Ashes 2013
As you were!
September 7th
[23:00 CEST]
From early in the day it was obvious that the 1st ODI was in deep trouble.
Even before the start the talk was of a wash out and that is what they got.
Unlike The Oval and Lords where play can start very rapidly after a delay,
Headingley needs about 2 hours to dry and, with the cold, there was never a
chance that there would be a gap in the rain long enough to start a game. The one
good was that the umpires decided early that things were hopeless and did not
make the fans hang around.
Attention
now moves to Manchester tomorrow. The questions remain the same. As the toss
was never made, sides were not named: will England take a punt on Chris Jordan?
To do it, they need to drop a batsman, probably Carberry. In that case, Trott
and Pietersen will open, with Root, Morgan, Bopara and Buttler following,
Stokes would move up to 7 and Jordan, no mean batsman, would most likely slot
in at 8.
Although it
would be rough justice on Carberry, who has come back from a career-threatening
medical problem, the bowling lacked depth against Ireland. Relying on Bopara,
Root and Trott for 10 overs is a risk: if an Australian batsman has started to score
freely, the thought of feeding him five overs of Joe Root is not a reassuring
one. Although most people expect Carberry to play, there is a big risk attached
that the fifth bowler could go for a lot of runs and give the Australians
unstoppable mid-innings momentum.
What of
Jordan? He was born in Barbados, but famously educated at Dulwich College in
South London and is yet another player eligible for two sides, qualifying for
British citizenship through his grandmother. Surrey signed him at 18 on the
basis of his amazing potential as an all-rounder. Since then, injury has cost
him to lose the 2010 season and he was a victim of the instability around the
Surrey team, struggling to perform to any level; wintering though in Barbados
he became a world-beater again, even after struggling at The Oval. The West
Indies though have been slow to recognise his potential. Had they come
a-calling, there is no doubt that he would have jumped at the chance. Surrey
released him in 2012 in the major upheaval that followed the events of the
summer and Sussex jumped in to sign him. Suddenly Chris Jordan looks like a
world-beater again and already he has more wickets than in four years at
Surrey. This got him into the Lions squad against Bangladesh A and he turned in
some excellent performances that have seen him get a chance at international
cricket. He had an excellent start to the season, but has had a difficult July
and August, but 4-38 for the Lions against Bangladesh A, followed by 26* in the
next game and 61 with the bat for Sussex against Warwickshire suggest that he
is getting back some form and confidence.
In a way it
is a gamble but, if he is successful, there is a real chance that in a year to
eighteen months he could be in the Tim Bresnan role, batting at 8 and coming on
as first or second change in Tests although, potentially, he is a superior bat to
Tim Bresnan. Chris Jordan has shown that he thrives on the responsibility that
Sussex have given him with the new ball. Now that he is no longer eligible for
the West Indies, he has every incentive to come out and make a case to stay in
the England set-up. While he would be an unlikely pick for the main Test squad,
there is every chance that he will be in the shadow Lions squad and on hand if
there is an injury to a bowler.
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