Rory Burns and Zak Crawley put on England’s first opening stand of more than 50 in the series before old failings returnedAt least it was quick. The final ignominy over in less than two hours, from Rory Burns to Ollie Robinson with barely time for a scratch and a sniff: 10 wickets for 56 runs in 22 overs. Out of a paper bag into the ashes.It was Mark Wood’s face that said it all. He’d just produced the best bowling of his Test career, six for 37, a high-class bouncefest to haul England back into the match by their gammy toenails, short-pitched menace with a smile, hurling that woodchip body into the unwilling Tasmanian ground. Reward at last for seven...
Green took the key wickets in the fifth Test, Travis Head was player of the series and Scott Boland had unplayable burstsImagine if three witches in a forest glade had offered England this deal on a dark November night. Steve Smith, scorer of 11 Ashes hundreds in 20 outings, with an average of over 100 in his previous two Ashes series, would not add to those centuries and would average 30. David Warner, with an Ashes average in Australia of 60, would not make a hundred and would average 34. Marnus Labuschagne, on a streak of 13 Tests averaging 73, would make one small and lucky hundred and average 42. Fast-bowling leader Josh Hazlewood would miss four Tests, Pat Cummins...
England’s specialist batters have struggled throughout while Australia’s bowlers have increased the pain in the form of runsThere was a moment in the trajectory where the impossible announced that it was, in fact, possible. Nathan Lyon had just played a pull shot, which was nothing unusual. His only shots in Test cricket are the pull shot and the sweep shot, which for Lyon is the pull shot he plays while kneeling down. He knows fast bowlers will bowl bouncers at him and he has devised one method of deflecting them.So it is normal to see Lyon lean back and heave across the line. It is not unprecedented for him to hit one of those shots for six, which before this...
Focus on physical strength and fitness and choice of new coach should be invaluable in her second WTA Tour seasonAs one of the most unexpected recent breakout seasons came to an end in November, Emma Raducanu seemed to have built a solid base for the new year. After the grand slam success, the first round of new endorsements, the questions over her coaching choices and the predictable dip in form as her life changed for ever, Raducanu closed off her year by hiring an experienced, well-regarded coach, Torben Beltz, to guide her through her next steps of her young career.With the off-season beckoning, Raducanu frequently spoke about her goal of improving her physical strength and fitness in order to address...
Having reduced Australia to 12 for three, the tourists ended up using a part-time spinner in ideal conditions for seam bowlingAccording to reports, the England team took a charter flight to Hobart. Watching them play on the first day at the Bellerive Oval it looked more like they had travelled by ancient sailing bark, and arrived, like Abel Tasman, soiled, sore, and ship-worn, half-starved after six months picking weevils out of biscuits. Battered, cut, and bruised, suffering from strains, niggles, aches and breakdowns, a loss of form, and a lack of faith. Between the 11 of them it felt like if you cherry-picked the best bits from each they could just about cobble together one fit, functioning, and happy Test...