England Still Seeking Balance Needed To Claim Ashes Glory

From the sublime to the ridiculous, England have shown their two faces over the first three Tests of the 2023 Ashes series against Australia.

As England look to find the balance between entertainers and pragmatic winners, it’s a tightrope walk that head coach Brendon McCullum and his players are looking to tread to secure Ashes success this summer.

Questions Asked After Defeats In Birmingham And London

After going 2-0 down in the series after defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s, it was unsurprising that England’s attacking style of Test cricket would come under scrutiny. Those placing Ashes bets will find England at 5.00 to win the series this summer and their cause was certainly not helped by some reckless batting in those first two Tests in Birmingham and London. England found themselves in winnable positions at times in those first two encounters but a lack of patience and some wild batting saw the hosts squander opportunities.

Australia appeared to be far more shrewd and pragmatic at Edgbaston and Lord’s and once they figured out England would go after the short ball, the trap was laid. However, instead of figuring out their aggressive approach to batting the Aussie short ball was not working, England proceeded to fall into the trap time after time to almost comic effect. Former players Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughen were rightly critical of England’s approach and something needed to change for the third Test in Leeds or the destination of Ashes would be decided before the clash at Old Trafford and The Oval.

Headingley Reprieve Offers Hope

In a Test that once again could have gone both ways, England did manage to drag themselves over the line with victory at Headingley to keep their Ashes hopes alive. Skipper Ben Stokes again led from the front, as the hosts managed to win the third Test by three wickets in Leeds. England’s bowling attack was given a much-needed lift with the return of seamers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who also had an impact with the bat near the end of the order. Wood’s pace caused Australia plenty of problems, while Woakes also picked up important wickets during the nail-biting contest in West Yorkshire.

With the bat, Stokes was the leading runscorer in the first innings for England, on a ground that has happy memories for the skipper. Stokes almost singlehandedly won a Test match for England at Headingley against the Baggy Greens in 2019 and once again he played a captain’s role against the Aussies this time around. There were still some disappointing wickets to lose for England, as they still try to find that balance of taking the game to Australia while making sure they don’t self-destruct in the process.

With the series finely poised at 2-1 there is everything to play for in what has been another intriguing Ashes series. England have a side capable of winning it but they must make sure they are not their own worst enemy, as they already have a formidable one in the Baggy Greens to deal with.