Cricket’s burning questions: Will Australia complete Ashes whitewash?

There is still plenty of cricket left for Australia this summer - and a number of burning questions remained answered. Is it finally time for a young spinner?

Australia's players celebrate the final wicket of England's batsman James Anderson to win the third Test and the MCG and retain the Ashes. Picture: AFP

There is a stack of cricket still to come for Australia — and plenty of questions to be answered.

1. Will Australia complete an Ashes series whitewash?

Yes. England are so down the well of despair they can see China but I do give them credit for battling on despite all the Covid challenges. Australia should grind out a win in Sydney but Broad and Anderson could be quite something under lights in Hobart on a chilly night. That could be a lively Test but Australia should still win.

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2. Should Australia gamble on two spinners at the SCG?

Yes, and that is despite the fact the SCG’s spin bowling reputation has become a bit of a myth. Mitchell Swepson has been touring with Australia since 2017. He needs to get all those first match nerves out of the way before the tour of Pakistan but most of all he just needs to play more games of cricket. It would be rough justice to drop a quick but the benefits of playing Swepson are substantial. He is a future first class captain.

Mitchell Swepson needs to play more games of cricket. Picture: Getty Images

3. Why has Australia been so successful this summer when last year they couldn’t beat a depleted India Test side?

The stats tell the story. England have won one of their last 12 Tests while India have lost two out of their last 11. From the months before the tour when England were so strident about what Covid protocols they would accept we always sensed they didn’t really want to be here. India had their whinges as well but had a totally different mindset. They had no fear at all of Australia — the team or the country — and you had inexperienced players like Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj who were beside themselves with excitement at getting Test match exposure.

4. Should Justin Langer get a new contract or should he leave on a high?

For his sake I hope he leaves on a high and I think he will. There’s far more good than bad in Justin and he’s certainly unlucky and has done a solid job. He fell out with the players who found him too intense and normally a winning T20 World Cup and an Ashes contract would smooth things over and guarantee another deal. But the wounds of the revolt are deep. With a tour of Pakistan looming everything gets harder after the Ashes so it’s not a bad time to go. Four years just feels about right for an Australian coach. If Langer goes, Andrew McDonald should do the Test job and Trevor Bayliss the white ball teams.

It could be a good time for Justin Langer to go. Picture: Getty Images

5. Who is to blame for England’s poor summer?

England now have four forms of the game including The Hundred and the poor old red ball first class scene has just been shunted into the background. With so many white ball competitions you just wonder how England will ever produce a fleet of batsmen with four-square, cast iron Test match techniques.

6. Does England need another Australian coach to come rescue them — like Trevor Bayliss did a few years ago?

Ricky Ponting would be perfect — players love him — but he wouldn’t have the time. The great Jason Gillespie has done some wonderful things with English counties but would he want to tackle the travel? Victorian coach Chris Rogers could be worth a call. He knows English cricket inside out having played for four counties and has been underestimated his whole career.