Cricket World Cup: Shambolic England dumped out by Bangladesh

CRICKET WORLD CUP

Group A preview - Group B preview - Results sheet
Group update - England review - Group review - Quarter finals - Semi finals - FINAL

SHAMBOLIC England wrote a new chapter in their long and wretched history of Cricket World Cup lows after being knocked out in the group stage by Bangladesh in Adelaide today. 

The Tigers won by 15 runs to qualify for the quarter finals for the first time ever as England failed to progress out of the groups for a third time in the last five editions.

Yes, in fairness to coach Peter Moores and the current squad, English failure at a World Cup is hardly exactly something new - and the 1999 exit at the start of that run actually came on home soil.

But that is not quite a valid comparison. So much has changed about English cricket in the last 16 years, and all of it has been with the intention of preventing a repeat failure. 

The players are now centrally-contracted to the England Cricket Board - and they have been for some time - while the ECB itself is one of the wealthiest organisations in the sport worldwide.

Thus, as unacceptably cringeworthy as the 1999 debacle remains to look back upon, this latest early departure is just about unthinkable, given the resources now involved. 

England even seemed to have produced a clear plan ahead. A whole Ashes tour was moved forward 12 months - and promptly lost 5-0 - to leave the whole of this winter focused on the 50-over format. 

Meanwhile, Kevin Pietersen - the team's undoubted best player - was sacked after claims he was a disruptive influence to the dressing room.

Moores then returned for his second spell as national team coach to set about a rebuilding the side around the captaincy of Alastair Cook. 

But it was at this point that it all started to go very wrong indeed. Cook struggled for form - and, while he recovered his position as Test skipper by the end of last summer, his One-Day record remained dreadfully poor. 

Onto the seven-match autumn tour of Sri Lanka - and, with Cook still unable to make a major contribution, England lost 5-2 and the captain was axed.

Yes, just eight weeks before the start of the World Cup, Irish-born Eoin Morgan was being hastily installed - although, if that had perhaps been the extent of the muddled thinking, it would have been almost forgiveable.

Then, however, the England set-up trumped even its own acclaimed capability for self-destruction. 

Almost throughout the whole build-up, James Taylor had batted at three and Ravi Bopara at six, while Chris Woakes had taken the new ball.

Literally on the eve of the tournament, this all changed. Bopara was replaced by the out-of-practice Gary Ballance and Taylor was moved from three to six to accommodate him. Broad, meanwhile, took the new ball out of Woakes's hands.

Unsurprisingly it did not work - and a clearly unsettled side was roundly thrashed by 111 runs by Australia inside a boisterous and joyous Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

An even bigger defeat came against the other hosts New Zealand in Wellington. There, England were bowled out for 123 and Brendon McCullum's inspired Black Caps knocked the runs required off inside 13 overs. 

It was a spectacularly crushing reverse and left England facing a banana skin of a tie against the auld enemy, Associate nation Scotland.

England did at least win that one - but still found time to collapse unconvincingly from 172-0 after 30 overs to 303-8 - and it was if the 300 mark had become the team's be-all and end-all. 

Certainly, that was the case against Sri Lanka when - having made 309-6 - skipper Morgan defended the total as a "par score" because that is what the data on the laptop read. 

Sadly, England had not realised that this World Cup cannot much be anaylsed on a computer. 

They have not realised the best players in the world - most notably McCullum, AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara - are so intent in putting on such a show that the final score of an innings just cannot be predicted. 

Sangakkara himself and Lahiru Thirimanne proved Morgan so horribly wrong as both made big centuries and the Sri Lankans beat England with the loss of just a single wicket.

It was a third massive loss out of four - and, with Bangladesh benefiting from a washout against the Aussies, left this tie as a must-win for England. 

Why then did Morgan - having won the toss - opt for a nervy chase when a truly big score, ie. more than 300, would have likely batted the Bangladeshis out of the game? 

Perhaps he did not trust or believe England would be able to make that truly big score. There cannot be many other explanations. 

As it happened, the decision to insert Bangladesh did not look a bad one as James Anderson finally got the ball to swing, reducing the Tigers to 8-2. 

At 99-4, England were still well on top - but then Mahmudullah made history, becoming the first Bangladesh player to score a World Cup century, as his side recovered to 275-7. 

Even still, a chase of 276 - though nervy - was highly achievable in Adelaide where one of the boundaries is particularly short.

That certainly looked the case as England reached 97-1 - but Moeen Ali's daft run out belied the jitters which were properly exposed when Ian Bell, Morgan and Taylor all fell in quick succession. 

Joe Root and Jos Buttler tried to rebuild the innings - but, once Root was caught behind with still more than 100 runs required, it was clearly Buttler or bust.

Bust was the outcome - though not before the Somerset-born man made an enterprising 65 from 52 balls. 

His departure, however, truly was the beginning of the end with the unfortunate Chris Jordan adjudged to have been run out two balls later. 

Jordan had actually made his ground with a desperate dive but his bat bounced up as the ball hit the wickets and even Lady Luck had vacated the room. 

Not that England had played well enough to deserve much in the way of favours - even if, amazingly, Woakes and Broad had one last go at an almighty heist. 

Broad, now on the record as fearful of the short ball, hit his first half-tracker for six - and, suddenly, the target was down to 16 off the final two overs. 

England did not score again as Broad and then Anderson had no answer to the pace of Rubel Hossain. 

Finally, it was over. England were out, deservedly out, having recorded one win against Scotland and four losses from their five games. 

Oddly enough, it is a record matched exactly by Afghanistan against whom England face in what is an effective fifth-placed playoff on Friday in Sydney. 

Has there ever been a more ignominious occasion in the history of English cricket?

ENGLAND AT CRICKET WORLD CUP 2015

Date	Venue	Result
14 Feb 03:30	Melbourne Aus	AUSTRALIA 342-9 beat ENGLAND 231 41.5 by 111 runs
20 Feb 01:00	Wellington NZ	NEW ZEALAND 125-2 12.2 beat ENGLAND 123 33.2 by 8 wickets
22 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	ENGLAND 303-8 beat SCOTLAND 184 42.2 by 119 runs
28 Feb 22:00	Wellington NZ	SRI LANKA 312-1 47.2 beat ENGLAND 309-6 by nine wickets
09 Mar 03:30	Adelaide Aus	BANGLADESH 275-7 beat ENGLAND 260 48.3 by 15 runs
13 Mar 03:30	Sydney Aus	ENGLAND v AFGHANISTAN

Full results

GROUP A TABLE	W	L	NR Tie	Run  rate	Pts
(Q) NEW ZEALAND	5	0	0	+3.09	10
(Q) AUSTRALIA	3	1	1	+1.60	7
(Q) BANGLADESH	3	1	1	+0.21	7
(Q) SRI LANKA	3	2	0	-0.15	6
ENGLAND	1	4	0	-1.00	2
AFGHANISTAN	1	4	0	-1.88	2
SCOTLAND	0	4	0	-1.42	0

ENGLAND CRICKET WORLD CUP HISTORY

1975 Semi finals

1979 Runners-up

1983 Semi finals

1987 Runners-up

1992 Runners-up

1996 Quarter finals

1999 Group stage

2003 Group stage

2007 Super eights

2011 Quarter finals

2015 Group stage

Team-by-team group stage review to follow next week

World T20: Embarrassing England are the fools again

ENGLAND completed a thoroughly miserable winter with defeat to the Netherlands in their World T20 dead rubber yesterday.

Stuart Broad's side were bowled out for just 88 to lose by a humiliating 45 runs to their Associate opposition, neatly capping off a farcical last four months.

"Shambolic" and "simply dreadful" were just two of the terms which BBC correspondent Jonathan Agnew used to describe the debacle.

And, in fairness, Broad acknowledged his team had "let the fans here and English cricket fans back home down", adding: "It's been a horrendous winter."

Strangely, though, coach Ashley Giles - who has been touted to replace Andy Flower in the Test job - put the defeat down to complacency.

