Every Ashes Player On Both Sides Rated

The scale of Australia’s 4-0 Ashes win wasn’t a surprise (well maybe, that it wasn’t 5-0), but the players who took the series away from the Poms probably were.

Here at Triple M Cricket we’ve put together a rating for every player in the series on both sides, and we even asked an actual Pom to do the England ones so they weren’t all just rated zero with the comment ‘LOL’.

AUSTRALIA:

Ratings by Rudi Edsall

David Warner — 6

273 runs @ 34.12, 2 50s, 2 ducks, HS 95

A pair of 90s in the first two Tests and a what turned out to be an important 38 on a raging seamer in Melbourne means Warner finished fourth for runs and gets a pass mark. He never made a series or match defining contribution though, and a pair in Hobart means he ended the series on sour note. Broad got him a couple of times but he made more runs than every English bat bar Joe Root and Australia won the series 4-0 so he won that personal battle.

Marcus Harris — 5

179 runs @ 29.83, 1 50, HS 76

A pass mark might seem controversial for Harris, who got dropped for Hobart, but in a series played in largely bowling friendly conditions it’s hard to see how he could have gone much better. Averaged a fraction under 30 — more than Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed and just a bit less than Steve Smith — and gets a full extra point for his battling 76 in tough batting conditions at the MCG that was by far the most important innings of the match.

Marnus Labuschagne — 7

335 runs @ 41.87, 1 100, 2 50s, HS 103

Marnus just did Marnus stuff throughout this series — a ton, two 50s, excitable appealing, a whole heap of weird affectations and by far the funniest moment of the series when he fell over his own feet and ended lying flat on his face as Stuart Broad calmly knocked his stumps over. Like Warner, he made plenty of runs but never pulled off the series defining knock he threatened to, and then Mark Wood thoroughly figured him out. He made it to number 1 batter in the world during the series and promptly found out it was easier to get to the top than it is to stay there.

Steve Smith — 4

244 runs @ 30.5, 2 50s, 1 duck, HS 93; 1 wicket @ 10, best bowling 1/10

Steve Smith has been an Ashes cheat code for so long that it was genuinely bewildering that he didn’t dominate the series in a manner we’ve become accustomed to. Is it too much to ask that Steve Smith dominates every single bowling attack home and away? Truthfully he’s looked human for a while after several years of series defining knocks, but this is the first time that the idiosyncrasies have looked tortured rather than eccentric. Smith put up a couple of 50s but looked tired and scrambled, and got out in ways that are concerning on the way to his worst ever Ashes series.

Travis Head — 9.5

357 runs @ 59.5, 2 100s, 1 50, HS 152, strike rate 86.02

An Ashes winning contribution from just about the last bloke you’d have expected when the first team sheet went in. Head was the last man picked for the series, but instead of anxiously going into his shell to protect his spot, he backed his game and Gilchrist-ed Australia out of trouble at the Gabba in a searing, series-defining innings. His against-the-run-of-play Hobart century on a wild seamer was another masterpiece and what cemented him as a popular choice for player of the series.

Usman Khawaja — 8

255 runs @ 85, 2 100s, HS 137

Uzzie has seemingly come to peace with his lot as a fringe Australian Test player, meaning that when his chance came thanks to Travis Head’s positive covid test he played with a completely clear mind. Both of his tons at the SCG were serene and basically perfect, waiting out the good balls and finding a way to make the runs flow when he was completely set. In one Test he outscored the series of aggregate Ben Stokes, Cam Green, Marcus Harris, Zak Crawley, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns and Ollie Pope.

Cameron Green — 8.5

228 runs @ 32.57, 2 50s, HS 74; 13 wickets @ 15.76, best bowling 3/21, strike rate 37.2

It’s hard to imagine someone who’s already 198cm tall growing anymore, but Cam Green visibly grew up in this series. He came into the series with question marks over his bowling after going wicketless against India but became not just a valuable contributor with the ball but a proper weapon — he the wicket of every one of England’s top six batters at some points. He then coupled big boy wickets with big boy runs in both innings at Hobart. Some technical issues with the bat were exposed around off stump early in the series but once he got comfortable he showed how hard it is to bowl to a bloke who’s 6’ 5” and has all the shots. The sky is almost literally the limit for the Green giant.

