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England's Test record away from home is awful

29th December, 2017
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Josh Hazlewood was superb all series. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Expert
29th December, 2017
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Australia’s Test team often is lambasted as ‘home track bullies’, yet England’s record on the road is much worse, with the Ashes tourists ranked a lowly seventh away from home on wins, while Australia are first.

Australia undoubtedly need to improve on the road, yet it would shock many cricket fans to learn they have won easily more away matches than any other nation in recent years.

Counting the last series a team played in every other main Test-playing nation – bar Zimbabwe where some teams haven’t toured in many years – Australia’s tally of ten wins is comfortably the highest.

Australia have won ten of 24 Tests across their last completed series in England, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Pakistan (UAE), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the West Indies combined.

Meanwhile, England have won just five out of 26 Tests on the road over that same cycle, giving them a worse away record than Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

1. Australia – ten wins from 24 away Tests
2. Pakistan – seven wins from 20 away Tests
3. South Africa – seven wins from 21 away Tests
4. New Zealand – five wins from 20 away Tests
5. Sri Lanka – five wins from 21 away Tests
6. India – five wins from 21 away Tests
7. England – five wins from 26 away Tests

Obviously the number of wins a side registers is not the be all and end all in terms of assessing their performance, but this table does help outline which teams have struggled the most away from home conditions.

The rain which cut play short yesterday on day four of the MCG Test may prevent England from breaking their sequence of eight consecutive Test losses on Australian soil. More than 40 overs were lost to rain yesterday, with play eventually called off as Australia were 2-103, trailing by 61 runs.

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James Anderson drops a catch

(Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)

The weather forecast for Melbourne is much better today, and 98 overs of play are scheduled.

While England’s task has been made much more difficult by the rain, you still feel they’re only two wickets away from cracking the Test open.

A pair of breakthroughs in the morning session would bring to the crease Mitchell Marsh who, regardless of his extraordinary 181 at Perth, is still a batsman with a Test average of 26.

Any hope of an Australian win was but erased in the final session on day three as the home side let Stuart Broad slog his way to a 100-run stand with Alastair Cook. The best Australia can hope for today is to bat until stumps and regain some of the momentum they gave up on day three.

England again bowled well yesterday, forcing David Warner (40 from 140 balls) and Steve Smith (25 from 67 balls) to graft.

David Warner

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

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With a strike rate of 28, this is the slowest innings of Warner’s career – never before has he scored this slowly during an innings in excess of 20 runs.

England have not have managed to limit his output this series, as Warner has still made 339 runs at 68. But they have at least forced him to bide his time, with Warner scoring at a strike rate of 52, which is positively glacial by his standards.

This is also reflective of a newly-defensive approach by not just Warner but the whole Australian batting line-up. Warner’s strike rate of 64 this year is the lowest of his career, and pales in comparison to his mark of 84 across the previous three years.

As I wrote recently, Australia have scored slower this year than they have since 1999.

That caution with the blade will be required today as Australia look to stonewall England.

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