England announced their 16-man touring party to Australia last week and immediately attention turned to whether the side named was good enough to take the Ashes home.
With Ben Stokes’ immediate future in severe doubt due to an alcohol fuelled brawl, England are already in off-field turmoil before they even land on our shores.
Having named three rookies who have yet to play a Test Match in their touring party, including Ben Foakes, Mason Crane and Craig Overton, the squad would be stretched further by their talisman and Vice-Captain’s likely absence.
With their recent top-order batting struggles, and Stokes’ immediate future under a cloud, Joe Root will certainly be in for a baptism of fire in his first Ashes Series as England captain.
So how are England going to be competitive out here given their lack of experience in the top order and recent overseas record?
For me the first consideration is for head coach Trevor Bayliss to insist their best player and captain, Joe Root, steps up and bats at No.3.
Root, as captain, must take the bull by the horns, perhaps sacrificing a couple of points in his average, and place himself higher in the order than players who might be lambs to the slaughter out here.
Joe Root is one of the top three batsmen currently in world cricket, alongside Steve Smith and Virat Kohli.
(Nigel French/PA Wire)
Root, averaging 54 from No.4 and 73 from No.5, is by far England’s best batsman and must take on the responsibility of coming in at first drop.
As a young player, he had to come to Australia and bat at 3 in his debut series, so he is no stranger to it and no rookie anymore.
Root averages over 40 as both an opening batsman and from 11 innings at No.3, so the argument that he is not as effective there doesn’t wash for me.
England were unceremoniously swept by Australia 5-0 in their last Ashes Series down under, even with a far more experienced side back in the summer of 2013/14.
That squad contained proven and experienced batsman like Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Matt Prior.
While that England team had perhaps come to the end of their run and were a little jaded, it’s hard to make a case that this squad has anywhere near the level of experience and quality of the team that was swatted aside in these conditions four years ago.
As history would tell, Trott lasted one Test before flying home, whilst Pietersen, Bell and Prior struggled on an energy-sapping Tour.
Outside of Root, who averages 53 and the experienced Cook who averages 46, England don’t have another player in their touring party who averages over 40 in Test cricket.
In fact, the records of Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Dawid Malan and Gary Ballance would be cause for concern for Trevor Bayliss heading into a series where the tourists are likely to come up against a pace battery of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
Stoneman looked relatively good against the West Indies, despite only averaging 30 from three Test matches.
However, the fact Stoneman has played 151 First Class games and averages just 35 shows he is an honest toiler more than anything, and doubts must remain as to whether he can rise to another level at the age of 30.
James Vince is another speculative pick after he averaged just 17 in his only seven Test matches. Vince averages a respectable 39 in First Class cricket, and it should be noted that English First Class averages are often not as high as Australian averages given the conditions they face with greener wickets and colder conditions.
Gary Ballance might look ugly with his homespun, back foot technique; however he at least averages 37 from 23 Tests, and has a strong First Class average of 48. Dawid Malan is lucky to be in the touring party after averaging just 23 from his 5 Tests this summer.
While England might be ranked third currently in the world, and Australia fifth, Australia will deservedly start the series as a fairly strong favourite given recent history between the two cricketing nations.
Home sides have generally dominated Ashes Series over the past decade and a half. Australia have lost their last four Ashes contests in England, while England have enjoyed just one series victory in Australia since 1985, coming in 2011/12.
Since England’s last tour of Australia, their form has remained fairly ordinary overseas in Test cricket.
In 15 Tests on the road, England have won just one from five series, a 2-1 triumph over South Africa in 2015.
They struggled to 1-1 series draws against lowly Bangladesh and the West Indies, as well as being punished 4-0 in India and 2-0 in Dubai against Pakistan. Just four victories have come from those 15 Tests, with two draws and nine losses.
Australia, if you include their sweep of England, have won five from six of their last home Test series, with their only loss coming last year against South Africa 2-1.
