England have lost the Ashes 4-1 after Australia finished off the series with a handsome victory in Sydney.
Australia won a dramatic first Test match in Perth over two enthralling days to leave England reeling, and the tourists never recovered, suffering defeats in Brisbane – despite Joe Root’s first century in Australia – and Adelaide to seal their fate.
Ben Stokes’ side hit back in Melbourne with their first Test win on Australian soil for 15 years during another bizarre two-day game, but there was to be no repeat in the final match as Australia closed out a dominant series triumph at the SCG.
Here is how England’s players rated:
Zak Crawley, 3 – His fall to Mitchell Starc in the first over of the series was a portent of what was to come in the series, for Crawley and England. His 85 in Adelaide almost kept England’s Ashes dream alive, but ultimately Crawley hasn’t done enough over a long period of time to justify his place in the team.
Ben Duckett, 2 – After only two scores above 30, at an average of 20.02, Duckett’s place is also under pressure now. Some bad drops in the field, too. His only saving grace is that England would soon run out of cricketers if everyone who played poorly on this tour were jettisoned.
Ollie Pope, 2 – No 50s in six innings at an average of 20.83 saw Pope’s series ended early as Jacob Bethell took his place at No 3. Bethell has surely cemented that spot now, and Pope’s Test career is on hold. He needs time away from the spotlight to rediscover his touch.
Jacob Bethell, 7 – Recorded a promising 40 in the fourth-Test victory at the MCG, before his brilliant maiden century at the SCG, one of the few highlights of the series from an English perspective. Picked up a wicket, too. Bethell should have been given more opportunities over the English summer to earn his place in the team.
Joe Root, 6 – A fine century in Brisbane was a rare moment for England to cheer as their greatest batter finally delivered on Australian soil. His 160 in Sydney was brilliant too, bumping his series average to 44. But he was poor for most of the series, failing to make 20 runs in seven of his 10 innings, so it is hard to say that this has been any more than a decent series by Root’s high standards.
Harry Brook, 4 – Brook finished as the third-highest run scorer in the series, at an average of 40, but his Ashes was a story of unfulfilled potential. Too many innings ended just as Brook was getting going, usually with a brainless shot at the wrong moment which handed momentum back to Australia. He did show more application in Melbourne, where he scored a crucial 41 in what was otherwise a disastrous first innings, and again in Sydney, with his highest score of 84. But Brook’s talent had much more to offer this Ashes series than it delivered.
Ben Stokes, 5 – Stokes was both gutsy and effective with the ball, picking up 15 wickets at an average of 25.13 and running himself into the ground to preserve his front-line bowlers. His five-wicket haul in Perth was special and seemed, at the time, to have set England on course for a famous first-Test victory. But his batting was pretty woeful bar that gritty 50 from 152 balls in Brisbane, and his captaincy has come under serious scrutiny for the first time.
Jamie Smith, 3 – This tour was a chastening experience for the young wicketkeeper, who made mistakes with the gloves and played some poor shots to get himself out, including perhaps England’s worst dismissal of the series in Sydney off the bowling of Marnus Labuschagne. Smith did improve in both areas of the game through the series, looking more steady behind the stumps in the last two Tests and posting a couple of scores including a counter-attacking 60 in Adelaide as England chased the game. Even then, though, he gifted his wicket away. Plenty to learn but Smith will surely be back.
Will Jacks, 5 – Jacks was dropped into the second Test at the Gabba where he was asked to be England’s front-line spinner, a tough assignment which he handled admirably, while hitting some runs and taking a stunning catch too. The last two games were less convincing, with limited impact on that short fourth Test in Melbourne and a horrendous drop on the boundary in Sydney, although six wickets at an average of 54 across four Tests perhaps says more about England’s approach to selection than Jacks’ efforts.
Mark Wood, 3 – A heroic effort to get himself fit enough to start the series, but Wood’s body could not cope and he returned home after one Test without picking up a wicket.
Jofra Archer, 6 – Archer bowled well in spells during the first two Tests and then was unplayable in Adelaide, picking up six wickets for 73 runs including a second-innings five-fer, where he didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. Useful contributions with the bat, too, averaging 25, which was more than most of England’s top order. Injury ended his tour early.
Brydon Carse, 5 – Carse was England’s busiest bowler and top wicket-taker, getting through 138 overs across the five Tests, picking up 22 Australian scalps at 30 apiece. He wasn’t always on point with line or length and found himself targeted at times, ending the series as the most expensive of England’s five lead seamers. A couple of four-wicket hauls, but ultimately Carse didn’t hurt Australia enough to change games.
Gus Atkinson, 4 – Only three wickets across the first two Tests saw Atkinson dropped for Adelaide, but he was much more effective when he returned to the side for the win in Melbourne, albeit on a bowler’s dream of a wicket. Also contributed with the bat during that solitary England win, before a hamstring injury brought his series to an end.
Matthew Potts, 2 – A tough task to enter the series in the final Test match in Sydney and produce the goods. Potts shipped 141 runs in the first innings for no wickets and looked shellshocked, and wasn’t used in the second innings. Took a good catch to remove Weatherald.
Josh Tongue, 7 – Brought into the side for the third Test in Adelaide and performed well there, picking up five wickets despite dropped catches and Alex Carey’s Snicko reprieve, and continued that form into Melbourne where he won player of the match after a first-innings five-fer. In total Tongue took 18 wickets across three Tests at an average of 20, good going for any English bowler in Australia, and won key battles against Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.
England’s player of the series: Josh Tongue.
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