Australia's top order versus England's lower order

Australia have home advantage going into the 2017-18 Ashes series, but several pundits have suggested that the series is too close to call, with neither team having an overwhelming advantage. And while it is true that England were drubbed 5-0 the last time they toured here, in 2013-14, in terms of recent form there is little to separate the two.

Australia's worry over the last 18 months has been their batting, while England seem to have a few holes in their top order as well. In terms of recent results, England have a slight edge: since April 2016, they have a 10-9 win-loss record compared to Australia's 6-8. However, that is also because England have played two home seasons during this period to Australia's one: they have been 9-4 at home and 1-5 away, while Australia were 4-2 at home and 2-6 away.

The comparison is made easier by the fact that both teams have played similar opposition sides recently. In these last 18 months, both Australia and England have played at home against South Africa and Pakistan, and away in India and Bangladesh. Australia had a 6-5 record in these matches, compared to England's 6-8: they lost 0-4 to India and only managed a 2-2 draw against Pakistan, while Australia did better against these teams but lost at home to South Africa. In these four series, there is little to choose between the batting averages of the two teams, but Australia were the better bowling unit, averaging 29.14 to England's 33.23. (Apart from these four series, Australia toured Sri Lanka and lost 3-0 during this period, while England played home series versus Sri Lanka and West Indies, winning 2-0 and 2-1. These series skew the overall numbers in England's favour during this period.)

While the overall batting averages are almost the same in these series, the break-up by batting positions reveals the different strengths of these two teams. Australia's top five, which includes David Warner, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb, have pretty good numbers in these four series, with the top four slots all averaging in the mid- to late-40s. Smith has averaged 63.55 in these games, while Warner (45.04), Handsomb (49.07) and Khawaja (48.58) have also been impressive.

England's top five, on the other hand, struggled in these four series, with only Joe Root averaging more than 40. He averaged an outstanding 53.86, but next best was Alastair Cook at 39.62, followed by Moeen Ali (36.38) and Jonny Bairstow (34.10). Together, they managed only eight hundreds in 15 Tests, compared to Australia's 13 from 12. Among the failures for England in the top five positions in these series are Gary Ballance (304 runs in 15 innings), Keaton Jennings (294 from 12) and James Vince, who is slotted to bat at No. 3 in the Ashes. Vince has scored only 212 runs from 11 innings in his Test career, while batting at numbers four or five in those innings.