England facing defeat after shocking batting collapse

After three and a half Test matches into this Ashes series down under, Australia’s superior brand of cricket and England’s sorry surrender of the urn have resulted in the travelling side’s meek circumstances described as dub metaphors; “ a sinking ship” and “wheels falling off the wagon.” However on the fourth day of the fourth Test in Melbourne, England somehow managed to rip up those clichéd figure of speeches and rewrote some of their own as they crumbled spectacularly to practically gift Australia impending victory and with it an emphatic 4-0 lead.

So often during this arduous tour, England have produced such weak showings with bat, so dire in execution and clueless in application that it’s been a surprise Captain Alastair Cook hasn't risen a white flag from his side’s dressing room and handed The Ashes earlier to Aussie counterpart Michael Clarke without having to witness his side’s dismaying showings on the pitch. However today saw the worst of England’s batting displays, not just during this series but also for as long as many can remember. England may have perished before in the past to sides blessed with some of the greatest bowling talent to have played the game, however today England’s batting line up managed to be taken apart by a spin bowler, who didn't spin a single ball and to whom only three years ago was part of the Adelaide Oval ground staff. The bowler in discussion is Nathan Lyon, who finished with five wickets on a pitch that exhibited no turn or spin as England’s batsman gifted their wickets away to be bowled out for a paltry 179. An all too familiar batting display left Australia just 231 runs to complete victory and move within a match of a series whitewash.  

Without discarding anything away from the hosts who have played some sublime cricket during this series and who have been miraculously rejuvenated under coach Darren Lehmann, England (who came into this series as strong favourites) have irrevocably played to their own downfall in astonishing fashion. Leading into this Ashes tour, the visitors had successfully defeated Australia in resounding fashion home and away and had only lost two Test matches to the old enemy since 2009. However fast forward nearly four completed Tests down under and England have already lost The Ashes, are within sight of being defeated for a fourth time in a row, have lost two key players, (one to retirement) and still haven’t managed to score more than 400 runs in a single innings, a barren run that stretches back to March this year.

As abject as the scorecard suggests it makes it even harder to accept that before England’s now seemingly routine batting collapse, the visitors were in a position of strength the day before. With Australia resuming in the morning on a precarious 164-9, England just had to remove form batsman Brad Haddin to commence their second innings and build a substantial lead. However the wicket-keeper-batsman and number 11 Lyon had other ideas, adding 40 quick runs, with Haddin last man out for another crucial rearguard innings of 65. It left England with a lead of just 51 but with a considered and determined approach to batting, there was no reason why they couldn't construct a sizeable lead and give themselves a great opportunity to record their first victory in the series. The innings started promisingly as Cook commenced with an assured manner, racing along at almost a run-a-ball with a string of confident boundaries and passing 8,000 Test runs, the youngest man in history to do so. However after completing his 35^th Test half century, Cook was first to go with the lead on 116. Mitchell Johnson accounting for the England Captain with some late in-swing from over the wicket and striking halfway up his front leg to be lbw.

Cook’s wicket brought in young Joe Root who almost followed his skipper straight back into the dressing room only to be reprieved when his review ruled that he had not edged behind off the bowling of Johnson. However England failed to make use of the advantage, as Michael Carberry was first to go, lbw off the bowling of Peter Siddle for 12 before Root was run out by Johnson after gambling on a quick single. With 86 on the board, with the loss of three wickets and a lead of just 137, it was imperative that England’s two most important batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell played sensibly and recover from a shaky position. Despite this requirement, Bell perished first ball as he lazily pushed a straight ball from Lyon into the hands of Johnson at mid off. It meant that England had lost three wickets in six balls for just one run, yet again their batting frailties letting down the hard graft of their bowlers. In Pietersen, England had a glimmer of hope, playing with both discipline and skill and rotating the strike well in between flaying the ball around with some magnificent boundaries. In partnerships with Ben Stokes and then Jonny Bairstow, Pietersen guided the visitor’s score to 173, a lead of 224 before history repeated itself again to a despairing and increasingly worrying effect. Seemingly not content with just one batting collapse, England’s lower middle order and tail disastrously disintegrated once again in a sensational 41-minute passage of play.  

Bairstow, in another unconvincing innings since his return to the side edged a wide Johnson delivery for 21, Tim Bresnan’s attempt to pull Lyon off the back foot only succeeded on him bottom edging the ball onto the stumps for a duck. As England cowardly kept giving their wickets away, the vast Australian crowd at the MCG became increasingly louder and louder, screaming their team on as wickets tumbled in rapid and often bemusing fashion. Stuart Broad edged a huge and very unnecessary drive to slip off the bowling of Lyon and in doing so failed to restore any confidence of his “All-rounder” status in the side. Pietersen, fast running out of partners tried to up the ante by attacking Lyon but found Ryan Harris on the boundary who took a brilliant steepling catch. Monty Panesar was last man out lbw for a duck, failing to keep out a fast and straight delivery from Johnson. In a demoralizing performance, lacking any courage, grit or mettle from England’s batsman, apart from Cook and Pietersen, a position of dominance had once again been feebly lost and the advantage gift wrapped like a late Christmas present, handed back to their opponents. The visitor’s last five wickets fell for just six runs in an embarrassing effort that has no doubt sealed another Australian success and a step closer to an impressive 5-0 whitewash by the home side.

With just 231 to chase for victory, neither David Warner nor Chris Rogers appeared to be in any difficulty as they negotiated the half hour they faced before the close of play, ending on 30 without loss. The hosts will be more than confident in chasing a further 201 on Sunday to go to Sydney with a second 5-0 whitewash in three Ashes series down under within their grasp. Any hope of an England victory rests on the fact that no team has ever successfully chased more than 183 in the final innings to win a Test at the MCG since the drop-in-pitches. However the pitch still remains good to bat on and if England are to pull off a miracle victory, they will have to bowl better than they have all tour to record their first test win since August. Even if England pull off the unthinkable, it’s hard to admit that they deserve anything from this match, let alone a victory, due to their dire batting performances.