Day 1: England 258/4 – Pope 91*, Burns 57, Buttler 56*, Roach 2/56
The most important thing about this test match is the focus on The Ruth Strauss Foundation – #RedforRuth. Sir Andrew Strauss spoke perfectly about the challenges he has faced in recent years and the work of the foundation. I would ask anyone reading this to take a look at the Foundation or watch the video. It was Ian Bishop on commentary who said that he could not begin to imagine what Strauss has been through. I would not try to do it justice either – other than to say that Strauss and his family deserve so much love and respect.
The cricket seems secondary, but it was a good day of cricket. By the end of the day England were moving ahead but the first two sessions were tight. Both sides made interesting selections at the start of the day.
West Indies selection of Rahkeem Cornwall made some sense initially, but combined with bowling first seems surprising. However, the toss was tricky given the (unusual?) Manchester weather today and the forecast. I suspect Joe Root will be happy to have not had to make the choice. Undoubtedly, questions will be asked about Cornwall’s build, but at the end of day all that will matter will be his performances. Cornwall bowled ok and is clearly a sharp slip catcher – highlighted by the catch taken to dismiss Rory Burns. I think questions also have to be asked about the fitness of Shannon Gabriel. Gabriel seems to keep bowling, but I am not sure it is acceptable for him to be on and off the field so much. However, when he does bowl, it is generally quick. West Indies best bowler has has been Kemar Roach, who has deserved more luck in the series.
England always had a tricky call to make when it became clear that Ben Stokes was not fully fit. The problem with players like Stokes is that they want to do everything – so England had to pick a bowling attack that could cope without Stokes, but also ensure Stokes does not feel forced to bowl when not fit. This was sometimes a problem when managing Andrew Flintoff. In the end, the option England took was to drop a batsman. It is not the choice I would have made, and Zak Crawley can feel very unlucky. However, in the end I quite like the selection in the context of the must win game that might well be rain shortened. Going in with Jos Buttler batting at 6 carries some risk, but it is also an aggressive move – and this England team are best when playing positive cricket. I also would not play Chris Woakes and James Anderson in the same team too often and would have selected Sam Curran. However, Woakes is the stronger batting option at number 7.
Once play started, England lost Dominic Sibley early thanks to some clever bowling by Roach. Root was starting to find some form when he needlessly ran himself out. It was a fine piece of fielding by Roston Chase, but runs like that are not sensible on day 1. Stokes was undone by a slight lack of footwork and some swing. Burns batted well but played a poor shot on 57 and missed the chance to cement his place in the team with a century. Burns has a rather Root-like tendency to fall between 50 and 100 and a definite problem with Chase who keeps getting him out. However, he does look like a good option at the top of the order though I fear for his technique in Australia. With Crawley around and Dan Lawrence, Burns’ place is not yet certain.
From then on England were in control. Ollie Pope was lucky to escape a top edged pull and also should have been run out early on. Pope has all the makings of a class player for England in all formats, though in test cricket might need to tighten up when driving through the off side. He played well and deserves a 100 tomorrow. After his performance in South Africa, Pope was assured of his spot. The same cannot be said of Jos Buttler, though 40 in the last game would have got him a few more games. Today he played extremely well and looked just the player that England keep looking for when selecting him. He looked every inch a test match player. If Buttler could get up to three figures, England will have enough runs and he will be sure of a place for a while.
With Buttler, England really do have a conundrum. People have considered that Buttler is suited to the Adam Gilchrist role. When one looks at Gilchrist’s record, it is incredible that he so often made runs at 7 with no recognised allrounders to follow. Buttler though has played better at 6 than 7. I think Buttler needs to understand his role. In that World Cup Final batting with Stokes, his role was clear. At number 7 in test matches, I think Buttler has struggled to know how to play. At 6, Buttler knows he can play a proper innings. I think batting with a proactive player like Pope helps too. When both Buttler and Jonny Bairstow have played in the same team, England tended to put Buttler at 7 and Bairstow at 5. However, I wonder now if this was the wrong way around. Bairstow was much more successful at 7 and Buttler has played well at 6. However, if Buttler is going to keep wicket, it is hard to find a way for him to bat regularly at 6 – unless Root bats at 3. Why such small differences of position seem to impact England batsman so much is a mystery. However, England need to look at how they have handled Crawley who soon will have batted in every spot in the top 6. Clarity of role is clearly something England players need.
Day 2 will almost certainly be rain curtailed at some point, but will be crucial. If England can push up to 350 they will have a strong position. However, with such a long tail England could fall short of 300 if West Indies bowl well tomorrow. Experience tells us that in England, test matches where the first innings score is around 300 are generally exciting games. Lets hope that is the case in this game.
Cricketed 