The second test match created lots of talking points and an amazing spectrum of dull cricket to extremely exciting cricket. Here is my view of the key points.
Its just not BazBall
Despite all the hype, England are not playing the cricket they played last year. They need to look closely at what worked last year. They have lost the sharpness and the excitement of last year in the field, the variety with the ball and the common sense with the bat. One of the most memorable moments of last year’s home season for England was the way Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow battled and ‘dug in’ against India before taking the attack when chasing the target in Birmingham. That is missing from 2023.
Cosy and Comfortable
For some of the players, it has got too cosy. Whilst we do not want to go back to 30 players a series (see 1988 and 89), the players need to know that if they fail, they can be dropped. Equally, county players need to know they can get into the team. It does not seem to be the case at the moment.
Bowling: the true difference between the teams
England’s batting lacks variety, and they miss having Ben Foakes coming in down the order to play differently if needed. Lack of variety is an even bigger problem when bowling. At Lords, we failed to pick a spinner, and we had 5 right arm bowlers, most of whom were unable to get past 80mph. That collection of ‘samey’ bowlers were poor on Day 1 – and that is where the Second Test Match was lost.
Equally, Australia won the game on Day 4 with brilliant bowling to get rid of Root and Harry Brook. England will have to shake up the bowling quickly – Mark Wood has to join Josh Tongue and Stuart Broad. Ollie Robinson needs to go away and find that little bit of ‘nip’ that he has lost. And, sadly, it has been one too far for James Anderson.
I am not convinced by Scott Boland or Cameron Green, but Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are all brilliant. Baz Ball or not, it is bowlers that win test matches.
Steve Smith (again)
I mean, what can one say, other than that England needs to get Steve Smith out. One more big Smith score and it is all over. Smith looks angry but driven. He is not a nice batter to watch. But he is brilliant.
My biggest frustration is that England falls into a trap of bowling where he wants them to. It has been happening for years. They see him walk across so they bowl at his legs. Guess what? It’s 4 to midwicket. They see his footwork and bowl wide, and it rockets past point for 4. Like that South African nemesis of the same name, Graeme Smith, England needs to bowl the same way at Smith as to everyone else. When bouncer theory works, use it, but otherwise, top of off stump, please.
Bodyline 2023
England were vilified for getting out to bouncers. They want to lose, said Michael Vaughan, who seems determined to see England lose. The criticism was widespread but went too far – the fact is that nobody on either team had an answer on that Lords pitch to the bouncer.
We will see if it is just that modern players can not deal with it or if the pitch was awkward because we will see a lot more in the final three games.
The Lyon roars
I have not always been a fan of Nathan Lyon but in this series, he has come over well. I was sad to see him out of the series injured. He still made a remarkable contribution with the bat – on one leg. That hopped run will live long in the memory and deserves the greatest respect. Lyon allowed 15 runs to be added by batting as he did. That would have got England’s target into the 20s – which always changes things.
Endless Extras
Before we talk about the controversial moments, let’s deal with the careless ones. England lost by 43 runs but conceded 74 extras. If we dismiss the byes, it is still 25 no-balls and wides. And of course, we had the standard Ben Stokes wicket off no-ball, though he made up for it. A couple of dropped catches, and suddenly, you have found those 43 runs.
Sack the bowling coach, get some practice in. For crying out loud, STOP THE NO BALLS.
Silly Starc
I have no time for this one. Starc caught the ball and then dragged it along the ground with his fingers over the ball. Of course, it’s not out. I cannot understand why anyone would think it was out.
Of course, maybe in the past, those were given. That does not make it right to give it now. That being said, we need consistency, which has been lacking for years when it comes to catches.
Bonkers Bairstow
I do not have much time for the Jonny Bairstow controversy either, but we will spend a bit more time on this. Bairstow was correctly given out after he strolled out of his crease. It really should not be more controversial than that. In the same way as the so-called Mankad, the whole mess can easily be stopped if batters just stay in the crease. He was sloppy and dozy. He deserved to be out and should have walked off.
These are professional cricketers who cannot afford to throw games away. To expect them not to appeal or to withdraw the appeal is not fair or realistic. Captains like Paul Collingwood, and even Brendan McCullum, made the decision to appeal and afterwards wished they had not. But afterwards is pointless – the game is lost by then.
But what about ‘The Spirit of Cricket’?
It seems to me that the so-called ‘Spirit of Cricket’ does nothing to create good spirit. It creates controversy and anger. It creates self-righteousness. It creates conflict and aggression. It gets MCC members so angry that they have to be suspended.
All the conflict around ‘Mankads’ would not exist but for ‘The Sprit of Cricket’. The problem is that it relies too much on individual interpretation. That interpretation often comes in high-pressure moments when vast numbers of people are watching. Often, many of those people watching want to see a particular team win. They are watching cricket, not listening to The Moral Maze. The idea that a Captain takes a choice that risks a winning position is hard to accept. We will have to see if Ben Stokes lives up to his rhetoric – cricket is such a funny beast that he is sure to find himself on the other side of controversy at some point in the summer.
As far as I can tell, the Spirit of Cricket does more harm than good. Here is a crazy idea. If we do not like the rules of a game – change them. Let’s make the rules around Run Outs at the bowler’s end clear. Let’s not allow run-outs unless the batter is intending to run. Change the rules. Don’t expect Captains to interpret the nefarious ‘Sprit of Cricket’ and all make the ‘right’ decision. Because I promise you – they won’t. Under pressure, with people watching, they will make the decision most likely to win the game.
Scintillating Stokes
As for Stokes the batter, we have seen it before. He has the ability to see through the impossible that not many people have. I have no words that have not already been uttered. A captain can do little in that situation. In the end, Stokes could not do it. Imagine if we had not conceded those extras though.
Saying all of that, Stokes did need runs. He really is not going to be a bowler for much longer and will have to convert himself back to that batter at 5 who can play in different ways at different times. To be honest, it is debatable how long he will be around for at all. We must treasure it while we can.
Cricketed 