England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test: Day 1 - Glass Half Full Again

 

England v Sri Lanka

2^nd Test: Day 1

Glass Half Full Again

 

May 27^th  2016

 

What does one make of 310-6? The pundits were amazed that England batted in the morning rather than waiting until around Tea to bat and, for large parts of the day, the bat dominated the ball, with the Sri Lankans wondering where a wicket might come from. Yet England were again indebted to Alex Hales for anchoring the innings. He is likely to finish with the top score, unless Moeen shows the sort of form that he has shown for Worcestershire his season and the tail hangs around tomorrow.

With the exception of the struggling Nick Compton, everyone got in and then got out, but no one went on to make it count. Hales reached the 80s again, but again fell to an attacking shot when the century was there for the taking. Sri Lanka brought on a part-time spinner, desperate for a wicket. One ball sailed into the stands and then, the next, Hales tried to repeat the dose. The consolation is that four of the wickets fell to superb catches: if a fly had dared to pass through the slips, one of the Sri Lankans would have bagged it and that, despite playing in, what for them were inhumanly cold conditions. Root looked set for a century but ballooned a pull. Vince fell to the sort of stunning acrobatics that Gordon Banks used to be famous for, Jonny Bairstow demonstrated that he is human and Nick Compton really did not need to see his shot go to hand and stick. Something that has caught the attention is that Root seemed to be fooled by some uneven bounce. Various players got into a tangle trying to play outside off or to pull, strokes that demand reliable bounce (and judgement) suggesting that, although the surface looks full of runs, batting last may get interesting (a euphemism).

Poor Nick Compton. 109 runs at 15.7 this season, with a highest score of 44. He was, along with Alec Hales, a marginal pick but, while Hales has almost certainly sealed his place for the whole summer with two near-centuries, Nick Compton knows that he is depending on charity. If England win and if Compton does not get a second innings and a score, the selectors will have two choices: stick with him for the last match of the series and then (almost certainly) drop him barring a miraculous turn to form, or give his replacement a game to bed-in in a series won before the sterner test against Pakistan. With 634 runs in 8 innings at 90.6 Sam Robson is demanding a recall and you feel that one more score against Hampshire in the match starting on Sunday and he will have to be considered, although Scott Borthwick will know that he is a natural #3 in good form who has Test wickets to his name and would be a slightly left field pick: even so, runs at 51.3 with 2x100 and 1x50 in nine innings demands a second look.

As at Headingley, Sri Lanka’s bowling did not quite get it right initially, but the attack seemed to take wickets despite itself even though the hero of the first day at Headingley has been sacrificed to strengthen the batting. While many pundits took it as read that Sri Lanka would have been bowled out cheaply had England inserted them, the batting looks stronger in this Test and the batsmen have the experience of the first Test to draw on. Do not be surprised if they put up sterner resistance this time.

For England, tomorrow morning is about pushing the total up to or over 400. Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad have to sell their wickets dearly. Moeen needs a score to silence the whispers that are wondering if Lancashire's good start and 14 wickets at 29.7 means that it is time to have another look at Simon Kerrigan. He has been moved up a position to #7 to give him a chance to play a major innings. Chris Woakes needs to stay with him and go well past his Test best of 26*.

310-6 is not a disaster, but the score at the Close could, so easily, have been 330-3, with Sri Lanka batted almost out of the match.

India The Net Winner In The 1st Test

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

India the clear winner

 

July 14^th 2014

 

In purely cricketing terms, only one side was likely to win this match over the last two days and, barring a couple of crazy sessions won by India, England were making the pace through much of the Test. In practical terms, India were the big winner. This was England’s third match of the summer. The fourth starts on Thursday and England added another bone-wearying 284 overs in the field to the 145 of India.  With the pitch making a draw always the likely result, the fact that India bowled half the number of overs that England did and will go into the second Test far the fresher is significant.

