Just before the Ashes series got underway, I felt that England stood no chance. I thought Australia will sweep the series and finally win an Ashes series in England, which they haven't done since 2001. Yes, Steve Waugh was captaining Australia the last time they won an Ashes series in England!

It has been 15 years and this had to be Australia's best chance given England's recent torrid run and Australia's rise.

But then at Cardiff, we witnessed England rise to the challenge and beat Australia by a whopping 169 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

What that also did was reopen some old wounds for Australia. They were reminded that prior to the Cardiff test, they had won only 3 out of their previous 17 tests in England and had lost 8 of them. After the first test of this Ashes series, that record looks like:

Played 18 Won 3 Lost 9.

For a team that is ranked number 2 in the world test rankings, that is quite sad really.

Needless to say, I was quite surprised that it was England who took the lead after the first test.

It wasn't long before we were back to business as usual with Australia bouncing back at Lord's and stamping their authority all over England with a massive 405 run win in the second Ashes test. It was almost as if the Aussies wanted to punish England for winning the first test.

After such a dominating performance, I was sure that the rest of the series would be a cakewalk for Australia.

How wrong was I!

The third test saw Australia in tatters and so unlike their dominant self, which we had seen in the second test.

England won comfortably by 8 wickets to take a 2-1 lead.

England surprised, not once but twice during this Ashes series and they now look like firm favorites to regain the Ashes and continue their decade long dominance over Australia at home.

However, I will run shy of expecting that considering how wrong I have been with all the results so far. If I were using William Hill cricket betting during the Ashes, I would have lost quite some money so far.

The series has swung both ways right now, and there is every chance that Australia will bounce back once again to set up a thrilling finale at the Oval. That will be quite some game if we witness an Australia win at Nottingham next week.
With James Andersen most likely missing out on the 4th test, it will probably be Australia's best chance to level series. However, Steven Finn's comeback match showed that he could potentially shoulder the responsibility in Andersen's absence. Broad has also been good with the ball for England.

Both teams have failed to find consistent performances with the bat. Only Rogers and Smith from Australia, and Root and Bell from England have looked like in some kind of form, with all other batsmen showing only flashes of brilliance.

There is no doubt that the last 2 tests will be hard fought and the Ashes is set up for an exciting finish, unlike the previous one sided series the two teams have played.

I wouldn't miss these two tests for anything; and neither should you!

England were magnificent as they cruised to a 169-run victory over tourists Australia with a full day's play in hand. New head coach Trevor Bayliss was in charge of his first Ashes Test match and will be ecstatic at his side's performance after dominating Australia on both sides of the ball. The match, which took place at Cardiff's SWALEC Stadium, was comfortable for England and has instantly dismissed any suggestions that Australia would earn their second successive Ashes series whitewash.

Joe Root was instrumental for the hosts, scoring 134 runs in the first innings, 60 in the second and taking two wickets as Australia desperately looked to stay in the contest. England haven't lost an Ashes series on home soil since 2001 and have made the perfect start in the latest edition of the game's greatest rivalry. At the time of writing, England are priced at evens with betfair to go on and lift the Ashes this summer and if they can maintain such high intensity, they will stand a great chance. We've recapped the main events throughout play and consider the key performances that secured a maiden victory for Australian-born Bayliss as England's head coach.

England won the toss and captain Alistair Cook elected to bat but the hosts didn't get off to a great start. Yorkshire's Adam Lyth, playing in his first Ashes Test match, was out after scoring just six runs. In no time, Cook and the struggling Ian Bell had also lost their wickets and England were teetering on 43-3. However, Gary Ballance and the in-form Root dug deep to start a spirited fightback. Root, who was dropped by Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin on 0, went on to score 134 off 166 balls. Ballance, meanwhile, scored a respectable 61 off 149 balls as England began to establish an impressive target. The runs didn't stop there as Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali both scored half centuries.

Stokes knocked two sixes on his way to 52 and the latter scored a quick-fire 77 off just 88 balls. Mitchell Starc, who was the pick of the Australian bowlers, removed both batsmen and finished with figures of 5-114, but not before the hosts had been bowled out for an impressive 430. The 153-run partnership between Ballance and Root was vital for the hosts at a time when they were struggling to cope with Australia's quick bowling attack. Without their contribution, the result of this Test match could have been very different.



Australia got off to a good start as Chris Rogers and David Warner set about chasing England's first innings total of 430. At 52-0, the tourists were cruising before Jimmy Anderson dismissed Warner. Useful scores from Steve Smith and Rogers, who was dismissed in the 'Nervous Nineties', saw Australia reach 180-3 but the visitors capitulated from there. Michael Clarke fell for 38 after an incredible catch off his own bowling from Moeen, before Ben Stokes picked up his first wicket of the series to dismiss Adam Voges.

At 258-5, Australia were still in a reasonable position and, with the likes of Shane Watson, Nathan Lyon and Haddin still to bat, they will have been quietly confident of posting a decent total. However, Watson - who failed once again when his nation needed him the most - and Lyon were bowled out in quick succession and suddenly the score was 265-7, with Australia still 165 runs behind. Haddin threatened a mini revival but England's bowlers got the job done and dismissed the Australian tail-enders without much trouble. After posting 308 in reply, the tourists were still 122 behind the hosts and England were very much in the ascendency. Jimmy Anderson, pictured below, took three wickets for 43 runs from his 18.5 overs.


