It’s Time for Joe Root to Prove he’s Worth the Hype

That debut in Nagpur was rather unlike most Test debuts. Joe Root came to the crease with England 2-1 up in the series but feeling the pressure as a resurgent India fought back with early wickets. England were creaking a little but the composed calmness of Root quickly alleviated any fears of collapse.

The 73 he made in that final Test were not easy runs and to all observers reaffirmed the belief that this was a special talent. He had it all; the shots, the patience, and importantly the temperament required to be a top Test batsman. His place in the England side was immediately secure.

Root had an indifferent tour of New Zealand; he made starts without ever making a big score. He continued to excel and impress in limited overs cricket though. Within months he was a fully integrated and valuable member of the England set-up.

He started the 2013 summer in blistering form with a number of big hundreds for both the England Lions and Yorkshire, including a memorable match winning 182 against Durham. He followed this up with a maiden Test hundred at Headingley against New Zealand. These were halcyon days, Root could do no wrong. A glorious summer seemed inevitable.

Compton’s struggles at home to New Zealand saw him unceremoniously dropped from the side ahead of the Ashes, Root was pushed up to open. It would be a huge challenge but one that he seemed completely ready for.

He struggled initially but seemed to find his feet with 180 in the second innings at Lord’s. England were already on top and Root hammered home the advantage to help push England into a 2-0 lead in the series. The remaining Tests though went back to being a struggle.

Both England openers were finding it hard going as Australia repeatedly made early inroads into the England top order. England clinched the series comfortably 3-0, but the Root conundrum wouldn’t go away and was a problem for the selectors ahead of the return series Down Under.

A big hundred from Michael Carberry in a tour game convinced the selectors to make the switch, Root dropped back down the order as England looked to defend the urn. Soon it was all change for the Yorkshireman again as Jonathan Trott departed the tour after the First Test. He was moved up to 3 where he initially thrived.

A battling 87 showed why he is so revered. He combatted Mitchell Johnson well and even managed to get under his skin with his cheeky grin. That though has been his only meaningful contribution of the tour. Root like the rest of the England batsmen have struggled badly. The extra pace of the Australian pitches was supposed to help his back-foot game instead he has looked lost at times. He has displayed as much confidence as a first time ice skater with his tentative prods outside off stump. The Aussies seem to have him figured out.

He has symbolised England’s ponderous run-rate which has been one of the major problems in the series. His strike-rate in Test cricket is currently below 40 (in comparison Alastair Cook’s is nearly 47), Root as much as anyone seems to get a little stuck at the crease which is strange when you consider what a busy player he is in the shortened version of the game.

Root has shuffled up and down the order but needs to quickly nail down a spot in this side and prove his worth. His versatility is holding him back in a way; he needs to be able to flourish in one spot.

He has largely escaped criticism and is expected to move back up to open the batting very soon. His career so far has shown plenty of promise but there hasn’t always been the substance to back up the hype.

Now is the time for Root to step up and prove his class. Sydney is a very good place to start.

Clarke and Haddin Pulverise England

In the closing stages of day 1, Michael Carberry dropped Brad Haddin right at the start of his innings; few could have imagined just how costly a drop it would prove to be. Michael Clarke (148) and Haddin (118) crushed England on day 2. Any hope of winning the game had evaporated long before close, yet again England were looking just to dig in and survive.

The tourists had gone into the day with high hopes. They nearly had Clarke almost immediately, however his horribly skewed attempt of hitting Monty Panesar into the stands landed safe. From then on Australia marched merrily towards a score that would put England out of the game. They aggressively accumulated, punishing anything that was loose from the five-man England attack.

The duo seemed to take it in turn in leading the charge. Clarke would effortlessly caress the ball to the boundary for a while before settling down briefly, then attacking again. Haddin was proactive throughout most of his innings, including smiting no less than five sixes.

At times England looked bereft of ideas, unable to stem the flow of runs and desperate for anything to go their way. Ben Stokes (2-70) thought he had the first Test wicket of his fledgling career when Haddin edged behind. However in the now customary check to see if the bowler had overstepped, the raucous roar of the crowd revealed that Stokes didn’t have anything behind the line.

