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Shield begins, Moeen Ali calls stumps and Ashes latest: Takes from the week in cricket

Roar Guru
29th September, 2021
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Roar Guru
29th September, 2021
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In case you missed it, Moeen Ali called stumps on his Test career this week. The retirement of the third greatest spinner in English Test history barely rated 200 words on the Cricket Australia website.

Only Derek Underwood (297) and Graeme Swann (255) have taken more than Ali’s 195 Test wickets. Throw in more than 2900 hundred runs, a Test hat-trick, five Test centuries and this is a career to be proud of.

I don’t think he was well used at all by England. The selectors obviously knew they had a talent, especially with the bat, but wanted him to be all things to the team. As a consequence, he batted everywhere from 1 to 9, when I think he’d have been a terrific number 6 or 7.

Australia didn’t see the best of him, especially on the 2017 tour, when it was clear his bowling was being targeted. A serious loss of form with the bat didn’t help either.

I also suspect some the scars he gained from such a tough tour carried over to his performances in the 2019 Ashes and perhaps influenced his decision to give Test cricket away before another Australian tour.

All of this begs the question – what spin options are left for Joe Root?

This is one cupboard that’s distinctly bare. Dom Bess is back bowling for Yorkshire but is not exactly setting the world on fire. Jack Leach is also in the mix, though his numbers for Somerset are equally uninspiring.

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Matt Parkinson is leading the way, at least in terms of his figures in County cricket, but is that enough to warrant a Test debut in an Ashes series in Australia?

I suspect Joe Root will be having to shoulder a fair bit of bowling if any of the Test pitches are conducive to spin.

England captain Joe Root.

Joe Root (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Turning to domestic cricket, I received a message from a mate who asked: what happens if four people cough in Brisbane? Answer: a Shield game is postponed and Tassie players fly home.

This was in no way trying to demean that decision, which was clearly made with the best intentions for player and (presumably) spectator health. It was simply expressing the frustration many of us feel at how the domestic season has started – or not started.

Granted, it’s early days, but I don’t see a Cricket Australia plan B for Shield matches. Plan A is obviously go with the schedule and if COVID looks like it’ll cause an issue, postpone games.

I’d have thought plan B was to play matches in locations well away from capital cities which are most likely to have COVID issues and potential lockdowns.

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There’s no reason why Shield matches couldn’t be played in Darwin, Alice Springs, Townsville or Cairns. Locations like Adelaide or Perth are obvious choices if Cricket Australia wanted to go down a similar path to the opening of last year’s Shield summer, though the quarantine rules in Western Australia are going to be tough to manage.

By the way, Plan C at present seems to be having no schedule for upcoming games, certainly nothing on the Cricket Australia website.

Speaking of Shield cricket, Will Puckovski might have to wait his turn for a Test spot – again.

Will Pucovski of Australia bats

Will Pucovski batting for Australia during last summer’s series against India (Photo by Cameron Spencer – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

Right now, he’d have to be considered No.3 on the Test opening pecking order. Dave Warner is still a lock for one spot and Marcus Harris has made every post a winner in the off-season, scoring runs in both County and domestic ODI cricket.

In theory, Puckovski could bat in the middle order but he’d have stiff competition from Travis Head who, like Harris, has made a lot of hundreds since being dropped from the Test team.

Bear in mind, Head wasn’t left out through a drop in form but because he was getting starts and not going on with his innings, often due to poor decision making. He seems to have worked hard on that aspect of his game and deserves his spot back in the Test middle order.

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Credit to whoever prepared that pitch at Karen Rolton Oval. I know it was batting friendly, given only 25 wickets were lost while nearly 1250 runs were scored, but it was a September wicket which gave batsmen a good chance to knock off the winter cobwebs and gave the bowlers a tough early season workout.

I’d hope as the Shield summer progresses, we see pitches which offer far more to the bowlers, so making runs becomes a real test of skill.

I also hope the Saffers persist with Lloyd Pope. His numbers from this game were Arthur Mailey-like – 37 overs, 7 for 215 at 5.81 runs per over. Yes, he’s expensive, but he’s still only 21 and gives the ball a genuine rip and has an outstanding wrong-‘un.

He’s far from the finished product, but if he can learn control by playing more games at first class level, I see no reason why he couldn’t develop into another Stewie MacGill.

Is time catching up with Dave Warner? In the first part of the IPL season this year, Warner was stripped of the captaincy and in the second stanza, was dropped by his franchise and they’ve now parted ways.

In fairness, Warner would be the first to admit he’s underperformed in the 2021 IPL. The question is, will that form carry over, first to the T20 World Cup, and even The Ashes?

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The Ashes are a little over two months away and sadly, despite all the positive words from the Cricket Australia CEO, there is still mass confusion over the series even taking place.

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Nick Hockley is certainly earning his salary, trying to swim through the minefield that is state and federal politics around issues like COVID quarantines, allowing partners and children to travel, venues and dates for Tests, alternative venues if those first options fall through, etc. And all the while, Channel Seven and other broadcasters are circling, waiting to see what eventuates.

I gather from the internet that the ECB should be announcing their Ashes squad on the 4th of October. This could contain as many as 30 players, with some suggestions players might be able to return home after playing only a few Tests in the series.

If 30 players are chosen, the question is whether Ben Stokes will tour and who will make up the numbers outside the current England Test squad.

Finally, the Australian women finally lost an ODI game to India, which stopped them at 26 straight victories in this format. That is an outstanding achievement for any sporting team, let alone a national side. Hopefully they can extract some revenge in the one-off Test starting on the 30th.

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