But that does not quite work. For, as former skipper and current Sky commentator Michael Atherton pointed out, the accusation of complacency suggests England had something to be complacent about in the first place, which is certainly not the case.

Whitewashed in the Ashes, England arrived in Bangladesh for this tournament in terrible form in the shortest form of the game, too.

It was to some surprise, then, that the 2010 champions actually performed pretty creditably in some aspects of their play in the first three matches, despite their early exit.

Denied by the vagaries of the Duckworth-Lewis method against New Zealand in their opener, England then recovered from 0-2 after one over to record their highest successful run-chase in T20 history and beat Sri Lanka by six wickets.

That kept hopes of progression alive for the third game against South Africa. This was another tightly-contested affair but the Proteas ultimately prevailed by three runs.

No blame could be apportioned to the batsmen who followed up their score of 190 against the Sri Lankans with 193 against the South Africans.

However, the death bowling in both of those games was abysmal. Jade Dernbach, in particular, had a torturous time with 26 coming off his last over against South Africa.

It was an over which effectively put England out of the tournament, giving them that little bit too much to chase.

And it also further damaged Dernbach's own stats as he now bears an economy rate which, at 8.71 runs per over, is the joint-worst in international Twenty20 history.

Nothing quite compares to what is actually a second consecutive T20 defeat to the Dutch, though.

Yes, that is two losses in a row to the Netherlands at a form of cricket - but, while the 2009 shock could be genuinely put down to a bad day at the office, the outlook now is much gloomier.

Elected to field having won the toss in an attempt to restrict the minnows, the Netherlands made a fast start to reach 32-0 after three overs.

From then on, though, England - without Dernbach - bowled better and the Associates slipped from 84-1 to 133-5 by the end of their innings.

It was an eminently gettable target - but the troubles began almost straight away with openers Michael Lumb and the hero against Sri Lanka, Alex Hales, out in consecutive overs.

Then, the run rate began to stall as wickets arrived with depressing regularity. Eoin Morgan was caught at slip before Moeen Ali lazily stroked the ball to mid-off.

England were 32-4 but, with Jos Buttler and Ravi Bopara at the crease, they still had two men who could produce individual fireworks to win the game.

It quickly became apparent, though, that this wasn't going to be the case when Buttler holed out and his replacement Tim Bresnan was comfortably run out. 52-6.

Bopara was the only recognised batsman left and the Essex man top scored with 18 before he failed with a big shot of his own. And that just left the tail whose resistance was predictably short-lived.

They could only add 14 runs for the final three wickets as James Tredwell finished the circus act in appropriate fashion in another comical run out.

With the dislodging of the bails for the final time this winter, England had hit rock bottom.

The beginning of the match report from the excellent George Dobell of Cricinfo does well to sum up the context of this humiliation.

He wrote: "There is a great deal of competition for the lowest point in the history of English cricket. 

"They have been defeated by Ireland, bowled out by a chicken farmer in Zimbabwe and whitewashed by India, West Indies and Australia. They were even knocked out of the World Cup they hosted in 1999 before the theme song was released.

"But defeat at the hands of Netherlands in Chittagong ranks among the worst of England's defeats. In a winter stuffed with setbacks and disappointment, England left the most ignominious moment until last."

Indeed, England could be said to have come full circle - 1999 was the last time it felt as bad as this with that early World Cup exit followed by a Test series defeat to New Zealand at home.

Back then, England slowly rebuilt so that, by 2004-05, a confident team under Michael Vaughan's captaincy could beat all-comers at home, including Australia for the first time in 18 years.

In between, Nasser Hussain skippered the first steps to recovery - and perhaps he could do something similar again this time.

Of course, the ECB would have to convince Hussain to leave the cosiness of the Sky studio and the in-house promotion of Giles to Test coach is much less hassle.

But that shouldn't be the determining factor in the selection of the head of the national side, and regretfully the uninspiring Giles just does not cut it.

Remember, this match effectively forms part of his portfolio for a job interview ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in June.

Surely, the ECB will have to look elsewhere.

WORLD T20 RESULTS
Bangladesh and Netherlands qualified from preliminary tournament
Group One

Date	Venue	Result
22 Mar	Chittagong	SRI LANKA 165-7 beat SOUTH AFRICA 160-8 by five runs
22 Mar		NEW ZEALAND 52-1 beat ENGLAND 172-6 by nine runs (D/L)
24 Mar		SOUTH AFRICA 170-6 beat NEW ZEALAND 168-8 by two runs
24 Mar		SRI LANKA 40-1 beat NETHERLANDS 39 by nine wickets
27 Mar		SOUTH AFRICA 145-9 beat NETHERLANDS 139 by six runs
27 Mar		ENGLAND 190-4 beat SRI LANKA 189-4 by six wickets
29 Mar		NEW ZEALAND 152-4 beat NETHERLANDS 151-4 by six wickets
29 Mar		SOUTH AFRICA 196-5 beat ENGLAND 193-7 by three runs
31 Mar		NETHERLANDS 133-5 beat ENGLAND 88 by 45 runs
31 Mar		SRI LANKA 119 beat NEW ZEALAND 60 by 59 runs

Group One	W	L	RR	Pts
(Q) SRI LANKA	3	1	2.23	6
(Q) SOUTH AFRICA	3	1	0.07	6
New Zealand	2	2	-0.68	4
England	1	3	-0.78	2
Netherlands	1	3	-0.87	2

Group Two

Date	Venue	Result
21 Mar	Mirpur	INDIA 131-3 beat PAKISTAN 130-7 by seven wickets
23 Mar		PAKISTAN 191-5 beat AUSTRALIA 175 by 16 runs
23 Mar		INDIA 130-3 beat WEST INDIES 129-7 by seven wickets
25 Mar		WEST INDIES 171-7 beat BANGLADESH 98 by 73 runs
28 Mar		WEST INDIES 179-4 beat AUSTRALIA 178-8 by six wickets
28 Mar		INDIA 141-2 beat BANGLADESH 138-7 by eight wickets
30 Mar		PAKISTAN 190-5 beat BANGLADESH 140-7 by 50 runs
30 Mar		INDIA 159-7 beat AUSTRALIA 86 by 73 runs
1 Apr		AUSTRALIA 158-3 beat BANGLADESH 153-5 by seven wickets
1 Apr		WEST INDIES 166-6 beat PAKISTAN 82 by 84 runs

Group Two	W	L	RR	Pts
(Q) INDIA	4	0	1.28	8
(Q) WEST INDIES	3	1	1.97	6
Pakistan	2	2	-0.38	4
Australia	1	3	-0.86	2
Bangladesh	0	4	-2.07	0

Semi finals

Date	Venue	Result
3 Apr	Mirpur	SRI LANKA 160-6 beat WEST INDIES 80-4 by 27 runs (D/L)
4 Apr		INDIA 176-4 beat SOUTH AFRICA 172-4 by six wickets

FINAL

Date	Venue	Result
6 Apr	Mirpur	SRI LANKA 134-4 beat INDIA 130-4 by six wickets

WOMEN'S FINAL

Date	Venue	Result
6 Apr	Mirpur	AUSTRALIA 106-4 beat ENGLAND 105-8 by six wickets

The Ashes 2013/14: Australia beat "broken" England again

Australia 204 & 231-2 beat England 255 & 179 by eight wickets Scorecard
Man of the match: Mitchell Johnson (5-63 & 3-25)

AUSTRALIA dismantled the very last vestiges of England's confidence after completing a eight-wicket victory in Melbourne to go 4-0 up in the series.

Shane Watson (83 not out) hit the winning runs as the Aussies set up an odds-on chance of a whitewash which would have been seen as a laughable impossibility just four month ago.

Undoubtedly, though, that says more about England than it ever will about Australia in this ongoing nightmare tour. Now the joke is well and truly on England.

Indeed, the sad decline of Alastair Cook's team has been swift and brutal in this bleak midwinter.

