Win should not mask problems
Victory was, in the end, overwhelming. England won by the second Test at Edgbaston by nine wickets with four-and-a-half sessions to spare. They’re two-nil up in the four-match series and have now won six Tests in succession.
So, on the surface, all is well. England have, give or take a position or two, a settled side and they’ll go into an away Ashes series with more optimism than any time in the last 25 years.
Yet, scratch beneath the surface, and things are less straightforward.
England have been flattered by their results this summer. They have played against two sides – Bangladesh and Pakistan – who are woefully sub-standard and in conditions that couldn’t have suited England’s bowlers better.
It won’t be like this in the winter. James Anderson, so dangerous when the ball swings and seams, can still look ordinary and innocuous when it does not. And it will not in Australia. The pitches will be flat and the balls used there – Kookaburras rather than the Dukes ball used in England – will provide him with far less assistance.
Australia won’t prove nearly so unforgiving, either. Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, reckoned that his side missed 14 chances at Edgbaston. Had they held even half of them, then England would surely have faced a far tougher run-chase.
There’s growing concern over a couple of England’s batsmen, too. Alastair Cook looks hopelessly out of touch at present, while Kevin Pietersen has now gone 23 Test innings since recording a century. Yes, he made 80 at Edgbaston, but he was missed five times. He won’t enjoy so many lives in Australia.
Cook’s form is causing particular concern. He has now scored just 100 runs in his last seven Test innings and his dismissal in the second innings at Edgbaston, unable to move his feet or retain his balance, hinted at a man in crisis. He’s barely able to play on the off side and needs to be replaced as opener. The Aussies will gobble up Cook in moments.
Harsh? Maybe. Cook was captain of England only five Tests ago and, aged just 25, he’s scored 12 Test centuries and averages 42. He can clearly play.
In current form, however, he is unrecognisable from that man. So, for The Oval, Trott could step up a position (though he’s reluctant) or England could draft in the excellent but uncapped Adam Lyth. He has the class to represent England with distinction.
And then there’s Stuart Broad. Broad, aged 24, has the world at his feet. He’s now developed into a world-class bowler – he’s rated eighth in the world Test rankings – and he will, in time, score Test centuries. More than that, he’s the pin-up boy of English cricket.
But with that comes responsibility. And Broad’s on-field behaviour is ugly. It demeans him and it demeans the game.
He may count himself fortunate to escape a ban for throwing the ball at Pakistan’s Zulqarnain Haider but he needs to learn the lessons. His constant grumbling at the umpires, his moaning at team-mates’ mistakes in the field and his sledging of batsmen are as unattractive as they are unnecessary. He’s a fine player. He needs to let his cricket do the talking and remember his responsibilities as a role-model.
That’s not to say all is doom and gloom. Far from it. The form of Graeme Swann adds weight to Shane Warne’s theory that he the Englishman is currently the best spinner in the world, while Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott looks wonderfully sound. As England captain, Andrew Strauss, put it, his presence at number three is “immensely reassuring.”
The Test did not go particularly well from a Warwickshire perspective, however. The club were budgeting on selling 45,000 tickets for the Test. In the end, they sold more like 30,000. They did not, as has been reported elsewhere, make a loss on the game, but the profit they have made is well below expectation. As they also failed to hit their targets for domestic T20 sales, membership, the neutral games between Pakistan and Australia and for their general banqueting business, their end of year financial results will be far below budget.
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What the Hell is wrong with all you so called cricket correspondents? You get a good England team who win more often than not, and you are still picking holes in them ……. are they still not good enough for you? This is the team that you lot have been whinnying on about the country needing for years – that includes a fiery fast bowler who sometimes gets into trouble. Remember all those other fast bowlers through the years who were the same? It comes with the territory. Anybody would think the bloke was a mass murderer – this has been blown out of all proportion. Give me someone with balls anyday…. and please will you cricket correspondents grow some whilst we’re at it
So you can’t be a fast bowler without throwing the ball at the batsmen and arguing with the umpire? What rubbish. There have been loads of great fast bowlers – Marshall, Hadlee, Garner, Larwood, Flintoff, Waqar, Wasim to name but a few – who have never done that. So no, it doesn’t come with the territory. And no, we shouldn’t accept it.
You think the England team is perfect? Fine, that’s a point of view. I think victories against Bangladesh and this Pakistan side, in these conditions, tells us little about how England will manage in the Ashes. Time will tell who is correct, but it’s a legitimate point of view.
As for growing some balls… Well, every piece I write in every newspaper and on every website has my name on it and can be commented upon. You’ve posted a semi-literate, abusive rant without including your full name. So I can do without the lectures.
George
I’m terribly sorry giving my point of view has hit a sensitive spot in you – I was unaware that a journalist could possibly have such a thin skin, especially as journalists as a breed dish out criticism of others on a regular basis. I do apologise that I hurt your feelings by suggesting you had no balls. I’m sure you have huge massive ones. It was just a comment on your viewpoint George, and the fact that it mirrors most of the world’s media, and you’ve taken it way too personally.
I’m so pleased you realise that everyone deserves their point of view – even if it goes against what you personally believe. That is what the comments box at the bottom of your article is all about, isn’t it George?…. Inviting comments, whether they agree or disagree or disagree with your article? Please tell me exactly where I am semi – literate by the way, and I’ll make a mental note – many thanks for pointing that out.
I didn’t add my full name to my comment because that would go against the advice given on most Internet security sites, which states that it makes you more likely to be a victim of internet fraud if you do. I did notice that a lot of comments left are done so under a pseudonym, and therefore didn’t think I was doing anything out of the ordinary by not leaving my name. I don’t think that information would add anything to the situation.
Yes, ALL those bowlers you mention are great ones, and I enjoyed watching them through the years but unless I’m in a different dimension to you George, they were not saints 100% of the time – especially in their early careers. Example:
http://cricketsbestvideos.blogspot.com/2007/11/cricket-video-sehwag-flintoff-fight.html
……. and I’m sure as a cricket journalist you realise that Larwood was regarded as the lowest of the low at the time of bodyline, by both English cricket authorities and journalists alike, and ended up being forced out of the England team?
But all those bowlers learnt to channel their aggression correctly over the years, which made them some of the greatest bowlers in history. I personally love to see a fiery exchange between bowler and batsman, something which was sorely missing in most of our bowlers when we were getting our asses whooped by all and sundry in the 70s, 80s and 90s …. and how strange to hear that the Pakistani wicketkeeper says that he and Broad are mates!! If the world’s media were to be believed prior to that comment, Broad is cricket’s Mr ‘Billy no mates’, deserving of nothing but to be despised and turfed out of the England team. Ring any bells with another fast bowler from Notts?
I fail to see where I said in my comment that the England team were perfect George – I said they are good. Big difference. England are the current holders of the Ashes, and although anyone who knows anything about English cricket knows it’s 100 times more difficult to win an Ashes series in Australia, I am disappointed that so many journos are writing this team off as far as holding onto them is concerned. But I didn’t mention the Ashes in my comment ……. I think we are too Ashes centric. These test matches are valid too. After all, Pakistan just held Australia to a draw in their mini series.
Well, once again George, please accept my apologies for upsetting you – I certainly didn’t mean my semi – literate rant to come across as a lecture or abusive. Just a comment. Keep up the good work.
Mata