The only Brits and Australians who don’t remember that amazing 06/07 Ashes series are those who were not born, or liars.
The manner of defeat Australia heaped upon their English foes was ruthless, unforgettable, and changed the face of English cricket, but one might wonder how it stacks up against the 3-0 score line that we have borne witness to in the series current.
Well wonder no more, Roarers, as I take you through a brief comparison of that famous Ashes whitewash with the present series thus far.
The first thing to look at is the batting. In the 06/07 series, Australia batted nine times, scoring a total of 3114 runs at an average of 346 runs per innings. However if you take away the 46 they scored in the final innings of the series, the average is a hefty 383.5 runs per innings.
England, on the other hand, batted a maximum ten times, scoring 2530 runs at an average of 253 per innings.
Compare that to the current series, and Australia have batted six times, scoring 2152 runs at an average of 358.6
England has also batted six times, scoring a total of 1403 runs at 233.83.
The statistic is fairly even for both sides, but the gap in averages in both series tells a story of Australia dominating significantly with both bat and ball.
From a bowling perspective, in 06/07 Australia took 96 out of a possible 100 wickets.
The only time England weren’t bowled out was during Adelaide, where they dominated the first two days of the Test match to amass an intimidating 551 declared for the loss of six wickets.
In total, England’s average runs scored for each wicket in the series was 26.3, almost 30 runs behind Australia’s average of 53.6, which came at the cost of only 59 wickets out of 90 available.
Currently, England has lost all 60 of their wickets at an average of 23.38, three runs behind where they were seven years ago.
Australia’s average has decreased by six, having lost 45 wickets out of a possible 60 at an average of 47.82
Australia’s batsmen have fired in this series, and their median batting average for the series is 44.24 for the ten players that have been dismissed. Four individual batsmen are averaging above 40 for the series.
Conversely, England’s median batting average is a rather pathetic 19.5, with Ben Stokes being their only representative in the plus-40 club.
In 06/07 the Australian batsmen averaged 46.46 with eight of them scoring at above 40, with the English variety averaging 20.93 with only Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood reaching above 40.
Australia only used 12 players during the 06/07 Ashes, when Andrew Symonds replaced Damien Martyn after the Adelaide Test, following the latter’s shock retirement.
This time round, the same 11 has donned the baggy green for each Test thus far. England have been more inclined to alter their line-up in the current series, using 14 players so far, having used the same amount over the five Tests during their last Ashes loss. After their maladroit performances so far, however, expect that number to rise.
In the bowling department, Australia has put forth a much improved performance, with the five front line bowlers have an overall average of 24.7.
That number rises up to 30.25 when one includes Steven Smith’s wicket in Adelaide, but for all intents and purposes, it’s the former which counts. Seven years ago, Australia’s overall bowling average was 26.83. Take a bow, Mitchell Johnson.
England has also improved in this area, with their seven wicket taking bowling sharing an average of 54.89. I have included Monty Panesar’s disastrous match figures of 2/199 in this because he was selected as a front line bowler in the sole Test he has played in. In 06/07 they averaged 57.59.
Individually, Australia’s domination reflects the score lines of both series, with nine centuries scored in 06/07 and two five-wicket hauls being garnered. This time round, and after only three Tests, Australia has scored seven centuries and has the same amount of five-fors.
England’s highlights reel will be much shorter this time round, though, as Ben Stokes is their only centurion, and they have only taken one five-wicket haul. In 06/07 they had three tons, and an extra bowling milestone to their name.
So what does this all tell us?
The first obvious thing is that these series are very, very similar. While both sides are down in most areas, the consistency in numbers across a variety of different fields indicated that the deplorable England that turned up seven years ago is back for more.
It also tells us that Australia are relying on less batsmen to score most of the runs this time round, with a less even spread of run scoring down the batting card.
This was an area of concern for the Australians before the series began, and while many players in the side look to have found their feet, George Bailey’s number six spot is still in very wet concrete.
The other final nugget of discussion these statistics might provide surrounds England’s line-up for the final two Tests.
In 06/07 they didn’t alter their top six once, except for moving Pietersen from five to four halfway through the Boxing Day Test. If they wish to avoid another humiliating whitewash, perhaps they ought to reconsider that theory.
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