England will enter the Ashes with one of the most brittle batting line-ups brought to these shores up against the combined might of a bowling attack with 1030 Test wickets.
Of the nine players in contention to fill England’s batting slots against Australia when the first Test gets underway on Wednesday at the Gabba, all of them apart from captain Joe Root average between 28 and 38 with the bat.
Most of them have a much lower average in Tests against Australia, including Root, whose career clip of 50.15 plummets to 40.33 when confronted by the baggy green attack.
And the fragile touring batting brigade is set to come up against a four-man wicket-taking machine with more than 1000 scalps between them – new captain Pat Cummins (164), fellow quicks Josh Hazlewood (212) and Mitchell Starc (255), plus spinner Nathan Lyon who is one shy of his 400th victim.
And young all-rounder Cameron Green is over his back problems and is ready to unwind at full pace against the tourists.
Pat Cummins and Joe Root. (Photos by Getty Images).
To be fair to England, there will be plenty of experience on their bowling attack’s resume if they play both veteran seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who have 632 and 524 wickets respectively.
And Australia’s batting prospects will also depend greatly on Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner.
Australian spin king Shane Warne thinks that if England’s top order can weather the storm and take the shine of the new ball, Root and Stokes could keep them competitive.
“For Australia if they can take early wickets and get into that middle order of Root, [Jonny] Bairstow, Stokes, [Jos] Buttler while the ball’s still new then England’s going to struggle,” the Fox Cricket commentator told The Roar.
“If the top order does half a decent job against Cummins and Hazlewood with the new ball, then England can post a big score.
“I think England’s biggest problem is taking 20 wickets. Everyone talks about their batting but if you match up both batting teams, there’s not much between them with the bat.
“We rely very heavily on Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith and they rely heavily on Stokes and Root but they’ve also got Bairstow and Buttler. We’ve got David Warner in a bit of form again but [Marcus] Harris, [Travis] Head, Green and Carey making his debut, so our batting doesn’t look as strong as people make out either.”
England coach Chris Silverwood would not reveal his top three to go in before Root and Stokes while also saying Pope and Bairstow both had genuine claims on the six slot.
Mitchell Starc. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“Jonny has good experiences and memories of playing here, he has been successful here before,” he told reporters at the team’s pre-Ashes camp in Brisbane.
“Then you have the promise of young Ollie. We know he is a good player and have to take in the fact the wickets here will suit the way he plays. We saw him get some good runs at the end of last summer at The Oval and we know his pedigree is very good.
“Those are all things that will be thrown in the mix and taken into consideration. It’s one of the talking points we have at the moment.
“As we stand it is about keeping a close eye on the two of them and we will make a decision closer to the time over who we think is the right man to go into that.
“Both of them are playing well at the moment in the nets so that is the talking point as it stands.”
Former Australian paceman Brett Lee rates Root among the top run-scorers in world cricket.
(Anthony Devlin/PA via AP)
“Everyone’s got a plan until it goes pear-shaped, preparation is great and you’ve got to have that in cricket. You can’t be overawed by someone’s name,” the Fox Cricket commentator told The Roar.
“It’s like when I used to bowl to Sachin Tendulkar. I had to keep saying to myself, he’s a right-handed batsman, even though he’s the best batsman in the world at that time, you’ve got to have plans but also back yourself.
“As the Australian guys will have to have to someone like Joe Root. He’s got a wonderful technique, plays the ball late. I just think they need real good Test match bowling, building up pressure upon the other batsmen and hopefully someone like Root will play a false stroke.
“Stokes is pretty much as close to an Aussie as you can get even though he was born in New Zealand. He’s got that never-say-die attitude so he’s definitely going to be a guy who’s going to stand up to the Aussies.
“I think England have got a good side. I’m not going to say they’re going to beat Australia but it’s not going to be a walk in the park, I can promise you that.”
England’s batting options
The top order
Rory Burns: A lock to be one opener – he averages 32.3 after 29 Tests but held his own against Australia in 2019, making 390 at 39. The not-so-stylish left-hander made a century, 133 first up at Birmingham but struggled the rest of the series, passing 50 only twice more in his other nine innings.
Haseeb Hameed: Is vying with Zak Crawley to be the other opener. Yet to play Australia and has 359 runs at 35.9 from his first six Tests – three in India five years ago and another three at home this year.
Zak Crawley: Capable of opening or batting first drop, he has a modest average of 28.34 from 15 Tests and is also yet to face Australia. His average is inflated by his sole century being a mammoth 267.
Dawid Malan: Looks likely to bat at No.3 and also has a middling Test average of 28.62 from 17 matches although he racked up 383 runs in Australia in 2017-18 at 42.55 including a century, 140 at Perth.
The middle order
Joe Root: The captain is the bedrock of the England line-up who will come in at No.4 – if the Australians have their way with the top order, he will be on a rescue mission early in the innings more often than not. A veteran of 109 Tests, his rich vein of 2021 form has lifted his average back above 50 to 50.15 and he enters the Ashes fire with 23 centuries and 50 fifties on his resume.
However, his record against Australia of 40.33 is his worst against any nation he’s played more than twice and he has only made three tons in 24 Tests. His numbers in Australia are even worse, a clip of 38 from nine Tests without being able to convert any of his half-centuries into triple figures.
Ben Stokes: It would be incorrect to under-estimate Stokes’ potential to be an Ashes game-changer despite his recent break from the game. If you were to judge Stokes on batting stats alone, his numbers are good, not great. He averages 37.04 in Test cricket from 71 matches and 38.37 from his 14 games against Australia stretching back to his breakthrough tour in 2013-14.
Ben Stokes. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
But it’s his ability to produce a match-winning knock, take incisive wickets and snare stunning catches which makes him the all-round package that Australia will both target and try to contain.
