England v Australia: Five lessons learnt from the first two Ashes Tests

The Ashes is only two Tests old, but more has happened in those games than does sometimes in an entire series. Australia’s Lord’s triumph, though not the margin, feels like a more accurate reflection of the balance between the two, writes Osman Samiuddin.

Michael Clarke of Australia hopes his team can keep the momentum they stole during the second Ashes Test against England. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

The Ashes is only two Tests old, but more has happened in those games than does sometimes in an entire series.

Australia’s Lord’s triumph, though not the margin, feels like a more accurate reflection of the balance between the two.

Here are five lessons from the first two Tests that will impact the rest of the summer:

No colour for Cook

For two years, between June 2011 and June 2013, it was not ridiculous to think that Alastair Cook could cut it as a one-day-international batsman.

The intrinsically adaptive and resourceful nature of his batting meant he found a way to succeed, or at least be respectable, as a strike rate of 82 and average of 43 suggest.

Rule changes meant the ODI changed drastically in late 2012; Cook and England suddenly became relics from another era.

Most alarmingly, Cook’s ODI commitments began to scramble his Test game. Through 2014, Cook’s Test average was just 32.5.

Since being dumped from the ODI side, however, his true calling has become apparent again. His average in the seven Tests since is 55, with two hundreds and five fifties. His 96 at Lord’s, though unsuccessful, was exactly the kind of innings England hope to see more of in the remaining Tests: dogged, patient and defiant.

Warner-ed

If you only watched cricket in England, you may wonder about the fuss over David Warner. The more worldly will be aware of his unique qualities, and of his progress as a Test player, but he has yet to really show it in England.

Warner has not had a bad series. Two fifties in four innings could be the beginnings of a very good series as much as they could be the continuation of his middling performances in the 2013 Ashes (three Tests, one fifty, average of 23).

Australia know this is not the 2013 Warner, however. He has since turned around his fortunes and, crucially, shown the ability to adjust his game to conditions. New-ball swing will trouble any opener, but swing has not been the theme so far.

Instead, slower, lower-bouncing surfaces promise to be a bigger challenge.

As he showed last year in the UAE, where he averaged 60, he can adapt. In his four innings, he has batted at least an hour each time, so the suspicion is that he is one conversion away from a big series.

Life in the old Pup?

It is both a curious and fitting blemish on Michael Clarke’s wonderful career that he has yet to be on the winning side in an Ashes series in England.

It is curious because he is the last link to arguably the greatest Australian side, and it is fitting because he is now overseeing a generation that is not quite as dominant. His performances in England are not poor, just a little underwhelming, especially if you take out the 2009 tour.

But as this tour has progressed, scrutiny of his batting form has grown, especially as it fits into a broader reduction in recent output.

Age and his increasingly frail body are probably to blame, but since an epic 161 in South Africa, after a period of poor form, he averages 32 in 13 innings with just a single hundred.

Australia does not do knee-jerk, but with the timely rise of Steve Smith, it is easy to see an end for Clarke soon, especially if he wins this Ashes.

What else will there be left for him to stay on for?

Opening merry-go-round

Six and counting. That is how many openers England have tried since Andrew Strauss’s retirement from the game in 2012. Given Adam Lyth’s less-than-impressive start, there is every chance that number will rise before the Ashes is over.

No candidate has been given more than nine Tests, which is part of the problem. Some, such as Joe Root and Jonathan Trott, were never permanent solutions. It threatens to turn into a chronic problem, especially galling for a country used to producing so many.

The whirl through different men can be forgiven, given that it is something England have not had to worry about for 15 years, from the moment Marcus Trescothick strode out on his Test debut to partner Michael Atherton in August 2000.

Since then, a stable opening pair, as much as anything, has been a foundation stone in England’s successes.

Watto wobbles

Just over a decade after he arrived on the international scene, with a reputation as big as his frame, Shane Watson’s Test career may finally be over.

Ultimately, he has not been able to live up to the reputation he arrived with on his debut in Sydney in 2005.

His failure at Cardiff meant he was replaced by Mitchell Marsh for Lord’s; Marsh now is probably as exciting a prospect as Watson was back then. He did not disappoint, either, with three wickets and a breezy second-innings contribution. That built on the favourable impressions he made last year in his debut series in the UAE.

Watson has made his contributions during the years, but he has never been able to string together a series of performances. Lately, his susceptibility to leg-befores has proved a fatal technical glitch.

Australia have neither suffered unduly for his presence, nor prospered because of it. For an all-rounder, that is probably an indictment.

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