When Mickey Arthur was unceremoniously given his marching orders in the lead-up to the 2013 Ashes, it was a development that was both surprising and the opposite.
A side producing unsatisfactory results and suffering internal strife meant action had to be taken.
The proof, even though it was definitely a blind bet at the time, has been in the pudding, and Darren Lehmann’s ascension can now be viewed as something of a masterstroke.
I would hesitate slightly at putting England in the exact same boat, but there is a feeling that matters are about to come to a head and it may be the rush towards yet another Anglo-Australia tussle that proves the tipping point.
Paul Downton’s removal from the position of England managing director last week was, as with Arthur, both cause for raised eyebrows and ‘I told you so’ remarks.
It followed 15 months of management that can be safely shepherded towards the category, for want of a better word, of disastrous.
There was the sacking of Kevin Pietersen and subsequent inept efforts to handle the fallout, the appointment of Peter Moores for a second term as coach (although that hasn’t backfired badly as of yet), the removal of Alastair Cook from the one-day captaincy a few weeks before the World Cup, and numerous public attempts to justify such blatantly bad decisions.
All in all a catalogue of mishaps that – with a new chief executive in situ and chairman who takes other reins in the middle of next month, the latter who has made a name for himself by being unafraid of threatening abrupt and decisive action – had to produce a tangible outcome.
Change for change’s sake is the curse of sporting organisations and even though cricket is far more conservative than its winter cousins, it isn’t immune. But every now and then a purge, even if it is of a solitary tier of management, can be a good thing, and while the copying of all things Australian has been left back in the 1990s, their realisation that something had to be altered a couple of years ago had merit.
If England don’t beat West Indies handsomely, or only edge them out, and struggle against New Zealand on home soil, then the clamour for more blood-letting will reach an even more shrill level. And whether or not that comes to pass, the wind is blowing, with ever increasing force, in the direction of change.
A couple of poor results is generally enough for those with low tolerance to get on their high horses, but this is not a team with a solid ledger of success behind them and plenty of credit in the proverbial bank.
The Test side of things, as it stands, isn’t all doom and gloom whatever those who can’t see past the 5-0 whitewash of 2013-14 may think, but the other ingredients are conspiring to ruin the recipe somewhat.
A one-day outfit shown to be woefully off the pace in the World Cup has hardly helped matters, and neither has the incessant speculation surrounding Cook’s position at the helm of the Test team.
It doesn’t constitute a crisis, just as the Australians weren’t in that oft-referred to state, but all is not as it should be and if I was a coach of good standing with an eye on getting involved in the international scene I would be tidying up my CV as we speak.
The only way, and it was ever thus, that all of the noise, negativity and general nonsense will go away is if the Ashes urn is being held aloft by Cook at The Oval in August. The defeat Down Under created this situation and only a reversal of fortune will make amends.
Two years ago, Cricket Australia decided they’d had enough. Very soon, their English counterparts are going to reach the same conclusion.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
England must be really worried about their new opening pair. They made 14 runs combined from their 4 innings in this Test against a very weak Windies attack. But beyond that the issue is that Trott is trying to make a difficult comeback to Tests, and had been in a very long form trough before he even had his breakdown in Australia. Cook, meanwhile, has been in wretched form for two years now and hasn't hit a ton in his past 17 Tests, averaging 28 in that time. In Ballance, Bell and Root they have a good 3-5. They just need the openers to find a way to blunt the powerful new ball attacks of NZ and Aus or those 3 batsmen will be exposed too early.
James Butcher
Guest
Well clearly not. Evidently I don't have as much time as the average Aussie does to read every post on British media websites. I will endeavour to do better in the future.
Kaks
Roar Guru
You definitely must be. I presume you dont look at the sportday page and the live tweets on it? Or the countless articles?
Jameswm
Guest
He's moved to Tassie hasn't he?
Alec Swann
Expert
Nudge I'm with you on the point about Anderson. His record on dry, low surfaces is as good as anybody's and his fitness is undoubtedly key to any chance England will have. On another point, I hope Adam Voges gets a go. He's an excellent player who could do well.
Alec Swann
Expert
Tatah I don't think the pitches will have a great deal of pace and they'll be pretty flat. As for the English spinning stocks, Moeen Ali isn't the worst and James Tredwell's an honest performer but underneath there's not much at all.