Yes, it cannot be denied that problems had been identified in the summer, namely England's continued inability to pass 400, but the team at least still knew how to win matches back then.

In Melbourne, as Cook candidly admitted afterwards, England proved in no uncertain terms that this is the case no longer - even when put in a favourable position.

Consider the fact that, at the close on day two at the MCG, Australia were 164-9, still 91 runs behind on England's first innings effort.

And that Michael Clarke's decision to field on winning a fourth straight toss appeared to have backfired as the Aussies, and David Warner in particular, batted with a certain hubris which looked set to be their downfall.

But then came day three, surely up there when considering the darkest recent days of English cricket history.

First, Brad Haddin was once again able to reduce the Aussie arrears by compiling a last-wicket stand with Nathan Lyon which was worth 40 runs.

In doing so, Haddin broke the Ashes record for the highest aggregate by a wicket-keeper. His current total of 390 - at 65, no less - beats Alec Stewart's 378 from 1993 with a match to spare.

Those extra runs with Lyon seemed to matter little, though, when captain Cook and fellow opener Michael Carberry neutralised those gains by making it to lunch unbeaten on 54-0 for a lead of 105.

Instead, the real nightmare came in the afternoon session as England collapsed not just once but twice.

With Cook (51) having already departed, lbw to Mitchell Johnson, the first collapse was triggered by Carberry being trapped in front by Peter Siddle with a ball from round the wicket having made 12 painstaking runs in two hours.

Carberry thus proved that England have still not found an opener to replace ex-captain Andrew Strauss who is now happily nestled in the SkySports commentary team.

Nick Compton was dropped for a similar scoring rate - and, while there is much to be said for occupying the crease, by refusing to rotate the strike, Carberry simply puts pressure on himself and the team.

It showed as 86-2 became 86-3 when Joe Root (15) went for a run that was never on, before Ian Bell equally brainlessly lofted Lyon straight to Johnson at mid-off with his first ball.

Kevin Pietersen, who had come under pressure between Tests for his carefree batting approach, then tried to take on the responsibility of repairing the innings.

Briefly, he found a sensible ally in Ben Stokes. Having scored just 19, though, the Durham all-rounder rather tossed his wicket away to become Lyon's second victim on what would be a momentous day for the off-spinner.

Jonny Bairstow - in for discarded vice-captain Matt Prior - also began with good intent, hitting two sixes to extend a record broken earlier by Haddin for the most hit in a single Ashes series.

However, the Yorkshireman also could not build on his start, and he needlessly clipped a wide Johnson delivery behind to Haddin on 21.

England were beginning to struggle on 173-6 but what then followed almost defied belief, even accounting for what has gone on over the past six weeks.

Tim Bresnan added to Bell's duck, swiping at Lyon but succeeding only in dragging the ball onto his own bails.

And then Stuart Broad departed without scoring to Lyon too, allowing the Aussie to celebrate a 100th Test wicket.

173-5 had become 174-8 in the blinking of an eye but England did not stop there.

Seemingly unable to trust James Anderson or Monty Panesar with blocking at the other end, Pietersen (49) felt obliged to charge down the pitch in a bid for some quick runs off Lyon.

Instead, he could only find Ryan Harris stalking the boundary at long-off as Lyon (5-50) celebrated the most unlikely of five-fers on a pitch that had offered barely any turn whatsoever.

Man of the match Johnson inevitably wound up proceedings by trapping Panesar lbw for a fourth duck in the innings as the tourists were bowled out for 179.

In all, England's last five wickets had fallen for six runs - and, combined with the earlier collapse of three wickets for one run, England lost eight for seven. Frankly, it was a complete disgrace.

With eight overs left in the day, Australia made serene progress towards their target of 231, finishing a remarkable third day on 30-0, leaving them with 201 to get.
 
But, such was the strength of England's earlier position, the statistics still gave them some hope.

Until today, the highest fourth innings Test run chase since the introduction of a drop-in pitch to the MCG had been 183.

Nevertheless, within an hour of play on this fourth and final day, England had effectively surrendered the match.

First, Warner got a second life when Bairstow froze to the spot and Cook grassed at first slip - then, shortly afterwards, Chris Rogers was reprieved following a quite unbelievable drop by Cook.

The England captain has much on his mind at present, clearly. It is just a shame that one of them is not catching the ball.

Cook subsequently baffled viewers by setting bizarrely negative fields which did nothing to stop the Aussies from scoring at more than four an over.

And his rotation of the bowlers left much to be desired. Broad - England's best bowler on the tour - took on just 10 overs while Root was twice preferred to Panesar in the absence of the retired Graeme Swann.

This was scrambled thinking at its very worst from Cook who is still an inexperienced captain.

He is also an unduly negative one, however - and, if heads somehow do not roll after this, he and head coach Andy Flower need a complete change of mindset to rebuild England's shattered confidence.

England are a "broken" team at present according to BBC Test Match Special summariser Jonathan Agnew, who noticed there was "no conversation between anyone" on the field.

Sidekick Geoffrey Boycott also went through the varying stages of the Kuebler-Ross model on grief.

He was at depression with his first comment: "The hardest decision Australia have had to make this morning is what to have for lunch" - before finally moving to acceptance.

"This is so disappointing and hurtful as a lover of English cricket.I don't mind losing but this is just a massacre," he added.

By contrast, the Aussies were understandably cock-a-hoop as Rogers recovered from a streaky start to record his second Test century, the eighth by the home side in this series. England have had still just one centurion, that being Stokes in Perth.

Even when Panesar found success to the most muted England celebrations ever, the joy continued for Australia when skipper Clarke, in his 101st match, became only the 27th player to reach 8,000 Test runs.

Oddly, it is a record which he shares exactly with his opposite number Cook - though, at 29 years and three days, the Englishman yesterday became the youngest ever to reach the milestone, younger even than Sachin Tendulkar.

Pietersen also passed the 8,000 runs mark within this match but, for the England pair, these individual achievements will feel utterly worthless, considering the mess which surrounds them.

Onto Sydney, this shambolic tour rolls then - with the singular aim of avoiding the whitewash.

The pack may be given another shuffle - will we see Garry Ballance at the expense of Carberry or one of the three giant seamers in place of Panesar or Bresnan?

Regardless of the selection, though, a second 5-0 whitewash in just seven years is surely on the cards.

After all, just shuffling a pack of 52 jokers will still not make a winning hand.

THE ASHES 2013/14

21-24 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND: Australia 570-9d & 132-3d bt England 172 & 312 by 218 runs	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD: Australia 385 & 369-6d beat England 251 & 353 by 150 runs	Perth
26-29 Dec	FOURTH: Australia 204 & 231-2 beat England 255 & 179 by eight wkts	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

CENTURIES
148 Michael Clarke (Australia)
124 David Warner (Australia)
120 Ben Stokes (England)
118 Brad Haddin (Australia)
116 Chris Rogers (Australia)
113 Michael Clarke (Australia)
112 David Warner (Australia)
111 Steve Smith (Australia)
103 Shane Watson (Australia)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
7-40 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
6-81 Stuart Broad (England)
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
5-50 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
5-63 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)

The Ashes 2013/14: Australia recapture the urn in Perth

Australia 385 & 369-6dec beat England 251 & 353 by 150 runs Scorecard
Man of the match: Steve Smith (111)

AUSTRALIA delivered another crushing defeat in the third Test in Perth to take an unassailable 3-0 lead and regain the Ashes urn for the first time since 2009.

Mitchell Johnson inevitably dealt the final blow at 5.45am British time this morning, James Anderson fending the ball to George Bailey at short leg as England's tail struggled again following the removal of Ben Stokes.

Durham all-rounder Stokes hit a wonderful maiden Test century but, remarkably, this was England's first of the series. Australia have scored seven.

Indeed, there is a whole range of statistics which could be reeled off to show a complete disparity in quality between the two sides.

