3rd Test - Perth: Australia marks out of 10

 
The worst Australian side for 25 years? Maybe not. The batting of Michael Hussey and Shane Watson and the bowling of Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris inspired Australia to bounce back from heavy defeat in Adelaide to dish out some of the same medicine to England in Perth.

With momentum now with them, can Australia continue their stunning revival to wrest the Ashes back? We shall see. For now, here's how they rated in Perth (see how England rated here): 

Shane Watson – 8: No-one does the nervous nineties like Watson and it was no surprise that he fell short of three figures again. But his partnership with Hussey took the game away from England and he was particularly harsh on Finn – just like he said he would be before the series started.

Phil Hughes – 3: Has had a poor season for New South Wales and had a poor match here. May not be as susceptible to the short ball as many suggest, but at the moment there is a multitude of other ways to get him out.

Ricky Ponting – 6: His nightmare with the bat continued, but he fought for a four-man pace attack with the selectors and having got his wish, Ponting duly fired them up and rotated them to thrilling effect - hence the inflated score of 6. He may have a broken digit, but one suspects that Ponting would want to play at the MCG with a broken leg now that the momentum has shifted so dramatically.

Michael Clarke – 3: Two more failures and two more dreadful shots. If Ponting is ruled out for Melbourne, is Clarke in the right state of mind to lead the side?

Michael Hussey – 10: Hussey’s second coming continued. He knew the WACA pitch better than any of the other batters, and boy did it show. Hussey, as much as Johnson, was the difference between the sides.

Steve Smith – 5: His second innings 38 may have made him the luckiest Australian since Liz Hurley invited Shane Warne in for a nightcap, but Smith deserves credit for showing plenty of ticker. Patently not a test number six – a weakness that England will seek to exploit to better effect in Melbourne.

Brad Haddin – 7: Another fifty to continue his rich vein of form with the bat, a running battle with the Barmy Army and for once a pretty much faultless display with the gloves. Really gets under the skin of some England players.

Mitchell Johnson – 10: The most dramatic rise from the dead in circa 2000 years. Johnson’s spell of four for seven in the 1^st innings changed the course of this test and potentially the Ashes too. Also showed that he can be dangerous with the bat by top-scoring in the 1^st innings. From a 0/10 at Brisbane to 10/10 at Perth – and they say that football is a funny old game.

Ryan Harris – 9: As hopeless as he would appear to be with the bat, Harris has proved to be extremely effective with the ball. He bowled well in Adelaide with little reward or support, but he got both here and nine wickets to boot.

Peter Siddle – 6: Only played a bit–part role here, but what he did, he did well. Got a priceless unbeaten 35 with the bat and then bowled bodyline to first unsettle and then dismiss Prior. Our money’s on Siddle if he takes up Prior’s offer of a re-match in the boxing ring.

Ben Hilfenhaus – 6: Finally got his first wicket since the first over of the series by getting KP to edge to slip in the second innings. Bowled better than his figures suggested and provided the control that enabled others to get the rewards. Why was he dropped for Adelaide again?

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

1st Test: England marks out of 10, 1st Test: Australia marks out of 10

2nd Test: England marks out of 10, Australia marks out of 10

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Comments

[Vim]

Harris is a quite intelligent bowler but one of the least smart batsmen I've seen, he's not a bunny but certainly behaves like one. He comes in straight after Johnson because he can actually hit rather well.

Johnson will probably be zero again next match. He's a mystery.

[The Reverse Sweep]

Johnson is the new Steve harmison Vim. The best bowler in the world one minute and then the next only second slip is in danger of being hit. Crazy.