As a start to my new cricket blog I thought i'd provide a few thoughts on the England team likely to play Australia tomorrow. So, here goes...
Alastair Cook
I have to admit that during his dip in form of the last 2
or 3 years I had my doubts that Cook still had what it takes. Class may be permanent but he looked more and
more vulnerable outside the off stump and though his scores weren’t exactly
binary, he was failing to make the 50s and 100s that we had all become
accustomed to. His captaincy was, at
times, baffling; more cautious, defensively minded and orthodox than the lauded,
more experimental captains of India, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
However, in the last few months he has become the Cook of
old with the bat. Leaving anything
outside off stump better than any other batsman of the modern era and forcing
the bowlers to bowl to his strengths; for the pull shot, the cut shot or the
clip off his legs. A combination of a
new regime and this new found form has led to a marked change in the quality of
his captaincy. He’s becoming more
experimental, more attacking and taking more risks.
The Verdict:
He should remain in the team as captain for the next 2 or
so years until Root matures and gains the knowledge and experience needed to take over from
Cook.
Adam Lyth
I’m yet to be convinced by Lyth. Granted he made a century against New Zealand…no
mean feat against the current NZ pace attack of Southee/Boult. He’s also shown potential on a number of
occasions, playing his shots and getting out either to good deliveries or in
showing the kind of aggressive intent maybe inadvisable of an opener while the
ball is still swinging.
Since Strauss, the opening spot alongside Cook has been
very much up for grabs. A number have
tried including Robson (11 innings), Compton (17 innings), Carberry (12 innings)
and Root (10 innings). In my book,
neither of these have really been given long enough to bed themselves into the
position (many say that Sam Robson should never have been given the opportunity
in the first place, though a high score of 127 against Sri Lanka suggests he
had at least a degree of potential). For
this reason more than any other I feel that Lyth should be given longer. He really ought to have opened in the West
Indies, something which I feel would have given him the confidence to face New
Zealand and Australia in the summer.
The Verdict:
He should be given the rest of the series to prove
himself and to bed himself in to the team.
In my opinion a team can afford to take a punt on 1 or 2 players who’ve
underperformed in the hope of them coming good.
If he doesn’t make a score or 2, England should look elsewhere.
But where to?
There are only a few new options in county cricket at the moment. Alex Lees, Yorkshire’s impressive young
opener and Alex Hales, Nottinghamshire’s clean hitter are my newbees to
watch. I also wonder if James Vince has
the potential to climb the order to the position of opener for England. As for other options; Ali, Root, Compton and Carberry
(who I felt sorry for having performed reasonably well in a terrible series for
England out in Oz) will I’m sure be under consideration.
Though for me, Hales is the man. I like the idea of having a Warner-esque batsman
opening alongside the Rogers-esque Cook.
The shot-maker alongside the innings stabiliser.
Ian Bell
Bell was my favourite player for years before the
introduction of Joe Root onto the international scene. His cover drives are as good as it gets and
when he’s on form he’s a formidable batsman.
However, when Bell is off-form he’s a shadow of the player I love. His binary scores of late have been a major
concern. He seems to be getting out in a
wide range of different ways, a lot of them not very pretty. To be fair to him he’s had a number of jaffas
of late along with his fair share of bad luck.
Perhaps his promotion up the order to 3 will inspire him to greater
things. I really hope so!
The Verdict:
Bell should be given the rest of the series to prove
himself. He’s likely nearing the end of
his career, so replacements will need to be considered. Here are my thoughts:
I can’t see Ballance returning to the squad until he
finds a way of combating his issues outside off-stump and works out a way of
playing that doesn’t involve sitting deep in his crease, with minimum of
footwork. He has been found out of late,
after an excellent start to his international career.
There’s the potential for Root to move up the order to
3. This is an idea which a number of ex-players
and pundits have championed….and I’d have to agree. Root at 3 sits well with me, despite his
excellent form with the bat at 5. He has
become used to entering the fray early on in the innings of late, with England
3 down for 40 odd runs. This simply can’t
continue to be the case and Root has a great ability to both attack and defend
when necessary; something highly desirable at 3.
