Following the embarrassing 2nd test defeat at Lords yesterday, it seems it cannot get any lower for the England cricket team. Having now gone 10 test matches without a victory, there seems to be more and more questions without any hint of an answer coming from within the England Cricket Board.
Yet how has it got this bad? Following the 5-0 whitewash in Australia, the decision was made to keep Alastair Cook and remove the combustible Kevin Pietersen. Rest was the order of the day for many senior players who missed the Caribbean one day series before the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Yet the results have not improved. A test defeat to Sri Lanka has been followed by inept cricket in two tests thus far versus an equally inept Indian side.
What is the solution? Do England make wholesale changes? Do they remove the senior players for a new zest of youth and form players. In this test series only four players can be picked on form; Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett. Tellingly there is only one bowler in my list, and he was nowhere near the Ashes squad in November. It seems that Jimmy Anderson has got slower, Stuart Broad is again injured and Ben Stokes' poor batting form is affecting his batting. Plunkett, meanwhile, has transferred his early season county form for Yorkshire to the test arena.
Therein is an answer. Plunkett played domestic first class cricket and his batting has been useful also. However, Anderson and Broad had torrid winters and Stokes lost to a locker room door in a straight fight. Dropping Chris Jordan sent out the wrong message, he has youth and pace on his side as well as a desire to succeed and achieve.
Perhaps too many of these senior players have achieved too much and now want to gain riches of the IPL, where is there short term and long term targets now. Matt Prior has removed himself from selection for the remainder of the summer and probably played his last game for England, his fitness issues were too much to overcome. Yet the decision to play him despite being less than 100% fit was indicative of Cook wanting seniority instead of form, when Jos Buttler's one day form was screaming for selection for first test versus Sri Lanka.
Yet the in house hegemony of the England cricket team which is very cliquey and looking after their own is doing a disservice to the players who are and are not picked. Look at how James Taylor was treated after he played two tests and did nothing wrong, supposedly dropped at the behest of Pietersen who did not rate him. Even the call back of Simon Kerrigan of Lancashire, who was coached by Peter Moores last season is a fair form of nepotism or naivety in not knowing who else is available.
England need to pick players in form. Players like Daryl Mitchell of Worcestershire, Ravi Bopara of Essex, Adam Lyth of Yorkshire and his team-mate Jack Brooks, the bowler. This is unlikely however as England do not pick players or from winning counties. They ignored Mark Alleyne when Gloucestershire was winning every one day competition; have any Lancashire player been selected after they won the domestic title, Glen Chapple remains the best county bowler not to earn an England test cap.
Yet I feel they need to change the order and ask Moeen Ali to open the batting as he does for Worcestershire with Mitchell. Then have Ballance at three, Root at four with Bell at five or six. England need to have a long look for themselves and if players are not fit then they need to do the honourable thing and stand aside as Prior has done.
It seems England have been more worries about selecting eleven players who will fit the ethos and mindset of a supposed identity, yet when the results are not happening you go back to picking players who will create results and from there a new ethos can be ushered in.
There are many dilemmas to be addressed but only the coach, Moores and the captain, Cook, who should both remain can supply them.
Showing posts with label Stuart Broad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stuart Broad. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Loss of Root a problem
The unfortunate news that Joe Root will miss the World Twenty20 Cup in Bangladesh for England, is another blow in a cruel winter for England following the debacle of the Ashes tour in Australia.
Root sustained the injury batting during his maiden ODI century in Antigua last week. The character Root showed in completing the milestone was in stark contrast to the boyish image of innocence we have become accustomed to. Root was one of the few English batsmen to not show timidity to the Australian bowlers, however like all his colleagues he had no answer to the onslaught.
Yet the loss of Root does not deny England a settled batsmen in a line-up and the alternative to the absent Jonathan Trott, the loss of Root's ability to bowl vital overs of off-spin in the sub-continent in unison with James Tredwell and Stephen Parry.
England utilised Root in the 50 over matches versus the West Indies opening the bowling giving him four overs to stem the flow of runs at the start of the opponents innings, and by and large it worked with Root taking a wicket in each match.
