England bid to halt hosts Ashes momentum
6 Dec 2013 5:06 AM IST
Alastair Cook’s tourists were swept away by the Mitchell Johnson-inspired home side in the first Test, going down by the enormous margin 381 runs in a match overshadowed by a sledging barrage from captain Michael Clarke.
It was England’s first defeat in 14 Tests since losing to India in Ahmedabad a year ago, but another loss in Adelaide could prove an insurmountable blow in their bid to hold on to the Ashes after three successive series wins dating back to 2009. England urgently need to regroup after wilting under Australia’s bowling and verbal barrage in Brisbane, their task made all the more difficult by having to find a replacement at number three following the shock departure of Jonathan Trott with a stress-related illness.
The choice to fill Trott’s spot is between 94-Test veteran Ian Bell and the inexperienced Joe Root, with Zimbabwe-born Gary Ballance likely to slot in at number six after his innings of 55 in Alice Springs in a tour game last week. England must find a way to cope with the hostile bowling of Johnson, who was man-of-the-match in Brisbane with a nine-wicket haul, helping dismiss the tourists for just 136 and 179.
It was England’s first defeat in 14 Tests since losing to India in Ahmedabad a year ago, but another loss in Adelaide could prove an insurmountable blow in their bid to hold on to the Ashes after three successive series wins dating back to 2009. England urgently need to regroup after wilting under Australia’s bowling and verbal barrage in Brisbane, their task made all the more difficult by having to find a replacement at number three following the shock departure of Jonathan Trott with a stress-related illness.
The choice to fill Trott’s spot is between 94-Test veteran Ian Bell and the inexperienced Joe Root, with Zimbabwe-born Gary Ballance likely to slot in at number six after his innings of 55 in Alice Springs in a tour game last week. England must find a way to cope with the hostile bowling of Johnson, who was man-of-the-match in Brisbane with a nine-wicket haul, helping dismiss the tourists for just 136 and 179.
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