Australia wrapped up the second Ashes test by 218 runs in Adelaide on Monday, decimating England for the second consecutive time on home soil.
England survived just 56 minutes of play on the final day of proceedings, falling before the 12th over and allowing the Aussies a 2-0 series lead with both the Brisbane and Adelaide wins coming by a combined 599 runs.
Peter Siddle claimed his fourth wicked by dismissing Stuart Broad for 29 on just the fourth ball of the day, caught leg side, before Graeme Swan fell for six 30 minutes later. The lone bright spot was Matt Prior’s 69 from 102 deliveries, his first half century since March.
Siddle (4-57) and Ryan Harris (3-54) did the majority of damage to close to out the Test and while Mitchell Johnson managed just a single second innings wicket, he still took home man of match honours for his 7-40 total that rolled through the visitors in the opening innings.
Johnson has tallied 17 wickets thus far in early Ashes play and could be in line for more bowling success as he returns to his home town, and the speedy Perth pitch, for the third Test.
Selector John Inverarity announced Australia will take an unchanged 11 to Perth after Monday’s comprehensive victory.
Fast bowlers Nathan Coulter-Nile and Doug Bollinger will join the team should a poorly timed injury occur.
Captain Michael Clarke was pleased with the result, but stressed his side’s recent accomplished shouldn’t overshadow a year’s worth of poor form.
“These two wins are satisfying because of the work we’ve put in over a long period of time,” he said.
“Everyone has contributed and played a part, which is a sign of a great team.
“But the reality is we’ve won two Test matches in 12 months and that’s not acceptable from an Australian Test team.
“So our feet are certainly well and truly cemented on the ground and we are very realistic about where we want to go as a team and how we want to achieve success.
“We’ve started this series very well but there’s a lot of work still to do and we have to be at our best to keep them (England) down.”
Get amongst CraveOnlineAU on Twitter and Facebook for daily sport, music, entertainment and gaming news.
