Ashes ratings – how England players fared in a series to be quickly forgotten
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 04: Alastair Cook of England looks dejected after being dismissed by Josh Hazlewood of Australia during day one of the Fifth Test match in the 2017/18 Ashes Series between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Alastair Cook 6/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 376 runs @ 47.00
Series stats skewed by unbeaten 244 in Melbourne when Ashes were gone. Otherwise highest score was 39. MCG knock, though, silenced talk of his future – for now.
Mark Stoneman 4/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 232 @ 25.77
Showed guts during the series and decent enough start but disappointing overall, averaging 25.77 – worse than Michael Carberry’s (28.10) in 2013-14.
James Vince 4/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 242 @ 26.88
Not good enough. Dismissed nicking off in six of his nine innings. Selectors took a chance on him and it has not paid off.
Joe Root (c) 7/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 378 @ 47.25
Bowling: 2 wickets @ 39.00
Passed 50 five times in the series without getting a century, albeit in Sydney, he didn’t have the chance because of illness. Captaincy also found wanting at times.
Dawid Malan 8/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 383 @ 42.55
Arrived in Australia with everything to prove, but has been the find of the tour, scoring his maiden hundred and three half-centuries to cement place.
Jonny Bairstow 5/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 306 @ 34.00
Keeping: Ten catches, one stumping
Excellent behind the stumps. But disappointed with the bat, century in Perth apart.
Moeen Ali 2/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 179 @ 19.88
Bowling: 5 @ 115.00
Series average of 115 with ball most expensive in Test history for any bowler who has taken five wickets or more. Batting imploded in face of Nathan Lyon, who dismissed him seven times out of nine.
Chris Woakes 5/10
Matches: 4
Batting: 148 @ 16.28
Bowling: 10 @ 49.50
Bowled better than figures suggest
but not consistently threatening enough across four Tests he played.
Stuart Broad 4/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 136 @ 15.11
Bowling: 11 @ 47.72
Took 11 wickets at 47.72 and that is
a fair summation of a disappointing tour. He at least went at less than
three runs an over.
James Anderson 9/10
Matches: 5
Batting: 8 @ 2.66
Bowling: 17 @ 27.82
Could not have done any more for his team – leading wicket-taker with an economy rate barely above 2. Pity he didn’t have any back-up.
Tom Curran 5/10
Matches: 2
Batting: 66 @ 33.00
Bowling: 2 @ 100.00
Played final two Tests but struggled to impose himself and likely his England career may end up being just in the limited-overs formats.
Craig Overton 6/10
Matches: 2
Batting: 62 @ 20.66
Bowling: 6 @ 37.66
Did well in two Tests he played before a fractured rib ended his tour. Great attitude and useful contributions with bat and ball. Future looks bright.
Jake Ball 3/10
Matches: 1
Batting: 15 @ 7.50
Bowling: 1 @ 115.00
Only played the opening Test, where he took one wicket at 115, just above his career Test average of 114.33. Promising start, but his limitations in these conditions soon became clear.
Mason Crane 4/10
Matches: 1
Batting: 6 @ 3.00
Bowling: 1 @ 193.00
Figures of 1-193 in Sydney the most expensive returned by an English Test debutant. The 20-year-old could be a star but needs time, patience and energy invested in him by England and Hampshire.