The Ashes: Is There Any Hope for England?

This Ashes series so far has yet to shine much hope on England's test side. Two humbling defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide - by 10 wickets and 120 runs respectively - have rocked England so far. But is there a glimmer of hope for England to fight back and retain the trophy cricket's oldest rivalry?

We're now one day into the third test in Perth, and already England are looking a more competent side. England haven't won at the WACA since 1978, so it's a tough ask for them, especially being 2-0 down. But a maiden test century for Dawid Malan and 75 not out from Jonny Bairstow have put England in control in a game they simply CANNOT lose.

England have already had good days in the series so far. The opening couple of the first test gave us hope for a good series, and Day 4 of the Adelaide test saw the team have some fight and had us considering the possibility of an unlikely comeback.

But both of those eventually saw England slump to bad loses. Playing well for one fifth of a game - in any sport - will usually not result in anything positive.

England have had a good start in this test, coming back well from 131-4 to 305 for the same number of wickets, but they have to build on this. And give the bowlers something to defend. One day don't maketh a match.

There was talk between the last test and the start of this one of a return for Ben Stokes following his incident on a night out in Bristol. But his lack of cricket since the summer makes the return seem next to pointless. He's currently playing in New Zealand, but his participation could have much of an opposite affect as people would want it to be positive.

It's going to take a monumental effort for England to win at least two of of the remaining three test matches, but it's not impossible. England still have a good bowling attack, even if it isn't as lethal and brutal as the Aussie's. If they can get the swing going, England can truly be a threat with the ball.

England still have some great batsmen, and even the players who had a question mark over their head - Stoneman and Malan - scored well earlier to put those critics to rest. Cook and Root, who have yet to perform this series, are world class batsmen who can produce a game winning innings at any moment. 

All I'm trying to say is, don't give up hope. There is still a chance. Let's keep the faith!

Video courtesy of The Guardian.

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