Yes, there have been three lost tosses for Alastair Cook which have resulted in the Australians' getting the advantage of batting first on some belting pitches.

But that excuse can be given little credence really, considering England's biggest failures with the bat have come in their first innings, resulting in three uphill, and ultimately futile, battles.

The bowlers, therefore, have a more legitimate excuse in that, so short have the England innings been, they have been terribly overworked on some baking hot days.

Nevertheless, Anderson and Graeme Swann are two of the most experienced squad members, and yet they currently hold monstrous averages of 58.42 and 80 respectively.

By contrast, four of the five leading wicket takers are Australian, a list headed by Johnson who has taken 23 scalps at 15.47, an average which was at one stage below nine.

Worst of all, the England bowlers have been guilty of allowing Australia to build the scoreboard pressure which the batsman have then wilted under.

They can complain of tiredness quite legitimately but it does work both ways.

For, just as Australia had been 132-6 in Brisbane and 174-4 in Adelaide, they were again struggling at 143-5 on the first day in Perth. Perhaps, we thought, England were going to get a foothold in this series, after all.

Then, Steve Smith arrived at the crease. A hitherto largely unheralded player in this Aussie renaissance, Smith went on to compile only his second Test century.

In Perth, though, this was a much more enjoyable event than his first ton, which actually came in the draw this summer at the Oval amid English celebrations of a 3-0 series victory.

How long ago those days seem now already! Smith was supported by the excellent Brad Haddin who became only the fourth wicketkeeper to score four consecutive Test half centuries - and, together, they ensured Australia recovered to 385 all out.

Despite Cook and fellow opener Michael Carberry compiling their highest stand of the series at 85, the hosts' score was still look good.

This was because England had ended day two on 180-4, still more than 200 behind having lost Cook and Kevin Pietersen before the close.

Cook at least made 72 this time, his highest score of the series. But he then cut spinner Nathan Lyon to David Warner at point in an identical dismissal to the one which had got Warner on day one.

Pietersen, who had been horribly bogged down - scoring just four runs from his first 40 balls - then launched a foolish attack on Peter Siddle, a bowler for whom he seemingly does not rate.

It was a bad mistake and he managed instead only to slog to Johnson at mid-on. Incidentally, Siddle has now accounted for Pietersen on 10 occasions, more than any other bowler.

Maybe it is time for Pietersen to show his opponent a little more respect, though this is a word which has been in short supply in this bitterest of series.

BBC correspondent Jonathan Agnew even dedicated part of his blog to criticising the poor sportsmanship which has been a common theme in the three matches so far.

The latest most blatant example coming from some England players' refusal to applaud Shane Watson's century, as is customary - but the Aussies have hardly been angels.

As mentioned by myself previously, sledging - while an accepted part of the game - is best done with genuine wit and humour rather than simply being abuse.

Back to the action anyway, and resuming on day three, England predictably repeated their previous collapses in Brisbane and Adelaide by losing their last six wickets for 61.

Stuart Broad, who is still considered by many Australians to be public enemy number one following his antics in the summer, was one of only two men to fall to Johnson on this occasion.

But, along with his lbw dismissal from a Johnson yorker, Broad also suffered a bruised toe and, attending interviews on crutches, he became almost symbolic of just how shattered and tortured England looked, both mentally and physically.

Indeed, in many observers' eyes, the third day which followed was the one in which the wheels officially came off for England.

Australia constructed a lead of 369 runs for the loss of just three second innings wickets, eventually declaring 503 ahead, as England produced a performance in the field with which even a park side would be embarrassed.

Matt Prior continued his poor form behind the stumps, as well as with the bat, as he missed a stumping from Graeme Swann's first delivery to Warner before messing up another one an hour later for good measure.

The whole innings was summed up on the fourth day, though, when there was a complete breakdown in communication in the outfield between Bell and Anderson.

As Australia attacked with rich abandon, Bailey skied one and it looked a sure wicket until both fielders hesitated and the ball fell comically between them. The sound of raucous, mocking Aussie laughter filled the Waca.

Even Anderson, a modern day legend with 336 Test wickets to his name, looked finished as Aussie new boy Bailey then took great delight in his fortune by smashing a world record 28 runs off one over.

Somehow, it actually got worse. For skipper Cook, this was meant to be a joyous celebration of 100 caps - but, instead, he was out for his first golden duck in Test cricket to a viscous Ryan Harris inswinger.

Carberry (31), Joe Root (19) and Pietersen (45) then all made starts which they could not convert before Stokes joined Bell at the crease.

The tourists' two most in-form batsmen calmed the storm a little but Bell (60) could not survive the night as he was adjudged via DRS to have edged behind off Siddle.

Resuming with five wickets left, then, Stokes stoked the dream for as long as he could, although Prior (26) had exposed the tail at the other end, edging Johnson behind to Haddin.

That was the only wicket to fall in the morning as England reached lunch on 332-6 but, within three overs of the resumption, Stokes' vigil finally ended as he also edged behind, this time off Lyon.

The fat lady could begin to warm her vocal cords for her official appearance and, indeed, England did not keep her waiting much longer.

Swann was out for four to Lyon before Johnson picked the last two wickets - of Tim Bresnan and Anderson - to make it six for the match without having hit his form of the first two Tests.

Man of the match was instead awarded to Smith for his century as Australia began their biggest Ashes party since 2007.

Of course, the 2006-07 series was Australia's last Ashes series victory - and what a thumping it was!

A 5-0 whitewash as the careers of Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne ended on the highest of highs.

Now, current skipper Michael Clarke has not been shy in voicing his aim to repeat the feat which is rated as low as 13/8 with some bookmakers.

For England, the inquest has already begun with former captain Geoff Boycott demanding coach Andy Flower immediately reviews his position, rather than waiting until the end of the series.

BBC Sport chief sports writer Tom Fordyce has penned a front-page article on 'Ten reasons why it went wrong for England' while the Guardian has a similar review from Vic Marks.

At the Telegraph, another former England bowler-turned-journalist Derek Pringle has also suggested Flower must consider his position, while the newspaper scores the series on a session-by-session basis as 31-8 to Australia.

My thoughts are still slightly fogged by the late nights and early mornings but cautious instinct suggests Flower should not be forced into anything too drastic in terms of his own position given his previous success.

At the same time, the coach and his skipper Cook need to be ruthless and mix it up for the last two Tests, regardless of whether it works or not.

Drop the under-performing Pietersen and Prior for Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow. Replace Swann and even Anderson (or Broad, if injured), and put some faith in the giant attack of Steven Finn and Boyd Rankin.

After all, this trio of tall pacemen when including Chris Tremlett, was something which was much hyped before the series began.

Since Tremlett struggled at Brisbane in the first Test, though, the whole idea and therefore much of England's preparation seems to have been ditched.

These are just some ideas off the top of my head and, shorn of some of England's stars of the modern day, it would likely be perceived as a weaker team which would lose 5-0.

But, when the current XI look like being whitewashed anyway, something simply must be done.

Yes, the series may be over and the Ashes sadly back Down Under - but the selection for the fourth Test in Melbourne will still be a source of some fascination as an England fan.

It begins, as is traditional, in the early hours of Boxing Day.

THE ASHES 2013/14

21-25 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND: Australia 570-9d & 132-3d bt England 172 & 312 by 218 runs	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD: Australia 385 & 369-6d beat England 251 & 353 by 150 runs	Perth
26-30 Dec	FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

CENTURIES
148 Michael Clarke (Australia)
124 David Warner (Australia)
120 Ben Stokes (England)
118 Brad Haddin (Australia)
113 Michael Clarke (Australia)
112 David Warner (Australia)
111 Steve Smith (Australia)
103 Shane Watson (Australia)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
7-40 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
6-81 Stuart Broad (England)
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)

Ashes 2013/14: Total humiliation for England in Adelaide

Australia 570-9dec & 132-3dec beat England 172 & 312 by 218 runs Scorecard
Man of the match: Mitchell Johnson (8-113)

AUSTRALIA took a huge stride towards regaining the Ashes after a comprehensive 218-run victory over sorry England put them 2-0 up in the series.

