Australia Issues Warning as England's Challenges Come to Light: Key Insights

AUS v ENG: Full Ashes Test Highlights | 15:52

Australia has claimed a dominant victory against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday night, securing the first 16-0 points whitewash since the multi-format Ashes was introduced back in 2013.

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Ash Gardner and Alana King were devastating with the ball in hand, while Annabel Sutherland and Beth Mooney had historic knocks to remember as Australia clinched victory by an innings and 122 runs.

Sutherland was named the Player of the Test for her outstanding 163 on Friday, while King earned Player of the Series honours after finishing with 23 wickets at an average of 11.

Meanwhile, one expert analyst has questioned just how deep England’s problems are and whether structural shortcomings are partly to blame for the disappointing tour of Australia.

TERRIFYING REALITY FOR RIVAL TEAMS AFTER ASHES STATEMENT

Few responses to a disappointment have been more emphatic than the one Australia has produced this summer culminating in an innings defeat of England in the Ashes Test.

After a boilover against South Africa in a semifinal of the T20 World Cup in October ended Australia’s stranglehold on the competition, questions arose about the status of this team.

With Meg Lanning departed, Alyssa Healy battling niggling injuries and even superstar Ellyse Perry now 34, there was a view Australia could be vulnerable in the Ashes.

Instead an emphatic whitewash of the Ashes has demonstrated the depth of talent around the nation and shows a widening, rather than closing, gap on England at the very least.

After a triumphant summer, Healy said she was delighted with the way the side rebounded from the World Cup shock.

“We we’re obviously somewhat spurred on by a little bit of disappointment late last year with the T20 World Cup,” Healy said.

“We spoke quite heavily about the way we want to play the game and how we want to approach it, and I think that’s been the most pleasing part for me, that we’ve actually acted on that, and we’ve showcased that.

“England are a really, really good cricket side and we were able to put them to the sword right throughout this series.”

Australia dominated the old rival in all three formats in matches played around the country, with their ascendancy evident in every single skill, as evidenced in the historic MCG Test.

The Ashes domination followed triumphant white ball series against India at home and on the road against World Cup winners New Zealand.

To thrash England in this Test without a significant input from Healy, who handed the gloves to Beth Mooney, or Ellyse Perry, who corked a thigh when fielding on Thursday, is remarkable.

While Beth Mooney produced a blinder after receiving a series of lives early on Friday to become the first Australian woman to score centuries in all three formats, this was a triumph of youth.

Former Australian captain Alex Blackwell believes both Perry and Healy will view the deeds of their younger teammates with pride.

“(The future) is Gardner. It is Sutherland. It is King. It is Mooney. We have a lot to say about Perry’s influence on these young players, particularly Annabel Sutherland, and she is probably going to take it to another level,” she said.

Annabel Sutherland, 23, produced a defining performance when making 163 to become the first woman to have her name etched on the MCC Honour Board of centurions. Openers Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll, who shone against India in December, are only 21.

Ash Gardner and Alana King, who tore England apart on Saturday, are 27 and 29 respectively and have plenty of time to continue beguiling their rivals given the longevity of spinners.

Quicks Tahlia McGrath and Kim Garth are still in their 20s as well, while Darcie Brown is just 21.

Far from this being a champion side tipping towards being too experienced, this might just be the beginning of a new era of dominance given the abundance of youth in the team.

As King said after the success at the MCG; “16-nil has a really nice ring to it. I couldn’t be prouder of the girls. We love winning and we are not going to stop here.”

Fox Cricket’s expert Blackwell said the decisive nature of the summer meant that this series rated highly among the epic deeds of the women’s side.

“That was a milestone moment (though) we would have hoped for a more even contest between the two sides,” she said.

“Australia completely outshone England in this series and it is typical of this captain Alyssa Healy. She wants to put the foot on the throat. She is ruthless. I think she will be exceptionally proud of her team and she should be proud of the way she captained as well.”

