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Down 2-1 in this Ashes series, Australia will hand back the urn if they lose the fourth Test starting tomorrow in Nottingham.
Here’s my ratings of the Australian players so far.
Chris Rogers: 8.5/10 – 385 runs at an average of 77
The patient left-hander has again demonstrated the value of a grafting, clever opening batsman, playing the ball late with soft hands. His career record against English quicks Stuart Broad and a James Anderson is sensational.
Rogers will leave a gaping hole in Australia’s top order when he retires at the end of this series.
Josh Hazlewood: 8/10 – 14 wickets at 22
Comfortably the leading wicket-taker for the series, Hazlewood has confirmed that his extraordinary efforts in the West Indies were no fluke. His suffocating accuracy, sharp lift and subtle swing has tested all of the English batsmen, even on the benign decks of the first two Tests.
Hazlewood looks set to become one of the dominant players in Test cricket.
Nathan Lyon: 8/10
This is shaping as a breakout series for Lyon, who has a solid career record but has tended to struggle outside of Australia. Consistently a handful on bouncy home pitches, Lyon now has managed to flourish on surfaces which have not offered much assistance to slow bowlers.
He has comprehensively out-bowled Moeen Ali, regularly making crucial breakthroughs.
Steve Smith: 7/10 – 354 runs at 59
In the second Test, Smith became the first Australian since 1938 to score a double ton at Lord’s. It was an extraordinary innings which confirmed to English followers why he had soared up the Test rankings since the last Ashes.
Outside of that Lord’s Test though, he has had a poor series. At Cardiff he twice looked in complete control before throwing away his wicket for 33. In the third Test he failed twice as Australia were pummelled.
David Warner: 6/10 – 269 runs at 45
Warner has been in a form trough for seven to eight months now, with a poor World Cup followed by a sub-par tour of the Caribbean and a middling Ashes so far.
His run haul this series looks good on paper but a lack of first innings runs – 57 runs from three innings – counts against him.
Peter Nevill: 6/10 – 106 runs at 35, plus 10 dismissals
Has been OK with the gloves since replacing Haddin but, most relevantly, he has shown the kind of grit with the blade which his predecessor was not known for. His tenacity and circumspection when batting is just what the Australian middle order requires.
Mitchell Starc: 5.5/10 – 12 wickets at 32, plus 98 runs at 24
Starc’s spells this series have ranged from the phenomenal to the shocking. At his peak, swinging the ball late at 150km/h, he has been as impressive as any bowler in the series.
His consistency continues to be a concern, although he is a natural wicket-taker, and with 12 wickets at 32 he has been a reasonable contributor.
Mitchell Johnson: 5.5/10 – 10 wickets at 34, plus 123 runs at 25
Johnson has been marginally more reliable than Starc but still has failed to have an impact in two of the three Tests. His performance at Lord’s was a throwback to the carnage of 2013-14.
Mitchell Marsh: 4/10 – 45 runs at 15, plus three wickets at 21
Has been surprisingly effective with the ball and has been underused by Clarke, bowling just 19 overs across four English innings. Marsh’s main role though is to make runs and he’s floundered with the blade. At 23 years old he is still a pup in all-rounder terms and must be given time to adapt to Test cricket.
Shane Watson: 2/10 – 49 runs at 24, plus 0-49 with the ball
It was the same old Shane Watson – failing to make runs when it counts and getting trapped in front for fun. His Test career surely is now over.
Michael Clarke – 2/10 – 94 runs at 19
Clarke has not looked likely to make a meaningful contribution with the bat so far. Combined with some unexpectedly lacklustre on-field tactics, the Australian skipper has had a shocker.
It will come as a surprise if he makes runs in either of the last two Tests.
Adam Voges – 2/10 – 73 runs at 15
Leading into this Ashes, 35-year-old Voges shaped as the man who could add some gumption to Australia’s faltering middle order. Instead, he’s contributed to its further breakdown with some uncharacteristically lazy dismissals.
Brad Haddin: 2/10 – 29 runs at 15 plus five dismissals
It now appears that Haddin’s Test career is finished and the circumstances scarcely could have been more unfortunate. He had, however, been badly out of touch for a long time and, just a few months from turning 38 years old, his time was up.
England ratings
Stuart Broad – 8/10 – 12 wickets at 27, and 99 runs at 20
Joe Root – 8/10 – 313 runs at 63, and four wickets at 30
Steven Finn – 8/10 – eight wickets at 15
Moeen Ali – 6.5/10 – 190 runs at 38, and 9 wickets at 46.
Ben Stokes – 6/10 – 181 runs at 36, and two wickets at 100.
James Anderson – 6/10 – 10 wickets at 27
Ian Bell – 6/10 – 191 runs at 38
Alastair Cook – 5/10 – 180 runs at 30
Mark Wood – 4/10 – five wickets at 50
Jos Buttler – 3/10 – 67 runs at 13
Gary Ballance – 3/10 – 98 runs at 24
Adam Lyth – 2/10 – 72 runs at 12
Jonny Bairstow – 1/10 – 5 runs at 5