Cook On The Rocks

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Alistair Cook’s Challenge

 

November 30^th 2013

 

 

Alistair Cook is facing arguably his biggest captaincy crisis as a tour that England undertook with great optimism, looks to be falling apart. The 1^st Test has been lost by a huge margin, with England showing little taste for facing high pace. The Australians are attempting aggressively to destabilise England with inadequate practice and the sort of in your face aggression that they hated receiving from England. What is worse, England are faced with a squad where too many batsmen are out of form and the possible replacements are so inexperienced that they would be a huge risk, while the bowling attack is becoming too one-dimensional.

The game at Alice Springs has solved no problems. Neither Finn nor Rankin have had a good game. The overwhelming opinion is that both are unselectable for a Test.

Steve Finn, who made such an impact three years ago, has lost his way, totally, in the way that Jimmy Anderson did at the same age. Jimmy Anderson though, after a couple of wilderness years, came back better than ever. Steve Finn desperately needs a year of county cricket to go back and sort himself out. However, right now I am not even sure that he would make an impact in county cricket. It may take him two years to come back as a wicket-taking bowler.

The name Boyd Rankin has inspired respect on the county circuit for years, but not fear. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if someone who is a really good county bowler has that X-factor that makes him a Test match bowler. In the case of Boyd Rankin I have always had my doubts. Better judges than me saw him as a likely vital part of the attack but, I see him as a Test third or fourth seamer at best. Against an Australian side that is feeling increasingly confident and, backed up by a hostile public, senses blood and will attack any weakness, you cannot play a bowler who you cannot depend on.

That reduces Alistair Cook’s options. He can continue with Chris Tremlett, who took 4-120 in the 1^st Test and was economical in the first innings, but more expensive in the second. Despite the four wickets, he looked as if he would struggle to be a threat on better surfaces (although it is true that the Gabba pitch looked like a road and the commentators were at a loss to explain the low scoring). He could go for Ben Stokes as a batsman who can bowl, but Stokes is unlikely to be a genuine wicket-taking bowler at this level, at least at the moment and has been expensive so far on the tour. Stokes would also be batting too high even at seven.

Then, there are the two left-field picks. The obvious one is Tim Bresnan. He got through the three day game against Queensland 2^nd XI, bowling 26 overs, having two innings with the bat, one of them a longish one. He has been bowling at full pace for a while in the nets and looks ready. He also gave Australia the holy terrors both in 2010/11 and last summer by bowling long containing spells and taking vital wickets. Tim Bresnan is the sort of cricketer who will walk through a brick wall for you and has more than a hint of Ian Botham about him, although not such a talented cricketer. There are plenty of parallels between them, in physical appearance, pace and need to show their stamina. There are also a history of similar injury problems. Tim Bresnan may never score a Test century, although he has the talent to if he ever finds himself in the right place at the right time, but he is happy to lead a fightback when one is needed.

The other side of this is that a gentle three-day game against modest opposition is not exactly the greatest preparation for a five-day Test in a cauldron of hate. Can Tim Bresnan bowl 20 overs in a day and then come back the next day and bowl ten more? How match fit and sharp is he?

Another option is to play on a perceived Australian weakness and play Monty Panesar in a five-man attack. Andy Flower does not like to do this without a genuine all-rounder and with Matt Prior low on form and confidence, dropping a batsman would be a huge risk. However, there is no question that Monty and Graeme Swann bowl well together and Australia do not play quality spin well, seeing so little of it for years now in their Domestic game.

In this scenario, Matt Prior (or, conceivably, Jonny Bairstow) would bat at 6, with Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson and Monty making up the tail.

However, Andy Flower is not given to panic reactions to defeat and rarely makes more than one unenforced change to a side. It would also give a long tail, with runs needed from Stuart Broad.

In 2010/11, England were hammered at Perth and looked lucky to escape defeat at Brisbane, despite the big second innings score. That series ended with two innings victories. Can Alistair Cook engineer a turnaround as surprising as that one this time? Unlike Andrew Strauss, who was a clever strategist and very much underrated as a skilled captain, Alistair Cook is more inclined to react to events rather than setting the agenda. Can he show himself capable of leading from the front? Australia are full of confidence, but that confidence is likely to be fragile – a defeat at Adelaide could really rock them back on their heels, but how to engineer it?