Now the option of Root opening the bowling also helped to hide Stuart Broad's bothersome knee injury by not having the captain bowl his full quota. Now England need to find an alternative.
Luckily, there is one in the squad in Moeen Ali who bats at the top of the order and also offers leg spin. Ali will probably bat at 3 with the Nottinghamshire pair of Alex Hales and Michael Lumb established atop the order. Ail is a left-hander who can rotate the strike.
A criticism of England's innings is that they too often look for a big shot and face off too many dot balls. The unexciting Samuel Badree bowled 16 dot balls yet gained three wickets. 16 dot balls out of 24 balls bowled, quite astounding.
England seem to rely too much on their seam attack, yet they need to establish a criteria and gameplan here in the Caribbean for the sub-continent. Pick two seamers, now Dernbach and Bresnan following Broad's injury and supplement with Tredwell (who bowled tidily), Parry, Ali as well as the slower medium pace of Ravi Bopara who was most impressive with his wicket to wicket bowling that frustrated the Windiest batsmen.
Expect an XI of Hales, Lumb, Ali, Stokes (who can bowl but looks worn-out) Morgan, Buttler, Bopara, Bresnan, Parry, Tredwell and Dernbach.
England have called up Ian Bell as Root's replacement as a man of experience, however, it is unlikely Bell will play as he does not have the power required and offers no bowling option.
Joe Root has been mocked in some quarters for his boyish glee and impishness, yet like most players of quality and talent, when they are absent you miss them all that much more
Root sustained the injury batting during his maiden ODI century in Antigua last week. The character Root showed in completing the milestone was in stark contrast to the boyish image of innocence we have become accustomed to. Root was one of the few English batsmen to not show timidity to the Australian bowlers, however like all his colleagues he had no answer to the onslaught.
Yet the loss of Root does not deny England a settled batsmen in a line-up and the alternative to the absent Jonathan Trott, the loss of Root's ability to bowl vital overs of off-spin in the sub-continent in unison with James Tredwell and Stephen Parry.
England utilised Root in the 50 over matches versus the West Indies opening the bowling giving him four overs to stem the flow of runs at the start of the opponents innings, and by and large it worked with Root taking a wicket in each match.
Now the option of Root opening the bowling also helped to hide Stuart Broad's bothersome knee injury by not having the captain bowl his full quota. Now England need to find an alternative.
Luckily, there is one in the squad in Moeen Ali who bats at the top of the order and also offers leg spin. Ali will probably bat at 3 with the Nottinghamshire pair of Alex Hales and Michael Lumb established atop the order. Ail is a left-hander who can rotate the strike.
A criticism of England's innings is that they too often look for a big shot and face off too many dot balls. The unexciting Samuel Badree bowled 16 dot balls yet gained three wickets. 16 dot balls out of 24 balls bowled, quite astounding.
England seem to rely too much on their seam attack, yet they need to establish a criteria and gameplan here in the Caribbean for the sub-continent. Pick two seamers, now Dernbach and Bresnan following Broad's injury and supplement with Tredwell (who bowled tidily), Parry, Ali as well as the slower medium pace of Ravi Bopara who was most impressive with his wicket to wicket bowling that frustrated the Windiest batsmen.
Expect an XI of Hales, Lumb, Ali, Stokes (who can bowl but looks worn-out) Morgan, Buttler, Bopara, Bresnan, Parry, Tredwell and Dernbach.
England have called up Ian Bell as Root's replacement as a man of experience, however, it is unlikely Bell will play as he does not have the power required and offers no bowling option.
Joe Root has been mocked in some quarters for his boyish glee and impishness, yet like most players of quality and talent, when they are absent you miss them all that much more
Monday, 1 August 2011
England's Cricket Selection Dilemma
England are 2-0 up against the top cricketing side in the world - and one more win will give England the place at the summit. And yet so dominant have England been in the two tests in London and Nottingham thus far, they have a dilemma. But it is a dilemma of the nice persuasion.
