In an Ashes series of great triumph and relief, one disappointment from the England camp was Adam Lyth’s failures at the top of the order.
Across the five matches he managed just 115 runs at a touch over 12. You would have to seriously doubt whether the gritty left-hander will play Test cricket again.
As a result, he has been left out of the English squad to take on Pakistan in the upcoming series beginning in just under a month. Without drafting in a specialist opener, it is expected that Moeen Ali will partner Alastair Cook at the start of England’s innings.
Ali has opened for his national side in limited overs cricket, and is a free, clean hitter with a great eye and natural stroke-making ability. Batting at number eight more recently, his talent was somewhat wasted.
This change to the England setup highlights just how difficult it has been for them to nail down a long-term opening partner to Cook after the retirement of now-cricket director Andrew Strauss in 2012.
Since then England have tried all of Nick Compton, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott and Lyth opening the innings. Ali will hence become the seventh batsman tried in this position in seven years.
It was never going to be straightforward to find a long-term replacement for Strauss immediately. Looking elsewhere, the Sri Lankans may find themselves in a similar position for the next few years trying to replace the quality and class of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, and Australia to a lesser extent with Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke. Although some of the replacements have either Test match experience or a solid base in domestic cricket to build from.
Is Ali’s best position opener? It does seem that way perhaps in the shorter forms, yet Ali showed a great patience and watchful approach when facing the second new ball batting down the order.
His role at number eight worked well for team balance and structure, but you could argue his batting was left somewhat unfulfilled and short-changed; your side is batting seriously deep if Ali can slot it at number eight.
His promotion to the top also frees up the chance for a second spin bowler to face the Pakistanis, most likely to be uncapped leg-spinner Adil Rashid who has been very close to Test selection for some time now.
The reality too being that there aren’t necessarily a row of top-order players in waiting with a mountain of county runs behind them. England may decide down the track they wish to partner Cook with the whirlwind Alex Hales, who may pair well with his captain similar to David Warner and Chris Rogers. Tried batsman Compton has had a very solid county season, as have middle order batsmen James Hildreth and James Taylor.
It’s an interesting time for this English side, and it does show how difficult it has been to lock down a long-term opener. I still think that the one for the future is Sam Robson, who can regain his spot through maturing and scoring at domestic level.
For now, it will be intriguing to see if Ali can take advantage of his chance as an opener against the Pakistanis.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
England's chances of retaining the Twenty20 World Cup have been hit for six with the news Ben Stokes has opted out of selection for…
Bazball was developed as a strategy devised to use the resources efficiently rather than revolutionize the system.
England's tour of India has ended in abject fashion as the tourists were hammered by an innings and 64 runs inside three days, with…
India have bowled England out for a below-par 218 and cruised to 1-135 in reply to seize early control of the fifth and final…
India have accomplished a nervy run-chase to secure a five-wicket victory against England in the fourth cricket Test in Ranchi. Chasing a modest 192…