Haddin made the most of his reprieve as he and his skipper pressed on. They made a clear effort of going after the spinners; Graeme Swann (2-151) and Monty Panesar (1-157) were left scratching their heads amongst the onslaught. The seamers were doing a decent job, Stuart Broad (3-98) impressed again. Public enemy number one bowled intelligently, frequently changing his pace and occasionally deceiving the batsmen, he deserved more.

After a fruitless morning, the afternoon seemed to be all about milestones. Clarke and Haddin were busy breaking all sorts of Australian records. In the first two Tests of this series, Clarke has shown just how good he is. His 26^th Test hundred was typically imperious and fearless. He repeatedly went over the top and even when it didn’t quite work, the intent shown left a clear imprint.

Stokes did get that first Test wicket to finally end a partnership that was now worth 200. A leading edge from Clarke was gratefully snaffled by a diving James Anderson. Mitchell Johnson (5) and Peter Siddle (2) didn’t hang around long; any hope of a revival was short lived though.

Haddin continued to attack and found a worthy partner in Ryan Harris (55*). The Aussie number ten enjoyed a rather uncomplicated innings; he simply biffed the ball to the boundary repeatedly. Haddin celebrated his ton before perishing off the bowling of Broad. All eyes were on Clarke, he allowed the carnage to ensue a little longer.

Last man Nathan Lyon (17*) got in on the act with a steepling six. The now demoralised England side couldn’t wait to get off of the field. Clarke granted them their wish giving his pumped-up bowlers twenty overs to try and make inroads into the England batting line-up.

Johnson (1-9) clearly has aspirations to be Merv Hughes. He has been reborn as a hostile, in-your-face, and extremely effective fast-bowler as well as sporting a rather abysmal moustache. His raw pace proved too much for Alastair Cook (3) he was leaden at the crease as a fullish ball from the left-armer left him fractionally and careered into his off-stump. 

The floodgates could have opened right there and then for England, however Carberry (20*) and Joe Root (9*) dug in and made it through to close despite Johnson delivering a painful blow to the arm of England’s new number three.

There is much work to do if England are to save this game, but save it they must if they want to retain the Ashes. 2-0 would not be a scoreline that would see them lose the series immediately, but the psychological damage that it would bring would probably be too high a mountain to overcome.

They need to bat well, but also bat positively. They scored at a painstakingly slow rate but this was understandable given the situation. England must show controlled aggression throughout the remainder of this game if they are to avoid falling into the sort of rut they saw them collapse so dismally on the final day of the Adelaide Test seven years ago.

Australia are relentless, England are very much on the ropes. The question now is can the tourists survive and battle back to save this game?

Honours Even After First Day of the Second Test

What do you do if you have a group of fired-up pace bowlers who are terrifying opposition batsmen with some hostile bowling? Prepare another quick pitch to hammer home the advantage? Well no apparently.

The drop-in pitch at the Adelaide Oval proved to be pretty lifeless on Day 1. This will not have been a big disappointment for England who will be pleased for a respite from the barrage of short-pitched that they faced at the Gabba. England would have been even more pleased had they won the toss. Instead Michael Clarke won the toss and chose to bat, fully in the expectation of his side racking up a big score.

After I confidently predicted that England definitely wouldn’t pick five bowlers in this game in my preview piece , they promptly did. Ben Stokes was handed a Test debut while Monty Panesar was given a recall, ready to battle a different type of bouncer Down Under. Australia were unchanged, finally settled after a summer where selection seemed to be done through a lucky dip system.

Early on David Warner (29) seemed set for a big score. He slapped a number of boundaries that perhaps weren’t elegant but certainly effective. He scored at almost a run a ball, in stark contrast to the more scratchy Chris Rogers (71). Warner perished after trying to lash the ball to the boundary yet again, tamely hitting out to point.

Shane Watson (51) announced himself with a couple of trademark booming drives; he and Rogers started to show up the benign nature of the pitch by building a solid partnership.

They were in cruise control; England struggled to make the breakthrough through much of the afternoon. Panesar (1-68) and Graeme Swann (1-55) bowled relatively well in tandem, extracting a little bit of turn that will offer encouragement to the duo that their role will increase as the game progresses.

Just as both batsmen were starting to think about reaching three figures both fell in successive overs. First Watson was snared by a sharp return catch from James Anderson (1-56), then Rogers snicked off to Matt Prior off Swann. England were revitalised, finally there was light at the end of the tunnel. Australia looked fragile again.

