Ashes 2019: England form card

Ashes 2019: England form card

Joe Root Ashes

The World Cup triumph might have diverted the English cricket fan’s attention to some extent, but make no mistake. Once The Ashes begins, there is little doubt that the happy memories will be replaced by the usual intensity of a contest whose history predates even The Olympics.

England were in for a rude shock when Tim Murtagh sliced through their top order to bowl them out for 85 on the first morning of the Lord’s Test, Ireland’s first on English soil. Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes hit back to bowl out Ireland for 38 on the third day, but the top-order failure in the first innings – and, indeed, for some time now – has been a matter of worry.

For long England had struggled to find a partner for Alastair Cook. With Cook’s retirement, they are left with two voids at the top – to the extent that Joe Root has no option but to move up to three. Unfortunately, the middle order, while decent, have not been spectacular as Jonny Bairstow’s poor form in the longest format continued.

How have England fared in the past three years? Let us find out.

Beat Sri Lanka 2-0 at home, 2016: Won by an innings and 88 runs at Headingley, won by 9 wickets at Chester-le-Street, drew at Lord’s

Drew 2-2 with Pakistan at home, 2016: Lost by 75 runs at Lord’s, won by 330 runs at Old Trafford, won by 141 runs at Edgbaston, lost by 10 wickets at The Oval

Drew 1-1 in Bangladesh, 2016-17: Won by 22 runs at Chattogram, lost by 108 runs at Mirpur

Lost 0-4 in India, 2016-17: Drew at Rajkot, lost by 246 runs at Visakhapatnam, lost by 8 wickets at Mohali, lost by an innings and 36 runs at Mumbai, lost by an innings and 75 runs at Chennai

Beat South Africa 3-1 at home, 2017: Won by 211 runs at Lord’s, lost by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, won by 239 runs at The Oval, won by 177 runs at Old Trafford

Beat West Indies 2-1 at home, 2017: Won by an innings and 209 runs at Edgbaston, lost by 5 wickets at Headingley, won by 9 wickets at Lord’s

Lost 0-4 in Australia, 2017-18: Lost by 10 wickets at Brisbane, lost by 120 runs at Adelaide, lost by an innings and 41 runs at Perth, drew at Melbourne, lost by an innings and 123 runs at Sydney

Lost 0-1 in New Zealand, 2017-18: Lost by an innings and 49 runs at Auckland, drew at Christchurch

Drew 1-1 with Pakistan at home, 2018: Lost by 9 wickets at Lord’s, won by an innings and 55 runs at Headingley

Beat India 4-1 at home, 2018: Won by 31 runs at Edgbaston, won by an innings and 159 runs at Lord’s, lost by 203 runs at Trent Bridge, won by 60 runs at Rose Bowl, won by 118 runs at The Oval

Won 3-0 in Sri Lanka, 2018-19: Won by 211 runs at Galle, won by 57 runs at Pallekele, won by 42 runs at SSC

Lost 1-2 in West Indies, 2018-19: Lost by 381 runs at Bridgetown, lost by 10 wickets at North Sound, won by 232 runs at Gros Islet

Beat Ireland 1-0 at home, 2019: Won by 143 runs at Lord’s