oval. The Aussies even got back their new captain. Pat Cummins for the MCG Test. England just needed that little spark for a valiant counter-attack with the indomitable Aussie team.
Australia yet again won the toss but this time around, they chose to field first, bringing in hometown Scott Bolland for Micheal Neser. England got back some spin, bringing in Jack Leach for Stuart Broad. Again, the English openers went cheaply in the first ten overs and again Root and Malan steadied the ship but Malan lost his wicket just before the lunch break. Joe Root scored yet another half-century but the mantra continued again. When Root got out just after a fifty, the middle and lower order collapsed and England was bundled out for 185. But, the English bowling surprised everyone by bundling out Australia for just 267 with James Anderson being the star and this gave Australia a lead of 82 runs. This gave England some belief that they could win the game. However, they completely collapsed in the last hour with a score of just 28 and a loss of 4 wickets. Now England would think for at least a 150+ lead but in the morning of day 3, they were completely washed away by Scott Boland, who made his debut match, crushing England with a spell of 4 overs, 7 runs and 6 wickets. England was destroyed for just 67 runs and Australia, yet again, retained the mantle.
Now the Ashes were done, both teams were eyeing important WTC points, especially England who were now desperate by the triple trashing they had just received. England not only played for some WTC points, but for some dignity in the next two matches Now, it was headed to the SCG, which offers much to the batters.
Chapter-4 The England Resistance
England was thumped by the Aussies in the first three matches and they went to the SCG for at least a win in the Ashes and most importantly some WTC points which England needed to get urgently. For Australia, the dressing room and the players were now calm and relaxed and they could give some youngsters opportunities in the upcoming 2 test matches.
Again the hosts won the toss and they elected to bat first with the Sydney Thunder skipper Usman Khawaja coming in for Travis Head. England also had only one change with Stuart Broad coming in for Ollie Robinson. Australia’s top-order made a decent start with the openers putting up a steady 50 run partnership and Smith played a brilliant 67. But, Usman Khawaja stole the show and notched up a beautiful and brave century in his comeback to international contribution. In the end, Australia got to a very challenging score of 416. In the English reply, the story of the previous test matches repeated, with another collapse of the top and middle order. However, Jonny Bairstow played resilient innings against the Aussies and he scored an amazing score of 129 to give England a respectable total of 294. In their second innings, Australia managed to get 265 on the board because of another Ussie (Khawaja) special 100. The visitors had to chase 388 for winning the test match with 113 overs to go. But, surprisingly, England put up a determined fight and they were closing in for a draw. However, a magical over from the captain changed the game drastically but contributions from Jack Leach and Stuart Broad helped England to defy the Aussies a win and they got their first WTC points on their tour of Australia.
England was relieved after the draw and they wanted to put up a good fight like the Sydney test which was a Pink ball Test at Hobart. Australia also wanted to continue their Pink-Dominance and get some useful WTC points.
Chapter 5 – Pink-Dominance Continues, Aussies clinch Ashes 4-0
It was a really disappointing tour for England so far and they wanted to bag that last test match for them to cheer something in this tour. For Australia, the new Aussie captain had a fantastic run in his first test series as captain.
Joe Root won the toss finally and they decided to have a bowl. England almost completely changed their playing 11 with 5 changes. But Australia just brought in one change with Travis Head coming in and Khawaja getting the opportunity to open with Warner. England completely shackled the top-order by reducing them to 12 runs for 3 wickets but good recoveries from Travis Head, who scored a wonderful century and Cameron Green brought Australia just above the 300 mark. Most of the English batsmen got good starts to their innings but they failed to capitalize on it and they were bundled out for 188. England again destroyed the Aussie top-order but a resilient inning from Alex Carey got them to 155, setting England a target of 271. England’s openers started brilliantly by adding a massive 68 run partnership but a brilliant spell from Green reduced them to 83. Then the other Aussie bowlers pitched in and England was reduced to “Ashes” by just getting to 124. Australia successfully won the Ashes but a huge margin 4-0.
The visitors went disappointing back to England while some went to play in the West Indies. Australia’s reconquest was complete by avenging their defeat to India in their previous summer. One extra thing I would like to mention is Nathan Lyon’s patience. Hobart was a track for pace bowling so Green got some overs to bowl and Lyon didn’t even bowl a single over in the test. However, he at least contributed an entertaining knock in the first innings of 31 of just 27 balls, which consisted of 3 sixes.