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Can Agar play as a batsman? Is Starc too inconsistent? What are the Australian’s strategies against Swann? Is Finn a liability for England?
» Catch-up on all the action – England effectively 2/15 as they attempt to build a third-innings lead over Australia to win the first Test.
Can Agar play as a batsmen?
Had I posed such a question just 24 hours ago, I may have been committed to an institution. No doubt some will still scoff at the suggestion.
But Agar’s innings of 98 yesterday was so far removed from the typical that it deserves to spawn some unconventional theories.
The 19-year-old spinning all-rounder from WA played an innings so audacious, instinctive and fluent that any batsman in world cricket would delight in claiming it as their own.
When Agar arrived at the crease, Anderson and Swann had the ball moving in an erratic and devastating fashion – the former through the air, the latter off the turf.
England’s momentum, having snared 5 for 9, was so overwhelming it appeared the final wicket was a formality.
Agar, however, was oblivious to England’s belligerent surge, intent on creating his own atmosphere in the middle.
His innings was batting at its most elemental. Good deliveries were treated with respect. Any balls which strayed into Agar’s hitting zones were greeted with a forceful blade delivered by a lofty, languid backlift.
Short balls from 6’7 enforcer Steve Finn were lashed to the legside boundary with a horizontal blade. Swerving deliveries pitched full by the rampant James Anderson were met with a full face and sent scurrying down the ground for runs. Fizzing, dipping off spinners from champion tweaker Graeme Swann were intercepted part of the way down the pitch and dispatched into a stunned crowd.
Consider this. If Agar the spinner had bowled yesterday to Agar the batsman what likely would have been the outcome?
Given the disdainful manner with which Agar flayed Swann, he would surely have dismantled his own bowling, which has been below Test standard so far this match.
So then, is Agar first and foremost a bowler or a batsman? Is there another 19-year-old in Australia capable of producing such a mesmerising innings in similar circumstances? Not that I’m aware of.
Who is the real Mitchell Starc?
Handed dream conditions in which to operate in the first innings, Starc failed to exploit the swing and seam on offer, serving up a poor delivery for every good one.
Yesterday he found himself on a hat trick after removing Joe Root and Ian Trott in succession, the former from a rank legside delivery and the latter from a searing in swinger.
Starc missed out on joining an exclusive club after spraying the next ball well wide of the off stump. Those three deliveries provided an accurate reflection of Starc the First Class cricketer – intoxicatingly brilliant but maddeningly unpredictable.
The selectors included him on the back of England’s struggles against New Zealand’s left armers in their recent Test encounters.
The gamble paid off yesterday but is liable to backfire during any given spell by the lanky quick. Like Finn, he appears too inconsistent for Test cricket at this point.
You must have a strategy against spin
Overshadowed by Agar’s astounding display, Phil Hughes left the field following the rookie’s dismissal with 81 not out next to his name.
The pugnacious left hander proved me and many others wrong for questioning his position in the side.
Hughes was admirably patient as he attempted first merely to halt Australia’s cataclysmic batting collapse and later to partner teen prodigy Ashton Agar as they counterpunched.
But his lack of strategy against Swann was a cause for concern.
Hughes was comically poor against spin bowling in India in February and March, employing no discernible attacking ploys against the likes of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
He fared considerably better yesterday but still lacks a means of unsettling spin bowlers. He scored just 7 runs from 52 balls faced against Swann, frequently getting stuck on the crease, even to full length deliveries.
Agar’s aggression against Swann should have given Hughes a hint of how to handle spin. The key to succeeding against tweakers is to force them to change their lengths.
This is most commonly achieved in three distinct ways. Nimble batsman like Michael Clarke, Steve Smith or Agar, use their feet to get to the pitch of the ball and punch the spinner through or over the infield.
Others, like legendary former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden, deployed the sweep shot to score off length deliveries. Hayden’s teammate Damien Martyn, meanwhile, exploited the full depth of the crease to play cross bat shots to relatively full balls.
All of these approaches force the spinner to second guess the length they should bowl and, along with allowing the batsman to score off good balls, tend to prompt more deliveries which are overpitched or dragged down by the bowler.
Hughes played a crucial knock yesterday but will be targeted by Swann throughout the series, particularly in the second innings, and must show some intent against the off spinner.
If he, or any of the Aussie batsmen, allow Swann to settle into a rhythm they will be feasted upon.
Reverse swing is the killer
The sight of James Anderson using his left hand to mask the ball in his approach to the crease will haunt Australia’s batsmen this series.
England’s talisman turned the match in the first session with a hypnotising stint of bowling during which he showcased the confounding effect of unorthodox swing.
In perfect batting conditions, Steve Smith and Hughes looked assured at the crease until Anderson began to reverse the ball. He enticed an over-ambitious drive from Smith, drew another edge from Siddle and then had Mitchell Starc caught behind from a ball which swung prodigiously across the left hander.
Agar illustrated the key to countering such movement through the air – playing the ball as late as possible.
Unlike some of his teammates, the teenager did not over commit to his strokes by thrusting his blade towards the swerving ball. He watched the arc of each delivery intently before making late but deliberate movements.
Anderson will run through Australia’s middle order with monotonous regularity unless Agar’s compatriots follow his lead.
Is Finn a liability?
The beanpole speedster’s potency is unquestionable. But in a series likely to be closely fought, can England afford his profligacy?
Too often Finn acts as a pressure valve, wasting the good work done by Anderson and Swann by offering a succession of generous deliveries.
With Australia 9-135 yesterday and Anderson in need of a rest following a phenomenal spell, Finn was handed the ball.
He alternated between bowling too short and too full and, accordingly, was pasted by Agar who took full advantage of the wayward offerings.
Finn conceded 32 runs in four overs as the game swung swiftly in Australia’s favour. He finished the innings with 2-80 from just 15 overs.
The Englishman was similarly expensive in the last Ashes series which led to him being dropped after the third Test despite being the leading wicket taker in the series to that point.
Will England look to a more dependable speedster like Tim Bresnan or Graham Onions in the next Test?