Steve Waugh Gets His Assessment Right | England In the Last Decade, The Wider Picture

One must pay tribute to the sheer ruthlessness of the Aussies. They gained plenty in defeat during the away Ashes where they lost marginally. Over the course of the 10 tests, something that is unlikely ever to be repeated, they were the better side, losing respectably in England and then thrashing England when they visited. Neither side won an overseas test during the 10, but Australia got close in every game barring Lords whereas England had their best chance at the MCG, yet lost that by a comprehensive 8 wickets, too. They say, 5 tests is a true test on a test cricketer because failure cannot be hidden like it can in 2 or 3 tests, even if is modest rather than utter failure. In 10 tests there is no hiding. It is an even grander task, and the England side has been shaken up heavily and will inevitably have some changing in both personnel and composition before Lords this June. The pressure of a disappointing 3 tests took it's toll on Graeme Swann, despite him bowling brilliantly for the bulk of the year and his absence in the slow bowling department will be a severe blow. For the Aussies, the plaudits are out in abundance and the series in South Africa could not have come at a better time for them followed by Pakistan in the UAE later in the calendar. 

England are going through a challenging questioning phase at present having been whitewashed for only the 3rd occasion in the history of the Ashes, however the England team have seen some real highs over the years and there is little doubting that the team is in a considerably healthier state than it was during the doldrums of the 1990s, much like the case for India.

England have won 9 of their last 10 home test series against 8 different sides. They were number 1 in all formats in 2012. They won 3 Ashes series in a row home and away before the latest debacle. They have won their last 3 Ashes series at home in 2005, 2009 and 2013. Michael Vaughan, a recent English Captain won more Tests than any other England Captain and Andrew Strauss even more recently won the second highest number of Tests by an England Captain. England were undefeated for 9 consecutive test series in 2009-2011 and won 6 series successively in 2010-2011. They even won 10 ODIs in a row in 2012. They won a rare world title in 2010. They reached the Champions Trophy final last year. They won 8 series in a row in ODIs between 2010-2012 at home. 

England's all time leading run scorer and all time leading wicket taker across all internationals are currently playing. England's all time leading Test centurion is currently playing. Alastair Cook had the joint highest win/loss ratio in Tests historically last year after they won the Test at Durham to give him an astonishing personal 9-1 record as Captain. 

But, there have been disappointments along the way and more than one may imagine. They have lost/drawn 3 consecutive home Test series against South Africa in 2003, 2008, 2012. They have failed to reach the semi finals of the last 5 World Cups in the ODI format. They have lost their last 2 red ball away series against Pakistan. They have been whitewashed twice in an Ashes series this century. They have been whitewashed 3 times by an Asian team in ODIs since 2006. They have lost an ODI series against Australia by a 4 match margin or greater twice since 2009. They lost 3 ODI bilateral series last year. They have also lost a home test series against India in 2007 and an away one in the Caribbean in 2009. In their last New Zealand tour they somehow by the skin of their teeth managed to draw the Test series whereby they could have easily lost it. Since being number 1 in the latter half of 2011 in the premier form of the game, they have lost 3 series and drawn 2 in comparison to 4 series wins with 3 of them coming on home shores.

In their last 5 overseas Test tours they have won just the 1 series. Apart from a rare but remarkable series win in India after the best part of 3 decades, they have not won any of their last overseas Test tour against other countries with losses against Australia, Pakistan and West Indies with draws in South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. They have lost 10 of their last 17 overseas Tests with just 3 victories, one in Sri Lanka and 2 in India, just since the start of 2012 when they played a resurgent Pakistan in the Dessert. They have been whitewashed twice since the start of 2012, by Pakistan as well if you have already forgotten. They have not won any of their last 9 overseas Tests, losing 5 of them and losing the first innings in six of them. They have not won any of their first Test in an overseas tour in their last 14 if you don't count the last tour of Bangladesh. They lost 8 consecutive international games in 2011-12 when they were whitewashed 5-0 in India during ODIs and then were outspun by Pakistan which led to another whitewash in the 5 day version. 

