 England have taken a significant 1-0 lead in the five match Test series with three
games to go. The hosts Australia are in all sorts of trouble, their bowling
has been abysmal, batting has been dreadful and fielding has been sloppy.
England completely outplayed Australia. Australians were cheering only when
the rain came down, their best hope was the weather, and if that's the case
you know it's a sorry state for any team.
Click for Live Score Card of Australia Vs England
Perhaps the biggest problem for Australia is the lack of self confidence. This
doesn't mean it is the only problem they have. Ricky Ponting has scored
70 runs in four innings. Apart from Michael Hussey, batting has been inconsistent.
Given the reputation of bounce and pace at Perth, things may only get worse
for Australian batsmen. Ponting and his men know that they have to be on top
of their game at WACA if they want to stop this stream rolling English side.
Selection calls and changes are on the cards now; the squad will be announced
on Friday.
Xavier Doherty and Marcus North will most likely be axed, with Hauritz and
Khawaja replacing them. But that's not all, Ryan Harris was the only decent
bowler for Australia, some shaking in the pace department can also be done.
The game at WACA starts on 16th December.
If inconsistency, underperforming captain, poor fielding, selection problems
and lack of self belief weren't enough, Australia have been dealt with another
blow, Simon Katich is out for the rest of the series, with Philip Hughes
likely to be his replacement.
Australia have lost four Test matches and have drawn one recently
England so far have completely shaken the ghost of 2006-07 Ashes. They are
now leading Australia 1-0 with hosts requiring winning at least two games. The
first day of Ashes was bad for England and they have not looked back since.
Graeme Swann is back in form, so is Pieterson.
James Anderson is always going to be a threat at WACA, and the tall Steve Finn
will extract bounce that might trouble the already faltering Aussie batting
line up. England have received bad news in the form of Stuart Broad being
out of the series due to an abdominal injury.
Andrew Strauss has had a mixed series with the bat and warned his side of complacency
going into the game which starts Thursday next week. England will have
a three day tour game against Victoria before the third Test starts.
England have won three Test matches recently
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