Tatah
Guest
G'day Nudge, you make a valid point about Anderson. I forgot about his ability to reverse swing and I agree he's about the best exponent of it around. If I were the English I'd serve up plenty of dustbowls for the reasons you mentioned. I like your top six. Watto will want to go in at 4 but I'd like to see him at 6. Im really hoping we can squeeze another big English summer out of Rogers. To me he is the key - I'm confident about the other five, and if Rogers fires we should be in for some big scores. Arguably a bit harsh on the Qld incumbent no. 4 whose name escapes me, but Vogues apparently had an awesome summer so good on him, he deserves a crack.
Nudge
Guest
I'm not Alec,but if they serve up dry wickets,I think the guy they will be banking on to exploit them is Anderson. I think the thought process could be that dry wickets will negate Johnson, Harris and co and Anderson will get some good reverse. He bowls it as good as anyone in the world. Moeen ali is no superstar but he's underestimated here in Australia. Watched him a fair bit against India last year and he was impressive. As for Australia's batting, I think our ashes top 6 will be as good as a batting unit we have put out for 3 years. Last time we were in England we had 2 batters that averaged above 45 in first class cricket in Rogers and Clarke. This time I think we will have 5. I'm hoping that our top 6 will look like this. Warner Rogers Smith Vogues Clarke Watson That's a really solid top 6 in my opinion
JimmyB
Guest
Thanks Alec, there's a first time for everything I suppose.:)
Tatah
Guest
Alec, I think that the next Ashes series will be a lot closer than people think. I still think our batting is more fragile than we care to admit, and the English batting is better than they showed at the last Ashes or the WC. My big question surrounds both teams' bowling attacks, and what wickets would be prepared in response. If management decides that our weakness is against spin, how are the English spinning stocks currently looking? Is there anyone at the moment for England who could exploit a dry pitch the way your brother did last series in England?
Bearfax
Guest
He's struggled a little with the move up in class with the big boys but he's getting there. I think he'll be debuting next Shield season. He was already selected with them as a Rookie for the 2014-15 season but was used in the No 2 NSW team. He's certainly one to watch but I'd give him another two years before we start to see what he's got in first class cricket. Hopefully he'll be good enough for test cricket in about 3-4 years...maybe less.
Tom from Perth
Guest
Will your boy feature in the next season of Shield, Bear?
Spooky
Guest
No it's there , good summation
jamesb
Guest
Great stuff Jake!
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
The thing I reckon with Smithy is that sure, this last summer has been something amazing, but you go back to the 2013-14 Ashes and he was already showing signs of what he can do now, with those two match-saving innings he played at Perth and Sydney, plus an encore of the same sort in the first test against SA as well. Even outside of his current purple patch, he's been very good for a year or two now. That's what encourages me to think that while this crazy form won't last, he looks likely to have a pretty incredible career overall. I hope so, anyway.
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
Yeah, Williamson did pull out one classy innings in the World Cup, if I remember correctly - he was the one that led NZ home in the group stage Trans-Tasman thriller, wasn't he? He looked, in that game anyway, to have a pretty sound way of dealing with good bowling and a lot of pressure, so I can well imagine that he'd make a fine test batsman, though I've not seen much of him at all. Having said that, I wouldn't put him above Smith.
Bearfax
Guest
Speaking of England's future they must be looking at the U19 comp with some trepidation. Young Jake Doran has so far scored a 169, 82 and 29 not out against them for an average of 140. Sign of future despair for the poms could it be?
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
Yeah, if he really does want to play for England again, he might have toned down the slanderous media campaign a bit. Can't have it both ways, Kevin. And citing 'I want to score 10,000 runs' as his reason rather than 'I want to help rebuild English cricket' probably doesn't help his cause either. Having said that, England haven't shown all that much logic or consistency in their decision making since the Ashes, so I wouldn't count anything out 100%.
Alec Swann
Expert
JimmyB I reckon you're spot on there. I just can't see it happening. With regards to the British press, the Pietersen affair is a story that won't go away and until a definitive solution is reached it'll keep dragging on. It certainly isn't the case that the majority want him back in the team though.
Alec Swann
Expert
Ryan If I was pushed for an answer then I would say no. You can't insult all and sundry, especially the captain and coach, in a very public and vitriolic manner and expect it to be brushed under the table. If I was Alastair Cook I wouldn't want him anywhere near the side. On stats alone of course he should be in the England side but teams are rarely, if ever, selected on such a black and white basis.