England Looking For Bal(l)ance?

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Watching the tealeaves

 

December 11^th 2013

 
 

For those looking at the tealeaves for hints of what England plan to do at Perth, one sizeable hint has passed under the radar. Gary Ballance was shipped off to Perth early to play for the EPP side against Western Australia 2^nd XI. With Chris Jordan and James Harris both impressing with three wickets in oppressive heat on the first day at Perth (albeit Jordan’s 3-83 was fairly expensive compared to Harris’s 3-58), the EPP XI has had a chance to make a point to their seniors, chasing the Western Australia 2^nd XI’s 319-8d on Day 1.

Ballance batted with enormous determination in stifling heat to score 89, but was still overshadowed by Sam Robson’s 108* in England’s 220-2d last night (European time), declaring when Ballance fell.  With Western Australian 2^nd XI collapsing to 32-5 just, 131 ahead, with Tymal Mills having an opening spell of 3-6 and Chris Jordan also taking a wicket with the new ball, it looked as if a swift end might come tonight. However, the middle order has staged a big recovery and, at 167-6 and a lead of 266 at the Close, the EPP are going to face a substantial fourth innings chase. This will allow Gary Ballance a further chance to push his case.

With a lot of pundits expecting Gary Ballance to bat at 6 in the Test, if he is picked to make his debut, he will have just one day to recover before walking out again. The fact though that Ballance could not quite finish the job and reach his century (like several of the England players at Adelaide), even against a very modest attack, does make one wonder if he is the solution to England’s lack of runs in the Tests. However, as these matches are almost not being reported, it is hard to find out what happened and just how meaningful any performance – usually reported through social media – is. The EPP matches are not ranked as First Class, which gives a strong indication of the quality of the opposition.

In contrast, after a modest second half of the English season, Sam Robson is going from strength to strength and is becoming well-nigh undismissible playing for the EPP. He is available for Tests next May, in time for the Sri Lanka series and, with England’s top 3 in a state of flux, there is a real chance that he may go straight into the side. Very few people see Michael Carberry as more than a short-term solution as an opener, Joe Root seems not to be ready to move up and there is increasing speculation that Alistair Cook may want to move away from the new ball in the future unless his form comes back. With two centuries for the EPP side, albeit against modest opposition, he has been the undoubted star of the team.

With Chris Jordan being picked for the ODIs to follow the Tests, England seem to be wanting to bring on players for a further regeneration of the side although, Australian claims notwithstanding, the England side is actually significantly younger than the Australian Ashes side. Chris Jordan’s ODI selection seems to be at the expense of Jade Dernbach who has finally – and many fans would say, not before time – exhausted he patience of the selectors, although still in the T20 squad. Jordan is very much at the crossroads In his career. He is now 25 and, after starting as an all-rounder of enormous potential for Surrey, lost his way as so many young players have done recently at that county. However, his performances for Sussex, particularly in the first half of the season and then for the Lions, in his ODI debut and now for the EPP have been encouraging but, if he does not break through in the next season, he may have missed his chance. Jordan though has declared for his adopted England ahead of his native Barbados (although also qualified for England through his grandmother), showing that he is prepared to burn his bridges in an effort to get into the tougher England set-up. If he decides to re-qualify for the West Indies in the future, he will be past 30 and unlikely to get a chance to play Test cricket, so this is very much an all-or-nothing shot at success.

With the EPP side already playing in Perth, there are people calling for Tymal Mills to be added to the England squad for the 3^rd Test, on the grounds that England need someone fast to counter the menace of Mitch Johnson. It is an interesting theory, but Mills is very raw and, like his teammate, Reece Topley, before him, who has only in 2013 played his first full season, is being only very lightly used by Essex in Division 2 of the county Championship. Mills played just 6 matches in 2013, taking 11 wickets, which hardly qualifies him for a Test debut and would make his elevation almost a desperation move.

Whatever combination England try, it is a fairly safe bet that Tymal Mills will not be in the XII! Australia though are trying to confuse things though by indicating that Nathan Lyon may well be in their XI and in suggesting that the Perth pitch will not just suit seam. It seems likely though that England, who must win, will go with four seamers and try to use the life in the pitch. Monty, Swann and Stokes will be nervous for their places, with Bresnan, Ballance and Finn all hovering, hoping for Andy Flower to wander up and give them some good news.