Do England maintain this period of dominance and go for the jugular and the possibility of a 4-0 whitewash over the soon to be displaced world number one side. The two remaining tests are at Edgbaston and the Oval, two pitches that again may provide England with the basis again to attack with their rip-roaring seam attack.
The question of course is where do they find space for that extra bowler, as it can be seen that no bowler really deserves to be dropped on the basis of the last four days at Trent Bridge. Swann took no wickets for the first time in a test match for ages, but that was based more on the lack of potency of spin on a swinging pitch and an injury he suffered when dismissed in the first innings. But it was the vital partnership of Swann and Broad that helped England recover from 120-8 to a respectable total of 221 to not end in total dismay.
Broad's hypnotic spell of 5-0 off 16 balls that dismissed India for 288, gave India only a slender lead of 67 instead of 150. Broad is another example of the England selection policy which puts faith ahead of form. Much was made of Broad being dropped before the first test, he responded with 7 wickets and an unbeaten 74 in the second innings which set the platform for the first England victory.
James Anderson, is in a veritable purple patch, and he has the mark of the acclaimed Sachin Tendulkar. The Lancashire paceman dismissed him for the seventh time today with a similar lbw shout as he did at Lords, an inswinger that was too quick for the 38 year old legend. Anderson's ability to take wickets with the new ball and potency with the reverse swing after Alastair Cook has done his handy work is proving vital on these English surfaces.
Tim Bresnan, like in Australia when he was called upon, has done a job with both bat and ball, 7 wickets for the match including 5-48 in the second innings and a bombastic 90 (off 118). Bresnan is the power amongst the bowling attack, like Flintoff he pounds it in on the turf and provides something different to the grace and swing of Broad and Anderson.
So who to go? Well England need to make room, and perhaps Trott's shoulder injury may provide the perfect excuse. Trott has had a long two years in test cricket since his debut at the Oval in 2009, he has played admirably in the World Cup on the sub-continent; so maybe his body is in need of a rest after wear and tear. He is averaging only 24.50, less than Broad and Prior. Trott is that pivotal figure at No.3, a rock like Dravid, who will not be moved yet he has been removed four times already. Ian Bell's exquisite knock of 159 showed he can bat at first wicket down, he has the temperament and game for it.
This allows Kevin Pietersen to remain at No.4 and then Eoin Morgan at No.5. The only problem being that Morgan is averaging 22.25, and has two ducks. Many felt he was batting for his position in the second innings, and his 70 did answer many critics (me included); the problem remains that there is no-one making big noises in the county game with big scores (unless you count Marcus Trescothick), admittedly Bopara did score 178 for Essex this week, but his average is above 40 in spite of some numerous single digit scores this season.
Other players like James Hildreth and James Taylor could be thrown in at the deep end. The selection team have done this before with Trott most notably, who came in and delivered. Maybe if England win the 3rd test and take an unassailable lead, perhaps that might be the opportune time to inject a debutant but when a Test match still needs to be won England should stay with what they know.
So who comes in as England have an embarassment of riches in the bowling department. Chris Tremlett seems the most likely as he only missed one test owing to injury and did a valiant job when nursing a hamstring strain, or Steve Finn who has a long career of him but has not let England down when called upon. There is even Graham Onions who is doing good work with Durham following his back operation which cost him a year of his career.
In spite of that, if I was to pick a 5 man bowling attack for the 3rd test in Warwickshire it would read like so:
Strauss (c), Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Prior (w), Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson, Tremlett.
The reason being that Matt Prior has elevated his game in the last year, and in this series he has shown himself more than adept to lead a counter attack and if it is for two games only he can bat at 6. And then with Broad, Bresnan and Swann coming in later, the security and solidity is there to provide valuable runs if need be.
All in all, it is a pleasure though to see an England cricket team playing as a team. With everyone making valuable contributions up and down the order, answering the call for their country. And they are interchangeable with players come in and out when need be. Also they have not had to suffer a long-term injury to somebody which has allowed people to cement positions, this has been helped by the faith shown by a solid and itself stable selection committee.
We are number 1, but we could be dominant which 5-7 years would have been unheard of.
