Ashes-winning captain Pat Cummins suggested Australia have knocked the stuffing out of England’s ‘Bazball’ philosophy after seeing them “shut up shop” in Adelaide.
Cummins missed his side’s wins at Perth and Brisbane with back problems but returned to apply the finishing touches as the hosts secured the urn by going 3-0 up with two to play.
A succession of wild shots cost England dear in the first two Tests, leading to England skipper Ben Stokes begging his side to show more fight and determination.
Stokes himself reacted to the early loss of top-order wickets with the slowest half-century of his entire career in the first innings, reaching fifty in 159 balls. Their scoring rate in glorious conditions on the second day sat at a stately 3.13 and came in at 3.35 over the course of the entire game.
For a team who have become known for all-out aggression, that represented a significant drop down the gears.
And it was not lost on a triumphant Cummins, who said: “They seem to have changed their style quite a bit game to game. That can happen in overseas conditions, where you’re always trying to find a method that works.
“Day two, I thought was surprising. It was 40-odd degrees, it was hot, it was a very flat wicket and they shut up shop for half the day, which I was pretty happy with.
“I’m sure they’ll talk about it and come at us with different plans for Melbourne and Sydney. I’m just glad we’ve been able to stick to our guns and play what we play best, which has worked.”
Having just returned to the team, Cummins admitted he may now sit out the last two Tests with the main objective already achieved.
With spinner Nathan Lyon also set to miss the Boxing Day and New Year Tests after injuring his hamstring on day five in Adelaide, further changes are imminent for a side who have continued winning despite a long list of injury withdrawals that have also affected Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith.
“We had a pretty aggressive build-up (for me) knowing there was an Ashes there to be won. Now it might be a case of ‘job’s done’ and let’s reassess,” he said.
“I doubt I’ll play Melbourne and we’ll have a chat about Sydney. While the series was alive it was, ‘let’s take on the risk and have a crack at it’.”
On Lyon, he added: “It doesn’t look great seeing someone on crutches, that doesn’t bode well for a Test match that’s a week away.”
Australia will look at a trio of back-up spinners, with Toddy Murphy, Matt Kuhnemann and Corey Rocchiccioli all vying for the role.
