Ashes analysis: Perth implosion a familiar theme for England

The fallout still continues to rumble on after England dramatically spurned a huge opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the Ashes and end their drought Down Under, instead left needing to pick themselves up from a crushing blow as the series heads to Brisbane for the Day-Night Test.

Any pre-series optimism amongst English fans has quickly evaporated with fears of another one-sided contest brewing, whilst the level of build-up and hype left cricket fans who braved the early starts rather short-changed in what was a ‘blink and you miss it’ Test match that was more farcical than the TV coverage would have you believe.

The Perth opener was only the 26th Test match in history to be concluded within two days, and the first Ashes contest to do so since 1921, whilst the 847 balls bowled in total was 64 fewer than South Africa faced over the weekend in their first innings during a series-clinching victory over India.

The irony was Travis Head ‘bazballed’ one of the all-time great Ashes centuries as a makeshift opener to dismantle an England attack who themselves had run rampant just 24 hours previously, as long-term plans to hit the Aussies with a high-octane bowling unit initially came to fruition, if only they were given some support from their batters.

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Patience begins to wear thin

England were bowled out twice within a total of 67.3 overs, including losing nine wickets in one session, as they rapidly squandered a 105-run lead just one wicket down early in the afternoon session, only to have lost the match by the end of the day.

It was almost a sense of satisfaction with their batting efforts that did not sit right for many and what feels like a lack of accountability that comes with their freedom to express themselves, with the decision to prioritise net sessions and forgo any pink-ball match practice over the coming days doing little to help their cause.

Unfortunately for all the good that has come from the England Test side over the last few years, the Perth display was just another example of the bad closely associated with patience rapidly starting to wear thin.

Edgbaston and Lord’s (The Ashes, 2023)

We have been here before with Australia at the start of an Ashes series, with England finding themselves rather unnecessarily 2-0 down and facing a mountain to climb, which they very nearly did.

In the opener at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes made the bold decision to declare late on day one with the score racing along to 393-8 and Joe Root unbeaten on 118, which ultimately proved costly as Australia’s lower order edged their side over the line in a nerve-shredding final session.

Had England managed to claim those final two wickets, then the narrative may have been different, but in a game of close margins, those potential 20, 30 or even 40 extra runs could have been decisive in at least securing a draw – though we know by now that would never have come under Stokes’ consideration.

If Edgbaston felt a missed opportunity, then Lord’s was certainly that, remembered mostly for Jonny Bairstow’s ill-judged wandering out of his crease and all the chaos that ensued, but England had already let that Test match slip before Stokes’ heroics with the bat threatened another Headingley 2019.

England were 188-1 in their first innings, in response to Australia’s 416, and with Nathan Lyon suffering an injury which ruled out his involvement with the ball, the hosts inexplicably fell into the trap of short-pitched bowling and fell one by one, hooking to fielders in the deep as they were all out for 325.

The Oval (Sri Lanka, 2024 and India, 2025)

The Oval has witnessed many iconic moments in English Test cricket, but in recent years has not been home to some of their finest moments.

A fairly low-key 2024 Test summer against two sub-par opposition in West Indies and Sri Lanka saw England aiming to complete a second series whitewash, but a perhaps more relaxed attitude may have caught up to them on the field – encapsulated by the rather left-field selection of 20-year-old debutant Josh Hull.

England were bowled out in the second innings for just 156 to set Sri Lanka a much more manageable target of 219, though it was the first innings where the match really shifted as the hosts collapsed from 261-3 to 325 all out in the space of 17 overs against an old ball.

Earlier this year, in the culmination of the epic series with India, England once again arrived at the Oval without captain Ben Stokes available and an under-strength bowling attack – made worse by Chris Woakes’ shoulder injury whilst fielding – but still managed to squander a golden opportunity to secure a series victory.

Having failed to punish India in their first innings, England found themselves well set at 301-3, chasing 374 with centurions Joe Root and Harry Brook at the crease, only to fold in a remarkable sequence of events to fall six runs short.

Such was the dramatic theatre of it all to end what was a great advert for Test cricket, as well as the bravery displayed by Woakes to walk out to the middle with his arm in a sling to try and help his side win the match, perhaps slightly brushed under the carpet, one of England’s biggest fumbles in recent times.

Wellington (New Zealand, 2023)

England and New Zealand. The barest of margins. This time it was New Zealand’s turn after they became only the fourth side to win a Test after following-on and just the second to win by one run.

Whether Ben Stokes’ decision to enforce the follow-on early on day three was the right one or not is only ever judged in hindsight, but it did allow the hosts a route back into the contest and built unnecessary pressure on a final innings chase of 257, which they failed to handle in truly dramatic fashion.

Rajkot and Ranchi (India, 2024)

England’s 4-1 defeat in India did not quite tell the full story, as the tourists had openings in the third and fourth Test to potentially have more to show from that tour than just the victory in Hyderabad.

In Rajkot, England were 224-2 and Ben Duckett was flying until Joe Root failed to connect properly with an attempted reverse-scoop of Jasprit Bumrah, which triggered a collapse of 95-8 – 217-18 if you include a dismal second innings that followed.

Ranchi was arguably more frustrating as England had established a slender first innings lead, though it could have been more had India not recovered from 177-7 to 307, before England collapsed to lose seven wickets for 35 runs second time around to set India a target which should have been much more than 192.

Dharamsala and Hamilton (India, 2024 and New Zealand, 2024)

Not so much a case of “how have England managed to lose this?” but more a seemingly lack of care or interest in an end-of-series dead-rubber.

There have been instances mentioned above where England were on the wrong end of a close encounter, but too often under this regime, when England have lost, it has been in quite spectacular style.

England had been competitive for large parts of their tour of India, but at 3-1 down going into the fifth Test, they looked in a desperate rush to get on the plane as their batting crumbled twice to lose by an innings.

Unlike in India, the most recent series in New Zealand had already been secured, but there was to be no 3-0 victory as England fell to a heavy 423-run defeat, with the batters dismissed twice in a combined 83 overs.

Bazball on the brink?

The manner of the Perth defeat, and the occasion in which it occurred after all the pre-series hype, certainly ranks as one of the worst defeats in the Bazball era.

There is now a real danger, if not already, that Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ leadership is losing connection with the English support and where the future lies should they suffer another humiliating away Ashes defeat over the next six weeks.

The feel-good factor from that first summer against New Zealand in 2022 seems a distant memory and whilst there will always be a lot to admire and enjoy about the way England go about their business, the priority to deliver what they consider to be ‘entertaining’ cricket and be a saviour to Test cricket is growing increasingly frustrating.

Questions will continue to be asked about the fundamental success of Bazball.

England must respond in the Brisbane showdown

Failing to win a home series against Australia and India, yet to reach the final of the World Test Championship and an inability to adapt to conditions not so strongly in favour of the batters, as well as defeats on their last two tours of the sub-continent – India in particular almost excused when New Zealand and recently South Africa have proved is perhaps not the insurmountable challenge it was perceived to be.

That is not to say opposition players, like Travis Head, can not be commended for a special innings, and there have been times when England have won games from unlikely scenarios due to their Bazball mindset but there has been a consistent trend of letting sides off the hook and failing to make an advantage count, which shows no sign of letting up.

England need an immediate response in Brisbane, for both themselves and all those concerned, otherwise they face another rescue mission on a much tougher scale and risk wasting another Ashes series billed as the most competitive without landing an early blow.

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