Ashes 2019: Five players who disappointed the most 

#4 Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes.

The Ashes performance of Chris Woakes wasn’t very poor but still, he failed to meet the high expectations. The fast-bowling all-rounder took 10 wickets from 4 matches at an average of 33.10. As the stats reveal, Woakes was not consistent as a wicket-taker and did not get a place in the top five highest wicket-takers of the 2019 Ashes.

Jofra Archer was in scintillating form in the Ashes.

Debutant fast bowler Jofra Archer, who played the same number of matches as Woakes, picked more than double the number of dismissals than him. Veteran pacer Stuart Broad also looked exceptional in this series. Thus, there is heavy competition among the English pacers and the position of Woakes in the playing XI is under a challenge at the moment.

To manage his workload, Woakes was dropped for the 4th Test in Manchester and was brought back for the fifth match in London but still, he did not find his usual rhythm. It will be interesting to see if Woakes will bounce back or gets lost in the shuffle.

#3 Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow.

Jonny Bairstow scored 214 runs in 5 matches at an average of 23.78. With opportunities to bat on all the matches, Bairstow should have proved his worth but unfortunately, he did not. Bairstow’s highest individual score in this series was just 52.

Since the start of 2018, Bairstow’s average in Test cricket has not crossed 20. There is no denying the fact that he is one of the best in the world when it comes to limited-overs cricket but consecutive failures in the longer format look pitiable.

After this Ashes, Bairstow looks likely to be dropped as there are some other wicket-keeping options for the England side to consider. Either Ben Foakes might be tested as a direct replacement or Ollie Pope might come in with Jos Buttler handling the gloves.

Whether the replacement idea succeeds or fails, the chance for Bairstow’s Test comeback will look only dimmer. That is what we could speculate about his future at the end of this Ashes series.