5 things we learned from the 2015 Ashes

England has wrapped up the 2015 Ashes with the series win of 3-2 over Australia. England came into the series as underdogs and took everyone by surprise with their dominating win over the Aussies.English bowlers took advantage of the seaming English conditions and broke havoc on the Australian batting who lost the series due to the abysmal performance of the batsmen. The thrashing of Australians by the home team presented quite a few learnings for the fans.Let’s have a look at the five things that we learned from the 2015 Ashes

#5 It is tough to win a series away from home

Michael Clarke would have dearly wanted a final series win

Australia had come into the Ashes with a Test series win over West Indies and a World Cup victory down under. Most of the cricket pundits predicted them to run over the English side which was struggling for form and confidence.

In the end Australians were embarrassed with the series loss which prolongs their decade long wait to win the Ashes away from home. With most of the teams playing well in home conditions, the challenge for the top sides remains the victories away from home.

This Ashes has once again proven the fact that it is extremely tough to win in alien conditions. There are multifarious reasons for the abysmal performances of teams in away conditions. With the amount of cricket played these days there are hardly any practice games for the touring teams to adjust in the away conditions and thus both the batsmen and bowlers struggle in the series.

Another reason is the difference in pitches in away conditions which is a tough task to manage. One can only hope to see teams perform better in away conditions in the near future.

#4 Once you possess the momentum, run away with it.

England seized the momentum at crucial stages in the series

All the matches in the Ashes this year were one sided. The margin of victories in the five matches were 169 runs, 405 runs, 8 wickets, innings and 78 runs and innings and 46 runs. England won the first, third and fourth matches comfortably while Australia were the better team in the second and last Test.

One thing that was common in all these victories was that when one team found itself in the lead, it didn’t allow the other team even a foot in the door. We have seen various instances in the last few years of teams getting complacent after securing an advantage in the match and then allowing the match to slip from their hands.

This Ashes was a clear example that if you have your opposition down, do not give them the breathing space. Had England slipped in one of the matches and allowed the Australians to come back, the result of the series could have been completely different.

#3 Cricket\'s future is in bright hands

Ben Stokes can be a great all-rounder

With the retirement of greats like Kumar Sangakkara and Michael Clarke, there was uncertainty throughout the cricketing world whether the young players will be able to take the game forward. This Ashes has cleared all such apprehensions with some dazzling performances by the players from the next generation.

Joe Root scored a superb century in testing conditions, Ben Stokes was prolific with his all-round performances, Steven Smith scored a superb double ton at lords and then another century in the last Test silencing all the critics who had doubt over his technique in swinging conditions.

The performances from all these youngsters show that there is enough talent in the next generation to keep the level of cricket high in the years to come. Fans should back the abilities of these youngsters and give them them time to settle in the international cricket. Once these youngsters find their feet, they can entertain one and all.

#2 Grit, technique overpower flamboyance

You need technique to survive in Test cricket

The batting collapses in the Ashes this year have clearly pointed out the importance of grit and technique while batting in the conditions that are challenging. There was a lot of talk about aggression and dominance going into the series but the most successful Aussie batsman on the tour was Chris Rogers, a man who is least known for his aggression but more known for his grit and temperament to survive in the conditions that are conducive for the bowlers.

If you can score 300 runs in a day, it is a feat that is highly acceptable but getting bowled out for 60 in an attempt to do that is suicidal. There has to be a balance between attacking and defending because you can only attack if you stay on the wicket. The cricketing world has got a clear lesson from the Ashes 2015 – that to survive in test cricket, technique and grit are more important than the flamboyance.

#1 Overconfidence can be fatal

Don’t underestimate the opposition

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the Australians rated themselves way too highly before the start of the 2015 Ashes. Steven Smith even said in an interview that England wouldn’t “come close to us”. He was right, England didn’t come close to the poor performances put in by the Australians.

Sometimes teams try to dismantle the opposition with sledging but it can come back and haunt you if you are out of your senses while speaking in the media. Australians have been traditionally outspoken but they have most of the time walked their talk with the performances on the field, this time though they were left embarrassed.

One must wonder in this situation whether the best way to play the game should be by respecting the opposition, as you never know whether they’ll perform out of their skin. Australians would have fared better if they wouldn’t have been overconfident before playing the Ashes, and that too a series in away conditions.