Winning 4 of their last 6 Ashes series doesn't sound all that flash now, when you consider the 2 series defeats were both 5 nil humiliations. Though the 2010/11 is the only anomaly since 2005 where an away side won the Ashes and that magnifies Strauss's achievement of managing to retain the urn down under and overcome a 24 year drought.  

England have a tremendous Test Match tradition, excellent levels of professionalism and a thriving first class structure, however despite this and given this; it would not be wrong to say they are a heavily overrated Test Side, especially away from home, despite plenty of success namely at home in the last decade or so. Steve Waugh hinted at it before the Ashes 10 Test one off marathon got underway when he was quoted as saying 'England are not as good as they think they are.' The World Cup and Ashes winning Captain gave an accurate assessment in the chain of events which followed over the course of 10 Tests. The warning was provided in May. 

On a side note, the youth of English Cricket is not faring much better as they have failed to reach an Under 19 World Cup final since 1998 and failed to make the semi finals in the last 3 tournaments of the Under 19 World Cup. Additionally, they recently lost a game to the UAE in a tri nations series and lost against Bangladesh last summer. They lost 5-2 in a series against Bangladesh in 2011-12. They have lost 8 out of 8 against Pakistan in 2013, 4 in England and 4 in the UAE and were soundly beaten as well. Results are worrying. The quality is not coming through. Compared with Australia, Pakistan and India their youth record is not much to write home about at this level.

The 5 Test tussle with the Indian national side and the World Cup the following winter will be the next major challenges for the England side going forward before the next Ashes series comes around the English summer after next. But now is a time for reflection. England have had highs and lows in the last 10 years, but on balance they are an overrated team and a beatable one, without undermining impressive achievements along the way. Barring the 2010/11 Ashes and 2012 win in India, they are admittedly mediocre travellers.  

England are bound to get back to winning ways in 2014, but the away assignments will be the tougher challenges and that is where they need to neaten up their record significantly if they are to remain a top force in the longest format of the game. Their next one is some way off, after the 2015 World Cup when they visit West Indies and later that year take on Pakistan in the Emirates before going to South Africa. The rebuilding process will start at home before a thorough examination of their progress is provided come 2015. 

10 Highs Since 2003

Winning 4 out of 5 Ashes series since 2005

Number 1 Ranked Test Team in 2011-12

Winning an away Test series in India in 2012 

Whitewashing India 4-0 in 2011 at home in Tests

Winning all 7 home tests against New Zealand and West Indies in 2004

Reaching Champions Trophy final 2004 and 2013

Drawing an away Test Series against South Africa in 2009/10 and winning in 2004/05

Winning the 2010 ICC World T20

Beating Pakistan in 2006, 2010 at home and West Indies in 2007, 2009, 2012 in Tests.

Whitewashing Pakistan and Australia in ODIs in 2012, 4-0.

10 Lows Since 2003

Losing an Ashes Series 5-0 twice

Losing/drawing 3 home Test Series against South Africa in 2003, 2008, 2012

Losing an away Test Series against West Indies in 2009

Drawing an away Test Series against New Zealand in 2013

Whitewashed by Pakistan in 2012 in a Test Series

Lost 5-1 in ODIs and 6-1 in ODIs vs Australia in 2009 and 2010/11

Lost 5-0 against Sri Lanka in 2006, India in 2008 and India in 2011 in ODIs

Lost to Ireland and Bangladesh in 2011 World Cup

Losing a home Test Series against India in 2007

Failed to make the semi finals in 3/4 Word T20s

England in their Last Test Tour of that Country

Australia = Lost 5-0 (5) in 2013/14
New Zealand =  Drew 0-0 (3) in 2013
Pakistan in UAE= Lost 3-0 (3) in 2012 
Pakistan in Pakistan = Lost 2-0 (3) in 2005
South Africa = Drew 1-1 (4) in 2009/10 
Sri Lanka = Drew 1-1 (2) in 2012
West Indies = Lost 1-0 (4) in 2009
India = Won 2-1 (4) in 2012

My England XI Moving Forward

Alastair Cook (C)
Nick Compton
Joe Root
Kevin Pietersen
Ian Bell
Adil Rashid
Matt Prior (WK)
Ben Stokes
Stuart Broad
Steve Finn
James Anderson