With rain expected on day five, England continued to attack Australia's bowlers on day three in their second innings as they looked to set a lofty total for the tourists to chase. Cook was disappointing again as he fell for just 20 runs before Ballance was dismissed on 0 to leave England stuttering at 22-2. Lyth contributed 37 before his wicket fell and it was once again left to Root to revitalise the innings. The Yorkshire batsman hit 60, as did Ian Bell, to improve England's score up to 207-5. The hosts were playing some scintillating cricket and taking the Australian bowlers on but something had to give... and it did.

Spin bowler Nathan Lyon began to enjoy himself as the pitch started to succumb to turn on the surface. The New South Wales star took four wickets for 47 runs from his 20.1 overs, claiming the big-name scalps of Lyth, Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad and Anderson. Meanwhile, the dangerous Mitchell Johnson - who tore England to shreds throughout the previous Ashes series - bowled over 200 balls before claiming his opening wicket of the series. The hosts lost their last five wickets for just 82 runs to set the visitors 412 to win. That is a total that would be the third highest successful run chase in Test cricket history.

Can Australia score 412, the third highest run chase of all-time, to win the first Ashes Test? #FSNYes or #FSNNo pic.twitter.com/XEqPld4QXd

— FOX SPORTS News (@FOXSportsNews) July 10, 2015

Faced with an incredibly difficult run chase of 412, Australia set off slowly but made a steady start as Warner found his form with the bat. However, they lost opening batsmen Rogers off the bowling of Broad. Warner continued to score runs and, at one stage, there were whispers of a surprise Australia victory. However, Moeen trapped Warner for lbw and the tourists lost all momentum. Wickets quickly began to fall and, when Smith was bowled out for 33, Australia looked down and out.

Captain Clarke managed to score just four runs before his wicket fell - a key moment in the clash. From there, Australia were a beaten side and lost the next six wickets for 136 runs. Moeen and Root dismissed the dangerous pairing of Haddin and Johnson before Moeen, who teased Australia's bowlers throughout the entirety of the innings, claimed the wicket of Hazelwood to send the home fans into raptures. After their second innings capitulation, there could be a plethora of changes in the Australian side with Watson's place under severe threat. The dismissal was his 29th lbw dismissal of his career and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him lose his place in the side. For England, however, it was the stuff of dreams and they will look to build on this success at Lord’s.

Well, its a pertinent question, is it not?

Sure they are the number 2 ranked Test Team in the world with a clear 10 point lead over the team at number 3. But the difference between South Africa at the top and Australia is 19 points. That is a huge difference.

What that really means is that Australia is close to the same level as Pakistan, New Zealand, India, and England. Only 14 points separate Australia at 2 and England at 6. Furthermore, they were clean swept by the number 3 team just last year.

That is not even the reason why I asked the question though.

The fact that really surprised me was that Australia has won only one of the last 15 tests they have played in England.

Yes. ONE. Out of FIFTEEN.

Damn! Right?

But there's more to the story.

In the entire history of Test Cricket, Australia is the only team that has won more games away from home than it has lost.


However, in the past 5 years that is not the case any more,


In all Tests played since the beginning of 2010, Australia have lost more than they have won away from home. Their W:L record is similar to England's, who have traditionally been considered poor travelers.

It is clear that Australia has lost some of its mojo when it comes to playing tests on foreign shores. Especially in England.

Even the personnel is not good enough.

Besides their captain Micheal Clarke and Chris Rogers, none of the top 6 batsmen in their line up have a record to speak of in England.

While Rogers, mostly due to his significant exposure to English conditions through his county stints, averages slightly more (43) in England than he does in his career (40), Clarke averages 6 runs less in England.

David Warner has a career average of 46.47, but his average in England is almost half that - 25.9. In fact Warner's test record is entirely due to his record at home in Australia and his 3 centuries in 3 tests in South Africa, where pitches play similar to the way they play in Australia. In India, he averages a meager 24.4, and in West Indies, he averages 26.9.

Steven Smith has rapidly become Australia's most reliable batsman and the heir to the all important number 3 spot previously occupied by greats like Ponting, Langer, Boon, Chappell, and the greatest Sir Don Bradman. His career average of 55 and 9 test centuries in only 29 Tests shows why he is considered to be the best of the lot. But even he averages more than 20 runs less than his career in England! Smith's record is also inflated by his performance at home, which yields an average of 66 and 6 test centuries. He averages 34 in England and in the low 40s in India and the UAE.

Adam Voges is too new to be judged yet, but even that questions why the Australians would play a green batsman at 5 in an Ashes series when the likes of Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh are warming the bench.

Moreover, how can they even think of benching the Marsh brothers while playing Shane Watson at 6!??

Watson has a career Test average of 35. How that gets him into an Australian top 6 is beyond me. Australia's infatuation and persistence with Shane Watson is beyond me. He never really made is as a test cricketer, and now when he is over the hill, he is still being preferred. Mindboggling!

It is not only Australia's batsmen who do not perform on tour as well as they do at home; even their bowlers have found it tough in foreign locations.

Mitchell Johnson, who is this lean mean machine on Australian pitches and makes the batsmen hobble around, transforms into a medium pacer who is so easily bullied in England and other foreign locations. He averages 24.5 in Australia; his averages in New Zealand (23) and South Africa (25) are also respectable. However, in England he averages a shocking 41.9! He averages above 40 in India an Sri Lanka as well.

On top of all this, they lost Ryan Harris, the one bowler who was their premier strike bowler, especially in Ashes Tests.

So while Australia is still ranked number 2 in the ICC's test rankings, I believe they are grossly over rated. Their players dominate at home and become the tamed on tours. This used to be true for teams from India and England in the past.

Now, even he Aussies can be tamed.