Top 5: Reasons England could still win

With the completion of the Second Test in Adelaide in a little over 4 days, Australia seem to hold the upper-hand in the current Ashes contest, which is quite the contrast of the recent series in England.

While some pundits are now predicting Australia to win 5-0, there are a number of reasons that they shouldn't be getting ahead of themselves just yet, including:

5. Tim Bresnan
The Big Yorkshireman has been injured for the last 2 tests, meaning England has had to rely on fill-ins like Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett to support front-line bowlers Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann.

He fields like he strikes terror into Australian Batsmen. Photo courtesy of guardian.co.uk

While Swann and Anderson have struggled in the Australian conditions, the former unable to get much bounce or control and the latter being unable to generate pace or swing, Bresnan has consistently played well against Australia - regardless of the venue.

Bresnan will bring an extra quick bowling option that England have missed, which will  help manage the workloads of Broad and Anderson, as well as provide some batting in the tail (which they have sorely missed).

4. The Bubble may have burst
It is no secret that the English team have been living in something of a bubble in which they are protected from the general public & criticism.  Another bonus of this bubble is that it is very well catered for (which the publication of the dietary requirements of the team proved, to much mirth) and pissing on the pitch at The Oval (without recrimination).

Having suddenly been beaten comprehensively over 2 Tests, there is a lot less air keeping the bubble afloat & the players have come back down to earth.  They know that they need to keep winning to keep their salad rolls coming & stop Joe Public from heckling them, so their resolve must surely be hardened.

England, seen here looking tougher

The Australian team came under heavy criticism after it beat India in an ugly contest, with some pundits even calling for the Captain to be sacked.  It was a pivotal moment for the team & a reality check they sorely needed.

No more cheap wickets or stupid shots should be seen from now on. This is, after all, a team that has held the Ashes for 7 years.


3. Mitchell Johnson
Like almost everyone else in Australia not named Mitchell Johnson, I had some serious doubts about this bloke going into the series, but he has taken 17 wickets at 12.  Unless he has an appalling test in Perth, he should be a shoe-in for the rest of the series & prevent Mitchell Starc from playing anything but cards for a while.

That being said, there is absolutely no guarantee that he will continue to dominate in the way that he has & a non-firing Johnson will put extra pressure on the other bowlers in the same way Tremlett & Panesar have for England. 

2. The Australian Batsmen
While the Australian bowlers have been doing well, the same can't really be said for the Batsmen.

None of Steve Smith, Chris Rogers, George Bailey or (particularly) Shane Watson have dominated or even looked comfortable.

Bailey played a one-day innings in Adelaide on a flat pitch, which he should be able to do, but otherwise scored 34 in two innings in Brisbane while others filled their boots with runs.

After forcing me to eat some piping-hot humble pie, Smith has gone back to looking quite unsure at what a "cricket" may be.

At last! I can use this photo again!

Rogers is 35 years old and seems to be good for about 40 runs per innings, which is nice (and about 10 runs more than Ed Cowan), but hardly of a Justin Langer / Matthew Hayden standard.  Lucky for him, no-one is knocking on the door.

The much criticised Watson saved his spot in the team by hitting an impressive 180 in the last Test in England, but hasn't done much with the bat since.  He is obviously a good cricketer, particularly as a bowler (has taken 1 wicket for 6 runs off 17 overs in this series), which brings us back to the old problem about what to do with him. The answer may be to drop him down the order for Smith & bring in someone who can score runs at an average of greater than 19.

1. Class
As mentioned earlier, the England team has held The Ashes for 7 years, are almost unbeatable at home and have won tough series overseas.   Their team has a good balance of proven batsmen and bowlers, and have been playing and winning together for a long time.

Put simply, a side containing Alastair Cook, Anderson, Matt Prior, Broad, Kevin Bloody Pietersen, Ian Bell and Swann are just too good to be written off