After demolishing the West Indies 2-0, Australia is all set to start their tour of England with confidence.
They have lots to prove. Firstly, they have not won the Ashes in England in 14 years.
The last time they held aloft the celebrated urn in England was under Steve Waugh when Australia thrashed England 4-1. Since then they have lost the Ashes three times in England, 1-2 in 2005, 1-2 in 2009 and 0-3 in 2013.
However, convincing wins over India at home and the Windies overseas as well as the World Cup 2015 victory must have given Michael Clarke’s men a lot of ‘we can do it’ mindset.
In the just concluded two-Test series, two Australian batsmen averaged over 140 with the bat (Steven Smith with 283 runs at 141.50 and Adam Voges with 167 at 167.00) and four Aussie bowlers averaged under 20 with the ball (fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood, 12 wickets at 8.83, Mitchell Starc, 10 at 16.00, and Mitchell Johnson, eight at 18.62, while off-spinner Nathan Lyon took eight wickets at 19.25).
Granted that the West Indians provided poor opposition, Australia should take these statistics as a morale-booster when taking on Alastair Cook’s Englishmen in the five-Test series starting on July 8.
The brightest spot for Australia is the Bradman-esque batting form of Steven Smith, who turned 26 this month.
In his last six Tests, four against India in 2014-15 in Australia and two against the Windies this month, he has amassed 1052 runs at 131.50 with five centuries (top scores being 199 and 192) and three fifties.
This has justified him being ranked number one batsman in the Test arena.
In the Ashes in England in 2013 he was one of the few batting successes, scoring 345 runs at 38.33 with a century (138 not out at The Oval) and two fifties.
Australia need him to fire over the next two months to retain the Ashes they had won 5-0 in Australia in 2013-14, especially as Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson are approaching retirement.
I expect the pace bowling of Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will provide problems for the English batsmen. If fit, Ryan Harris will find the seaming pitches of England to his liking.
They will be backed up by the off-spin of Nathan Lyon and the leg-spin of Fawad Ahmed.
Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann expects that England will play like Australia.
“That’s what they’re trying to do, so it’s going to be on for young and old. It’s going to be entertaining for everyone and it’s going to be an exciting series”, he told Daniel Brettig from CricInfo.
“They’re going to be tough over there as we know and if they’re going to play that way it’s going to be the team that handles that pressure the best.
“From our point of view this [West Indies tour] is a great lead-in to that tour and now it’s about getting prepared for the Ashes. They’ve got some things they’re trying to work on and Trevor Bayliss will have them getting the way they want to play and he has got to do that pretty quickly.”
Let us compare the results of the combatants since December 2014 at Test level. Australia has won four of their six Tests home and away with two drawn.
England has won two of their five Tests away and home, losing two and drawing one.
Since December 2014 Australia has won both the series (against India and West Indies) comfortably, while England has not won a single series (against West Indies and New Zealand).
If the Aussie quickies bowl as accurately as their Kiwi cousins, Australia should retain the Ashes 3-1.
The Aussie needed every centimetre of his height and reach to reel that one in!
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