Soon it was Monty’s turn to join in with the fun. A ball to Steve Smith (6) straightened and left him slightly before crashing into the stumps. Cue jubilant dancing from the left-armer, unfortunately that was as good as it got for Panesar.

The more comical aspect of Monty’s game was on display in the evening session. Panesar is not a natural fielder, in fact his fielding is about as natural as Wayne Rooney’s hairline. He shelled a simple chance off his own bowling from George Bailey (53); this was just the first of three frustrating drops for England.

Bailey took the attack to the spinners, dancing down the wicket and hitting over the top at every possible opportunity. He showed his worth here and reinforced Darren Lehman’s aggressive mentality. At the other end Clarke (48*) was playing a canny support role. Clarke was perhaps slightly lucky to survive as Joe Root shelled a very tough chance at midwicket.

England were ruing the missed opportunities when Stuart Broad (2-63) struck with the second new ball. Bailey had earlier reached his fifty will a pull for six and heaved another venomous strike into the legside. The ball seemed certain to race to the boundary before Swann rose and plucked the ball out of the air. It was a magnificent catch and England smelt blood again.

One more chance was to come, Brad Haddin (7*) offered up a dolly to Michael Carberry but he shelled it, giving the keeper-batsman a gladly received lifeline. Haddin and Clarke made it through to close, helping guide Australia to 273-5.

It was very much honours even. Australia will be looking to kick on, rack up a big score and then get stuck into an England batting line-up that will see Stokes bat at 6. England will be looking to wrap up the Australian innings quickly and allow their batsmen to prove their point and push them into the ascendancy. It promises to be a fascinating second day.

How Not to Sledge

Ah, the simple art of sledging in cricket. The skill of getting under the skin of an opponent, to force them into an error that they wouldn’t normally make. The public face of sledging at the moment is a man who answers to ‘Pup’. The not so lovable scamp with the ridiculous nickname has displayed all the wit that made Oscar Wilde so cherished with his infamous taunts that were picked up on the stump microphones.

In village cricket, sledging is a completely different beast. It can be an opportunity to share a joke to keep spirits up on a freezing April day. It can be something that is deployed by a junior, desperate to show that they’re part of the team and have learnt the lingo. In many cases the odd comment can come back to haunt you.

Here is why I come in. I myself am a completely hapless village cricketer, whose occasional bouts of competence are few and far between. The day in question was a blisteringly hot Sunday afternoon in late May. One of the club’s most highly regarded members was preparing for a new life in Australia. He and a number of increasingly sozzled companions were toasting his farewell on the sidelines.

As the day progressed this bumper crowd became increasingly vocal, Rossington’s very own version of the notorious Western Terrace. In the middle, things weren’t going very well. Our opponents Brodsworth had found the short boundary offered by the pitch we were playing on rather to their liking. The bowlers suffered during a rather brutal onslaught.

The opening batter in particular was having rather a good time of it. He possessed three things; a good eye, a strong striking ability and a four leaf clover in his back pocket. He was dropped countless times but still carried along on his merry way, bludgeoning anything that came into his path.

Meanwhile a few wickets had started to tumble and our chief tormentor was beginning to look increasingly twitchy as he entered the nineties. Now apart from encouraging my own team-mates, I usually keep my mouth shut on a cricket field. I leave that side of the game to those who can back up their words with their ability. However buoyed by taking a sharp catch earlier in the game, I cleared my throat.

“Come on lads, he’s already had the frantic forties, now look at him stuck in the nervous nineties.”

Admittedly it wasn’t particularly original or witty. It mustered a few laughs, including a wry chuckle from the umpire. I settled back into my position on the square leg boundary, unaware that I’d just sealed my own fate.

The batsman was now on 94, knowing that one more heave into the legside would complete his 100. He picked up on a full delivery, going down on one knee and unleashing a slog sweep that flew towards the square leg boundary. It came relatively quickly and flat but at a lovely catching height near the shoulder. I steadied myself ready to seize the opportunity to bring us back into the game.

I think you can all guess what happened next.

The ball burst through my fingers, agonisingly landing just over the boundary. What should have been a relatively routine catch had proved an insurmountable task for me. I was left looking down at the floor, hoping in vain that it hadn’t really happened.

