England
eased to victory in the 2015 Ashes Test series after winning three of the first
four matches, ensuring that they take an unassailable lead into the final
Test of the series. The final clash is underway at the iconic Kia Oval, home of
Surrey County Cricket Club. The Aussies were heavy favourites going into the
tournament and were odds on with most major bookmakers to retain the Ashes
after England endured a topsy-turvy few months prior to the series.
However, Trevor Bayliss took
over as head coach and has been an inspiration since
arriving at the helm back in May. England's big players have all produced
match-winning performances throughout the series and pressure has been lifted
off captain Alastair Cook. As good as the hosts were, Australia were extremely
poor and they will be very disappointed to lose the Ashes after whitewashing
England 5-0 in the last series. Michael Clarke was especially poor and the
captain has announced his international retirement after the final Test of the
series next week.
Worryingly
for Australia, they have failed to win an Ashes series on English soil since
2001 - a run of four consecutive series defeats. While this isn't necessarily a
problem in terms of personnel, defeats outside of Australia will continue to
play a key role in psychological preparation for future cricket matches in
other countries. For many years, the Wallabies were the dominant force in
cricket. Nowadays, they have slipped down to second behind South Africa in the
world rankings and will be nervously looking over their shoulders at the likes
of Pakistan and India who aren't too far behind and have played fewer matches in
2015.
While the
2015 Ashes series was a complete disaster for Australia, all hope is not lost.
They still possess a talented side but are clearly lacking confidence away from
their native land. In fact, the Wallabies remain the best side in the world in
one-day cricket and will fancy their chances of success at the 2016 ICC World
Twenty20 tournament next spring. Australia will be one of the bookmakers
favourites to succeed and you can keep up with all of the latest cricket
odds and news ahead of
the tournament's opening fixture on 11th March.
For
England, meanwhile, they will enjoy their latest success but will know just how
important preparation will be for next year's World Cup in India. While
Twenty20 cricket isn't England's strongest form of the sport, they will be
eager to make a huge statement of intent and could reach the latter stages of
the event if they perform at their very best. With Twenty20 star Kevin Pietersen
currently out of the team due to a difference of opinion, it will be
interesting to see if Bayliss can convince him and Strauss to settle their
problems ahead of the tournament. England impressed in the one-day
international series with New Zealand and - although we are yet to
see if Alastair Cook will stand down from his post as captain
- will be full of confidence heading into next year's Twenty20 competition.