Skipper Michael Clarke (148) and Mitchell Johnson (7-40) were the hosts' heroes again - but, in truth, this was an outstanding all-round team performance in which they outclassed England in every facet of the game.

By contrast, for the most part, the tourists' batting would normally be described as abject, except that it was often much worse even than that.

Instead, former England captain Michael Vaughan summed up their efforts at the crease quite neatly in describing them as "feeble".

Yes, exactly what I had feared in my match report for the first Test in Brisbane had, indeed, come to pass.

Back then, I considered if the die for this series may have already been cast with the "theme being the England top order's complete inability to cope with short, fast-paced deliveries from Johnson".

Sadly, the England batsmen did little better in Adelaide than they had at the Gabba - despite a much more docile pitch which was in evidence for much of the first two days after Australia won the toss and chose to bat. 

The flat pitch gave the hosts the perfect opportunity to preserve at least the 1-0 lead which had been gained at the Gabba by batting England out of the match early on.

And, in reaching 155-1 at one point, it looked exactly as if this was about to happen. In fairness to the tourists, they then worked hard to restrict the Aussies to 273-5 at stumps on day one.

It should have been better than that, though, as England put down at least three catches with Michael Carberry and Monty Panesar at fault for two howlers.

Even on a relatively good day, then, the dropped catches belied a lack of confidence which has seeped into the England camp.

On day two, Australia were not about to offer any more chances and, instead, the theme of the day was Clarke's continuing love affair with the Adelaide Oval.

The Aussie captain has now scored six Test centuries in nine appearances there and averages just below 100.

Clarke also clearly relishes playing against England. Seven of his 26 Test centuries have come in Ashes contests, including three in the last five Tests.

Indeed, such is Clarke's dominance against England that he has now scored 2,030 runs at an average of 48.33.

In leading from the front, Clarke was joined by his vice-captain Brad Haddin who also seems to revel in Ashes combat, reaching three figures this time following two half centuries in Brisbane.

There was a touch of fortune for Haddin, though. Durham youngster Ben Stokes appeared to have made the wicketkeeper his maiden Test scalp when he was caught behind on 51.

But, on a chastening day in the field, replays showed Stokes had committed the cardinal sin of overstepping. It was a no-ball, and Haddin was recalled to the crease to continue making hay.

This was far from just the Clarke and Haddin show, however. Australia batted right down the order as, in all, four other men made half centuries, including Ryan Harris at number 10 who was 55 not out.

Even last man Nathan Lyon had the audacity to hit a six in an Ashes record of 12 in the innings as the Aussies racked up the runs at a good pace.

Clarke then declared for the first time in the match with the score on 570-9, a minor psychological triumph in that it prevented England from bowling Australia out.

It also allowed the Adelaide crowd a chance to see if Johnson could repeat his heroics at the Gabba.

Indeed, he could as England skipper Alastair Cook failed to make it to the close of play unscathed, his furniture having been well and truly rearranged.

Fellow opener Carberry and Joe Root did make it to stumps but it was a nervy effort with just 35 runs coming off 21 overs, and Root almost running out Carberry to the penultimate ball of the day.

Then, from the final ball of the day, Carberry would have been out lbw if the Australians had requested a review on the Decision Referral System.

Thankfully, though, the Aussies were content to walk off the pitch, happy with their day's work - and, generally, the DRS is having a much quieter series Down Under than it did in England when each day seemed to be mired in some sort of controversy.

It mattered little that Australia had not managed to take a second wicket on day two. Johnson returned on day three, rested and fired up as England failed to meet fire with fire.

First, though, he got a little help from his friends. Root had seen off the opening spell of hostile fast bowling but then got out to a brainless sweep to deep square leg off spinner Lyon for 15.

Then, just before lunch, Carberry - who had worked hard for his maiden half-century - fell to a brilliant catch by David Warner off Shane Watson.

However, the worst wicket of the morning session came in between those two dismissals as Kevin Pietersen clipped the ball straight to George Bailey in the leg-side for four.

It was a shocking shot which seemed to have a complete disregard for both the context of the match and the inexperience and the poor form in the batting line-up around him.

After lunch, England could keep Johnson from centre-stage no longer. The Queenslander was magnificent again, bowling a spell of 5-16 on his way to 7-40.

Twice, Johnson was on hat-tricks after Stuart Broad and James Anderson were bowled first ball following the dismissals of Matt Prior, who continued his woeful form, and Graeme Swann.

The second hat-trick ball was kept out by Panesar who went on to survive almost an hour for his two runs.

Faced with a barrage of bouncers, it was a much braver effort than many of his colleagues had managed, and allowed Ian Bell to make the best of a bad job with a stylish 72.

So, Panesar and Bell can emerge with some credit - but, after Anderson made a couple of early breakthroughs in dismissing Chris Rogers and Watson, Warner repaired the little damage with an aggressive 83.

Remarkably, Australia closed day three leading by 530 runs having led by 535 at the start of play. But what had prevailed in between meant England could hardly consider this progress...

Onto day four, and a positive Clarke declaration with the Aussie captain mindful of an unsettled forecast for the final two days in Adelaide.

Yet another England collapse looked likely when captain Cook played the latest braindead shot, hooking Johnson to Ryan Harris at fine leg for a solitary run.

Carberry followed soon after, caught by Lyon off Peter Siddle for 14 to leave England on 20-2, just the 510 runs behind.

Ultimately, England would actually bat through a whole day for the first time in the series, as Root (87) and Pietersen (53) belatedly found some semblance of form. 

Neither could make the truly huge score which the situation required, though. 

Indeed, with Stokes (28) edging to Clarke in the slips off Harris in the last half hour, Australia entered the final day needing just four more wickets. 

Within an hour, they had got them. Broad fell in the opening over of the day, scoring a six into the leg-side before a similar heave from the next ball found Lyon at deep square leg. 

Swann, averaging 3.25 with the bat and a hell of a lot more with the ball, then failed for the fourth time in the series to get out of single figures before nicking an unthreatening Harris delivery to Clarke in the slips. 

And Prior was the penultimate man out, albeit having made a creditable 69 to end his own run of low scores. 

Again, though, his wicket came from mistimed hook. In fact, 21 of England's 40 wickets in this series - i.e. more than half - have been to catches in the leg-side with eight of those caught on the boundary. 

It demonstrates perfectly England's scrambled thinking that they keep going for the hook and the pull to the short ball, and expecting to get away with it. 

If nothing else, it brings to mind the famous Albert Einstein quote: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

However, England look to be too far gone to save in this series, despite captain Cook's call for a period of introspection. 

Certainly, England legend and now Test Match Special summariser Geoffrey Boycott does not give the tourists a hope. 

"We have won three series comfortably, but we are going to get annihilated in this one," he said.

Perth on the west coast comes next, this coming Friday. It is a venue where England have won just once ever, back in the 1978-79 series against a weakened Australia side. 

The pitch is expected to be hard and bouncy, similar to the Gabba, and Johnson - who has 17 wickets in this series already at a remarkable average of just 12 - will expect to have another field day. 

England, then, may have officially lost the Ashes by the end of this week, depending on how they do at the Waca. Even a retention now looks nigh on impossible. 

Indeed, although just a draw would do, only four teams in Test history have come back from 2-0 down in a series to get a result - and only one of them, featuring a certain Sir Donald Bradman, actually won. 

Cook's men may want to set the sights a little bit lower first, England having now lost successive Tests by more than 200 runs for only the second time in their history.

Somehow avoiding defeat in Perth would be a start for the fact that it would keep the Ashes alive beyond Christmas and, perhaps more importantly at this stage, end home hopes of a whitewash.

Otherwise, if England go down to defeat again, a 5-0 defeat akin to the nightmare 2006-07 tour will loom larger than ever.

