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Opinion
Joe Root must be a happy man at the moment. Not only is he a proud father again, but his side also scored a recent Test victory in the series against the West Indies.
Just as the World Cup win was a huge high, the Ashes result and the subsequent series loss in New Zealand must have seemed like massive lows. To their credit, the England squad picked themselves up and won three Tests convincingly in South Africa and have continued the good work by winning at Old Trafford.
Coach Chris Silverwood – who last year replaced Trevor Bayliss – got together with Root to work out a two-year plan, which will culminate in next year’s Ashes tour.
The approach they want to adopt means the team aims to bat for longer periods in search of consistently competitive totals and being more patient with the ball. This is a significant shift from the Bayliss era, who wanted the team to show more aggressive with both bat and ball.
In their last seven Tests, the England batting – which was at its nadir, all out for 67 in the third Ashes Test last year – has made four scores in excess of 400 and another of 391/8 declared. This suggests the players are buying into the new plan.
Individual players are also improving, with some developing at a faster rate than others. Burns and Sibley look likely to be Englands openers for some time, with Sibley currently averaging a very healthy 44.33 and two hundreds from his eight Tests.
Ollie Pope has had a slow start to this series but he has still made four scores over 50 in his short career and is averaging a shade under 40. Throw in Joe Root, as well as an in-form Ben Stokes, and this England side has the makings of a handy batting order.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The bowling attack has found ways to take wickets which again contributed in four recent Test wins. Jofra Archer will be key to England’s attack in Australia in 2021, but it remains to be seen whether the potential he showed during last year’s Ashes will be fulfilled. England’s strength lies in the fast bowling department, with plenty of options to choose from.
Since Graeme Swann retired, England have struggled with spin and Dom Bess is the preferred choice at present. He’s taken 16 wickets at 33.43, a strike rate of 78.6 and an economy rate of 2.54, which is not a bad return for a 23-year-old who’s only played 11 Tests.
There are many reasons to be positive, but there is still a lot of work to be done and Root must be concerned about a few things.
Silverwood still hasn’t settled on who will bat at the crucial number three position. The wicket-keeping spot is also up for grabs, considering Jos Buttler has failed to pass 50 in his last 14 Test innings. His glovework hasn’t been great and he seems to be down on confidence.
The biggest issue has to be who will make up the actual Test squad. The preferred Test team looks like it’s reasonably settled, allowing for rotations in the attack. However, the side doesn’t appear to have a lot of batting depth, outside the incumbents. That becomes problematic if any of these players are injured or have a dip in form.
There’s no doubt Justin Langer and Tim Paine will be watching the current series with great interest. They’ll be observing an England side that is still some way from the finished product, and are likely to see some good young batsmen finding their feet, grinding out runs and laying a platform for their attack to try and take 20 wickets.
Joe Root will be hoping his team continue to learn and improve over the next few Test series. He’ll also be hoping the team can find consistency with the bat and if they can make some decent scores Down Under, there’s every chance the Ashes in 2021/22 will be just as exciting as the 2019 series.
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