5 Things Australia must do to bounce back in the 4th Ashes Test
The Ashes rarely ends as numbers. It ends as mental scars. Sometimes, the English bear those scars and sometimes the Aussies do. It always ends the way it starts, like a battle. Sometimes, the English find heroes, sometimes the Aussies do. It ends with many tales from the arena. Sometimes the English have more gladiators, sometimes the Aussies do.Now, England lead the Ashes 2-1. They are perched on a pendulum swing of wins and losses. Won against West Indies. Lost against West Indies. Won against New Zealand. Lost against New Zealand. Won against Australia. Lost Against Australia. Now, they’ve won against Australia and most English dread the next result like a foregone conclusion.Alastair Cook dreads the result, for although Australia were scarred in the third Test, Cook would know, another 75 runs on the board, and Australia would’ve made them sweat, then bleed, then surrender. Maybe. Maybe, not. Australia have a truckload of problems, not to mention a hint of dissent for the first time under Darren Lehmann who had lifted them from an abyss into a side that bullies once again, while also walking the talk. Brad Haddin’s drop hasn’t been taken nicely.Peter Nevill has made matters tough already by doing what Haddin hasn’t been doing for a long time. Michael Clarke is like a cornered tiger but with a bad back and shoes stuck inside concrete slabs. Australia has problems.But, this Ashes has been such that either one of the two teams has looked like world-beaters and the other a grave loser. England were in a similar position a Test ago, losing by more than 400 runs. Here are a few things Australia could try to get their mojo back.
#5 Shaun Marsh for Adam Voges
It will be unfair to Voges, but Australia need more spine in that batting order especially with Clarke shaky like a man walking on a block of ice. Mitchell Marsh still doesn’t have the threat which Watson in form possesses, but the Watson in form is as rare as a comet sighting.
Australia need to beef up the batting and if that means experimenting with the senior of the two brothers, so be it. At the moment, Australia’s 1,2 and 3 look okay but their 4, 5 and 6 don’t look like they have big innings in them.
Peter Nevill showed some steel late in the third Test which makes him untouchable. That only leaves Voges under scrutiny and he hasn’t done enough to really play ahead of Marsh who could be bad, but should at least be given a chance to be fair.
Marsh only averages 36 in Tests and 41 in 5 Tests in the last 12 months, but he is the only specialist batsman in the side available for trial by fire. So, now would be the time after Voges’ scores in the three Tests read 31, 1, 25, DNB, 16 and 0.