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Opinion
Another poor batting performance from England has all but ended Australia’s slim hopes of progressing to the World Test Championship Final in June.
On a much more batting-friendly Ahmedabad wicket for the fourth Test, England skipper Joe Root called correctly on Thursday and knew a big first-innings total of at least 300 was a non-negotiable for any chance of an upset win to level an engrossing series 2-all.
But their output at the crease was entirely uninspiring.
Tired, and at times reckless batting saw them rolled for just 205 — and this time, there could be no excuses about the surface.
Given the Test (and by extension, series) is all but done barring an increasingly unlikely turn of events, the post-mortem began swiftly post-play.
Are England simply ill-equipped skill-wise on the subcontinent, much in the same way Australia is?
Or has a mentally taxing series, one which VVS Laxman said had ‘scarred’ the top order, dented their confidence to an irretrievable extent?
A little from column A, a little from column B.
To England’s credit there was a distinct difference in their approach at the crease on day one, looking to be more positive particularly with their feet and avoid a repeat of the previous two Tests.
But any rewards were brief.
Zak Crawley came down the track to Axar Patel early, crunching an impressive straight drive for an early boundary. But later that over — just the eighth of the Test match — he holed out incongruously.
Dan Lawrence (46 off 74) played more positively than any other English batter, but his dismissal was similarly needless, stumped after an unconvincing foray down the wicket.
But other dismissals were not ‘subcontinent’ in nature at all.
Both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were done for pace by (the increasingly impressive) Mohammed Siraj.
(Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
Others were simply stuck on the crease, unsure whether to come forward or go back. That indecision caused their downfall.
Even Michael Vaughan could offer few excuses for the performance.
“England’s batting so far worse than any of the last few Tests…this pitch is a perfect surface to get a big first-innings score…no spin…ball coming onto the bat…very poor batting so far,” the noted pitch enthusiast tweeted.
India’s dominance on Day 1 means Australia can kiss goodbye any slim hope of a World Test Championship final berth.
Virat Kohli’s side rarely loses on home soil, not least after a dominant first day.
A glance at the scorecard might suggest that while England didn’t have a great day, they are still in with a chance.
But any optimism from Aussie fans should be redirected for their own health.
What Thursday night’s action did re-affirm, however, was yet again the importance of left-arm finger spin and by extension, Ashton Agar’s importance for Australia next year.
India’s Patel (4-68) continued his meteoric rise in the Test ranks, although his previously single-digit average has now blown out to 10.8.
With Steve O’Keefe retired, Australia’s number two option for planned tours to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2022 has to be Agar.
And while some may justifiably argue that sees him leapfrog Mitchell Swepson (and even John Holland) in the spinners pecking order, he would appear Australia’s best hope to partner Nathan Lyon.
Agar’s improvement has been significant in the last two years and is Australia’s closest replica to the metronomic left-arm spin of Patel.