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How golden is Clarke tactically? Have England botched their opening pair? Did Harris prove Starc was a mistake? No balls…will the quicks ever learn? What’s wrong with Pattinson?
How golden is Clarke tactically?
Michael Clarke is not one for convention. Unafraid of the unorthodox, Clarke often makes surprising strategic moves seemingly based on a hunch.
On occasions they prove embarrassingly unsuccessful. On others they embarrass the opposition.
Yesterday Clarke’s intuition reaped Australia four crucial wickets.
When Watson was introduced into the attack just five overs into the game it was interpreted by some as a punishment for Pattinson and his wayward ways with the new ball.
Yet after Watson penetrated Cook’s defences and sent the Englishman packing in his first over, he was promptly replaced by Pattinson. Clarke had clearly got what he wanted out of the all-rounder and was returning to normal service.
But his most profitable gut feeling was turning to part time leg spinner Steven Smith late in the day.
Once a highly-touted tweaker, Smith played in the last Ashes series as a bowling all-rounder. He has since shed his spinning ambitions and rarely rolls his arm over in first-class cricket.
However, in his brief spell prior to stumps he looked considerably more potent than frontline tweaker Ashton Agar. Getting the ball to swerve through the air thanks to the heavy spin he imparted, Smith deceived centurion Ian Bell with a classic leg spinner’s delivery which turned across the right hander.
The dismissal of Bairstow, who patted back a full toss for a return catch, was a bonus for Smith.
But his final wicket was well deserved. After getting the ball to turn appreciably away from Matt Prior, he then flicked one out of the front of his hand, causing it to skid off the surface and kiss Prior’s edge.
The initial decision to bowl Smith was not quite left-field genius considering the lack of penetration for the quicks with the old ball.
But by deciding against taking the new cherry in order to extend Smith’s spell, Clarke earned his side two extra wickets.
He may not be the greatest leader in Test cricket but there is no finer tactician than Clarke.
Have England botched their opening pair?
It is a gamble which has backfired. Heading into the series, England possessed a far more settled line-up than their antipodean adversaries but could not resist the temptation to make one late alteration.
Laborious opener Nick Compton was jettisoned to allow the precocious Yorkshire lad Joe Root to ascend from number six to the top of the order, a position with which he was intimately familiar at first-class level.
While Compton had lagged in his most recent two Tests against New Zealand in home conditions, he had compiled two pivotal tons in the preceding away series against the Kiwis.
He also had proven tricky for the Aussies to dislodge during the two warm-up games in which he had encountered them.
Root, meanwhile, was still feeling his way into Test cricket, sheltered from many of its most ferocious battles in the comparative safety of the middle order.
He was beginning to blossom but was not yet a proven performer. Rather than affording Root further time to develop, the English selectors thrust him into the most challenging batting role in his maiden Ashes series against a skilful and hostile Aussie pace unit.
So far he has floundered, with just 41 runs from three innings. The England management punted on Root comforted by the knowledge he would be partnered by the most dependable opener in Test cricket, his skipper Alastair Cook.
But Cook too has been cowed by the Aussie pace attack, who have starved him of his favoured cut shot, which has been the foundation of his prosperity at Test level. Root has twice watched from the non-striker’s end as Cook trudged back to the pavilion after being undone by canny bowling.
The captain’s travails have exposed Root to even greater pressure. The Australians have also swiftly identified that the 22-year-old can be subdued by employing a full length.
Raised on damp pitches in England’s north, Root plays the ball late and is infinitely more comfortable off the back foot.
Rarely does he take a full stride to the pitch of the ball to caress it down the ground or through the covers. His one-dimensional strokeplay and inexperience have been preyed upon by an Australian attack intent on exposing England’s weakest links.
Harris’ effort underlines Starc mistake
In choosing an unexpected bowling attack for the first Test, the Australian selectors appeared to have been seduced by perceptions about the vulnerability of England’s batsmen against left-arm bowlers of either the quick or slow variety.