A KING BECOMES THE QUEEN OF THE MCG

Alana King’s triumphant Test completed a stellar series which elevated her status in Australian cricket.

The Melbournian, who now lives in Western Australia, was brilliant again in tandem with Ash Gardner throughout the Test match, with the pair picking up the final nine English wickets to fall.

King’s five wicket haul earned her a spot on the honour board along with Annabel Sutherland, who she played club cricket with at Prahran, her WA state teammate Beth Mooney and England’s Sophie Ecclestone, who finished with five wickets on Saturday.

“Obviously with ‘Bells’, I have played a lot of cricket with her, not just in this team, but back at Prahran when we were both playing, and she was a 14-year-old, and I just moved over to the club as well. I just had a chat with her mum and dad before and we said ‘the True Blues’ (Prahran) are on the honors board, which is pretty special,” King said.

“And with ‘Moons’ as well, I’m absolutely pumped for her. She grinded through some tough sessions yesterday and to get not just on the honours board, but to get 100 in a Test match at the MCG, I’m pretty bloody proud of her. I think it’s just testament to her and what she’s been able to do for a whole career.”

Chief among the many highlights stemming from the Ashes whitewash was the delivery King used to bowl Sophia Dunkley on Saturday. It was an absolute ripper.

“I’ve seen one replay of it, so I (haven’t) really given it a lot of thought, but I’m just stoked that I did it at the MCG with the pink ball in hand and with a ‘Baggy Green’ on as well,” King said.

“It’s pretty special. The buzz word that I’ve been using (is that) it fizzed out really well and I can’t complain too much on how I’ve been bowling. It’s been a really nice rhythm.”

Healy said the 29-year-old had a positive impact both on and off the field when pointing to her busy role with the team when not playing.

“She runs a lot. She is the fines master, right? So she is boss lady outside of, well, in the change room off-field. Everyone listens to Alana and to what Alana needs, Alana wants,” Healy said.

“She’s exactly what you see on the field, I think. And that’s really cool. I think it’s a really authentic King that you see out there. That’s exactly what she provides our group, a lot of laughs, a lot of energy and the willingness to help everybody enjoy their time on tour.”

The opposing view on the Player of the Series was equally positive, with England captain Heather Knight saying the Australian leg-spinner’s ability to alter her pace between the white ball and Test cricket formats had been impressive.

“I think she’s improved a hell of a lot as a cricket and as a spinner,” Knight said.

“I think the last couple of years she’s really added more revs to what she does. I think she found the pace quite well on this wicket. She probably bowled a little bit slower than she did in the white ball stuff and got a little bit out of the surface. She obviously drifts the ball quite a lot as well. She gets that side spin. And, yeah, that was a pretty good ball to Sophia Dunkley.”

SUTHERLAND REFLECTS ON SPECIAL KNOCK… AND PIECE OF HISTORY

Sutherland, meanwhile, said she was still coming to terms with the recognition afforded her after her blazing century on Friday, which led to another landmark moment in her career.

The 23-year-old became the first woman to have her name penned on to the MCG Honour Board for Test players to score centuries at the famous ground.

Her name will be forever sandwiched between Steve Smith, whose century against India in December was the most recent ton at the ground, and Beth Mooney, who made 106.

“It was pretty nice walking into the change room and seeing my name up on the honour board. It is sort of starting to sink in,” Sutherland told Fox Cricket.

“It was nice to get home and give (my parents) a bit of a hug. They had a bit too much camera time yesterday but hopefully they were able to enjoy it up there with friends and family in the crowd.”

By the time Mooney walked from the MCG after the middle session on Saturday, which she spent behind the stumps, her name had already been added to the board as well.

Ecclestone, meanwhile, will also have her name up in lights at the MCG after knocking off the Australian tail to finish with 5-143.

