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Have Australia really been the better team in this Ashes?

Roar Guru
14th September, 2019
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Roar Guru
14th September, 2019
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At the end of a pulsating Ashes series, we should ask whether the side retaining the urn have been the better side.

But leaving two men aside, the rest of the batsmen for Australia have hardly stood up to the challenge.

While the tourists have managed to retain the urn – mainly around one man, Steve Smith – have they indeed been the better team among the two?

Or did England’s selection blunders, reprieves and an untimely injury to Jimmy Anderson leave the door ajar for Australia to find a sniff?

Perhaps this question has been brewing since the time Smith remarkably sparked Australia’s comeback at Edgbaston. For a brief moment, it seemed like Australia’s batsmen would find their feet as the series progressed. And Smith was critical in reminding his colleagues to spend time in the middle to earn the runs.

But Smith – despite getting just enough support – has continued to show that he stands a country mile above the rest.

Steve Smith.

(Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

As it stands, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are the only ones to have made watertight cases to feature in the first Test at the Gabba in November against Pakistan.

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The likes of Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw, Will Pucovski and Kurtis Patterson all have a massive window of opportunity to press their cases. Usman Khawaja may have played his final Test. His dominant record Down Under could still earn a recall.

In stark contrast, despite failing to retain the Ashes, the Englishmen have held the upper hand for the most part.

Unlike Australia, England have made the harsh calls by leaving out batsmen who repeatedly make poor showings. While the visitors have altered their opening combinations, they haven’t learnt their lessons. It originates from their selection verdicts.

As a result, England’s openers fared better than their opponents’. Their new-ball bowlers have had the wood over the opening batsmen. The skipper Joe Root has utilised their reviews more judiciously than his counterpart Tim Paine.

However, identical to the Australian summer of 2017-18, Smith’s extraterrestrial and undisputed genius single-handedly left England light years behind. He was the difference.

Unlike the previous few Ashes series, when there was a vast gulf between the winner and loser, this series has been different for several factors.

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And it’s hard to be convinced that Australia were the better team.

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