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After being vaporised at Lord’s, England must show true aggression by demanding a seaming track for the third Test to give their pacemen the best chance of bowling them to victory.
The Ashes so far has been played on sleepy decks which have offered precious little assistance to bowlers of any sort.
Injecting life into the Edgbaston pitch would be a dangerous move. However, now that Australia have found their rhythm, particularly their pacemen, preparing a flat surface would be even more risky.
Of the two side’s attacks, Australia’s is more suited to lifeless decks because of the height and unsettling pace of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson.
They also have the more experienced spinner in Nathan Lyon who is more capable of thriving in such conditions.
Scoreboard pressure built by Australia’s massive first innings total would have played some part in England’s floundering efforts with the blade at Lord’s.
Yet, the most obvious difference between the sides was the ability of Australia’s more dynamic quicks to extract every skerrick of life from the benign track.
If the pitch for the third Test at Birmingham is as batsman-friendly as that at Lord’s, or even close to it, then England’s fate will rest with the toss of the coin.
Since Darren Lehmann took over as coach, Australia’s win-loss record is 9-0 when batting first.
Claiming victory when batting second on a flat surface tends to be more difficult because of the aforementioned scoreboard pressure.
On a seaming track, like those for which English grounds were long renowned, the lower scoring nature of matches means it is easier for the team batting second to stay in the contest.
“A slow, seaming wicket would be just the ticket.” That’s what English skipper Alastair Cook should be telling the Edgbaston curator.
It is understandable that maximising revenue is a major consideration when preparing Test pitches, hence the preponderance of bowler-killing surfaces across the world.
Regaining the Ashes is the far bigger priority though and the ECB should be demanding a deck which gives the England side the best chance of heading into the fourth Test with a 2-1 lead.
Australia need only a draw to keep the Ashes, so at 1-1 in the series England cannot afford to sit back and see how things play out. They must press their case.
Australia’s batting line-up is vulnerable on decks which move off the seam – heck, every team’s top seven is. It could backfire with Australia’s quicks running amok.
James Anderson is the key for England, though, and they need the kind of surface which will bring him back into the contest after he struggled badly at Lord’s.
Stuart Broad has become a bowler capable of being incisive on virtually any deck, thanks to his height, persistence and clever variations.
Anderson, though, is more easily blunted when conditions don’t favour him.
In conditions which do suit him, though, he easily could scythe through the Australian line-up and bowl England to victory, regaining confidence in the process.
Producing a sporting track at Edgbaston would be a gamble but one which England may well need to take if they are to grab back the urn.