Against Sri Lanka, England made a massive last day effort to win the Test and then bowled first three days later – the good start that Sri Lanka made in the 2^nd Test owes not a little to those last day efforts. Here, as India lost wickets just regularly enough to keep England interested, rather than a dead last day dominated by occasional bowlers, England were obliged to keep up maximum effort beyond lunch. The seamers averaged another 20 overs each, to add to the average 35 of the first innings. If India win the toss and bat at Lords you can expect some weary limbs among the bowlers by the end of the day.

Duncan Fletcher is very much a grinder: grind the opposition down until frustration takes over as Australia found to their cost in 2005. This was applied beautifully here. With no front-line spinner to share the load, the seamers had to bowl over after over until Alistair Cook finally accepted that there was no chance of a result. The only trick that India missed was not to declare late and force Alistair Cook to bat again in the hope of him falling cheaply once more. Maybe he reasoned that on such a pancake of a pitch there was too much danger that Alistair Cook could get some easy runs and start to recover some touch and confidence.

England had reasoned that, on seaming pitches, an attack of four seamers plus some occasional spin from Joe Root (hardly used this summer) and Moeen Ali would be sufficient. The reality is that the pitches this summer have not been nearly as lively as expected and have generally neutralised England’s strengths very effectively. With the likelihood that flat pitches with little life will continue and with the realisation that Moeen’s spin is not effective enough to block up an end for a full session, although Alistair Cook also seems to lack a little confidence in him, a change in the balance of the side is in order.

For Lords, England now have a squad of 14, with Simon Kerrigan added. The situation is unfortunate. There is no lack of young spinners: Borthwick, Kerrigan, Adil Rashid, Riley, Ravi Patel, Briggs, Zafir Ansari, etc. But the fact that England have lost, in one fell swoop, Swann, Monty (declared “unselectable” by Essex and surely on his way out of the county) and Tredwell, their stand-in stuntman (unable to hold a place in the 4-day game), is a big blow. The selectors need to know if Kerrigan has come back from his awful debut, although there is a real danger that Alistair Cook will view him as damaged goods and be even more reluctant to bowl him than he is Moeen or the seriously underbowled Joe Root.

It seemed more likely that Kerrigan would come in at the end of the series, probably being re-commissioned along with Steve Finn; now though there is no alternative but to bring him back in after acting as a net bowler at Trent Bridge. He may not play but, the mere fact that he has been called into the party, shows that he will probably play much sooner than the selectors wanted.

There is not really much alternative. Kerrigan is by far the best of the young spinners. Riley and Ravi Patel are establishing themselves. Scott Borthwick has bowled little this season. And Adil has had a couple of difficult seasons, while Danny Briggs has dropped off the radar a little. Of England qualified spinners, Adam Riley is far and away the most successful this season, albeit in Division 2 (41 wickets @ 26.8), with Gareth Batty and Simon Kerrigan on 28 and Monty on 27. Of the four, Kerrigan has by far the poorest average and, interestingly, Gareth Batty, the best (21.8). Batty’s last Test was in the Bangladesh series that followed him sending down 52 overs during the Lara 400 in the West Indies; his Test record is not a great one, Batty’s 11 wickets coming at more than 60.  To recall him at 36 would be a massive surprise, but could be a plausible short-term option, although it seems that short-term options are not what the selectors want.

The same applies to the wicket-keeper spot. If will be no particular surprise if Matt Prior declares himself unfit for Lords – he was clearly struggling a little – but rather than recall someone such as James Foster, it is likely the Jos Buttler will be elevated prematurely. Sadly, one of the plausible alternatives – Craig Kieswetter – is ruled out for some time due to a serious injury.

At Lords, the nature of the surface will decide the final XI. Chris Jordan will almost certainly come back, possibly for Liam Plunkett, who will be saved for a more responsive pitch. Were Kerrigan to play though it would, most likely, be at the expense of Moeen Ali, replacing a front-line batsman with a genuine #11 in a side where runs have not been flowing as they should.

Difficult choices face the selectors.