Australia Brings the Past Back Into Focus, England Draw Lessons

England return to Perth on Friday for the opening one-day international of the Ashes series. The squad does not want to forget the errors that started in the same city last year, the process in which they lost the Ashes series 4-1.

Usman Khawaja made claims in his autobiography about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town. According to him, everyone in the Australian team knew the plan in advance, and sandpaper had been used in the previous Test in Gqeberha. Mitchell Starc, however, always denies knowing about the plan. The matter looks set to be debated for a long time.

Brendon McCullum was England's Test coach at that time. He was removed in July. The 4-1 defeat in the Ashes was followed by a 2-1 series loss at home to his homeland, New Zealand. Before the first Test in Perth, only one intra-squad match was played. That game did not prepare the team for Perth's hard pitch, and England lost the first Test in two days, collapsing against balls that skidded through low.

Similar mistakes were repeated in the day-night Test in Brisbane. After a beach holiday in Noosa, a defeat in Adelaide cost the team the series. According to some observers, the Noosa trip involved heavy drinking. McCullum is still the coach, and white-ball captain Harry Brook wants to recover from last year's difficult period.