Ashes 2015: The Sad Story Of A Self-Inflicted Australian Downfall
Months before the Ashes, the incessant barrage of reviews all held a common vision – one in which Australia would dominate English cricket and return with the Ashes. England, fresh off an embarrassing premature World Cup termination, rolling in the dire negativity that came with the sacking of their coach and stubborn dismissal of their disputably best modern batsman, were looking to salvage some pride against a raging, unstoppable Australian beast. On paper, it was easy. On one hand you had the consistently aggressive batting prowess of Steve Smith, David Warner, Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke against the flailing, desperately clinging strands of hope of Alastair Cook, Adam Lyth, Ian Bell and Gary Ballance.Australia brought with them the most fearsome modern-day bowlers in Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, accompanied by the canny Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. England were reasonably better off in their bowling department as compared to the batting, with the skills of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn and Mark Wood at their disposal in the English swinging conditions, but their potency was feared to be below the Mitchs’.Australia too let that hype and overconfidence get to their head, having won the 2015 World Cup by making gradual leaps of improvement in each match.
#1 1st Test, SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff
Mitchell Johnson issued a death threat ahead of the first Test, symbolizing Australia’s confidence in ruthless domination, and at that point no one disbelieved them. England had shown signs of a revival with their performance against New Zealand, but no one thought they could match Australia’s level. Not even the Australian team.
Led by the inimitable Joe Root, England fought hard and surprised the Australians with their grit. Australia’s reply, influenced by their hubris, was to disrespect the English bowling by trying to be over-aggressive, highlighted by their reaction to Moeen Ali’s off-spin. Most batsmen got off to starts before poking at wide deliveries or trying to play some shots, and on a dry pitch suited for batting, their batsmen failed to capitalize on starts.
England was as surprised at the outcome as Australia, and this led to another flat batting wicket at Lord’s.
Score: England 1-0 Australia