Do England maintain this period of dominance and go for the jugular and the possibility of a 4-0 whitewash over the soon to be displaced world number one side. The two remaining tests are at Edgbaston and the Oval, two pitches that again may provide England with the basis again to attack with their rip-roaring seam attack.
The question of course is where do they find space for that extra bowler, as it can be seen that no bowler really deserves to be dropped on the basis of the last four days at Trent Bridge. Swann took no wickets for the first time in a test match for ages, but that was based more on the lack of potency of spin on a swinging pitch and an injury he suffered when dismissed in the first innings. But it was the vital partnership of Swann and Broad that helped England recover from 120-8 to a respectable total of 221 to not end in total dismay.
Broad's hypnotic spell of 5-0 off 16 balls that dismissed India for 288, gave India only a slender lead of 67 instead of 150. Broad is another example of the England selection policy which puts faith ahead of form. Much was made of Broad being dropped before the first test, he responded with 7 wickets and an unbeaten 74 in the second innings which set the platform for the first England victory.
James Anderson, is in a veritable purple patch, and he has the mark of the acclaimed Sachin Tendulkar. The Lancashire paceman dismissed him for the seventh time today with a similar lbw shout as he did at Lords, an inswinger that was too quick for the 38 year old legend. Anderson's ability to take wickets with the new ball and potency with the reverse swing after Alastair Cook has done his handy work is proving vital on these English surfaces.
Tim Bresnan, like in Australia when he was called upon, has done a job with both bat and ball, 7 wickets for the match including 5-48 in the second innings and a bombastic 90 (off 118). Bresnan is the power amongst the bowling attack, like Flintoff he pounds it in on the turf and provides something different to the grace and swing of Broad and Anderson.
So who to go? Well England need to make room, and perhaps Trott's shoulder injury may provide the perfect excuse. Trott has had a long two years in test cricket since his debut at the Oval in 2009, he has played admirably in the World Cup on the sub-continent; so maybe his body is in need of a rest after wear and tear. He is averaging only 24.50, less than Broad and Prior. Trott is that pivotal figure at No.3, a rock like Dravid, who will not be moved yet he has been removed four times already. Ian Bell's exquisite knock of 159 showed he can bat at first wicket down, he has the temperament and game for it.
This allows Kevin Pietersen to remain at No.4 and then Eoin Morgan at No.5. The only problem being that Morgan is averaging 22.25, and has two ducks. Many felt he was batting for his position in the second innings, and his 70 did answer many critics (me included); the problem remains that there is no-one making big noises in the county game with big scores (unless you count Marcus Trescothick), admittedly Bopara did score 178 for Essex this week, but his average is above 40 in spite of some numerous single digit scores this season.
Other players like James Hildreth and James Taylor could be thrown in at the deep end. The selection team have done this before with Trott most notably, who came in and delivered. Maybe if England win the 3rd test and take an unassailable lead, perhaps that might be the opportune time to inject a debutant but when a Test match still needs to be won England should stay with what they know.
So who comes in as England have an embarassment of riches in the bowling department. Chris Tremlett seems the most likely as he only missed one test owing to injury and did a valiant job when nursing a hamstring strain, or Steve Finn who has a long career of him but has not let England down when called upon. There is even Graham Onions who is doing good work with Durham following his back operation which cost him a year of his career.
In spite of that, if I was to pick a 5 man bowling attack for the 3rd test in Warwickshire it would read like so:
Strauss (c), Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Prior (w), Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson, Tremlett.
The reason being that Matt Prior has elevated his game in the last year, and in this series he has shown himself more than adept to lead a counter attack and if it is for two games only he can bat at 6. And then with Broad, Bresnan and Swann coming in later, the security and solidity is there to provide valuable runs if need be.
All in all, it is a pleasure though to see an England cricket team playing as a team. With everyone making valuable contributions up and down the order, answering the call for their country. And they are interchangeable with players come in and out when need be. Also they have not had to suffer a long-term injury to somebody which has allowed people to cement positions, this has been helped by the faith shown by a solid and itself stable selection committee.
We are number 1, but we could be dominant which 5-7 years would have been unheard of.
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