Running the rule over the 14 man squad England has chosen for the first Ashes Test this Thursday is an interesting task.
Compared to the ruminations over what the final XI will be for the Australians when they front up for the toss on Thursday evening, England has such an abundance of options that their one glaring weakness is something that they should really be able to overcome with some ease.
England has had a revolving door when it comes to the opening batting for years. As has been mentioned a thousand times, they have spent seven years trying to find someone to replace Andrew Strauss as Alastair Cook’s opening partner at the top of the order, and now that Cook has retired they are still struggling to find these replacements.
Now they have to find two who can make a batting partnership that will do the job for them, and they don’t look to be any closer than they have been. They have three options to fill the two places, assuming they are too frozen in fright to consider moving any of their other batting options into the role.
Those three are Joe Denly, Rory Burns and Jason Roy. Denly looks compact but without form behind him. Burns has a technique that looks as though he is trying to bat using the edge of the bat as the face and looks a candidate for caught behind.
Roy has shown his prowess in the one day format on flat tracks and straight deliveries, but doesn’t look technically capable against the ball that moves and with more than one slip fieldsman.
Despite all this England look likely to stick with Burns and Roy, and they will be hoping that Roy can give them the kind of start he has done in the one day games while Burns holds his ground and nudges the ball around. If they both achieve this then they will have done their job.
He may have tried to avoid batting at three in the Test team, but in terms of team balance there looks to be no alternative to Joe Root stepping up to the platform this series.
He is the best credentialled batsman in the team, and if he wants to regain the Ashes he needs to lead from the front. This will allow his foot soldiers to fall into line behind him – Jonny Bairstow at four, Ben Stokes at five, Jos Buttler at six and Moeen Ali at seven.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
Perhaps in many minds these batsmen all have to prove themselves at Test level like they have at ODI level, but they all have the ability to do so. Certainly, England’s five and six look a lot more dangerous than Australia’s.
With both Stokes and Moeen in the top seven, England now has the opportunity to go for the kill with a four-pronged pace attack with the ball. No doubt both James Anderson and Stuart Broad will be chosen as long as they are fit.
Chris Woakes should also be a walk-up start, adding another seam option as well as lengthening the batting line up further. That would leave only one place remaining for the three other aspirants.
Olly Stone looks to be the drinks waiter given the quality of those bowlers in front of him, which would leave a choice between the incumbent all-round abilities of Sam Curran or the pace talismanic ability of Jofra Archer.
You would expect they would stick with Curran if for no other reason than he seems to score around 30 runs every time he comes to the crease but it is by no means absolute.
Indeed, if they chose to use Root’s off spin capabilities they could even leave Moeen out of the side and play Woakes at seven, Curran at eight and Archer at nine which combined would probably score just as many runs through those three positions in the order.
England may not be as proven in the Test arena as they are elsewhere, but they have quality batsmen and bowlers and have not lost a home Ashes series since 2001. Australia has struggled since the last Ashes series in 2017-18 and are nowhere near as settled in team make up as the home team.
If England are not firm favourites in this series then there is a real problem in their mindset, which would only suit Australia. The stumble against Ireland aside, England look the team to beat.
Josh H
Roar Rookie
Really weirdly phrased point there I’m sure England were really missing Cook in their tour of Australia in 1991, when he was tearing it up in his provincial Under 7s competition – yeah, really crucial loss that
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Absence has definitely made my heart grow fonder when it comes to Watto. It was only when he retired we saw what we were missing. My only gripe with him was he insisted on batting 3 places too high. Would have been an ideal #6 but wanted to bat @ 3. The selectors should have told him to behave and bat where he's told so it's not entirely his fault I guess.
U
Roar Rookie
Those averages would be much higher in England.
U
Roar Rookie
They will and he will give the Aussies a lot of trouble. Unlike Mitch Marsh, Stokes is an all rounder with a lot of grit and fight
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"I couldn’t care less whether a batsman is 32 or not for this series." Nor could I. What concerns me most is that he has played 22 tests and averaged 28.6.
