Published: Jul 12, 2015, 12:06 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 12, 2015, 12:06 AM (IST)
Australia’s shocking performance in all departments in the first Ashes 2015 Test calls for serious introspection, as a 169-run thrashing cannot be treated as just another defeat. Devarchit Varma has more. READ: England thrash Australia by 169 runs in Ashes 2015 1st Test at Cardiff
Among the primary reasons Australia won The Ashes 2013-14 Down Under in such emphatic manner was the fact that they had a deep motivation to end the recurring humiliation at the hands of England. They had the challenge to prove that they were not a generation of Australian cricketers who were going to stand by and get beaten by England all the time. They still had pride left in them and their cricket. READ: Sky Sports and ‘We didn’t Start the Fire’: What do the words mean?
There had been serious reasons for Australia to succeed back then, but none of them stands ground today. Michael Clarke and his men have enjoyed a lot of success across formats recently. A thumping clean-sweep in an Ashes series does not come by often. Clarke and this bunch have achieved a lot, and there is no question about their abilities. READ: Australia must learn to thrive on flat decks
That being said, it is time for Australia to ask serious questions of themselves; do they really want to win The Ashes 2015? Do they really want to beat England in England? If yes, how? READ: England wasting Joe Root at No. 5
It is a fact that in the recent past Australia have struggled on slow wickets. England prepared one such slow track in the first Test, and in all probability the remaining four venues will dish out more of the same. So where does Australia go from here? They will certainly not want to take the dust off the Ashes Urn and return it to England. They will want to show some character and do whatever it takes to win. READ: Australia paying price for being slack against England
The manner in which the first Ashes 2015 Test panned out made it evident that if Australia have to win this series, they will have to play a brand of cricket which is uncharacteristic of them. They will have to find ways to take 20 wickets on pitches unlike anything they have in their own backyard. Most importantly, they will also have to grab all chances with both hands — unlike the literal one-handed, half-concentrated effort by Brad Haddin that dropped the match for Australia. READ: Ashes 2015 without sledging will lack flavour
Australia’s downfall in the first Test was staggering; nothing in the recent past suggested it will all pan out so miserably for them. The difference between both teams was not in the game plan, it was in execution and belief. Australia looked a happy bunch at the start of the Day One, but their zeal fizzled out in the initial overs and it never returned. They never looked like a team that believed in its abilities or that results could be forced on such wickets. England showed them how it is done. READ: Australia’s ‘Dad’s Army’ leader Chris Rogers makes intention clear
If they eventually lose this series, this Australian team will not be the one to leave English shores beaten. There have been many in the past and there will be many in the future. Victories and defeats constitute the game. But whether these Australians want to join the band of teams who have not won Ashes in England since 2001, or rewrite history, and prove that ‘Australianism’ has not perished, the doggedness still runs in their veins, is the test. READ: The Moeen Ali conundrum
We will get to know all this in next couple of weeks. For now, England can breathe a huge sigh of relief, and Australia can lick their wounds. But that is not all. Mitchell Starc may miss second Test, and Mitchell Johnson assures almost nothing on slow decks. Shane Watson’s nightmare in England is not over, and Brad Haddin is fading out fast. READ: Ashes 2015, Cardiff: Tale of Two Tails
There are questions to be answered; there are bodies and a dented confidence to be healed. READ: Where was the intensity at Cardiff?
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