THE ASHES 2013/14

21-25 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d bt England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND: Australia 570-9d & 132-3d bt England 172 & 312 by 218 runs	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD TEST	Perth
26-30 Dec	FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

CENTURIES
148 Michael Clarke (Australia)
124 David Warner (Australia)
118 Brad Haddin (Australia)
113 Michael Clarke (Australia)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
7-40 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
6-81 Stuart Broad (England)
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)

The Ashes 2013/14: Australia hammer desperate England

Australia 295 & 401-7dec beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs Scorecard
Man of the match: Mitchell Johnson (9-103)

MITCHELL JOHNSON took a five-wicket haul for just the eighth time in Tests as Australia completed a comprehensive beating of sorry England inside four days at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Johnson posted 5-42 in the second innings, and match figures of 9-103, as England collapsed for the second time in the match, losing by a massive 381 runs.

This was a defeat straight from the dark days of English cricket in the 1990s - but this team has shown itself in the past to be a lot more talented than their counterparts from 15 or 20 years ago.

And so that is simply what is so stunning about this turnaround. Indeed, even during day one of this Test, England - holders of the urn since 2007 - were heavy favourites again.

Stuart Broad reacted brilliantly to some extreme goading from the Australian press and supporters to run through the Aussie top-order, taking the top four wickets on the way to figures of 6-81.

Broad had become a persona non grata in Australia following an incident on the third day at Trent Bridge in the first Test of the summer series.

Clearly edging behind to first slip, Broad - as is his right - stood his ground expecting to see the raised finger of Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar.

Incredibly, it never came, and Broad - having refused to walk - carried on where he left off, eventually scoring a vital 65 in what was eventually the tightest of victories.

Already in the past, Broad has shown himself to be a pretty thick-skinned character so it is doubtful that a few headlines - or, ridiculously, being referred to as the "27-year-old medium-pacer" on the Brisbane Courier scorecard - will bother him too much.

Nevertheless, it is a pretty pathetic an hypocritical campaign from the journalists in a country who actually popularised the notion of not walking.

Perhaps the Aussies are just a little more sensitive having had to become accustomed to losing over the last few years.

Not in this series, though, if this desperate England display is replicated elsewhere.

Firstly, having had Australia on the ropes at six down in their first innings, captain Alastair Cook allowed the match to drift as Johnson and Brad Haddin put on 114 for the seventh wicket.

Haddin eventually fell six runs short of his century the following day, run out by quick-thinking debutant Michael Carberry, after going for a second which was never on.

Australia were still all out for less than 300, and England began the task of establishing an innings lead in reasonably confident manner.

Johnson's first spell lasted just three erratic overs, and Carberry looked especially at home in eventually top-scoring for England with 40.

The same could not be said for the vastly more experienced Jonathan Trott, who fell in the over before lunch, patently unable to cope with some short and genuinely fast-paced bowling from Johnson who had been brought back on.

Trott's dismissal had taken the gloss of a solid morning for England who, at 55-2 and then 82-2, had no need to press the panic button.

Except that Johnson - following his inauspicious start - had become a constant menace, regularly clocking 90mph on the speedometer.

Australia's other bowlers were coming into play, too. Ryan Harris took the scalp of Kevin Pietersen who lofted a drive to George Bailey at midwicket, before Carberry was hustled out by Johnson.

Spinner Nathan Lyon dismissed Ian Bell for five and Matt Prior for a golden duck to leave England on 87-6 - and it got worse as Joe Root (2) and Graeme Swann (0) quickly departed to Johnson to leave England on 91-8.

Astonishingly, the tourists had lost six wickets for nine runs inside 10 overs, their worst ever collapse in the first innings of a Test and their worst anywhere since Melbourne in 1990.

Nevertheless, a slow start to an away series is nothing new for England - there is a pattern which has already been set.

For, in tours in the last two years to Pakistan (in the UAE), Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand and now Australia, England have failed to pass even 200 in the first innings of the first Test. If anything, they are getting further away.

More generally, Cook's men have failed to pass 400 in any of their last 17 Test innings, including all 10 innings of this summer's successful, though perhaps now highly-flattering, Ashes series.

The impressive Broad batted with the tail for a while to make 32 but holed out off Peter Siddle to Chris Rogers at deep square leg.

And so, England were humiliatingly all out for 136, a deficit of 159 which grew to one of 224 runs as Australia's openers Rogers and David Warner easily got to close of play undefeated on day two.

Rogers did not last very long on day three, and nor did Shane Watson, but Warner batted magnificently to compile his first Ashes century and the first by anyone in this series.

He was joined at the crease by his skipper Michael Clarke who saw off a perceived short-ball weakness to make it into three figures too.

Indeed, by the time Swann could make his breakthrough, Australia were already on 294-5, a lead of 453.

Clarke then allowed Johnson (39 not out) and debutant Bailey (34) some time at the crease while Haddin (53) completed another half-century.

But, with an hour of the third day left, he declared with Australia having racked up a massive lead of 560.

Only two teams have scored over 200 to win a Test match at the Gabba, and the highest was 236 in 1951 by Australia against the West Indies.

England were no in position to be breaking records with BBC Test Match Special commentator Jonathan Agnew describing them as being "in disarray". 

And, by the close of day three, England were 24-2 and finally staring a huge defeat in the face. 

Carberry was out for a duck this time, defending to Harris, only to see the ball almost apologetically bounce down between his legs and rebound onto the stumps.

Then Trott could not make it to the close, and was never going to, given his skittish approach and poor body position when faced with Johnson.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan described Trott's nine runs as "the worst I've ever seen an England number three make" and, indeed, he made no more, shovelling another short Johnson delivery to Lyon at deep square leg.

Trott just about sums up England's state of mind at present and, though it pains me to admit it, Warner has a point in describing the number three as "poor and weak" and England generally as having "scared eyes".

Of course, the tourists resumed on day four in a frankly hopeless position, and so it was with some credit that Cook led from the front in making 65.

Pietersen (26) and Bell (32) also helped delay the inevitable for a while but Siddle then snaffled the latter with a delivery which was back of a length to leave England on 130-4.

Then, the rains came - easily England's best chances of saving the game. Actually, it was not just rain but hailstones the size of golf balls which were falling out of a blackened sky.

However, the match was delayed for merely 90 minutes and, on its resumption, Cook was out almost immediately, nicking a thin edge behind off Lyon.

The spinner then accounted for Prior, caught down the leg-side by Warner for a paltry four before Broad could only equal that score as a second collapse gained momentum.

Johnson, who had taken Broad's wicket, was in the midst of another great spell and, within the same over, he ensured Swann completed a miserable Test with a second duck.

Another rain delay was actually rather cruel on England who, by this stage, wanted just to get the whole sorry affair over and done with.

And, on the resumption, Chris Tremlett obliged - only managing to fend a short ball from Harris to Bailey for seven - before James Anderson was fittingly caught and bowled by man of the match Johnson for two.

It was all over, England having failed to make it to 200 again in losing by a mammoth 381 runs, their fifth worst Ashes defeat ever in terms of runs and sadly a fair reflection on the difference between how the two teams have played.

England have, of course, bounced back from slow starts in several series in the recent past, securing draws in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and collecting a magnificent comeback win in India.

But the most worrying thing about this series is that the die already seems to have been cast, the theme being the England top order's complete inability to cope with short, fast-paced deliveries from Johnson.

Serenaded at the start of this Test by England's Barmy Army with that song, the Queenslander is the stand-out figure so far in this series.

A repeat performance of his efforts here in Adelaide, beginning a week on Thursday, would surely put the Aussies 2-0 up.

Then comes Perth in Western Australia where England have won just once ever, even losing heavily in their impressive series victory three years ago.

And so, unless England's batsman can get themselves sorted out pretty sharpish, this series could indeed be decided in a flash - just not in the way it was expected to be.

There is a hell of a lot of work to be done.

