Ashes
2017/18: 1st Test Preview
Trash-talking
at its Worst
November 22nd 2017
What went on
before the 2013/14 Ashes was pretty unpleasant. By all accounts, even some of
the Australians felt embarrassed later by the crudity and ugliness of some of
the talk. The 2017/18 Ashes though have sunk to a new low. It has shades of the
sort of badly-scripted trash-talking before a boxing match. It is even beginning
to look more a desperate attempt to reassure themselves that they are as good
as they claim to be than any serious attempt to intimidate England: yes, you
are scared facing your own bowlers in the nets, but what will it do to the
confidence of your own, questioned batsmen if they have their confidence
thoroughly shaken as is supposedly happening? One suspects that Stuart Broad,
who picked up 21 wickets at 27.5 in 2013/14 as all fall apart around him (and
22 at 27.5 in 2013 summer series), will have pricked up his ears at that piece
of intelligence
The
Australians go into this series knowing that when the England squad was picked,
back in September, even many English pundits thought that it had no hope of
being competitive. When Ben Stokes then ruled himself out of selection by
coming to the aid of two young men who were suffering a late-night homophobic
attack in Bristol, what merely seemed an impossible task just got a lot bigger.
England though have got on with what they came out to do: prepare, get ready
for the big day and arrive with everyone is some kind of form. When no one
gives you a prayer, it can even be liberating.
The best
news for England is that two of the marginal picks – Stoneman and Malan – are both
in excellent batting form… at least so far. In eight innings so far, between
them they sum 2x100 and 5x50: only a single-figure score for Malan in the
second innings at Adelaide has spoilt a perfect run of 50+ scores. Of course,
scores against weak attacks on flat pitches in low-intensity games in empty
stadia are no guarantee of runs at the Gabba when a crowd of 40000 and five
slips are all squawking at you, but you can only score against what is put
against you.
England can do
no more than point out that all their top eight for the Test, bar Moeen, who
has only had a single innings and Woakes, have posted at least one fifty.
Woakes and Anderson have looked very good with the ball but, there the good
news ends.
Of the
attack to take the field tonight, Broad’s form has been scratchy, Ball has only
bowled 15.4 overs due to injury, most of them in the opening non-First Class
first fixture and Moeen has only bowled half the overs of the not-selected
Mason Crane. While, of the batsmen, Cook and Bairstow have had modest starts
with the bat and Moeen, who will bat at #6 has faced just 22 balls. James
Vince, who bats at #3, has done what James Vince does: with 170 runs, only
Stoneman and Malan have more so far on tour but, scores of 82, 33, 29 & 26
reveal the constant Vince problem of getting starts and then getting out. So
far in his 11 Test innings, Vince has got into double figures 7 times and past
30 on 4 occasions, yet his top score remains just 42.
It has all
the elements of a train wreck. If Australia bat first you can imagine the score
being 300-2 late on the first day, with an England attack that is not fully
match fit, fading by moments.
However,
there is another reality. When the Australian side was selected it was roundly
condemned by the Australian media. There have been surprise recalls for Paine
and Marsh. Cameron Bancroft, who has managed just one century in two seasons
for Gloucestershire is the great white hope of the batting and the rest of the
side is a mixture of tried and tested and players who have been in and out of
the side. There is no doubt that the batting is vulnerable and that if England
bowl well, take their chances and use the conditions, they could easily run
through the top order. However, they know just as well that if David Warner or
Steve Smith is dropped on 0, it could turn into an awfully costly mistake.
In 2013, the
basis of the attack was to have Mitch Johnson backed up by Ryan Harris. The
figures prove that Johnson was less than half the bowler without Harris at the
other end and, in 2013/14, England was unfortunate to come up against both of
them fit and purring at the same time. This time England have to face Starc,
Cummins and Hazlewood. There is no all-rounder. Mitch Marsh is not fit to bowl
and, should Cummins, whose injury record makes Mark Wood look indestructible,
pick up an injury early, they will be very exposed indeed: the back-up to
Cummins and Starc is very thin.
The way to
win is for England to see off the new ball and to make Cummins come back for third
and fourth spells. It was the theory with Mitch Johnson in 2013/14 too. In that
series Mitch Johnson averaged fewer than 19 overs per innings: if Cummins can
be made to bowl 25, or even 30 overs per innings in the first two Tests, his
pace is going to drop like a stone, as well as his chances of making it through
five Tests uninjured. So, the England top 5 have to sell their wickets dearly
and if they can neutralise Lyon, who will have to bowl a lot of overs to rest
Cummins and Starc, they could just pose Steve Smith some real problems. In contrast,
if England are consistently losing 3 or 4 wickets to the new ball, Smith will have
the easiest job in the world.
England, to
their credit, have not got involved in the trash talk. They know that there is
one way to answer it and that is by performing on the field.
There is a
lot of expectation that Australia will win 5-0 and that means pressure. If they
cannot back up their talk with performances, that pressure will ratchet-up
rapidly.
Australia
should win, but a decent start by England – a draw, or even a win at the Gabba –
and things might so easily go as horribly wrong for Australia as they did for
England in 2013. Whatever they do, England must not fold on the first day, as
they did in 2013 and, previously, in 2003 and 2007 (and on other occasions): if
they do, nothing will turn the tide and Joe Root will look more like King
Canute than he does Moses, parting the Australian waves.
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