Joe Root and Chris Silverwood will probably pay for the debacle in Australia with their jobs, but what then?
It’s vaguely amusing to recall now that for much of the year, the very existence of this Ashes series was the subject of fraught, board-level speculation. Tense negotiations were conducted between
Cricket Australia and their counterparts in
England. State governments, federal government, public health experts and players all had to bestow their approval. Would the 2021-22 Ashes happen at all?
Well, as it turned out, not really. Around 850 overs separated the dismissal of Rory Burns on the first morning in Brisbane and the dismissal of Jimmy Anderson on the third morning in Melbourne: the series decided in a little over nine days of cricket. And so as the victorious Australians celebrated wildly on the MCG outfield, it was possible to wonder whether they were overdoing things a touch. Was there any real satisfaction to be taken in despatching an opponent this easily? Did it not all feel a little hollow? A little comfortable? A little embarrassing?