Max power
Guest
I hope England put stokes and his batting average of 33 at number 5
Zenn
Roar Rookie
Bring back Watto
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Time will tell on that. Up to this point over the last couple of years however their lower middle order has been achieving against a variety of attacks (NZ, India, SL, WIN)
Mika
Roar Rookie
Pitches aside, not sure their lower order will go vs Pattinson and Lyon chipping away and one of a miserly Siddle or fast and intimidating Starc - who's regularly been kryptonite to lower order batsmen.
Mika
Roar Rookie
Don't worry about Broad. Automatic selection first test. He can have off days and pitch too short - be a bit of a Starc. But he's a proven big game Ashes player. He steps up against Australia. He has an aura. I suspect Roy is a Finch, but agree 1. The have little choice and 2. You're right, if the gamble comes off and he survives the first 15 - 20 overs on a benign pitch he could set up a game for England. I think he might fail, but if I was an England selector, I'd probably go with him anyway...
Mika
Roar Rookie
Fair call. But Wade is not playing for his spot or career really. He's a veteran, playing to win the Ashes and have a legacy.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
I couldn't care less whether a batsman is 32 or not for this series. I want to win the Ashes in the next 6 weeks and have little concern re the next 6 years, until the Ashes are over anyway. I'll go with performances (form) over the last 18 months or 2 years. Wade has those performances in spades in FC cricket (home and in UK, Kookaburras and Dukes) since he gave up the gloves full time and focused on being a specialist batsman. Now is not the time to blooding younger batsmen in an Ashes in England, even if Labuchagne has a few Tests under his belt. And he is yet to show he is anywhere near Test quality.
AREH
Roar Guru
Mostly 3-4 I think for Surrey, yep. Not sure how often opening there, if ever. I agree that 4 would be a more ideal introduction here, but they seem content to throw him straight in and encourage him to play the same thundering style. Could worry the Australians if he gets in, for sure..but it’s the obvious susceptibility to quality bowling in assistive conditions. We know he’s proven white-ball International quality with a reasonable County record, but we’re about to find out if Roy the test cricketer can become a thing. I think he is worth taking a punt on if purely for the lure of his attacking game. Such a dearth of long-term options here for several years mean the search continues.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
" ....Jonny Bairstow at four, Ben Stokes at five, Jos Buttler at six and Moeen Ali at seven." Bill, I've only ever seen these guys play against Australia and I don't recall them performing that well with the bat. I've checked the stats and the stats seem to confirm my recollections. Batting against Australia your preferred numbers 4 - 7 have fared as follows: Bairstow - averaged 28; Stokes - averaged 30; Buttler - averaged 15; and Moeen - averaged 27.7. Historical averages do not give one much confidence to predict the batting performances in the coming series; but, facing a more than useful attack, on pitches that will nip around a bit, do we think these guys will improve significantly on these numbers ? Buttler probably, but the others, I'm not so sure.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"Wade (my pick at 6) perhaps over Buttler (though close call)". I am yet to be convinced that Wade is now a test quality batsmen. He has played 22 test matches, which is a decent sample size, and failed to impress, especially in his last few seasons. In 2016 he averaged 7 with the bat and 24.2 in 2017. If he makes a solid contribution to Australia's Ashes efforts, I will be very (pleasantly) surprised. Wade is pushing 32. Personally, I'd rather go with the young man at the start of his career - Labushagne. He bowls useful leggies also.
Paul
Roar Guru
lets see.... Jonathon Trott, Graeme Swann, Moeen Ali..........
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Different times. Different roles. Different focus. Wade has focussed on being a batsman only in recent times and his excellent record at FC level in the last two seasons (Australia and UK) is inarguable. Steve Smith had a poor batting record when he was focusing on legspin. Can't compare different periods where the primary roles had a different focus. Just the here and now.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
I agree with your assessments Paul. England's lower order is something we need to be able to find a way through. We'll almost certainly be on top against their top and middle order. I'd back Head over Stokes. Wade (my pick at 6) perhaps over Buttler (though close call). Bairstow over Paine. Moeen is a problem for them depending on if he plays and where he bats. But Woakes/Curran otherwise over Pattinson/Starc at 8. On balance Australia has the better batting line up.
U
Roar Rookie
Cook’s legacy will only get stronger over time
U
Roar Rookie
We shall see if Wade can bring that form to test level. He has a history of not doing so