Alex Carey — 5

183 runs @ 20.33, 1 50, 1 duck, HS 51; 23 catches

A pass mark for the new gloveman — just. A dream eight catch debut was a distant memory later in the series when he regularly made a hash of catches low to his right, exposing some technical keeping deficiencies. Some extremely gritty runs — and a lot of luck — plus some catches in his troublesome area and a proper screamer in Hobart will have restored some confidence. He’ll be behind the stumps in the upcoming tours in the subcontinent but the spectre of Josh Inglis looms large.

Pat Cummins — 9

21 wickets @ 18.04, best bowling 5/38, strike rate 36.1; 72 runs @ 14.4, HS 24

Perfect Pat, Captain Cummins, the Pom Destroyer; call him what you want, Pat Cummins is inevitable, irrepressible and frankly just incredible. Literally the one mistake he made in the series was his restaurant choice the night before the Adelaide Test which made him a close contact and put him out of the match. Cummins bowled impeccably to be the leading wicket taker in a third successive Ashes campaign and dispelled any doubts about the captaincy being too much responsibility. There will be complaints about the SCG declaration but Australia made enough chances to win regardless.

Mitchell Starc — 8.5

19 wickets @ 25.36, best bowling 4/37, strike rate 48; 138 runs @ 38.75. HS 39*

Arguably second in the player of the series rankings after Head. Set the tone when he cannoned into Rory Burns’s leg stump with the first ball of the series and routinely wrecked England in the first three Tests including two in two balls in the infamous second dig at Melbourne that set up the Scott Boland show. His contribution with the bat was arguably as important as that with the ball as the lower order routinely took the game away from England — at one point during the MCG Test he averaged over 50 with the bat and under 20 with the ball for the series. Subdued in the last two Tests, perhaps unsurprisingly for a player noted for needing more rest than his colleagues.

Nathan Lyon — 7

16 wickets @ 23.56, best bowling 4/91, strike rate 61.1; 76 runs @ 25.33, HS 31, strike rate 89.41

Will get some grief for not being able to bowl Australia to victory in Sydney but overall Lyon was a key contributor in one of the most complete team bowling performances ever seen on these shores. Lyon was able to both restrict and attack, always looking threatening to left handers and he was only truly got at once, when Bairstow and Stokes gave it some humpty on a docile Sydney pitch. He was leading all comers for wickets coming into the final Test but wasn’t required to bowl even one single ball on a demonic Hobart pitch.

Scott Boland — 9

18 wickets @ 9.55, best bowling 6/7, strike rate 27; 24 runs @ 12, HS 10*

What a performance, what a story. Eyebrows were raised across the country when Boland rocketed into selection contention on his home deck at the MCG, but all that was raised after his magical debut were fists of celebration as his barely believable spell of 6/7 helped Australia retain the Ashes inside 12 days. His accuracy and ability to bang the ball on to the exact right line and length made him too much for every English batter to handle, not least of all Joe Root who fell to him four times out of a possible six.

Jhye Richardson — 6

5 wickets @ 24, best bowling 5/42, strike rate 45.8; 17 runs @ 8.5, strike rate 242.85

Called on in Adelaide to replace Josh Hazlewood and took five second innings wickets including getting Jos Buttler to stand on his stumps after an obdurate knock. Would likely have played more but pulled up sore.

Josh Hazlewood — 6

3 wickets @ 24.66, strike rate 54

Unlucky to miss out on the bulk of the series after a side strain but did his job when available, taking early wickets in Brisbane to set up a series defined by Australia’s bowling dominance.

Michael Neser — 4

2 wickets @ 30.5, strike rate 72

Finally made his long awaited and richly deserved Test debut and had a dream start with a first over wicket, but didn’t make a huge impact and has now slipped behind Boland in the pecking order.

Never miss anything with the Best of Triple M Cricket playlist!

ENGLAND:

Ratings by Matt Bellotti

NB: I have generously given the England players a point just for coming as, to be fair, they’ve done it very tough in recent years with the strains of “bubble life” much worse than any other teams (you really should try playing away from home occasionally, Australia. People will start to talk). The fact the Poms came at all and put up with quarantine, etc, was a credit to them. Bear in mind therefore a point has been added to their individual out-of-ten scores here already.

Rory Burns – 1

77 runs @ 12.83, 2 ducks

Started the series as badly as it’s possible to start. Yet somehow managed to then go downhill from there thanks to shit catching, shit technique, shit stance, (we know you’re ‘left eye dominant’, mate. Have you tried batting right-handed instead of looking a total pelican?), shit running between the wickets, and shit hair. He’ll go back to Surrey and score stacks of runs on England’s only decent deck. The challenge the selectors (hopefully new) then have is making sure he doesn’t get picked for the test team again even when he does.

