Art of spin on the wane as pace rules in quickfire Ashes

Even greats such as Lyon are being marginalised on these pitches and the portents for Sydney are not encouraging

- Taha Hashim

Disappointment can be found in all corners of this Ashes series. England’s victory came too late.

Australia may have secured the urn again but Glenn McGrath’s usual prediction didn’t hold. It has been a serious letdown for the neutral, never mind that a 3-2 scoreline is still in the offing. This was meant to be the one where England had a shot, where the Sydney finale would actually have something on the line beyond World Test Championship points. Instead we’ve had 13 days of play out of 20, star quicks from both sides missing hefty chunks or all of it and stern-faced discussions about how much grass was left on the “G”. It’s fallen well short as a spectacle. Part of that lies in the absence of high-quality spin.

For all the thrill of the quicks, a world-class, thoroughly watchable spinner has held up each chapter of Ashes cricket this century.