Ashes 2013
A chance to stop the rot
January 23rd 2014
Two dead rubbers remain and
Australia wish to ensure that, should England confound the sceptics and finally
win an international match on this tour, it will be a hollow victory against a
team of reserves. However, given the way that Australia have performed, it is
not impossible that they have decided that the best way to humiliate England even further is by putting out their 2nd XI and have
it beating England too.
Many dead rubbers are
essentially meaningless. This one is actually quite important for both sides.
For England, there is a chance to regain some pride and start the re-building job
with a win. As England lost the deciding ODI in September, a defeat tonight
would extend the losing sequence against Australia to ten matches, equalling
the sequences of international defeats in 1993 and 2001, something that
Alistair Cook would be keen to avoid. For Australia, a win would consolidate them
as the #1 side in ODI cricket, thanks to India’s consecutive defeats in New
Zealand. If Australia lose, their reign as #1 side would end after a mere 24
hours.
In the absence of Boyd Rankin,
Chris Woakes could come in, replacing James Tredwell. Michael Carberry’s
chances of a return though look to be fading.
After the gut-wrenching defeat
in the 2nd ODI, the 3rd showed just how much damage the
loss had caused: there was almost no fight and just a tame acceptance that they
would lose. For Alistair Cook the problem is to find a way to pick up spirits
and persuade his side to stand and fight. If England win, it will be spun as a
defeat against a team of reserves; if England lose, it will be thrown in his
face as much as it was when, back in the ‘90s, the final of the end of series
ODI competition was contested by Australia and Australia A, with England unable
to inconvenience either even minimally in the qualifiers. A heavy defeat for a
listless side would though add to the feeling that Alistair Cook is not the man
to turn things around in any format.
Meanwhile the succession debate
is underway. Right now, Alistair Cook is favourite to keep the Test captaincy
for “there is no alternative” reasons, which are always unsatisfactory at best.
As usual, debate centres around Kevin Pietersen and his role. Some people want
him removed from the side completely, although there has been an attempt to
defuse the situation with statements that there is no issue between Flower and
Pietersen. Others suggest making him Vice Captain, or Senior Professional and
getting him involved directly in tactics and in running the side.
There is even one left-field
solution that suddenly becomes possible and that would be for Pietersen to take
over as ODI captain, while Cook stays in charge of the Test side. However, as
it was Pietersen’s captaincy in 2008/09 that led to explosion that left England
without a coach or a captain before the 2009 tour of the Caribbean, a scarred
administration may be reluctant to put Pietersen in charge of anything,
although he would be working with another person from southern Africa – Flower is
Zimbabwean – rather than Peter Moores. It would be a brave solution, but it
might just work, with an engaged Keven Pietersen being brought into the system
and judged on results.
No comments:
Post a Comment