5 crucial moments where England lost the Ashes

Not many experts had given England a chance ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes Down Under, wondering if the visitors would be able to win even a single game owing to an inexperienced middle-order and harmless spinners. The 4-0 outcome in favour of Australia was not far from what was predicted – surprisingly, it was rain that saved them from a defeat in the fourth Test, which ended in a draw – and England found it impossible to stop Steven Smith from going big time and again.

But amidst all that, there were moments that belonged to England which they could not capitalize on. Here are the 5 major moments where England lost the Ashes.

#5 Middle-order collapse in Brisbane from 127/1

The series began in bizarre fashion for England when they lost veteran Alastair Cook in the third over after they opted to bat first on a very good track in the first Test at Brisbane. Much to the surprise of many, newcomers Mark Stoneman and James Vince took it upon themselves to rebuild for England. Both seemed at ease against the relentless pace of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, even handling the accuracy of Nathan Lyon well.

They added 125 before Cummins removed Stoneman, getting him bowled from around the wicket. And one wicket opened the floodgates: Vince was run out five overs later and Joe Root fell cheaply to Cummins. Though Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali briefly steadied England’s innings, they first fell from 127/1 to 163/4 and then from 246/4 to 302 all out.

#4 Surrendering dominant position in Brisbane after Australia were 76/4

Despite being reduced to 76/4, Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh stabilized Australia in the first Test

For the second straight Ashes series in Australia, England had pushed their hosts on the back foot in the first Test of the series. After the visitors posted 302, which in itself was a below par score, their bowlers responded by reducing Australia to 4 for 76 on what certainly appeared to be a batting pitch, reviving memories of their slip to 132/6 on the same ground on the first day of the 2013-14 series.

But in 2017-18, Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh joined hands to revive the side by stabilising the innings in a stand of 99 with Marsh making 51. Smith eventually remained undefeated on 141 and Australia ended with a crucial 26-run lead; following that, England folded up for only 195 in the second innings and Australia went on to easily win the Test by 10 wickets.

#3 Loss of early wickets on the final day in Adelaide

Joe Root erred by bowling first at Adelaide and then fell early on the fifth morning after giving England hopes of a win

The second Test began with a surprising decision by Joe Root to bowl first at Adelaide – he succumbed to the lure of overcast skies and rain. Shaun Marsh then showed why Root should have batted. Marsh finished on 126*, and half-centuries from Usman Khawaja and Tim Paine pushed Australia to 442/8. England were bowled out for 227, conceding a massive lead of 215.

In response, James Anderson swung the pink ball viciously under lights to claim 5/43 and finish off the Australian innings for 138. Requiring a challenging 354 to level the series, England ended Day 4 on 176/4 with Joe Root still at the crease. But come the next morning, Josh Hazlewood got rid of overnight batsmen Chris Woakes and Root early to start a procession of wickets.

Neither Jonny Bairstow nor Moeen Ali could withstand the pace of Mitchell Starc and the spin of Nathan Lyon as England, after raising hopes of an unlikely win, ended up losing by 120 runs.

#2 Collapse in Perth after centuries from Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow

England collapsed to 403 all out from 368/4 in Perth

Just like on the 2013-14 tour, no England batsman had scored a century after the first two Tests; and similarly, the hundred arrived in the third Test at Perth. England were reduced to 131/4 batting first – this time Joe Root took the right decision – and newcomer Dawid Malan combined with Jonny Bairstow to stitch a huge partnership to shake Australia up.

The left-right pair added 237 as Malan got his maiden Test hundred after which Bairstow too got to triple figures. But the famous English collapse returned to haunt them as they tumbled from 368/4 to 403 all out with neither Moeen Ali nor Chris Woakes contributing.

#1 Joe Root not converting fifties into hundreds

Joe Root crossed 50 four times in the series but could not convert into a hundred even once

To the utter disgust of the England fans, captain Joe Root continued his woeful conversion rate in Test cricket. Before the series began, he had 33 fifties and 13 hundreds – that was already unimpressive – and at the end of it, he crossed the fifty-run mark four times, but did not get to a hundred even once. Though he retired hurt on 58 at Sydney after falling to the cruel heat, he disappointed, managing scores between fifty and hundred every time England needed him to touch three figures.

In the second innings at Brisbane, he fell for 51 when his stay was essential to set up the match well; at Adelaide on the final morning, Root departed for 67 after giving England a sniff of a rare victory; in the fourth Test at Melbourne, 61 in the first innings again was not enough; and in the final game, he had to retire hurt on 58. Overall, a lack of big contribution from their captain hurt England match after match.