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.