‘GOODNESS ME’: EXTENT OF ENGLAND’S PROBLEMS EXPOSED

Credit where credit is due amid what has been a miserable summer for the tourists.

England’s initial response on Saturday afternoon was indicative of a side that has pride in its performance and was evidenced in the response of the nation’s leading stars.

Off-spinner Sophie Ecclestone endured a torrid time in the field on Friday but bounced back in the first session on Saturday as Australia lost 5-9 in a surprising collapse.

The 25-year-old, who is the world’s top-ranked bowler, finished with 5-143 from 44.3 overs to put a positive punctuation mark on what has been a tricky series for the tourists.

England’s opener Tammy Beaumont also showed plenty of fight at the top of the order after the early loss of her partner Maia Bouchier, who has endured a shocker of a series.

But when she became Alana King’s third victim for the afternoon when playing the leg-spinner on 47, it was a matter of time until Australia secured a dominant triumph.

Now for the critique, for one reasonable session is scarcely anything to hang a summer on. The manner with which England collapsed as Saturday progressed was typically poor.

Fox Cricket expert analyst Izzy Westbury dove deep into the structural shortcomings of the English system when declaring the problems unearthed on this tour are long-term issues.

“Goodness me. Where to start? Australia are more than the sum of their parts. There are some wonderful players out here for England, but when they come out and play in Australia, the percentage of catches that they drop against Australia seems to go (up). Whereas when Australia plays England, it seems to go up. They rise to the occasion,” she said.

“There is a leadership aspect here. Whether it is Heather Knight on the field, whether it be the coach, whether it be even higher than that, this isn’t just a problem that has gone on for 45 minutes – I think that was the line that came out after the exit at the Group stage of the World Cup last year, was that it didn’t go right for 45 minutes – (because) England have been behind the eight ball now for about 15 years.”

After England’s most inexperienced player Ryana MacDonald-Gay fronted a press conference following the debacle on Friday, Westbury said more accountability was needed.

“Like it or not, the way they are going to be judged (and) the standard against which they are held, is against Australia and winning ICC tournaments, and on those metrics, Australia have dominated,” she said.

“You have to start asking questions at all those levels of leadership and also Clare Connor, who is the general manager for England Women’s Cricket and also the deputy CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, she is out here. Surely there should be some accountability there and also some introspection.”

Westbury pointed to the difference in the amount of cricket the Ashes combatants play, stating the Australians honed their competitive instincts in matches and had strong ties from club level through to the international scene.

“Part of it is just playing domestic cricket. That is a real cultural thing in Australia,” she said.

“The players come back and play for their state. They play for their clubs. They play for their WBBL teams. Whenever they have an opportunity, they are back there and honing those basic skills.

“Whereas I think sometimes this England team are wrapped up in cotton wool and kept in the High Performance Centre in Loughborough and not actually exposed to that game time. Part of that is because the domestic structure has been so inconsistent. There has been the Super League. There have been counties. There has been the regional sphere. There has been The Hundred.

“To be honest, I follow the game … but I don’t know what is going on year-to-year and who certain teams are and who is representing which one, so goodness knows the players don’t. They don’t have that consistency. They don’t have that accountability.

“One of the grumbles from the England camp is that they go away in the summer and they have no idea who is now in charge of them. That is a huge part of it. In Australia, you know exactly who you are representing and why you are doing it.”

Australia celebrate a dominant win… but what does it mean for England? (Photo by William WEST / AFP)Source: AFP

Knight, understandably, was downcast after the Test and acknowledged England never recovered from dropping the first two games of the summer. And she noted the fielding on Friday proved especially costly, with Sutherland and Mooney among those to benefit.

“We’ve got a little bit of work to do. Our feeling has been poor at times,” she said.

“In that middle session, we were going OK and holding the game nicely and then in that middle session, we kind of got quite frustrated with the dropped chances, and then went south a little bit.