THE ASHES 2013/14

21-25 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND TEST	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD TEST	Perth
26-30 Dec	FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

CENTURIES
124 David Warner (Australia)
113 Michael Clarke (Australia)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
6-81 Stuart Broad (England)
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)

SLOW STARTERS
England's last five first innings scores in the first Test of an away series
192 v Pakistan in Dubai (January 2012)
193 v Sri Lanka in Galle (March 2012)
191 v India in Ahmedabad (November 2012)
167 v New Zealand in Dunedin (March 2013)
136 v Australia in Brisbane (November 2013)

The Ashes 2013/14: Battle rejoined

SQUADS
Australia Michael Clarke (c) Brad Haddin (wk) George Bailey, James Faulkner, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson
England Alastair Cook (c) James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk) Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk) Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Ben Stokes, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott

ASHES foes England and Australia recommence their rivalry late tonight as the first Test of a five-match series begins at the Gabba in Brisbane.

It is only 85 days since the two teams finished the last Ashes series with a draw at the Oval which gave England a comfortable 3-0 win, their biggest over the Aussies since 1978-79.

However, both boards agreed back in 2011 to restructure the competition so that, from now on, the demands of the Ashes series in Australia are kept in separate years to the six-week Cricket World Cup, which is next held Down Under in 2015.

But, rather than a much larger gap between 2013 and, for example, a 2015-16 campaign in Australia, the boards also agreed to squeeze in the first back-to-back contests since the 1970s.

Additionally, the next England home series has been brought forward from 2017 to 2015 to prevent a lengthy gap between meetings.

It all means that, by the time that the English summer of 2015 is finished, England will have faced Australia in 15 Tests over three series in just slightly more than two years.

And, despite fears of "Ashes overkill", the timing actually looks to have worked pretty well for England who have emerged as the dominant force between the two teams.

The current urn-holders have indeed won four of the last five contests, a streak which includes a brilliant 3-1 win over Australia two years ago.

That campaign featured three crushing innings victories at Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney - though no one should expect it to be so easy this time around.

For a start, England's smooth preparation for the 2010-11 series has not exactly been replicated this time.

The fitness of wicket keeper Matt Prior following a calf tear has remained in doubt right up until the last minute while it is also unclear who, out of Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett and Boyd Rankin, will fill the tourists' third seamer spot.

None of them really impressed in the three warm-up games, a frustrating set of matches blighted by poor weather.

At least, the likely identity of England's opener alongside Alastair Cook became clearer with Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry hitting 153 in the draw with Australia A.

Joe Root will drop back down the order to bat at six, though there is hope that he can thrive there given that he will be protected from the new ball.

Meanwhile, Australia's own preparations have hardly been ideal either with their bowling attack suffering a spate of injuries, ruling out Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird.

Ryan Harris will be fit, though, after concerns over his hamstring, and he will be joined by the mercurial Mitchell Johnson whose inconsistency has already become written in Ashes folklore.

Skipper Michael Clarke has also had injury worries but bounced back from a six-week layoff with a stylish 88 for New South Wales against Tasmania. 

His Test record as captain, though, makes for less welcome reading - so far, it is played six, won none, drawn two, lost four. 

Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that Australia will field a much more settled side this time, and Clarke will be expecting his men can take advantage of that with a quick start in Brisbane.

After all, it is at a ground which England have found difficult over the years and, though he would be foolish to admit it, captain Cook would probably settle for a draw.

Next comes Adelaide where England wiped away their horror show on the final day in 2006 with that stunning victory three years ago.

And, of course, the key to this game is likely to be determined by whether either side has carried any momentum from the opener.

For the third Test, Cook's men travel west to the Waca in Perth, the scene of England's only defeat in the 2010-11 series, a heavy one, and a ground at which they have only won once ever.

Then, it is back to the east coast for the final two matches, in Melbourne and Sydney, where the tourists have had rather more success over the years, winning 20 and 22 times respectively.

Remember, as holders, England need only draw the series to retain the Ashes - and, even against an improved Aussie side, it would disappointing if they were unable to grind out a 2-2.

Coverage of the first Test begins at 11pm tonight on SkySports 2 with an hour-long highlights programme at 10am tomorrow, before being repeated at midday, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.

The Verdict show, with former England captain Bob Willis, is at 9pm tomorrow and, due to its time-slot, will feature a preview of the coming day's play as well as a review of the previous day.

Alternatively, radio listeners can tune into the always-reliable Test Match Special on Radio 4 LW and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra from 11.30pm tonight. The whole commentary is then repeated the following day from 11am.

THE ASHES 2013/14

31 Oct-2 Nov	England 391 drew with Western Australia 451-5dec & 168-5	Perth
6-9 Nov	England 430-7dec drew with Australia A 119-3	Hobart
13-16 Nov	England 418 & 151-3 beat Australia Invitational XI 304 & 261 by seven wickets	Sydney
21-25 Nov	FIRST TEST	Brisbane
29-30 Nov	Tour match v Chairman's XI	Alice Springs
5-9 Dec	SECOND TEST	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD TEST	Perth
26-30 Dec	FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

• Five ODI matches on 12 Jan (Melbourne), 17 Jan (Brisbane), 19 Jan (Sydney), 24 Jan (Perth), 26 Jan (Adelaide)
• Three T20 matches on 29 Jan (Hobart), 31 Jan (Melbourne), 2 Feb (Sydney)

21st CENTURY ASHES SERIES

2001	(H)	Australia won 4-1
2002-03	(A)	Australia won 4-1
2005	(H)	England won 2-1
2006-07	(A)	Australia won 5-0
2009	(H)	England won 2-1
2010-11	(A)	England won 3-1
2013	(H)	England won 3-0

OVERALL RECORD

TESTS	All-time	In Australia
Played	315	157
England	103	56
Australia	123	77
Drawn	89	24

SERIES	All-time	In Australia
Played	67	33
England	31	14
Australia	31	17
Draw	5	2

Ashes 2013 stats: Bell and the bowlers bail out England

THE ASHES 2013
RESULT: England won the series 3-0                                                                                         Boycott & Aggers Preview

10-14 July	First Test: England 215 & 375 beat Australia 280 & 296 by 14 runs	Trent Bridge	Report
18-21 July	Second Test: England 361 & 349-7dec beat Australia 128 & 235 by 347 runs	Lord's	Report
1-5 August	Third Test: Australia 527-7dec & 172-7dec drew with England 368 & 37-3	Old Trafford	Report
9-12 August	Fourth Test: England 238 & 330 beat Australia 270 & 224 by 74 runs	Riverside	Report
21-25 August	Fifth Test: Australia 492-9dec & 111-6dec drew with England 377 & 206-5	The Oval	Report

Man of the series: Ian Bell (England), an aggregate of 562 runs at 62.44


THE STYLISH strokeplay of Ian Bell and a stronger all-round bowling unit were the key factors in England's 3-0 Ashes success this summer.

In a series dominated by low scores, Bell (62.44) was the only man from either side to average over 50, having compiled three centuries - in the first, second and fourth Tests.

And, due to the failing top order, this was hardly Bell making hay from an already comfortable position.

England captain Alastair Cook - who averaged a magnificent 127.66 in the last series in Australia - could only boast a top score of 62 and an average of 27.70, this time.

His fellow opener, youngster Joe Root, fared a little better, averaging 37.66, but this was skewed by one huge innings of 180 at Lord's in which he could have been out early.

Excluding that innings then, the Yorkshireman's average for the series was paltry 19.88, and it must be said he looked much more comfortable batting at number six where he was protected from the new ball.

That said, his far more experienced colleagues - Jonathan Trott (29.30) and, particularly, Matt Prior (19.00) - never got going, and - outside of Bell - only Kevin Pietersen (38.80) showed glimpses of his top form. 

Consequently, Bell continually arrived at the crease to find his team in trouble.

