Australian cricket must somehow find a way to right itself after England wrapped up a thumping 3-1 Ashes win on the fifth morning of the fifth Test in Sydney.
England took until midway through the first session to claim the three wickets they needed to clinch victory by an innings and 83 runs – an unprecedented third innings defeat for the series for Australia – and while the tourists celebrated, their hosts stared morosely at the ground.
The silver lining, if it can be called that, for Australia is that they can now switch focus to limited-overs cricket, with seven matches against England to be played ahead of next month’s World Cup in the Caribbean.
Australia’s next Test assignment is in Sri Lanka in August, with series against South Africa and India to follow. After such an abject performance against England, changes must surely be made, although stand-in captain Michael Clarke insisted the quality existed within the group to make the required improvements.
“This is probably as close to rock bottom as it gets,” Clarke said.
“We think we are better cricketers than what we have shown, we have no excuses.
“I’m certain the CA board and the selectors will discuss the result of this series, and every individual sits in the same shoes – we haven’t performed as well as we need to.”
Clarke pointed to preparation as a factor, admitting he had been poorly equipped to cope with England’s tall angle of attack.
“For example, for me personally, I think I could’ve done a lot more work against taller fast bowlers before I walked out to bat in Brisbane,” he said.
“Easy to say but harder to do when I’m playing one-dayers in India and first-class cricket for NSW there’s not much time, but you’ve got to make time, you’ve got to somehow before the series starts find a way to prepare against the oppositon you’re coming up against.”