Haseeb Hameed – 1.5

80 runs @ 10, 2 ducks

A bonus half point because he survived 52 of 60 minutes at the end of Day Two in Melbourne that was the toughest hour any batter has ever had to face. He should never have been back in this team. His Test recall came too early in his admirable return to form (because the other openers had made themselves unpickable – sound familiar? - against India). This isn’t the end for Has, but he has a lot of work to do. Mainly around those low hands.

Zak Crawley – 6

166 runs @ 27.66, 1 50

Q: “Why wasn’t this guy playing from the start?” A: Because he averaged 11 last calendar year. But anyone watching can see ‘Creepy’ was a level above anything else England have in the top three (not saying much). An enormous financial investment has been made into Creepy’s career and it should eventually pay off. He and Dom Sibley could be opening for some years to come – but they’ll need coaching and a system designed to support them.

Dawid Malan – 4

244 runs @ 24.4, 2 50s, 1 duck

Very difficult to judge Malan given his situation at home (T20 cricket has seen him barely at home for a year and his first child was born on day two of the Hobart Test six weeks premature). His early knocks showed why is England’s best number three batter (yes, that is very much Tallest Pygmy areas) but doubt seemed to come into his game from the second dig in Adelaide. Sitting out the West Indies tour makes sense, especially with a view to the T20 World Cup.

Joe Root – 5

322 runs @ 32.2, 3 50s, 2 ducks

Topped the averages – but as well he bloody well should. He’s a brilliant bat. Failing to score the long-awaited century he promised to “bang out” will have hurt him. Being frank, Root’s input into selection and tactics at key moments hurt England more. However, he’s still probably, maybe, the right man to lead the side – albeit only with every single other influence around him changed. Says all the right things, is very much “a good bloke”, and players respect him. Oh, and I know no one is ready for this, but he remains England’s current best spinner. Has been for a few years. Just another of the many things they have to correct.

Ben Stokes – 4

236 runs @ 23.6, 2 50s; 4 wickets @ 71.5, best bowling 3/113 strike rate 95.2

Bringing Ben Stokes back when he declared himself fit was the right thing to do. But it was never going to be easy and missing so much cricket with both a significant injury and mental health challenges meant he was always unlikely to contribute much in a crucial position. Will be needed in a rebuild but maybe it’s time to focus on batting where he’s needed rather than reeling off overs of bumpers as he has for the past few years as a Plan B that’s seen mixed success. Maybe a different place in the order would let him affect the game differently.

Jonny Bairstow – 7

194 runs @ 48.5, 1 100

Credit to the bloke, he proved a lot of us wrong. The technical flaw that saw him repeatedly bowled through the gate seems to have been fixed. That leaves a very solid, gutsy batsman who scored England’s only century of the series. His fielding is also of the required standard and he’s an excellent example of what playing for England should mean to young players coming into the side. Deserves to keep that number six spot for the foreseeable future (but not keeping wicket please – you don’t drop Buttler for Bairstow anymore than you’d give up the smokes but pick up the crackpipe).

Ollie Pope – 0

67 runs @ 11.16

Ironically, his final act in a series where he spent all his time in the middle desperate to put bat on ball saw him wander across his stumps and miss the thing as it cleaned him up. Embarrassing. As is the fact that this kid – with all his beautiful technique and skill – has gone backwards while a player with no greater natural skill, Marnus Labuschagne, has ascended to be the number one batsman in the world. That’s not all Pope’s fault, but he needs to do a lot of work and get a lot of help before he comes back to this level. Given an extra point (in addition to the extra one for turning up) for his catches as sub keeper in Sydney. So really -2/10. Dan Lawrence must have looked truly awful in the nets to not get selected ahead of Popey in Hobart.

Jos Buttler – 3

107 runs @ 39, 2 ducks; 12 catches

Wicketkeepers are often a good bellwether for a team and so Jos proved, ie: he should have stayed at home. A couple of flashy, beautiful catches. One innings where he looked defensively capable. The rest a total shitshow. Two crucial moments in the series were at the end of a disciplined day one in Adelaide where Anderson finally found Marnus’ edge only for Buttler to drop the easiest catch you’ll see. The other was on a balanced day one in Melbourne where England simply had to get to 250 and he chose to flick the ball before tea gently to Nathan Lyon in the outfield. Jos Buttler is so critical to England’s World Cup campaign back here in October that, if he isn’t prepared to remove himself from consideration for red ball cricket for the rest of 2022, he should be told.