Joe Root
What can I say? My
favourite player and in my eyes the most promising young England player since the
Gower/Botham days (not that I remember them!). He has all the shots,
can play all formats of the game, can attack, can defend, has massive captaincy
potential and plays with a carefree attitude and a smile on his face. Having cemented his place in the team for the
foreseeable future the big question is over his batting position. Having excelled at 5, will he still be
averaging 80 odd at 4 or indeed his possible future position of 3? Time will tell but he is the most exciting
player for a generation.
The Verdict:
A cemented position in the side and a future England
captain if ever there was one. I’d be
looking to play him at 3 when Bell eventually vacates that position, whenever
that may be.
Ben Stokes
Not sure if this will be his eventual position. Showed what he’s capable of against New Zealand at Lords
and indeed in the Perth test vs Australia last time out. The new Botham? Probably too early to tell. I’m not sure his bowling is quite up to Beefy’s
standards yet, although he has more wickets/runs than any England all-rounder
at this stage of his career. Should be a
good asset for a long time to come.
Strikes the ball cleanly, with ease and often never looks like he’s
going to get out…until he unluckily chops on of course.
The Verdict:
Should be an England player for a long time to come. Love his passion for the game and his energy
in the field. Could play at 4, 5 or 6 for
England.
Johnny Bairstow
Not sure if this will be his eventual position but i’d probably play him at 6, after Stokes. Bairstow looked vulnerable and a bit under par on his previous stint in the England team. In honesty, I’ve not seen him play an awful lot since (particularly not in the longer form of the game) but if Gillespie says that his technique has improved I’m inclined to agree with him. Looked very impressive in the ODI vs New Zealand and the right replacement for Ballance in my book, particularly based on current form.
The Verdict:
A good addition to the team. Should be given a fair few matches to give him the opportunity to cement himself. Has the added advantage of being a decent backup wicket keeper. Many would say he's better than Buttler in this respect.
Jos Buttler
His ODI innings in particular have shown what an outstanding
striker of a cricket ball he is and how explosive he can be. Being picky, he still needs to do a bit of
work on his wicket keeping to reach international class. But you’ve got to start somewhere and he has
looked promising from the word go.
Another young player who’s going to be around for a very long time.
The Verdict:
A must pick in the current team. Batting at 7 is probably about right for a
wicket keeper, though I’d like to see England being more fluid and moving him
up the order when we’re in need of quick runs.
Moeen Ali
An excellent batsmen and a decent enough spinner. I’m enjoying watching Ali batting at 8 though…and England's improved batting line-up as a result of this. He’s been particularly vital with the bat of
late thanks to all of the poor starts.
The Verdict:
Ideally we need to find ourselves another Swanny but
until that time Ali is likely to do a decent enough job for England. Not a lot of other options when it comes to
spin, though I’ve seen a lot of Ansari and it looks like he may be a decent
England player of the future.
Stuart Broad
Still blows hot and cold with the ball. Capable of being the best there is (take Chester
Le street in the last Ashes series in England for example) and also of going
missing in games. Struggled with the bat
and has showed a vulnerability to the short ball in recent times having taking
a blow to the head in the series with India.
But the signs are that things are improving somewhat on that front. Let’s hope that another 160+ score is just
around the corner.
The Verdict:
A vital cog in the England machine, opening the bowling
alongside Jimmy. Capable at times of
brilliance and he’s been looking somewhere near his best. A must pick for the current team.
Mark Wood
Loving Wood’s attitude already. He’s capable of bowling fast, accurately and
getting the most out of the wicket. He
also has some useful variations (short run ups, bowling from wide of the stumps
etc) and bowls with a smile on his face and a sense of humour. He can hold a bat too! My only concern with Wood is his lack of pace
in the 2nd of back-to-back tests.
The Verdict:
Has potential and should remain in the England team as
long as he is capable of bowling at 90+ mph.
Otherwise England should at least consider dropping him for these tests and replacing him with either
Plunkett or Finn.
Jimmy Anderson
The king of swing.
If the conditions are right for swing, Anderson is the very best in the
world. If conditions are not right for
swing then things are not so good (though even then he's an excellent player who most teams would love to have). One of the best fielders in the team.
The Verdict:
Assuming he avoids injury his record of 400+ test wickets for England should
ensure that he’s one of the first names on the team sheet, for the next few
years at least. My concern is for the
more distant future...and if there’s anyone in the pipeline who can come close to filling Jimmy’s boots.
...and on that note I shall sign out, until next time!
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