The manner in which England’s batsmen laboured against Kiwi left-arm pacemen Trent Boult and Neil Wagner in their recent Test showdowns doubtlessly informed the selection of Mitchell Starc.
The shock debut of Ashton Agar could perhaps be attributed to Australia’s desire to contain Kevin Pietersen, who has often been beguiled by left arm spinners.
Agar’s inclusion bore fruit, although in the entirely unanticipated form of a majestic innings.
Starc, however, merely confirmed why many cricket followers are sceptical of his ability to interrogate gifted batsmen at Test level.
The fickle paceman too often coupled lethal deliveries with rank offerings, including one beamer so ill-directed it confounded Hawk-Eye.
Together with James Pattinson, he largely wasted the hooping new ball in perfect conditions for swing bowling on the first morning.
Both youngsters were below their best but Pattinson was rightly retained due to his superior track record.
Starc appeared nervy throughout his Ashes debut, particularly on the first day. No such nerves were apparent yesterday in the performances of veteran seamer Ryan Harris, who was the preferred option for me and many others for the first Test.
Few who had witnessed Harris’ mighty deeds late in the Australian summer would have doubted he would shine once given a crack at England’s top order.
Fresh from a lengthy injury layoff, Harris was irrepressible in the Ryobi Cup and Sheffield Shield finals, leading the Bulls to a win in the former and doing his best to replicate that feat in the latter.
His returns in Australia’s warm-up games this tour may have been less compelling, but like Siddle he is a different proposition once he takes to the Test field.
In an incisive new-ball spell yesterday, Harris continually hit the full length which historically has been so effective at Lords.
This wise approach reaped Harris the wickets of Root and Pietersen to give his side the ascendancy on a flat pitch. He later returned to account for Jonathan Trott, who was in ominous touch on 58, with a well directed short ball.
Unlike Starc, Harris is a consistent operator who rarely offers his opponents an easy release shot. He can, however, also burst through their defences in the same marauding fashion as his lanky teammate.
Had he played in the series opener instead of Starc, England not Australia would likely be 1-0 down. Had he not played yesterday and secured 3-43, England may have gone to stumps in a dominant position.
No-balls…when will pace bowlers learn?
It is common to observe practising fast bowlers casually overstepping the crease by considerable margins during net sessions for state and international teams.
These same bowlers then step on to the field with their captain expecting them not to repeat such actions and incur the penalties which result.
Sometimes such a penalty can alter the course of a match. At 5-171 yesterday England were reeling after Jonny Bairstow’s stumps were crashed by a searing delivery from Peter Siddle.
But the Aussie talisman’s failure to ensure part of his front foot landed behind the crease handed a reprieve to Bairstow, who was on 21 at the time and proceeded to add a further 46 runs to his total.
It is not the first time Siddle has been stripped of a Test wicket due to a no-ball. Australia will hope it is the last.
What has happened to James Pattinson?
Down on pace, lacking rhythm and seeming bereft of ideas of how to impose himself on England’s batsman, James Pattinson looked a meek imitation of himself yesterday.
With the new ball he struggled to control the swing on offer. With the old ball he lacked penetration and control. At no point did he resemble the intimidating strike bowler widely tipped to be Australia’s key in this series.
When he leaked 16 runs from his 14th over skipper Michael Clarke had a pained expression on his face. As Ian Bell and Bairstow threatened to steal the game away from Australia, Clarke needed more from his spearhead.
Pattinson bowled mainly in the mid-130kmh range yesterday, only marginally quicker than all-rounder Shane Watson. But where Watson was frugal and unyielding, Pattinson too regularly erred in his direction and length.
It is premature to make a call on the makeup of Australia’s attack for the third Test.
But should Pattinson fail to improve markedly over the next four days he may find himself on the sidelines watching Jackson Bird take the new ball at Old Trafford.