Even before the Ashes had started, the day-night Adelaide Test looked like the best opportunity for England to register a win on Australian soil. The pink ball under lights takes pace out of the equation – to an extent – and bowlers capable of moving the ball around become that much more dangerous. Hence the gap between England and Australia’s pace attacks should have reduced. At least on paper.
England lost the Adelaide Test as much as Australia won it. And as has become a trend of sorts in Ashes games Down Under, a lower order fightback in the first innings by the Australians made a big difference.
Australia were reduced to 294 for six with Shaun Marsh only having bowlers to give him company. Pat Cummins, just like in the first Test, cracked another invaluable forty (44) as the hosts posted 442 for eight, Marsh silencing a few critics, myself included, with an unbeaten ton.
England’s second innings fell so far short of the Aussies’ attempt that the game pretty much ended as a contest. A 215-run deficit is monumental and even though Anderson’s swing in the second innings skittled the hosts for 138, a target of 354 was always beyond a diffident England batting line-up.
There is a gulf between the sides when it comes to pace and the difference becomes stark when you look at lower-order fightbacks. Cummins scoring 42 and 44 in the first innings of both Tests is as much down to his ability as it is about the lack of bite in England’s attack. Aussies have the luxury of Mitchell Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood who bowl over 140kph even in the third and fourth spells, a period where only genuine quick bowlers retain their edge. And they have not allowed England’s lower order to cause any substantial damage. That is what pace does.
When Aussies sledge you in your DMs... 😡😡😡
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 6, 2017
Congrats chaps @davidwarner31 @stevesmith49, you’ve definitely had the last laugh.
ps can you both tread on a ball in the warm-up at at Perth? #ashes pic.twitter.com/aGbgYVwW1N
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has been equally brilliant for Australia, backing his pre-series tirade with results. Moeen Ali’s off-spin has looked innocuous in comparison.
Take those first innings lower-order rallies from Australia out of the picture and England might not have fallen so far behind. It therefore does not come as any surprise they are moving heaven and earth to bring the genuine pace of Mark Wood into the side.
The next Test is in Perth and while it is not the quickest wicket in Australia anymore, speed is going to become a bigger factor. At least in Adelaide, the bowlers could look forward to a crazy hour or so of swing under lights on all days. But on relatively flatter Aussie surfaces, only real pace will result in wickets once the sun hardens the surface by the third day.
And now that the Aussies have the tail up, expect Starc and Co to really let loose. As long as Australia have the edge in the pace department, England will lose the initiative more often than not.
If England were unsure earlier, they should be a nervous wreck by now. The domino effect is already in play and even history is not with them – the last three occasions when England have lost the first two Tests of a series they have been whitewashed.
