Smouldering Ashes: A trilogy on the England team's immediate issues

[Aislabie]

In August, it looked like the Australians were falling apart. Batting problems, spinning problems, and domestic problems had plagued them, and hounded them to a three-nil loss. Now, it's England who look lost, feeble and wounded.

The last time their batsmen posted 400 between them in an innings was the second Test in New Zealand in March, a time when I hadn't even opened this blog. In that time, they have tried and failed to reach that elusive milestone a mind-boggling 21 times, with 22 surely coming tomorrow. Leaving aside the possibility that The Popping Crease is cursed to cause English batting woes, what are the reasons behind such a feeble collective effort?

Well, it's very easy to point the finger at Kevin Pietersen. His recklessness has been a blight on this Ashes tour in particular. Probably the most damning indicator of his apathy towards anything not expressly to do with massaging the ego of Kevin Pietersen took place in the field on the third day at the WACA. Out on the boundary, he lazily jogged around to field a regulation pull shot from David Warner, before petulantly throwing in a return that Matt Prior had to run thirty yards to collect. The exact same attitude has been plain in his batting, as if he thinks he is light-years better than anyone else on the playing field. He isn't, and he keeps leaving Ian Bell to pick up the pieces.

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Full article (which isn't just a Pietersen-rant)
England delicate and threadbare - The Popping Crease

 

[LiveLoveABD]

In my opinion, England will be foolish to only look at the batsmen for answers. Bowlers win you tests, batsmen lay the foundation for them. England have very simply put, been pasted in all departments. If anything, their fielding has been the worst of all three disciplines. On the other hand, I don't remember the Aussies dropping one catch.

England, have some serious soul searching to do. They don't need to chop and change their players much, they need to wear the attitude that made them such a good test side.

Alistair Cook, is a hard working and world class batsmen. He's a little out of touch, but he'll be making those big scores soon. He's got a few brilliant deliveries and unlike himself, he's played a few poor shots when set. But, that happens, he's a classy cricketer and he'll be there soon. I can say the same about Graeme Swann and I truly believe that he's the best spinner in the world.

I believe, England could manage their fast bowlers better. I don't understand why Finn isn't in the side. I don't understand how Bresnan/Tremlett play ahead of him. He's a much better bowler than them and it's amusing that the wicket dislodging problem has cost him his place.

England need to re-access. Ian Bell, has to bat 3. Joe Root is not an opener/No.3. He's a middle order batsman and should probably bat only ahead of Stokes. Pietersen needs to be spoken to. He's in my opinion, along with Ab De Villiers the best batsman crossing all formats. Ab simply is better because he keeps growing as a cricketer, has the added benefit of keeping and contributing and has a better temperament. Pietersen is all flair and natural talent. He needs to harvest patience more often because he's the game changer. He can win test matches in one lone session. If he's fed up of cricket, he might as well allow someone else in.

Get some stability in. Compton was sacked for no reason and they now have an opener elder than him and with no really significant bag of runs. Root bats at a new number every series. Give him a role, stick with it. Keep Stokes in for the long haul. Bowlers aren't always going to dismiss sides cheaply. 15-20 overs from a bowler in a day, helps rest your strike bowlers and in turn leads to wickets. Give Stokes the assurance that he's playing for the next 7-10 tests. Poor Chris Woakes, he was dropped after one test.

Lastly, England need a new captain. I like Cook, but he doesn't cut it as captain for me. He's just way too negative and lets games drift and meander along. If I were responsible for making the choice, I'd give Swann the role.

 

[PackenHols]

I would have to agree with Kushal. Pietersen seems to be getting himself in every time then throwing it away. Which makes the whole thing more irritating as others are getting out to good balls or are out of form. He clearly isn't out of form as he gets himself into a good position nearly every time.

 

[Aislabie]

Shh, Kaushal, a bowling rant is today's article!

But I agree on most of your points, although I wouldn't say that Kevin Pietersen is such a great player. On his day, he is unstoppable, world-class and incredible, but most of the rest of the time he is lazy, ill-disciplined and egotistical.

Stokes was perhaps a little lucky to get in the side, but he has earned his shot and now needs to have some faith shown in him.

 

[Aislabie]

This Ashes series, which is the second five-match series in a few short months, and will undoubtedly be taxing on a largely unchanged bowling attack, has seen only Stuart Broad make any real inroads into the Australian batting. He has eased his way into second place on the wickets chart with fourteen at 25.21. More worryingly, though, the rest of the English bowling averages read thus:

James Anderson: 7 wickets @ 58.42 (3 Tests)
Graeme Swann: 7 wickets @ 80.00 (3 Tests)
Ben Stokes: 5 wickets @ 47.00 (2 Tests)
Chris Tremlett: 4 wickets @ 30.00 (1 Test)
Tim Bresnan: 3 wickets @ 44.66 (1 Test)
Monty Panesar: 2 wickets @ 99.00 (1 Test)
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Joe Root: 0 wickets for 90 (3 Tests)
Steven Finn: 11 wickets @ 33.36 (2 first-class)
Boyd Rankin: 7 wickets @ 33.57 (2 first-class)

Now, even by pre-Cardiff Bangladeshi standards, that's pretty woeful. It isn't just that the bowlers have struggled for wickets (which they have), it's the fact that the two bowlers being (over-)hyped as the best seamer and spinner in the world have been treated like club trundlers that really stings. When England were beating all-comers a couple of years ago, the Anderson-Broad-Bresnan-Swann quartet struck fear into the hearts of all-comers, but now the fact that only one of them has a Test average of under thirty is painfully obvious. And that one is Swann, whose figure of 29.96 will soon too teeter over that golden figure if he plays another game on this horror tour.

Full article
The bowling "attack" and a one-legged Broad - The Popping Crease

 

[Aislabie]

There was a press conference going on, and a presentation too, but a casual glance at Alastair Cook wouldn't have told you so. The WACA Test was lost, The Ashes were lost, and Cook looked like he was lost too. The questions were being asked and answered, and although he was the one answering them, Cook seemed far away. For the first time since his appointment at the helm, the mask slipped and he just said what was on his mind rather than the sanitized version from the ECB. He told the hounds that there were players who were fighting for their careers, and that the dressing room wasn't a nice place to be. While this seems obvious to the casual observer, to hear it from the inside is surprising and telling.

When Alastair Cook took over the helm, he graduated through the usual route of the One-Day captaincy. He inherited a team that had been sculpted by England's previous captain, Andrew Strauss. Strauss had built more than just a team: it was like his own private army, and driving things from behind the scenes was Andy Flower. Flower's close bond with Strauss was always going to make it difficult for the successor, and sure enough, Alastair Cook is yet to put his own stamp on the team.
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Full article:
Cook, Broad and the leadership vacuum - The Popping Crease