But, from positions of 121-3, 28-3 and 49-3 respectively, the Warwickshire batsman's trio of tons guided England to 371-8, 271-5 and 251-6, and the hosts would go on to win each of those Tests.

Of course, none of Bell's centuries - a 113 and successive 109s - was particularly huge in terms of their total - but each of them was absolutely massive in terms of their impact on the game as a whole.

By contrast, two huge individual scores from Australians - 187 from skipper Michael Clarke in the third Test and 176 from Shane Watson in the fifth Test - went unrewarded as both of those matches ended in draws, England even coming very close to nicking the fifth match.

But, while the Aussies did indeed declare with two big first innings totals in those Tests, they were far less consistent with the bat, symptomatic of their ever-changing batting order, perhaps.

In all, Australia failed to score over 300 on eight occasions while, in completed innings, only England's opening day 215 at Trent Bridge was truly disappointing with the benefit of hindsight.

Goodness only knows what would have happened if rain had not intervened at Old Trafford with the hosts on 37-3.

Generally, though, the point stands. England, without being particularly good and having failed to pass 400 all summer long, were still consistent enough in compiling scores between 330 and 375 to win some Test matches. Australia just did not have that knack.

England held another big advantage which restricted the Australians' scoring at times: Cook's bowlers were better at seizing the day.

James Anderson, in the first Test, and Stuart Broad, in the fourth, produced five-fers in both innings in man of the match Test-winning performances.

Neither of them finished as top wicket taker, however. This was something which was not really a surprise, though, given the unusually slow nature of the pitches - they were instead prepared for a spinner.

Graeme Swann duly delivered, enjoying two five-fers (in separate matches) for himself on his way to topping the charts with 26 scalps.

Anderson and Broad shared third place with 22 victims, beaten by Aussie workhorse Ryan Harris, who took 24 in the series, despite missing the first Test.

No Australian got near the consistency of Harris, though - not even Peter Siddle, who - for the second Ashes series in a row - started with a five-fer before fading.

Consistency of selection was also a problem, here, for the tourists.

Ashton Agar surprisingly started ahead of Nathan Lyon as spinner in the first two Tests but ultimately contributed far more with bat than ball, and Australia eventually turned to Lyon from the third Test onwards.

In terms of the seamers, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner played just one match apiece, James Pattinson was ended after two games by injury, while Mitchell Starc (with three Test) and Harris (with four) also failed to play their full allocation. Indeed, of the regular seamers, only Siddle did.

Undoubtedly, excepting an extraordinary final day in which Clarke tried to force a victory which was never going to happen, Australia looked much more comfortable as the series wore on.

England are now aware, if they were not before, that the Aussies are capable of a big score - and Cook's men must bat much better on harder, bouncier surfaces Down Under.

Back to the series just finished, though - and it was a muddled, frankly pretty disastrous, start to the tour which cost the Aussies' dear.

Once 2-0 up, England - with a little help from the weather at Old Trafford, of course - were generally in control of proceedings.

Bell was in belting form throughout, Swann took to the pitches like a duck to water, and Anderson and Broad produced a few unstoppable spells to which Australia had no reply.

Notably, I have declined to mention, until now, the impact of the Decision Review System (DRS) on the series, mainly because it benefited and hindered each team pretty equally in the end.

Certainly, it is something which needs to be looked at again, with neither side fully confident of using it eventually.

But, for every decision which favoured England - such as the extraordinary not out verdict when Broad nicked behind to first slip in the first Test - there had been another which had favoured Australia.

How about, for example, when Agar was out stumped on six in the same match but was reprieved and went on to make 98 as the Aussies almost pulled off an amazing win?

In fairness, Australia skipper Clarke was brutally honest in his assessment of the campaign.

"It doesn't matter how you play, the result is there - England won 3-0," he said, not wishing to add that this was the first time since 1977, 1978/79 and 1981 that England had won three Ashes series in a row. 

By the way, it was 1886 the last time that England extended the sequence beyond that...

THE ASHES: A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE

TEAM SCORES
527-7dec Australia in the third Test, Old Trafford
492-9dec Australia in the fifth Test, the Oval
377 England in the fifth Test, the Oval
375 England in the first Test, Trent Bridge
368 England in the third Test, Old Trafford
361 England in the second Test, Lord's
349-7dec England in the second Test, Lord's
330 England in the fourth Test, Riverside
296 Australia in the first Test, Trent Bridge
280 Australia in the first Test, Trent Bridge 
270 Australia in the fourth Test, Riverside
238 England in the fourth Test, Riverside
235 Australia in the second Test, Lord's
224 Australia in the fourth Test, Riverside
215 England in the first Test, Trent Bridge
206-5 England in the fifth Test, the Oval
172-7dec Australia in the third Test, Old Trafford
128 Australia in the second Test, Lord's
111-6dec Australia in the fifth Test, the Oval
37-3 England in the third Test, Old Trafford

TEAM AGGREGATES
Runs scored England 2856, Australia 2735
Wickets taken England 89, Australia 84

BATTING 
BEST AVERAGES
62.44 Ian Bell (England)
47.62 Michael Clarke (Australia) 
42.00 Chris Woakes (England)
41.80 Shane Watson (Australia)
40.77 Chris Rogers (Australia) 
38.80 Kevin Pietersen (England)
38.33 Steve Smith (Australia)
37.66 Joe Root (England)
36.00 James Pattinson (Australia)
32.50 Ashton Agar (Australia)
 
HIGHEST RUN SCORERS (minimum 200 runs)
562 Ian Bell (England)
418 Shane Watson (Australia)
388 Kevin Pietersen (England)
381 Michael Clarke (Australia)
367 Chris Rogers (Australia)
345 Steve Smith (Australia)
339 Joe Root (England)
293 Jonathan Trott (England)
277 Alastair Cook (England)
206 Brad Haddin (Australia)
203 Jonny Bairstow (England)

CENTURIES (*not out)
England 5 - Australia 4
187 Michael Clarke (Australia), third Test
180 Joe Root (England), second Test
176 Shane Watson (Australia), fifth Test
138* Steve Smith (Australia), fifth Test
113 Kevin Pietersen (England), third Test
113 Ian Bell (England), fourth Test
110 Chris Rogers (Australia), fourth Test
109 Ian Bell (England), first Test
109 Ian Bell (England), second Test

BOWLING 
BEST AVERAGES (minimum 10 overs bowled)
11.33 Joe Root (England)
16.33 James Faulkner (Australia)
19.58 Ryan Harris (Australia)
26.50 Steve Smith (Australia)
27.45 Stuart Broad (England)
29.03 Graeme Swann (England)
29.59 James Anderson (England)
29.60 Tim Bresnan (England)
31.58 Peter Siddle (Australia)
32.45 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
33.66 Nathan Lyon (Australia)

WICKET TAKERS
26 Graeme Swann (England)
24 Ryan Harris (Australia)
22 James Anderson (England), Stuart Broad (England)
17 Peter Siddle (Australia)
11 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
10 Tim Bresnan (England)
9 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
7 James Pattinson (Australia)
6 James Faulkner (Australia)
4 Steve Smith (Australia)
3 Joe Root (England)
2 Ashton Agar (Australia), Jackson Bird (Australia), Steven Finn (England), Shane Watson (Australia)
1 Jonathan Trott (England), Chris Woakes (England)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS (~ 10 wickets in the match)
England 6 - Australia 3
7-117 Ryan Harris (Australia), fourth Test
~6-50 Stuart Broad (England), fourth Test
5-44 Graeme Swann (England), second Test
5-50 Peter Siddle (Australia), first Test
~5-71 Stuart Broad (England), fourth Test
5-72 Ryan Harris (Australia), second Test
~5-73 James Anderson (England), first Test
~5-85 James Anderson (England), first Test
5-159 Graeme Swann (England), third Test


PREVIOUS ASHES SERIES ON THEINTREPIDREPORTER
2009 Preview First Second Third Fourth Fifth Stats
2010-11 Preview First Second Third Fourth Fifth Stats