“Don’t know whether their ego took over” - Ravichandran Ashwin feels Australia lost the plot in last 3 Ashes 2023 Tests
Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reckons Australia lost the plot in the last three Ashes 2023 Tests after taking a significant 2-0 lead in the five-match series. According to Ashwin, the visitors paid the price for being too defensive with the bat, allowing England to dominate.
After losing the first two Tests by narrow margins, England hit back strongly to clinch the third at Headingley by three wickets. The hosts dominated the next game in Manchester as well but could not force a result due to rain.
England, though, won the final Test at The Oval by 49 runs to level the series 2-2 even though Australia retained the urn. While reviewing the series on his YouTube channel, Ashwin questioned Australia’s approach in the last three Ashes Tests.
“A mistake that Australia did in the last three Tests is that, when your foot is on the pedal, you should not even think about hitting the brake. I don’t know whether their DNA got mapped this way or whether their ego took over. They lost the plot in all three Test matches playing too slowly,” he opined.
“Australia retained the Ashes, but England have shown yet again that they are playing a form of cricket that is entertaining,” the 36-year-old added.
Set 384 for victory at The Oval, Australia went to stumps on Day 4 at 135-0. However, they were bowled out for 334 on Day 5 as Chris Woakes claimed four wickets and Moeen Ali three, while the now-retired Stuart Broad picked two.
“Once Lyon got injured, their attack became one-dimensional” - Ashwin
Critics reckon that the loss of seasoned off-spinner Nathan Lyon to injury was a huge turning point in the Ashes 2023 series. Ashwin concurs with the observation.
The Australian spinner grabbed eight wickets in the first Test but picked up a calf injury in the second and was ruled out of the series. Sharing his views on the impact of Lyon’s absence, Ashwin said:
“Even in the first Test, England played at the same tempo. But somehow, Nathan Lyon ended up picking eight wickets. It looked like England batted well, but they would have scored only 270-280. You can’t score 6-7 runs in his overs consistently. Mitchell Starc picked up wickets in the last four Tests, but it’s not easy to be as accurate as a Nathan Lyon, pitching the ball consistently and getting turn."
He continued:
“Nathan Lyon was more like an important cog in the wheel. It’s not easy to replace the cog in the wheel. This Ashes is a prime example of that. Once Lyon got injured, their attack became one-dimensional.
"They played both (Mitchell) Marsh and (Cameron) Green in one Test. They dropped Todd Murphy in Manchester where the ball usually turns,” the Indian off-spinner concluded.
Murphy played two Tests and claimed seven wickets at an average of 25.86, but Australia clearly felt the absence of Lyon.