Cruel Summer...
The Ashes 
/ Andy Morris / 09 December 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now
...the odds for England to win the series 2-1 are at 5.4 followed by 6.8 and 7.4 for a 3-0 and a 2-0 win respectively.
Andy Morris ponders an Ashes series that is slowly (or not so slowly) slipping away from Ricky Ponting and his side.
Before the Ashes series began, all fingers pointed to an English win.
And yet, there were some who hoped (dare one say) against hope that the Australian side would conjure up the magic it has exhibited over the years.
At the end of the two Test matches, most fans' worst fears seem to have come true.
The Adelaide Test was not only won by England, it was almost conquered. Ever since winning the toss, the Aussies did almost nothing right and their only hope with a day and a ball to go was to save the game.
And then Michael Clarke got out.
The rest of the side followed him in a hurry on the final day.
Where this leaves the beleaguered Australian side is with a lot of thinking to do for the rest of the series. There are at least three problem areas requiring immediate attention. Simon Katich is out with an injury and will not play the rest of the series. Xavier Doherty, in the spinning department, has hardly looked like he is ready for the Tests, while the number slot could be up for grabs given that Marcus North has looked increasingly uncomfortable there.
The Phil Hughes-Katich swap looks easy enough. What happens with the other two dilemmas is difficult to fathom. Ricky Ponting is clearly not too fond of Nathan Hauritz after his performances in India, but with Steven Smith and Doherty barely getting the ball to turn, it looks likely that he will get another chance by the method of elimination. Where North could save his place is the fact that he can bowl a bit of off-spin but on a WACA track, carrying two spinners is probably a luxury.
Ideally, Usman Khwaja could get in for North and Hauritz for Doherty.
And that still leaves the Aussies with the other bowling issue.
The pace bowlers are exhibiting no penetration whatsoever. In fact, England have scored their last 1135 runs in the series for the loss of six wickets only, and none of the bowlers have seemed like picking up the wickets. This also means that the odds for England to win the series 2-1 are at 5.4 followed by 6.8 and 7.4 for a 3-0 and a 2-0 win respectively. The odds offered for an Australian turnaround and a 2-1 win for the home team are at 10.5, but it will need them to really turn the things around to get that kind of a score-line.
