Australia head into the Ashes series against England undercooked in terms of their preparation for the defense of the urn. The Aussies have not played a Test match since January, and that resulted in 2-1 defeat at the hands of an understrength India side.
Although England will bring arguably their weakest squad down under in a generation, particularly their batting line-up, the Baggy Greens cannot afford to be overconfident given their own litany of issues. It would be no surprise to those that bet on cricket that Australia are the overwhelming favorites for the series, priced at odds of 1.25.
The Aussies have won the last two Ashes on home soil without losing a match, including a 5-0 whitewash in the 2013/14 series along with a 4-0 defeat of England in the last encounter down under four years ago. The odds are stacked against Joe Root and his team, who will be without key players Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for the tour. Despite a weakened England team, all is not rosy in the Australian camp.
Justin Langer continued his bizarre antics by reportedly criticizing Cricket Australia’s media after a T20 defeat to Bangladesh. The Aussie coach is under pressure in his role and has not been aided by the fact that the players are not taken with his management style. Both he and Tim Paine will be in the crossfires of the media before the series. Anything other than a convincing Australia win will be seen as a failure, considering their recent dominance of England on home soil.
Steve Smith will carry the run-scoring burden for the hosts. He has put England to the sword in the last four Ashes series, despite his off-the-field issues. He was made to look human by India, scoring only one century in eight innings at an average of 44.71. Smith does relish playing against the Three Lions, and will no doubt be motivated by the jeers of the Barmy Army. The 32-year-old was in stellar form in 2019, allowing his team to leave England with the urn in their 2-2 draw. However, the pressure will be on him to remain at the peak of his powers.
Marnus Labuschagne has eased the burden on Smith. The right-hander has been sensational in the early days of his Test career and displayed an appetite for the battle in the last Ashes series. At the age of 27, he could be the defining player of the five-match series to continue to enhance his reputation as one of the finest batsmen in the game. Labuschagne too will have to perform as the options are thin on the ground outside of him and Smith.
David Warner has struggled mightily against England both home and abroad, while the opening slot alongside him has been a revolving door, with Marcus Harris the latest to fail the audition. Joe Burns, Travis Head and Cameron Green have also unconvincing at the highest level, which will give England hope if they can prise out Smith and Labuschagne cheaply.
Australia’s potent attack should have the same level of success against England, although one injury may open the door for Root and his team. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have displayed surprising durability for fast bowlers, and were the key cogs in the victory in the 2017/18.
James Pattinson and Peter Siddle were active in 2019 to prove the depth to rotate the attack, but Pattinson’s injury woes have sidelined him from the action and the latter has retired from the highest form of the game. Michael Neser and Jackson Bird are options, but neither have been convincing in their rare outings. Australia have to keep their pace trio fit for the entirety of the five-match series.
An outsiders’ perspective suggests that Australia should romp to another victory over England, but the series could be closer than many predict as there are cracks in the Aussie side. Whether the Three Lions are good enough to expose them remains to be seen.