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It may yet turn out to be the single most ingenious moment in Australian cricket scheduling in recent memory.
England, current holder of The Ashes but down 0-2 in the series, having just three days to get over nine days of cricket they’d rather forget, and prepare to keep the series alive on arguably the fastest wicket in world cricket.
Oh, and it’s going to be a touch warm in the west this weekend.
If England expected to cop some heat in Perth, they’ll get heat and then some: 38°C is forecast for the first three days of the Third Test, 39°C is tipped for next Monday, and then the cooler change arrives for the final day, when it’s only expected to reach 37°C!
Credit where it’s due, Cricket Australia calendar-builders, you’ve got this one just about perfect!
While the margin of the loss in Adelaide was less than the one England sustained in Brisbane, the psychological damage from the Second Test loss could run much deeper.
If nothing else, the turnaround time between the Second and Third Tests will necessitate a much swifter recovery.
So what needs to happen in Perth?
Well, I’m glad you asked…
England needs to play to win
Seems like an obvious statement to lead off with, and it’s obvious because it’s true. England can’t just play to survive, as that would almost certainly fall into Australia’s hands.
They must go into this match with a positive intent, a fresh attitude, and believing that this is the start of the three-Test series that they must win 3-0.
To do that, they probably need to maintain the aggressive approach that their bats took into Adelaide, albeit with much improved shot selection and execution.
That’s going to mean a better awareness of where the Australian quicks are bowling, what field is set, and how far the ball is carrying and running off the bat.
England have more than enough talent to set match-winning totals, it’s just that their self-discipline has let them down at times in the first two Tests.
When bowling, England need to put as much into giving it back to the Aussie as they do with the sledging. Fight fire with fire, but don’t get carried away with the extra bounce like Steve Finn did three years ago.
England bowling coach, David Saker, has played enough in Perth himself to know what lines and lengths work, and the English quicks are good enough to execute those plans.
Likewise, Alastair Cook needs to hold his nerve with his field placements, and ensure he’s not too reactive.
Cook needs to relax
Alastair Cook hasn’t made nearly 8000 Test runs by playing silly shots like he did in the second innings in Adelaide, or by forgetting which arm Mitchell Johnson bowls with, like he did in the first.
I haven’t done the side-by-side comparison to know this, but my hunch is that Cook isn’t standing as tall as he was in Australia in 2010/2011. While he remains still as the ball is bowled, I suspect that he’s actually playing his shots from a lower, more hunched over position on address than he’s done in the past.
There are a number of things fuelling this suspicion.
For one, his balance seems off, for his straight drives, and for most shots on the leg-side. He looks to be falling toward the offside, a symptom of not standing tall and reduced footwork.
Secondly, he seems to be playing his hook and pull shots in the air more than I can remember. By not standing tall, and starting from a lower position, he runs the risk of playing those shots on the up, or top-edging them like he did in the second dig in Adelaide.
Relax, Cookie. You’re too good a batsmen to play a panicked innings.
Australia cannot relax
And I’m sure they won’t. There is no more important Test that this one right now, and Australia need to capitalise on their momentum and keep the foot on England’s throat.
Darren Lehmann might’ve let it slip during a CATV #AskBoof QandA video yesterday that an unchanged XI is likely, and I think this is a good move.
Said Lehmann, in response to a question of the possibility of Brisbane and Adelaide 12th Man James Faulkner playing in Perth, “We’ll have to look at the wicket first and foremost, see what it’s like. If we think it warrants him (Faulkner) playing and the four quicks so be it.
“But, look, it’s going to be hot weather here – it’s 35 and getting up to 40 on Monday – so we’ll probably … I think we’ll play the spinner.”
The bounce is just as likely to aid Lyon as it will the quicks, and the cross-breeze that normally prevails at the WACA will quite likely help his drift and drop.
This of course will also be true for Graeme Swann, or indeed Monty Panesar, if he gets the nod.
The Aussies might be tempted to send England into bat in Perth, as Glenn Mitchell wondered on the Cheap Seats podcast this week, so as to maintain the pressure on their batting order, but I’m still a bit torn on this idea.
I think there’s a lot of benefit in runs on the board, though it’s worth remembering that England had Australia 3/28 inside the first hour three years ago, 5/69 just after Lunch, and all out 268 with about an hour of the first day left.
Of course England were all out 187 themselves by Tea on Day 2, despite Cook and Andrew Strauss putting on 78 for the first wicket. Their tale of woe had a familiar ring: MG Johnson 17.2-5-38-6.
This kind of roundabout logic just underlines my indecision!
Both teams need to win for their captain’s milestone
There’s a nice symmetry about Cook and Michael Clarke both playing their 100th Test in that same match, and both teams should be desperate to ensure their respective captain brings up his milestone with a win.
Of course, the implications of those wins will be very different for each team, not to mention the implications for the men themselves.
Michael Clarke has maintained throughout that he or his captaincy won’t be defined by The Ashes, but I suspect that might change should his team win his 100th Test.
Likewise, Alastair Cook will not be relishing the idea of relinquishing the urn to this Australian team while in charge of one of the best English teams in history.
It all makes for an enthralling contest, and I can’t wait.