Helpfully neither the drink-addled supporters nor my teammates let me forget my moment of ignominy. My horror was compounded by the centurion going berserk in the final overs, ending up with an unbeaten 165. We still had to bat, inexplicably put in at three I managed to run myself out in suitably comical fashion.

From then on, I vowed to try to the best of my ability to keep my mouth closed. However sometimes I just can’t resist (especially if someone comes out to bat in one of those ridiculous cycling style helmets), anyway surely it can’t come back to bite me again…

Australia Continue to Punish England on Day 3

Day 3 was another day for all Australian cricket fans to savour. While yesterday was explosive, a day of shock and awe tactics aimed at the English batsmen; today Australia mercilessly ground down England. They never looked like relinquishing the tight control that they have on this match; instead they simply feasted on the opposition bowling before making yet more inroads into the England batting.

There was briefly hope at the beginning of the day for England. Both Chris Rogers (16) and Shane Watson (6) gifted their wickets away with exceptionally soft dismissals to Stuart Broad (2-55) and Chris Tremlett (3-69) respectively. A brief rain delay ensued before England were well and truly put to the sword.

David Warner (124) showed why so much effort has been made to reintegrate him into the side with an excellent hundred. The highlight for the opener will have undoubtedly been a towering straight six off Broad which delighted the crowd. At the other end Michael Clarke (113) showed the type of form that has made him one of the best batsmen in the world.

England went at Clarke straight away, gifting him strike at every possible opportunity. It was all rather village, but perhaps not the best strategy to a man of his class. For his part the Australian skipper fought fire with fire, taking on the short ball and finding the boundary early in his innings, from there he never looked back.

Warner and Clarke were proactive throughout a very aggressive and profitable partnership. They never allowed the bowlers settle, punishing anything loose as well as putting away plenty of good deliveries. Any momentum that England had built earlier was quickly eradicated. The visitors were reduced to just standing around waiting for the inevitable declaration.

Throughout the afternoon, Australia’s lead continued to swell. First Warner reached his ton, fittingly coming off the bowling of his old nemesis Joe Root (0-57). England’s main spinner Graeme Swann (2-135) was taking the brunt of the punishment. Swann went at five runs an over, for once the off -spinner struggled to extract any turn.

Warner and Smith (0) fell in quick succession; however this just allowed debutant George Bailey (34) to make an impression. Bailey quickly found his range by nailing a couple of sixes and provided a good foil for his skipper. Clarke went on to reach three figures in just 115 balls, a sparkling innings full of sweet shots.

Australia looked to up the gears again. Clarke fell to Swann trying to play another big shot. Bailey also fell to the off-spinner, playing inside to one that clipped off stump. Mitchell Johnson (39*) and Brad Haddin (53) combined again for another strong partnership, both scoring at almost a run a ball.

The second new ball was no help to England; instead the ball just flew to the boundary quicker. Eventually the declaration came, Australia setting a colossal and implausible total of 562 for England to win.

With only a short session left to play, England were simply looking to survive. Australia had other ideas. Carberry played on to Ryan Harris (1-7) for a duck to leave England 1-1. This brought Jonathan Trott (9) to the crease, it didn’t take long before he and Johnson (1-7) resumed hostilities.

Sadly for England it didn’t take long for Johnson to get his man. Trott attempted one of his patented flicks into the legside but only managed to pick out Nathan Lyon in the deep. Alastair Cook (11*) and Kevin Pietersen (3*) managed to see off the rest of the day but they’ll know that the sheer size of the task ahead.

England have been in similar scrapes before and managed to pull through, however this situation looks particularly hopeless. Australia have their tails up and England don’t seem to have any response as they face up to the prospect of a heavy defeat.

Now England needs to show some serious fight even if it’s in a losing cause. It’s time to show the Aussies what they’re made of; the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

England Capitulate on Disastrous Second Day

Perhaps it’s not a good idea to wind up an opening bowler after all. Just as the taunting from the crowd inspired Stuart Broad on day one, a similar barrage of abuse seemed to only fire up the rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson. Each time that the Barmy Army serenaded the man they love to hate, the left-armer seemed to crank up the pace a little more.

Johnson was almost unrecognisable from the bowler of a few years ago. He was aggressive, relentless and most importantly he was very quick, boy was he quick. Johnson bowled with a searing pace that unsettled England, and left them looking like a quivering wreck amidst all the chaos. At one stage six wickets fell for nine runs in a remarkable sequence of play. England were simply unable to cope under the furious Australian pressure.

