Cricket 2014
First Test Reflections
June 19th 2014
How you
look at the 1st Test depends on whether you prefer to have your
glass half full, or half empty. While the match ended a run of five consecutive
defeats, it stretched the sequence without victory to seven matches. While
England competed well and made all the running in the match, they could not
force victory. While the tactics were more aggressive than in Australia and the
captain tried to make things happen, there was a feeling among many that the
declaration was rather timid. While the bowling attack performed well in difficult
conditions, the lack of a front-line spinner may have been the difference
between victory and a draw.
After the
paranoia that Australian fans showed about the pitches for the Ashes last
summer being doctored to give England an unfair advantage (undoubtedly, Indian
fans will claim that the pitches for their Tests this summer will have longer
and greener grass than the outfield – one even went so far last year as to
suggest that playing cricket on grass is unnatural!) this Test was played on a
surface that, if it favoured anyone, favoured the visitors. It was low, slow
and lifeless – the sort of pitch where you want a top-class spinner rather than
four, 90mph, hit the deck fast bowlers. As such, it was hardly the surface that
you wanted for a returning tearaway quick. Liam Plunkett was getting close to
95mph and bowling every bit as fast as Mitch Johnson did last winter but, on a
surface that did him few favours. He still fulfilled his task as enforcer,
roughing-up and harassing the opposition, buying wickets for whoever was at the
other end. He will know that the Headingley surface on Friday will offer him
much more encouragement than Lords did.
Plunkett
came in for some unfair criticism during the Test and some fans suggested he be
dropped for Ben Stokes for the 2nd Test. With all due respect to
Stokes. 10 wickets @ 35.7 and 105 runs @ 26.25 so far this season are hardly a
strong case for a recall and do not really compare with Plunkett’s 24 wickets @ 24.8 and 209 runs @ 34.8.
What fans
would not have expected was that, after Plunkett, England’s other 90mph bowler
was not Stuart Broad or Chris Jordan, but Jimmy Anderson. A lot of people wrote
his obituary in Australia but he is bowling with as much skill as ever – his
spell around Tea on the 5th Day changed the match – and with a fair
bit of pace. Stuart Broad had only bowled 51 overs in First Class cricket this
season and, for many, maybe should not have been an automatic pick. Match
figures of 4-110 including an excellent last day spell and 71 runs batting at
#9 were certainly a big contribution to England’s cause. No one now talks of
Stuart Broad batting at #7 and, indeed, probably in this Test Liam Plunkett
should have come in ahead of him, but when he gets it right, he can hit cleanly
and well.
A lot was
expected of Chris Jordan. Although he had a couple of inaccurate spells, you
cannot argue with debut match figures of 5-136 and 54 runs made at a rollicking
pace when England needed some momentum. Jordan has the priceless knack of
getting wickets with bad balls and of making things happen.
Of the
batsmen, Bell, Root, Moeen, Ballance and Prior all had cause to celebrate. Fifties
for Bell and Prior. Moeen just missing a debut fifty. A century for Ballance. A
double for Root (batting at #5, away
from the new ball and, again, making runs). It all looks so rosy until you
remember that the two openers aggregated just 67 between them in four innings
and that both had fallen for 22 in the 1st innings and for 51 in the
2nd, leaving the middle order with a substantial repair job to do... again.
England
have started to paint themselves into a corner with the openers. While Compton,
Root, Carberry and now Robson have been used as regular opening partners for Cook,
Alistair Cook himself has had a dire run of form. A century against South
Africa, three in India, two against New Zealand in the last two years but,
since the 2nd Test v New Zealand at Headingley, despite 6x50, no
score better than 72 and seven dismissals in single figures. In the last 12
months he has just 568 runs at 25.8.
In the
last 2 years England have used Cook, Strauss, Compton, Root, Carberry,
Pietersen and Robson as openers. Forty-five opening partnerships have produced
just 10 opening stands of 50+. Fifteen times the openers have been parted with
the total in single figures. In that time, four of the best five opening
partnerships and all the century opening partnerships have been between Cook
and Nick Compton. In fact, of the best ELEVEN opening partnerships in the last
two years, just four are not from Compton and Cook (two by Carberry and Cook,
one by Root and Cook, one by Strauss and Cook). The best England partnership of
2014 so far has been the 46 of Cook and Robson at Lords!
In these
last two years, the median partnership (i.e. the partnership expected from the
openers) has been just 22 – half of all the opening partnerships for England
have been 22 or smaller.
One
wonders if, just maybe, the selectors regret prematurely discarding Nick
Compton which, it can be argued, has precipitated this crisis.
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