Australia 4-1 England: player ratings as the hosts win the Ashes in style
Briefly

Australia 4-1 England: player ratings as the hosts win the Ashes in style
"A body unable to match his will, a team unable to match his ambition and, surely, a screaming sense that he made mistakes when preparing for this challenging but winnable series all adds up to a horrible seven weeks for the England captain. His personal form inevitably buckled and you have to feel a little sympathy for a man more guilty of giving too much rather than too little."
"His bowling was better and, as usual when fit, England's most threatening. But he flogged himself to an injury, only Brydon Carse delivering more than his 101 overs. The workload was brave but a little ridiculous for a 34-year-old who was also batting at No 6 and captaining the side. That's an indictment of the years leading up to the tour, when so much damage was done on, it has to be said, his watch."
Ben Stokes scored 184 runs at 18.4, took 15 wickets at 25.1 and held two catches across a difficult seven-week spell. Physical strain and questionable preparation combined with captaincy and No 6 batting duties led to exhaustion and an injury after bowling 101 overs. Stokes was dismissed in several clear ways and his batting form suffered despite remaining England's most threatening bowler when fit. Zak Crawley managed 273 runs at 27.3 with four catches but failed to ease pressure at No 3. Ben Duckett scored 202 runs at 20.2 with three catches and showed limited adaptation against disciplined bowling.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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