Published: Jul 18, 2015, 02:51 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 18, 2015, 04:11 AM (IST)
Australia have roared back into the Ashes 2015 with splendid performances over two days, reminding England of the humiliations of the past. Devarchit Varma underlines what the tourists have done right in order to bounce back.
Finally, Australia have arrived. They did not look like a bunch meaning business when they reached English shores on the back of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 win and a clean sweep of the West Indies where they did not even break a sweat. There were lots of hopes of thrilling and close contests in the initial stages of Ashes 2015, but a lifeless pitch at Cardiff combined with poor cricket from Australia threw all hopes out of the window. Instead, what was witnessed at Cardiff was good, disciplined cricket thwarting Australian loftiness, and the tourists facing tougher challenges than before. ALSO READ: Australia end Day Two in command against England
England was always going to be tough — which has been a norm for almost every touring side — barring South Africa in the last five years. The humiliation in the first Test by 169 runs inside four days was not enough to be justified by words that Michael Clarke used: “kick on the backside”. It was lot more than that. England challenged Australia’s discipline, their intent and their character to play the brand of cricket which they do not usually, suggesting the last Ashes will not have a large impact. ALSO READ: Where is the real David Warner?
The second Test at Lord’s presented England an opportunity to extend their advantage over Australia, and the touring side to show that they are not going to be tamed easily. After all, the way Australia played the first Test was completely uncharacteristic, and the lack of gumption showed would have raised alarms right through their ranks. They were not only outplayed by England in all departments, but their loss had equal share of playing poor cricket throughout the four days. Catch live cricket scores and updates of England vs Australia 2nd Ashes 2015 Test at Lord’s, Day 2 here
The remarkable discipline shown by Australian batsmen in the first innings at Lord’s should brighten up the mood in the camp. The Ashes 2015 series is not going to be dominated by bowlers, because England are expected to keep dishing out tracks in order to negate the Australian pace battery, and the responsibility of forcing results will be entirely on batsmen. Australia got their act right, and they made most of the opportunity of putting England under tremendous pressure by putting up a mammoth first innings total. And in the manner they snaffled England top-order batsmen; it would surely have given the blushes to the hosts who remained absolutely clueless after removing grass from the Lord’s pitch. ALSO READ: Stuart Broad, England’s only positive on a day of agony
It is possible that England will be forced to rethink their strategy — flat tracks call for batsmen to enjoy doing what they do and Australia have plenty of them. The scores of 33 and 33 at Cardiff sparked the fire in Steven Smith, who notched up the first double ton at Lord’s since 1938. The discipline, hunger and commitment shown by Chris Rogers suggest he is far from done and he is not walking off without throwing some punches.
Australia’s improved performances indicate the tourists truly mean business, and going will get tougher from here on, especially if the pitches are docile. It is all about scoring runs and putting the opposition in pressure with runs on scoreboard, and the Australians seem to have learned from their mistakes in the first Test.
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