“I don’t think it’s through lack of effort or a lack of skill. We work really hard on our fielding. We work with a really high skill level as well in training.

“It’s probably an individual thing in terms of the reason why. It is quite hard thing to pinpoint exactly why, at times, we’ve dropped catches, but particularly in a Test match, in a game like this, it’s really important to hold on to your chances and and be ruthless with it.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that in the middle session yesterday.”

‘UNBELIEVABLE’: ALL-TIME RECORD AS FANS PACK THE MCG

Australia’s blitz of the Ashes series rendered the first day-night Test to be played at the MCG a dead rubber in some regards, but it was clearly a match both teams were desperate to win.

It also reduced the prospect of a mega crowd but the attendances for the first Test to be played at the ground since 1949 and the entirety of the series were record-breaking.

Another 11,804 fans filed into the MCG on a lovely Saturday afternoon, which took the attendance for the match to 35,365, which is an all-time record for women’s Tests.

The previous record was 23,207 in an Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in 2023.

The attendance for the entirety of the Ashes was 74,971 in matches played at Sydney, St Kilda, the SCG, Canberra, Adelaide and the MCG.

Australian Cricketers Association president Christina Matthews, who was announced as the latest inductee into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame prior to the Test, was delighted by the response of fans throughout the Ashes series.

“It’s fantastic. As I said back in 2020 when we had the World Cup final only the week before COVID-19 hit Australia, to come down here and see the massive queues, 86,000 people, there’s tears in your eyes,” she said.

“You just don’t think it would happen. And now for a Test match, to see people lining up and wanting to be part of it (at this) historic ground is unbelievable.”

Australia Issues Warning as England's Challenges Come to Light: Key Insights

AUSSIE GREAT PLAYS ‘INTEGRAL PART’ IN HISTORIC MATCH

Finally, a shout out to Fox Cricket favourite Mel Jones and to Cricket Australia for another historic match that preceded the Ashes Test at the MCG.

On the morning preceding play on Thursday, a team of Afghani women who had been forced to flee their nation when the Taliban seized control played a side called Cricketers Without Borders at the Junction Oval. It was an emotional and triumphant day for many reasons.

Afghan captain Nahida Sapan noted the impact of Jones after the match when thanking several people for their assistance in ensuring the match was played.

During the broadcast on Saturday, Fox Cricket expert Izzy Westbury added her voice when noting that the match played on Thursday was hopefully the start of better things for the Afghani women.

“Before the start of play on Day One, we were really lucky, because down at the Junction Oval, there was an Afghan cricket XI – a women’s side – who were out playing against a Cricket Without Borders XI in a wonderful initiative,” Westbury said.

“Now Mel Jones, she is just far too self-deprecating to talk about this, but she has played such an integral part in this. When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, the women’s team were left in a perilous position. They made their way through a number of wonderful Australians, with Mel Jones being one of them, over to Australia at a very difficult time. A lot of them are playing club cricket now in Canberra and Melbourne and they were able to play that match a few days ago.

“Only the start has really happened. They have got out of Afghanistan. They are making their lives but that is for the support for their playing, their physical and mental needs, and they are aiming to raise $1.5 million over the next three years for the players, the support staff, who are having to rebuild their lives.”

Champion batter Rachael Haynes said it was important to keep encouraging the team that are based in Australia but denied official recognition.

“One of the best things about being involved in sport is the difference you can make in other people’s lives and it is great that so many different people have come together to try and make this happen,” she said.

Jones, for her part, beamed when asked by foxsports.com.au about the match.

“I had to sneak back to the ‘G for this match, but I did hear that one of the girls said, ‘Look, we didn’t win, but it wasn’t about that. We just wanted to get out on the park,’” Jones said.

“They’ve been playing club cricket around Canberra and Melbourne now for the last couple of years, but this is something very special. They won’t forget it. I certainly am not going to forget it, and I think all the people that rocked up and watched as well will be in the same boat.”