It already seems weeks ago since we had test match cricket. It seems like it will be ages until we have more, though perhaps someone somewhere in the world will make something happen in the last quarter of the year. But I find it interesting to consider what we have learned in the test match summer of 2020.
Well firstly, we have learned that cricket in England just has to do something about the weather. Sadly, even the ICC cannot change the weather, but it can get a lot more agile about how it handles the weather and bad light. Actually, cricket might just have to be played with a red ball under floodlights if we cannot get the pink ball right. However, the scenes of floodlit stadiums with players going off for bad light is a failure. I do not often agree with Michael Vaughan but on this point I do: if cricket had to pay Sky Sports back for percentage of time lost to bad light, an answer would be found. Sorry to make it commercial, but this needs sorting.
The series against Pakistan sadly fell away to a poor ending. I feel that England should have pushed for a victory at the end and if they had taken a few more catches then they might have won the series 2-0. However, I think we can attribute that partly to the impact of the bio-secure bubble. I think it was actually harder for those not playing, including players like Jack Leach, but also the coaches and media. But I think everyone was running out of steam by the end. I do not think we can blame the players for that. Instead, I think we congratulate all the players involved for making the best of it. Actually we saw some good cricket. However it is sad that it fell away after that brilliant test match at Old Trafford.
Having mentioned catching though, I think we have to talk about this. England are simply terrible at slip catching. I remember hearing that Stuart Broad had had 100 catches dropped off his bowling, and that was a couple of years ago. It was mentioned during the Pakistan series that England have dropped a greater percentage of catches of anyone other than Bangladesh since the start of 2018. I look back at England sides of the past, and slip catching was one of the few things we were quite good at. Sir Ian Botham sticks out of course, along with Paul Collingwood, but we have had a lot of decent slippers. However, since the breakup of the 2011 team (the Strauss, Swann, Collingwood cordon) England have been pretty poor at slip catching. Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain suggested they were standing too close together at The Rose Bowl. Hussain suggested England need to have fingers pointing up more often. Graham Gooch talks about concentration. In his autobiography, Alistair Cook, mentioned that cold weather leads to poor technique. Joe Root has turned into a good first slip, but back in 2015 he was ropy. I am not sure what the answer is…but in India and Australia you just have to catch them.
What about batting? I think we have surely learned by now that you need specialist batsmen in test matches. Experiments with the likes of Jason Roy now must be consigned to the bin. That being said, I agree with comments I heard by Ian Chappell where he said that England have not got to the end of the challenge of the opening batsmen. Dominic Sibley has earned a long run in the team, while Rory Burns is not so safe after a poor Pakistan series, but should probably get more games – but I worry about both in Australia. Chappell also said that Crawley should stay at 3, and with this I am not so sure – I would not be surprised to see him open. Ollie Pope is going to be a good player too for England, though he did not have a stellar series. Jos Buttler had a wonderful summer, but seems to need to bat at 6 to get the best out of himself.
With mention of Buttler, we automatically bring wicket keeping into the discussion. Buttler seems to attract a lot of criticism, but for once I agree with Shane Warne. Buttler is first name on the sheet in any England team I pick. However, perhaps not as wicket keeper. I would play a keeper at 7, with Butter at 6. Personally I would be very tempted to pick Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow was messed up by England. Michael Vaughan kept saying Bairstow could be a number 5 but he does not have the technique for this. But he has a proven record at 7. However, for India I would give Ben Foakes an extended run. England do mess up wicket keepers (shades of Jack Russell and Alec Stewart) but Foakes also was poorly treated by the selectors. He needs a long run. For me, we have learned that Buttler is not a test class keeper but he is a test class number 6.
Back to the top 5 – having put Buttler in at 6. It becomes a direct shootout between Pope and Burns when Ben Stokes comes back in. Personally, I would go Sibley, Crawley, Root, Stokes, Pope, Buttler. Burns misses out, and Root bats where he should – at 3. Root is no longer good enough to pick his position and have the team adapt around him.
So what have we discovered about the bowlers? Nothing at all about the fast bowlers. We already knew that however much Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson might struggle in Australia, they are still the best pace bowlers we have ever had. Jofra Archer could do with more wickets, but an average of 31 is fine and will improve. Chris Woakes is getting better but still has questions to answer away from home. Sam Curran has to be a 4th bowler, but we have Stokes. So I would pick Anderson or Woakes (not both in any England team), and Curran only plays for now when Stokes is not fit to bowl. That is harsh, but we are talking about international sport here. Broad plays constantly, but Archer rotes with Mark Wood – if Wood can keep fit. Oly Stone and Ollie Robinson fit in around this where possible, along with the Overtons.
Sadly, nothing was learned about the spinners. Dom Bess might make it one day, he has the character. Leach must go ahead in the order now though. I would keep Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in the one day team now, though Ali might force his way back. An away series against India will be a good training ground – even in the UAE. Most desperately, England need control. Graeme Swann provided control and aggression, and when England lost that control England fell apart. Ashley Giles gave Vaughan control in 2005. Bess must focus on control, and not dropping one short every over. I think Bess is one for the future though – I like his aggression.
So finally, what about Joe Root? Well he is turning into a good captain. I think he needs a bit more steel in his management of Archer. Perhaps he needs a chat with Eoin Morgan? But he is now settled as Captain until next year’s Ashes. If he can attack, he is a better captain. I think he needs to be more patient in defence – both as a captain and a batsman. However, he has now won enough games that we will have to sacrifice some of his runs. But if he could just get a tad more consistent it would help. In 2010/1, Andrew Strauss did not have an amazing tour with the bat in the way Cook did, but he did enough (1 hundred, 1 fifty). As Atherton will tell you, captaining in the Ashes when you cannot buy a run is hard. Root could do with just making enough in Australia next year to keep the media quiet. It will still be a struggle, but Root is the most likely man to pull it off.
Cricketed 