Australia captain Steve Smith warns that England are one mistake away from an Ashes whitewash

Australia captain Steve Smith
William West/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse6 December 2017

Steve Smith believes England are one mistake away from another Ashes whitewash after Australia powered into a 2-0 series lead on Wednesday.

Two of the last three series Down Under have ended in 5-0 victories for the home side and England’s grip on the urn is slipping as the teams head to Perth, where England have lost their last seven Tests.

Captain Joe Root insists England are still competitive in the series after they fought back on days three and four here, but Australia’s bowlers delivered when it mattered on the final day to wrap up a 120-run victory. There is now an eight-day break before these sides lock horns at the WACA.

“It’s always tough coming back form 2-0 down particularly away from home,” said Smith. “You can only be one or two bad sessions away from losing the series, and that can play on people’s minds when you’re behind.

“We have to be confident. We will make sure we do everything we can to get this series where we want it to be.”

England supporters arrived at the ground with cautious optimism, as their side needed 178 more runs to complete their highest successful chase in Tests, with six wickets in hand and captain Joe Root at the crease.

But Josh Hazlewood picked up nightwatchman Chris Woakes and then Root inside the first three overs, effectively ending the tourists’ resistance there and then.

Both Smith and Root were part of the 2013-14 contest here, when Mitchell Johnson’s 37 wickets drove Australia to a 5-0 win. The Aussies have now won seven consecutive Ashes Tests in this country and it would take something remarkable for England to hang on to the urn from here.

In Pictures | The Ashes second Test | Dec 2-6

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Yet Root saw enough in England’s performance on the third evening, and throughout day four, to believe they can surprise everyone.

“I don’t think we are in the same situation as we were at this stage on the last Ashes tour. We are in a much better place than that. The way we went about the second innings proved to everyone that we are still massively in this series.

“We are playing better cricket this time around and the teams are more evenly matched than they were then. The first two Tests ebbed and flowed and we have been in control for periods of the game. That wasn’t necessarily the case in 2013-14. We just have to harness those periods and make them last for longer.”

Root is also confident that England’s plans to Smith, who made 40 and six here and suffered heavy sledging, are working well.

Yet Smith countered that the verbals will only make him perform better. He added: “They switched me on. It was when they stopped talking to me that I might have lost concentration. I enjoyed it. They can think what they like but it made me focused and got me in my bubble.”

England will assess Craig Overton after the bowling all-rounder took a blow to the chest after he misread a short delivery from Pat Cummins.

Ashes prediction

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