Ollie Pope: In contention for the No.6 role with Jonny Bairstow, he’s been in and out of the side since 2018, tallying 965 runs at 32.16 from 20 starts with only one triple-figure total of 135 not out in South Africa last year. Is yet to face Australia.
Jonny Bairstow: A known commodity, he’s also had his fair share of being dropped and recalled. In 78 Tests since 2012 he scores at 33.7 and averages a century every 12 games. Against Australia, his record drops to 26.96 and he’s tonned up just once in 19 contests. Weirdly enough, his average when he’s not keeper is higher (37.37) when he’s not (27.41) which is likely to be the case if selected in Brisbane.
Jos Buttler: Another player whose average is significantly lower against Australia – the keeper averages a commendable 33.33 from 53 Tests, although he has been the gloveman in 20 of those games in which his figure rises slightly to 35.68. In his 10 Tests against Australia, Buttler has managed just 369 runs at 20.5 with only one half-century.
ken gargett
Guest
still sure about burns? the only hanging around he is doing today will be in the dressing room.
Steele
Roar Rookie
I do think Australia have a better line up( batting and bowling), yet I would expect lower batting averages from the English. They play home games on sporting pitches which actually have something in it for their bowlers. Aussie pitches have lost their unique characteristics and are mainly just roads now. Cricketing averages are not like for like. Guys like Steyn and Philander have unbelievable bowling statistics, yet their averages in Australia are much higher(still very respectable). Ashwin averages 42 in Australia and 21 in India. Cummins is all time when you look at his stats. As you would expect he has a tremendous record in the UK and S.A, but also very good on the Australian roads. You have to look at the fine print when dissecting averages. In Australia an average of 40 is sometimes good enough for selection, Head and Harris are in that camp. Perhaps 35 is that pass mark in England. The 5 run differential put down to tougher batting conditions. I think Cummins and Hazlewood would run amok in County cricket, England lack depth in the bowling if anything. There are probably ten blokes in Australia that would get a bowl in the English line up, but maybe only Labs and Smith are walk up starts in their batting department. Warner’s a bust in England and the rest are unconvincing.
Paul
Roar Guru
The issue this article does not address is the lack of batting experience in red ball cricket for the majority of the England batsmen. Malan, Root, Stokes and Bairstow have all played Tests here, but the rest of the hopefuls have not. That makes any call about how they'll go, at best a guess. It certainly does not prove the contention England has a soft batting underbelly, in Australia. Pope, Hameed and Buttler might do a Warner and thrive on our tracks
matth
Roar Guru
Malan did very well on his last tour here, so may not have the demons some others do.
ken gargett
Guest
if england had our attack and we had theirs then there might be something to what you say, but they don't. anderson already ruled out of the first test. i know you've ignored all this before but anderson and broad have very ordinary records in australia and are four years advanced on that. they are old men in cricketing terms and playing on a tour that has never suited them before. the chances of that changing? a full ashes tour in the searing heat of an aussie summer is not going to benefit them. robinson and wood look better options but they are hardly lillee and thommo and aside from that, Robinson has played five tests i believe, all in england. we shall see how he handles the inevitable reminders about his racist tweets. wood has played 20 tests in 6 years, just five against australia for an average of a tick under 40. and all of those in england. perhaps his time has come but i am not seeing anything to suggest that. how much bowling will stokes be able to handle? our batting might not be the best it has ever been but two of the guys are averaging over 60 and determined to prove they are the world's best. the other four in the top 6 are all playing for their spots, to differing degrees. and all have scored big runs at various times and stages. hopefully for the sake of the series, one or two of the english batsmen step up but at the moment, you have a bunch of very ordinary players, with very average records. really, only hameed looks like he might rise above, but a lot of work before that happens. plus root who is in form but has never succeeded down here as he would wish. he is likely to have the weight of the english innings on his shoulders many times, plus his own form here and add to that pressure of the english captaincy. if he can overcome all of that, it will say a great deal about him. these guys will be facing hazlewood, cummins, starc, richardson, green (who has a lot to prove with his bowling) and lyons (i didn't mention the english spinners because i doubt we'll see too much of them outside sydney and i'll be very surprised if they play any sort of decisive role). but keep dreaming.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Perhaps, though his record in South Africa is pretty bad (4 tests averaging 16). Perhaps less lateral movement here will help.
Benjamin Conkey
Editor
Buttler hasn't played a Test in Australia yet. I think he's one guy who will actually prefer the faster pitches.
Frank delosa
Guest
AUS wafer thin batting vs ENG brittle batting. Lets move on! Turd sandwich vs a turd wrap. AUS openers wont make a 40 run stand all series. Harris or Warner to edge to 1st slip within first 5 overs. Crappy crappy selections. ENG openers however will stick like limpets. People talking trash on Rory Burns, however that guy can hang around. Hameed will prob come out and score a tonne in 1st inns of 1st test as Starc will bowl pies and Lyon lollipop deliveries that Root, Stokes and Pope will feast upon. Meanwhile Head, Green, Carey is a wafer thin middle order. No glue there at all. Anyone thinking AUS will romp to a 5-0 win is a betwittering ninny! ENG 2-1.
Brian
Guest
Burns will be a walking wicket, Hameed probably too. However Malan and Pope both have techniques suited to Australia so they could surprise.
Gee
Roar Rookie
2.5 good batsmen for Australia vs 1.5 for England = 2 ordinary teams.
Mike
Guest
If Root, Stokes, Anderson, Broad and one other play well then England can win. We must respect them. Simples!
Chanon
Roar Rookie
The media suggested the same thing about the Aussies in 89’ Ashes & we know what happened :laughing:
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Please, lets's not start this. These sides are evenly matched. Some real quality and loads of average performers. This will be a good series. Brisbane is critical