In their last 21 Tests on home soil, Australian retain a relatively imposing record with 15 victories and four draws, coming at a time when the team hasn’t always been settled, or contained anywhere near the same aura it did back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Ordinarily, I would say, with the strain of the captaincy of an Ashes Tour, batting at No.4 would give Root a little bit more space and time from the pressure cooker and acid test which is a visit to Australia.
However, while he is young and relatively fresh in the role, he needs to take on that responsibility in a side lacking quality top order batsmen.
There is no doubt the strength of this England side is the batting depth they have in the middle order. Through Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes, England do have some quality all-rounders who can dominate in the right circumstances.
However, those circumstances are not coming in with the side at two down for less then 30 most innings, or four or five wickets down for less than 100. Often these players struggle in these kinds of situations.
If England can provide a platform for their stroke players in the middle order, they could well flourish – and that’s why Root needs to step up and bat at No.3 as the team’s captain and best batsman.
Don Freo
Guest
Maybe we could block his visa on suspected terrorist charges. After all, he does terrorize tired attacks.
ColinP
Guest
at the batting paradise the oval.....you shouldnt judge a player you've never seen bat, I've barely seen foakes play so i have no idea why he has so many advocates on roar....stats gurus (averages have context). He's v good yes, but not near the test side unless bairstow gets injured. Probably similar batting to woakes, not in same class as ali
Don Freo
Guest
Better that they are playing for their states rather than in the nets. A phone call and a plane flight will do the trick.
ThugbyFan
Roar Guru
If I remember correctly, Joe Root's last test in Australia was when Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris were on fire. Root was dropped for the 5th test in Sydney, which doesn't bode well for a #3. His series average was 27.4, not too shabby compared to others in that line-up, was built on a nice 87 at Adelaide. In the other 7 innings he really struggled. If the wickets are as dead as Hugh Heffner then Root will survive at #3, as will Steve Smith, and both will likely get a couple of good scores. If the curators add a little water/day for a week before the match, then Root will stay at #4. If this drought continues, then I think we could be in for a bore-fest of 2 day innings, so I hope the curators find water even if its a midnight pee. :) If Ben Stokes doesn't tour, I would say England are at long odds. If he does tour, then its close to even money. He was phenomenal in South Africa last year against their pace bowlers. I doubt if the selectors will try them but I honestly think they should call Chad Sayers and Jason Behrendorff into the squad as back-ups to the fragile Australian pace battery. Sayers' late swing offers variation and Behrendorff's pace and bounce are pretty destructive. James Pattinson is already out and the other 3 are always one ball away from disaster. Better to have backups in the nets going for it and prepared.
Don Freo
Guest
Hey Eddie, are you an Englishman? I like your style. It's not as belligerent as some of the Poms on here. It's gently conversational, speaking of pleasant anticipation of the upcoming Ashes. I'm a fan of Joe Root. Many speak about the punch up between him and Davy Warner. I'm always intrigued by the fact they were out in each other's company until those early hours. They must enjoy some kind of mutual mateship. Mates argue. Is Dawid pronounced 'David'? If not, how the heck do you pronounce it with a 'W'? Eoin (Owen) is silly enough.
George
Guest
Good side Nudge. I fear Foakes won't get a look in though.
George
Guest
Vince was a farcical mates-club selection.
George
Guest
But more games per side means it's harder to sustain an average no? Especially with the harder climatic conditions thrown in.
George
Guest
Woakes is established with a decent track record. He batting is so underrated/ignored it's become absurd. But Foakes has done well for Essex granted.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Nudge you're right, Moeen's record batting at 7 is amazing - he's made 754 runs at 68 in that position, with three tons. Really, the bit I'd be adamant about if I was an England fan is pushing Root and Bairstow up the order to try to counter the Aussie quicks. That's the aggressive move, and England will not win this series by playing it safe.
