As England conceded the Ashes in Perth on Monday, attention tuned to the future of some of their underperforming senior players.
It’s time for England to consider taking some drastic action. The tourists have now lost eight straight Tests in Australia. They have won just one of their last six series on the road, including drawn series against lowly Test-playing nations Bangladesh and the West Indies.
England have won just three of their last 23 Test matches on foreign soil and now is as good a time as ever for a changing of the guard.
England has never really been in this series against a good, but not great, Australian team and that should signify repercussions for a side not looking like a cohesive or happy unit.
Clearly, there needs to be a lot of soul searching done to avoid what would be a third 5-0 whitewash in their last four tours down under.
It’s time to drop Stuart Broad and put Alastair Cook firmly on notice. Replacing two greats wouldn’t necessarily make England stronger, however that’s not the point.
Joe Root needs to take ownership of this side and with some of his most senior players under-performing, Melbourne and Sydney shape as an ideal time to shake things up.
(AAP Image/Darren England)
This tour has been a disaster. From before England arrived with the antics of Ben Stokes and further off-field incidents combining with on-field ineffectiveness.
Many expected Australia to win the series, however to do so in a clean sweep is embarrassing for England. Joe Root came into this series as a young captain, with an eye to being one of the best batsmen in the world.
However, he looks a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, as he spoke glumly and without much conviction in his post-match press conference. Root is a man without the answers or energy, as a batsman or captain to turn the tide.
The biggest question for the England hierarchy heading to Melbourne, is how do we get the best out of Root?
Firstly, he needs to be asked if he really wants to be captain of England? The answer has to be a resounding yes because he is too good a player to have the captaincy as a burden.
If he really doesn’t want it, then replace him immediately and tell him to focus all his energy on reclaiming his spot as one of the premier batsmen in the world.
Root looks mentally drained with the bat, a shadow of the world-class batsman he has become over the past four years. Perhaps most disturbing, he doesn’t look to be in full command of his side.
It doesn’t look like his team, and that is a problem. Whether he doesn’t have the strong personality to get the likes of Broad and James Anderson on board, however the body language from the pair hasn’t been great at times. Root has tried a variety of funky fields and plans to some of Australia’s best players, mostly to no avail.
It’s almost like he is trying too hard to look different and the litany of boundary riders has set a passive and defensive mentality that can spread like wildfire through a team. You don’t win in Australia through attitudinal cricket, however England appears stuck in that mindset.
While England squad came to Australia as underdogs and looked to be lacking in depth compared to past tours, some of their lesser likes have performed admirably. The likes of Mark Stoneman, Dawid Malan and Craig Overton have all shown more than a few glimpses they are worth persisting with, while James Vince has flattered to deceive, but has had his moments.
However, their senior players have gone missing in action this tour. While Root and Anderson have underperformed, they have at least had their moments and looked on the verge of finding form. The same can’t be said for Cook and Broad.
Cook has been a great player, however he is in diabolical form without much sign of things getting better in the final two Tests.
Even with 150 games under his belt, 83 runs from six digs is a paltry return. With no runs in the tour games beforehand, Cook looks totally devoid of confidence or intent in his stroke play.
The biggest problem is not only his form, but the fact he seems to have become more and more defensive with each innings. Over the past few years Cook has had five or six different opening partners and while Mark Stoneman looks the part, Cook is putting pressure on his younger comrades by his lack of initiative or ability to turn over the strike.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Broad racked up career-worst figures of 0/146 in the second innings in an uncharacteristically limp display. The quick now has just where he has just five wickets at an average over 70 on a miserable tour.
He has now gone 54 overs since his last breakthrough and is bolting at a moderate clip. His batting is also a massive concern.
It sets a bad example when he is virtually running away from the ball, showing significant psychological scarring and while you can’t deny having your face smashed up by a cricket ball would have lasting effects in battle, for the Ashes series it gives the Australians a psychological advantage.
Both Broad and Cook might survive the chop, but it just might be the wake-up they need to rediscover their mojo and get back to their best. Occasionally, when the decision is made to drop a player with a positive reputation in the game, it puts everyone on notice and while there might be some significant fallout, what do England have to lose?
Cook’s and Broad’s egos might be dented, but could they really have any complaints on form?
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