Rain in London may well help Australia hold on their 1-0 Ashes lead but it can’t obscure the dire state of their opening partnership.
While David Warner is struggling to re-adapt to Tests, his opening partner Cameron Bancroft is having his technique picked apart by the English quicks, who did the same thing in the 2017-18 Ashes.
Leading into this series, England’s opening combination shaped as their biggest weakness. They had churned through endless failed openers and were now picking a white ball specialist in Jason Roy to pair with Rory Burns, who had averaged 22 in his first seven Tests and looked well short of Test standard.
Australia, by comparison, were in the enviable position of choosing between four openers whose claims for selection varied from very strong to solid.
Depending on your viewpoint, it either seemed like a luxury or a mistake that they were able to leave both Joe Burns and Marcus Harris out of their starting XI at Edgbaston.
Burns averaged 40 from his 16 Tests and had four Tests tons in his kit, including 180 in his last Test. Harris, meanwhile, had made an okay start to his Test career, averaging 33 from six matches, and was coming off one of the most dominant Sheffield Shield campaigns of the past decade, with 1,188 runs at 70.
Bancroft pipped them both, though. This was due to his hot county form, having made 513 runs at 73 in his last four matches for Durham, as well as his gritty 93* on a minefield against an attack of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle in Australia’s last practice match.
I agreed with Bancroft’s selection. I felt his surging form, together with having acclimatised to English conditions in county cricket, made him the safest option. While I did not expect him to pile up runs in this Ashes I thought he could do a role, that he could blunt the new ball well while Warner attacked.
That has not been the case. Bancroft’s batting is a mess right now. During the last Ashes, he joked during a press conference that he had the “heaviest head” in the West Australian squad.
Perhaps that’s why he’s overbalancing to the offside constantly.
This is causing two major glitches in his technique. The first is that his lack of balance is forcing him to reach around his front pad to access deliveries directed at the stumps.
This contributed to his downfall last night as he was trapped LBW by Jofra Archer for a painful 13 from 66 balls, giving him a total of 28 runs from three knocks so far in this series.
Cameron Bancroft. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
The second major issue stemming from his head position is the angle in which his bat is arcing towards the ball.
Even in peak form, Bancroft’s bat tends to swing through from the line of first slip. But right now this angle is even more pronounced, such that Bancroft is not showing the full face of the bat in defence but rather half of it, at best, as his blade swings across, almost like a windscreen wiper.
This is not a sustainable technique. Good form masks some of Bancroft’s flaws, but right now he looks a long way from discovering touch.
If he fails again in the second innings here, Australia will need to consider whether they give him one more Test to get back on his feet, or make a tough call and dump him for Harris for the third Test.
It isn’t helping Bancroft, either, that Warner hasn’t fired a shot. Historically, opening the batting in Tests with Warner has been a privilege, with his partner benefiting greatly from the pressure he places on new ball bowlers with his brilliant belligerence.
While Warner belts the quicks off their line and length his partner gets to cruise along in his slipstream.
Yet after a terrific World Cup, during which he made three tons and averaged 72, Warner has had zero influence on this Ashes to date. With scores of 2, 8 and 3, Warner is being bossed by England’s veteran seamer Stuart Broad, who has dismissed him all three times.
Can Davey claw back some respectability by taking on Rabada? (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
The left hander has been batting well out of his crease in an attempt to smother the lateral movement offered by the Dukes ball. This hasn’t worked. Broad’s around-the-wicket approach has flummoxed Warner.
By angling the ball in towards Warner, and then getting the odd delivery to swing or seam away, Broad has opened up his defence.
The Aussie clearly fears getting beaten on both the inside and outside edges and so has gone into his shell. As much as many Aussie fans have yearned for Warner to rein in his aggression across his Test career, he undoubtedly is at his best when he is putting pressure back on the bowlers.
Stonewalling has never been and likely never will be his strength. When quicks are able to work him over with a clear plan, and he’s doing nothing to make them think, Warner is a sitting duck.
If he cannot regain his confidence, and begin making Broad feel some heat, then it’s hard to see how he can have a big series from here on out. That’s not to suggest Warner needs to start trying to blast the England bowlers, rather that he’s not the same batsman when he’s allowing the opposition to dictate terms.
Bancroft, by comparison, has no choice. Terms will be dictated to him for the foreseeable future, based on his current form. If Warner can rediscover some of his old menace that may just ease the pressure on both of these faltering Aussie openers.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Look's like you were right Paul :thumbup:
ken gargett
Guest
another one? seriously? he has had ten or eleven tests (forgive me i don't have the actual figures) and has pretty much failed in the lot. two fifties and an average around 25. and he gets another one? not only that, the scores are going backwards. while harris and burns get the chop for him. hard to see this as anything other than langer helping his west aussie mate. someone apparently said that doing the same thing time after time and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. well we keep selecting bancroft and expecting a different result. give a tailender ten or eleven tests and every chance they'll make a score eventually.