Tom Simon
Roar Pro
If the ECB has any respectability about them, there's no way that Stokes can tour. In that case, I'd play Woakes, as he's the second best all-rounder they have behind Stokes. Can play as a front line seamer and averages 32 in Test cricket so far. I suspect Vince will slot into 4, if as you say Eddie, Root goes up to 3. Vince may not have lit up the scene recently, but if they are going to pull him after patchy form, they see a potential long term fit.. 1. Cook 2. Stoneman 3. Root 4. Vince 5. Bairstow 6. Moeen Ali 7. Foakes (wk) 8. Woakes 9. Ball 10. Broad 11. Anderson
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I never said all batsmen should. Clarke was best at 4 or 5, he was a great player of spin who could really take things on from that position. Hussey probably could have done the job there, he was an opener for WA before being picked in the middle order for Australia. I'm not saying all batsmen are suited to that sort of role, but I wouldn't see any reason why Root wouldn't be. In a lot of ways he seems the archetypal #3 type batsman.
nick
Guest
Tend to agree with you although maybe he'll be rubbed out for 2 tests. Given the way KP was treated by Strauss, and looking at earlier punishments the ECB have doled out, to be consistent, ta big fine and a couple of tests would seem the bare minimum. Strauss in a real twist. Things have gone very quiet though and you may well be right.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Australia had trouble at No.3 for years but Clarke and Huss didn't go up the ladder to fill the void.
Ozibatla
Guest
We're at it again with the dreaded foot in mouth syndrome. I see Starc today has declared that Australia intends to increase the psychological pressure hold on the poms... Hang on a sec, who one the last series??? Why cant we just learn to shut our mouthes an just worry about our own backyard? Mitchell Starc is a world class pace bowler but hes prone to speak first and think second. He was quick to run his mouth after their win in Lords in 2015 and we know what happened from then on??? Bloody hell guys, let the bat and ball do the talking for once.
Nudge
Guest
No, I don't think English averages are lower than Australian ones in FC cricket. Obviously with the amount of rain around England the wickets are more difficult to bat on. But they have at least 16 teams so have nearly 180 players playing in a round. They do have 1 or 2 professionals playing in each team though. Australia have 6 teams, so 66 players playing in a round. That means they have an extra 100 players filling up each teams 11. If we had 16 teams we would be pulling another 100 from first grade from each state. That would obviously weaken the competition. Jesse Ryder played county cricket last year and opened the bowling all year. He bowls at about 115km
Nudge
Guest
I think Stokes will tour, that's why everything's gone quiet for now. In about 2 weeks I think they'll announce a massive fine, maybe $300,000 but say he's right to tour. Cook Stoneman Root Bairstow Ballance Stokes Foakes Moeen Woakes Broad Anderson
Nudge
Guest
I agree with most things you say Ronan, but having Moeen at 5 would be crazy. He's at his most dangerous when he's in the team as a bowler and can come in late with no pressure against a tiring attack and chance his arm. If he comes in at 5 against a fresh attack he will be mince meat He's woeful against the short ball as well.
Nudge
Guest
No, Foakes would definitely bat above Woakes and I'd be surprised if he didn't bat above Ali. Foakes would nearly make England's side as just a batter. Off the top of my head he averages around 42 in first class cricket. The lower Moeen comes in, the more tired the bowlers are, and the more dangerous he becomes.
Eddie Otto
Roar Guru
Cheers Ronan. I like the look of your side however I think Gary Balance is a gritty sort of player that England might need. Bairstow, Ali and Root have high strike rates and will naturally score quickly. Balance can look very ugly however his FC average of 48 and Test average of 37 suggests he knows his game and trusts his game. Vince and Malan might have poor talent but are unproven. I can't see Stokes touring either. I would lean towards this batting line up of.... 1. Cook 2. Stoneman 3. Root 4. Balance 5. Vince 6. Bairstow 7. Ali 8. Stokes replacement or Foakes ir Bairstow does not take the gloves. 9. Woakes 10. Broad 11. Anderson