England faces do or die situation in Perth
An embattled England faces a tough ask to try to keep the Ashes urn from slipping out of its grasp in the third Test at the WACA in Perth, a venue the English side hasn’t won a match in since 1978. England, already 2-0 down in the five-match series must secure at least a draw in the match starting on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Australia on the other hand, will look for an Ashes clinching victory, with the opposition in some disarray. Joe Root’s side has been beaten by eventually big margins in the first two Tests, both of which had been evenly fought until Australia seized on the key moments.
England is also battling off-field issues, with a third alcohol-related incident in three months coming to the fore when Ben Duckett, the England Lions batsman, was suspended from a two-day tour match and banned from playing for the rest of the tour for pouring a drink on the head of James Anderson, the senior fast bowler, following a heated argument.
The Duckett incident follows Ben Stokes's involvement in a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub in September and Jonny Bairstow's headbutt greeting for Cameron Bancroft, the Australia Test opener, in Perth in late October.
"As professionals -- with the young kids watching and hearing all the news -- it's very important we are on our best behaviour," said Moeen Ali, England’s offspinning allrounder. "Off-field behaviour needs to improve and we all know that."
History and form both favour Australia though, and England’s recent performances have led to several observers and former players commenting on the possibility of a 5-0 whitewash. England has lost its last seven Tests in Perth, all by big margins. Traditionally, England teams have struggled to cope with the unrelenting heat of the baking venue, and of a pitch that used to be renowned for its pace and bounce.
This, however, will be the last Test at the WACA, with future games set to take place at the new Perth Stadium
Glenn McGrath, the Australian fast-bowling great, said England had two areas it desperately needed to sort out for the WACA showdown. "Firstly, whether they have the firepower to take 20 wickets on good decks, and then whether their top order can score enough runs to put Australia under pressure," said McGrath.
England has to decide whether to call up Mark Wood to inject some much-needed pace into the bowling attack, although Trevor Bayliss, the coach, has indicated he was happy with the four pacemen who played in Adelaide.
"I thought the four pace bowlers we had in the last match went pretty well," said Bayliss, referring to veterans Anderson and Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, the allrounder, and Craig Overton, the debutant.
"As I said after the last Test, our batters have all showed they can all actually play at this level but we've just got to do it for longer. Making 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s at this level is not good enough."
Australia is likely to make a change with Mitchell Marsh, the recalled allrounder, in line to come into the side for Peter Handscomb, the batsman.
"Other people might be unlucky to miss out but Mitchell fills the role we need for this particular Test match," said Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach. "As a batter, he was in some good form. But we needed his bowling as well. Now he's bowling, we can consider him."
Teams (probable):
Australia: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
England: Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