Sam Billings – 5

30 runs @ 15, 5 catches

He smiled a bit.

Chris Woakes – 4

6 wickets @ 55.33, best bowling 2/64, strike rate 88.6; 146 runs @ 24.33

Was convinced this was the series where ‘The Wizard’ would show Australia what the fuss is about. It wasn’t. He’s grown so much as a cricketer and conditions suited him better than ever before. Did fine but nowhere near good enough. Top scored with the bat twice from number eight, which reinforces how appalling the rest were.

Mark Wood – 8

17 wickets @ 26.64, best bowling 6/37, strike rate 42.7; 86 runs @ 10.75

All together now:

Oh shake it up Woody now

(Shake it up Woody)

Pace and bounce

(Pace and bounce)

C'mon c'mon c'mon Woody now

(C'mon Woody)

Come on and bowl 'em out

(Bowl 'em all out)

When we see you running in

(Running in)

You know you look so good

(Look so good)

He's England's fastest bowler now

(Fastest bowler)

You won't forget Mark Wood...

(Forget Mark Wood)

Lovely man. Great series. Deserved to come out on top of wicket-takers and fitness held up very well. Him and Big Jof together would have been quite the prospect (sigh).

Jack Leach – 3

6 wickets @ 53.5, best bowling 4/84, strike rate 73.8; 51 runs @ 12.75

Junk wickets in Sydney added a slight gloss to a depressing series for Leachy. The mauling at the Gabba will now be up there in his legacy alongside the 92 he scored as nightwatchman and, of course, that 1 not out. Yet when it comes to match-winning bowling memories from Leach’s career… not much comes to mind. Which says everything. Easy to blame Root for negative fields, but Leach has a voice in that. And he hasn’t done much to prove to his skipper that he’s any better than Root himself as a genuine frontline spinner. Although always easier to tweak when your batters give you 400 to play with rather than 180…

Ollie Robinson – 6

11 wickets @ 25.54, best bowling 3/58, strike rate 58

Showed his lack of pace isn’t a barrier to taking wickets even in Australia. His mastery of consistent line and length will always work. However, getting publicly shamed for your fitness by your own bowling coach in the middle of a test is far from ideal. Does that reflect worse on Robbo or the coaching and support set up? Either way, they want him to work a lot harder to keep his place.

Stuart Broad – 6

13 wickets @ 26.33, best bowling 5/101, strike rate 26.30, 54.7; 42 runs @ 14

Broady seems a lot more palatable to Aussie cricket fans when he’s taking 1/73 than when he takes 8/15. Funny that. Bowled with a lot of heart and nous. Must stay around – and play – for two important reasons: 1) He’s still good enough; 2) The team needs his mentorship, experience and balance (not always something we’ve said about Broady) in bringing through the next gen. England could maybe do a lot worse than make him skipper for a year or two.

James Anderson – 6

8 wickets @ 23.37, best bowling 4/33, strike rate 78

Did enough to show he’s as good as his career figures suggest (ie better than casual Aussie fans may have believed from past tours), bringing outstanding economy and enough wickets. Would stand out even more if the attack weren’t almost all similar versions of him. His fitness is exceptional, albeit unlikely to ever make all five tests. Jimmy says he’s never bowled better and on this show, you’d believe him thanks to his outstanding rhythm and action. Focus on Test cricket will do that. Like his good mate Broady, imperative he stays for a while, teaches the new blood some tricks, and keeps his hand in for as long as possible.

Chris Silverwood

As Coach = -5/10

As (sole) Selector = -10/10

England managed their only shred of dignity and competence, avoiding a humiliating loss for the only time this summer, while ‘Spoons’ was isolating in a different state. He wasn’t the right man and it was very much the wrong time. Has spent his years in charge picking players for test matches other than the one in front of him and that fallacy was shown up from ball one at the Gabba. A mess that is so bad not only do you have to remove the Coach, but you need to look at who appointed him (MD of Cricket Ashley Giles), who gave him all this power (also Ashley Giles), and who he reports to (yep, Gilo again) and question their judgement. The King Of Spain holds just as much responsibility for the imbalanced, ill-prepared, muddled thinking throughout the squad, and should suffer the same fate as Silverwood. Cheerio.

Never miss any of our best stuff with the LiSTNR app - grab it on iTunes or Google Play now!