Chop
Roar Guru
Each Australian ground used to have it's own traits but with the drop in pitches around the major grounds of Melbourne/Adelaide/Perth they've become more generic.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Ronan afraid I was calling this before the Series. No one listened. Remember you and I wanted labauchange we both agreed on . So far he's making a mockery of of Warners and Bancrofts technique. Also wrote an article before this test predicated on 3.5 days play to play starc and labauchange and maybe rest lyon. No one listened really . ITs tricky conditions with leg spin out there now and archer , like starc would have troubled them but we needed five bowlers for him, Wasn't far off the money here before the series and with the article on the rain 3.5 day test .
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Hope your watching Labauschangne Jeff, He's doing better than those two idiots at the top with his technique. County runs/experience matter. How many times do I have to tell you mate. Warner hopeless again
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Absolute nonsense. Who batted at three for Australia in the mid to late 70's? Ian or Greg Chappell? The whole world knew Greg was the best batsman in the team. Ian batted at three because he was the best number three in the side and that's who should bat there unless the best batsman wants to there, ala Ponting
Cadfael
Roar Guru
My concern is also with the batting of our captain. He is nearly on par with the openers. With Paine having concerns will the selectors drop Siddle or Hazelwood and bring Marsh in at 7. An alternative is to drop Bancroft and move everyone up and play Marsh at 6. Let's hope not. I still feel the squad was wrong. Burns and Patterson/Carey should have been there in place of Bancroft and Wade.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
I know Joe prefers to open but he looks a natural stroke player, more suited to 4 or 5, for me. Of course, this series our three and four are basically opening so little difference.
Rellum
Roar Guru
The best batsmen should bat where they bat best.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Burnsy started as a middle order player for QLD. Then this myth of his struggle with waiting to bat got around and stuck when he started opening more regularly. Only Burns knows if that is actually true.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Yes!
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
For all Burn's test hundreds as an opener, I have always thought his technique is far more suited to middle order positions. An opener who loves blazing through the covers and square off the front foot always worries me on English conditions
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
One could also suggest that if Khawaja goes to the top of the order and Marnus comes in to bat at three, Bancroft isn’t needed under the lid at short leg. You are correct that Cameron at short leg provides more than Dave at slip (why???), But it’s not reason enough to persist with him. Of course, the selectors could go crazy and bring in Harris and Markus, drop both struggling openers and Khawaja opens with Harris. It worked ok in ’77/78 with Rick Darling and Graeme Wood against India at Adelaide. Not a serious option though ????
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Probably right. Warner has always been a player when struggling to be only a couple of blazing shots away from good form. Bancroft, however, has shown on the past that once bowlers find his technical flaws, he has few answers. Hopefully, selectors don't linger over dropping him if he doesn't make runs in his next dig. Although, if it's with the security of a draw in a 2nd innings of this test, how much notice would you take?
Steve Franklin
Roar Rookie
Let India play 20/20 competitions but only play it in their country and leave it to their own players and all the ancient has beens but don't inflick it on the rest of the world.
Steve Franklin
Roar Rookie
Yes 20/20 has killed our test teams game that's why i have never and never will watch a 20/20 game as it is a rubbish game ruining cricket for ever.
Steve Franklin
Roar Rookie
Warner is not a test batsman he's a slogger only for the one day and 20/20 games and Bancroft isn't good enough for any level of International cricket so if the want to be 2 quick wickets down in every test just persist with them both and it will keep happening.
sheek
Roar Guru
Form can be elusive. When Greg Chappell went through his run of 6-7 ducks in tests & ODIs back in 1981/82, a journalist asked him how he thought his form was. Chappell quipped that he hadn't been in the middle long enough to know if he was in form, or out of form. We could argue neither Warner nor Bancroft have spent enough time in the middle to know if they're in form, or not! Anyway, another example, back in 1979/80, in the combined series against Windies & England, Allan Border began with 1 & 7 against Windies, & 4 in the 1st innings against England. He then scored 115 in the 2nd innings. I'm confident Warner will come good. Not so sure about Bancroft. A problem seems to be that today, so few people have patience. We all want instant results in an instant society. I caution patience.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Time to try labu for sure. I said last last id start Khawaja at top. He is looking pretty solid before the odd brain fade in the 30s and 40s and the ball to get him out day 2 was a decent delivery. Opened really well in India recently all be it with the white ball. Certainly better than Bancroft and Warner In england so far. Warner will get another go in 3rd test. Lets see who does well today under pressure if there are 50 to 70 overs to get through
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Clarkes back injuries were his real problem .