An obituary for Bazball |
Any account of the third test match, in Adelaide, inevitably becomes an obituary notice on England’s abortive attempt to wrestle the Ashes from Australia’s iron grip. There can be no doubt that trying to win the Ashes in Australia is the hardest task in the world of cricket – if further proof was needed.
The conditions, the ruthless determination of Australia’s cricketers and their huge and intensely patriotic crowds who believe that permanent possession of the Ashes is their God-given right, all help to make it the seemingly impossible task that faced Ben Stokes’s much heralded side. It has been a long time since English cricket and its supporters have experienced quite such a sense of let-down.
This third test, played on the loveliest of Australia’s main grounds, the Adelaide Oval, began with England already two matches down after only six days of cricket. The bowlers, especially Jofra Archer, who took 5/53, did a reasonable job bowling out Australia for 371 in the first innings after they had won an important toss. The main contributor was wicket keeper, Alex Carey, who made a fine 106. It was once again the batters who let England down, just as they had done in Perth and Brisbane, against a ruthlessly efficient attack which England have themselves never been able to match.
This vibrant Australian attack was now led by........