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Australia’s next two Test opponents, the West Indies and England, are battling in the Caribbean. This is what I learnt about these sides from the first Test, which ended in a draw on Saturday.
The West Indies’ pace attack will cause Australia more problems than their spinners
Australia are famously vulnerable against spin on dry decks. While those are the pitch conditions they will face in the two Tests in the West Indies in June, the home side’s pacemen look to be a bigger threat.
The last time Australia toured the Caribbean, off spinner Shane Shillingford made merry against them. Right now though, the West Indies have no legitimate spin option.
Beanpole left armer Sulieman Benn has been dropped after taking 2-200 against England at Antigua. He proved innocuous despite a dusty deck on which even English part timer Joe Root was effective.
That leaves leg spinner Devendra Bishoo to play in the second Test and likely to front up against Australia. In his 11 Tests, Bishoo has rarely looked like a bowler capable of success at international level.
Although Bishoo is accurate for a wrist spinner, he does not rip the ball like most leggies and so gets minimal drift, loop or turn, making him a relatively straightforward proposition for most Test batsmen. As much was evident in his last Test outing, against Australia in Bridgetown three years ago. Unable to take advantage of a parched surface, Bishoo was countered with ease by the Aussies en route to returning match figures of 1-169 from 53 overs.
Alongside canny spin bowling, the biggest issue for Australia’s batsman has been countering the swinging ball. Well, the West Indies’ quicks had the Kookaburra swerving both when it was fresh and when it was weathered at Antigua.
The reverse swing they gained with the older ball was not startling and is unlikely to have Australia’s batsmen fretting. However, the manner in which they hooped the new ball will certainly have been noted by the Aussies.
Aggressive opening bowlers Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach combined for 10 wickets for the Test while operating at up to 145kmh and 148kmh respectively. Most significantly, both were able to bend the new ball through the air, particularly Taylor who gained some outrageous late out-swing at times.
Australia’s Test middle order remains a soft spot and the Windies will know that wickets with the new ball can help them expose that shortcoming. If Roach and Taylor can continue moving the ball in the way they did at Antigua then Australia’s top order will undergo a robust Test in June.
England’s opening partnership is a major weakness
Alastair Cook is mired in a deep form trough which extends back almost two years, while Jonathan Trott looked horribly out of form in his return to Test cricket last week.
The English captain is the most important batsman in his side. England love to play grinding, safety-first cricket, so when Cook make runs and anchors their innings, his batting colleagues are in their element. But he has now gone 18 Tests without a ton, starting from the beginning of the 2013 Ashes series 21 months ago. During that period he has made just 923 runs at an average of 29.
Teams have realised that by denying Cook opportunities to score square of the wicket on the offside they can completely shackle him. He continues to labour against full deliveries aimed at or just outside off stump.
In the first innings at Antigua, Cook was on 11 when he was undone by a full ball from Kemar Roach which straightened a touch through the air. He left a sizeable hole between bat and pad through which the ball flew from an inside edge on to his stumps.
In the second dig he aimed a half-hearted defensive prod at a pitched-up delivery from Jerome Taylor which kissed the outside edge and flew into the mitts of gully, dismissing him for 13.
Cook’s ongoing fragility against full balls will be of particular pleasure to Australian quick Ryan Harris, who has tormented him by operating on that length.
While the skipper has been floundering the past 21 months, England have tried a host of players as his opening partner. For the 2013 Ashes series they dropped Nick Compton and introduced youngster Joe Root, who made way for Michael Carberry, who was quickly replaced by Sam Robson, who has now been jettisoned for veteran Trott.
A career number-three batsman, Trott has been handled the difficult task of adapting to facing the new ball while also dealing with the pressure and scrutiny of a comeback following mental health problems.
While it was ferocious short balls which caused his downfall in Australia, Trott’s lack of balance cruelled him against the Windies. Twice in the Test the former first drop was out nicking full out swingers from Taylor.
On both occasions, Trott’s eyeline was tilted towards the offside as the bowler released the ball, which caused him to lean in that direction while playing his strokes. His poor balance at the crease was evident throughout the 20 balls he faced for the match, during which he scored just four runs.
It largely has been overlooked that, prior to his breakdown in Australia, Trott had been in decline as a batsman for several years. After a rampant start to his Test career, the South African-born batsman has averaged just 35 with the bat since June 2011, with only three tons in his past 31 Tests.
On the back of a such a long lean spell, it will be a tremendous challenge for him to succeed in his new role as opener, particularly against Australia’s dominant pace attack.
England’s opening partnership is shaping as a massive weakness heading towards the Ashes.