Earlier in the day, Brad Haddin (94) narrowly missed out on a hundred after the most ambitious bit of running since Forrest Gump went out for a jog and didn’t stop for three years. Broad (6-81) had also accounted for Ryan Harris (9), leaving Australia all out for what appeared to be an under-par total of 295.

The total was looking more average by the minute as Alastair Cook (13) and Michael Carberry (40) made serene progress in the first ten overs. Of course the problem of back-to-back Ashes series for the batters is that their weaknesses from the previous series are likely to rear their ugly heads again and again. This was the case for Cook who was caught nibbling at the ball outside his off stump, the always impressive Harris (3-28) doing the damage.

The low-key start to the innings was merely the calm before the storm. As he did so successfully in the One-Day series in England, Johnson (4-61) went at Jonathan Trott (10). It was a terrific battle. Trott has stubbornly refused to change his style of scuttling across the crease, yet again it was his downfall. Australia have intelligently turned Trott’s biggest strength of flicking the ball through the onside into his biggest weakness. On the eve of lunch, after already wearing a bouncer and looking increasingly frantic at the crease; Trott finally nicked one of his hips to the gleeful Brad Haddin.

Kevin Pietersen (18) couldn’t shine on his 100^th Test. He squandered an earlier lifeline when he was dropped by Peter Siddle (1-24) by clipping the ball to George Bailey at midwicket off the bowling of Harris.

Australia sensed blood. The crowd sparked into life again. Carnage was to ensue. It was like the clock was being wound back to the time when Australia were on top of the world. They were irresistible, a ferocious tide that simply engulfed the opposition. Carberry fell after a continued spell of hostile pressure from Johnson.

Nathan Lyon (2-17) came into the game, profiting from the extra bounce afforded by the Gabba. England’s form man from the last series Ian Bell (5) offered up a simple bat/pad catch for Steve Smith. Matt Prior (0) then followed Bell’s lead with an almost identical dismissal off his very first ball.

Johnson soon accounted for Joe Root (2) and Graeme Swann (0) to leave England teetering on 91-8. At this stage avoiding the follow on seemed to be a huge task. Broad (32) and Chris Tremlett (8) at least avoided that ignominy. England’s innings was soon complete though, recording a paltry score of 136 as they folded completely under the intense Aussie pressure.

Australia’s bowling is a lot stronger than their batting and so it proved here. The quick pitch at the Gabba certainly suited their attack; they hounded England into submission and dealt several psychological scars to the opposition batsmen. This could be Australia’s version of the infamous Bodyline series, England wilted under the short stuff and can expect plenty more of it between now and the end of the series.

Chris Rogers (15*) and David Warner (45*) compounded England’s misery by safely negotiating the rest of the day to close on 65-0. Australia’s lead is a mammoth 224, with the aggressive batters they have and with said batters now in a rare position of being under little pressure that lead could grow very quickly on day three.

There is a forecast of thunderstorms for the rest of this Test. Perhaps the biggest storm happened in the afternoon session today. Still at least the weather forecast will provide a crumb of comfort to shell-shocked England supporters who will be limbering up for a prolonged rain dance just in case. Mind you, should the weather not provide an escape, it’s worth noting that England got 517-1 batting second at the Gabba three years ago. And that pitch still looks very flat to me…

Aussie Press’s Taunting Merely Spurs Broad On

A great cacophony of boos rang around the Gabba as his name was read out. The ‘great fraud’, the man who wouldn’t walk, the man who certain sections of the local press refused to name, instead referring to him as the ’27 year-old English medium-pace bowler’. Unfortunately for the Aussies, Stuart Broad rather likes being the pantomime villain. The preordained chorus of disgust that reigned down from the stands served only to spur him on.

Broad revelled in the hate and bile thrown at him as he ripped through the Australian top order. It wasn’t long before he got his moment of triumph; hoisting the ball up high as Mitchell Johnson became his fifth victim, accompanied by yet more booing. By then Australia were eight down, and left rueing yet another failure by their flaky batting line-up.

The day started rather differently for Australia, Michael Clarke won the toss on a very flat looking wicket and chose to bat. Despite the early loss of Chris Rogers (1), Shane Watson and David Warner were putting Australia in a very solid position as lunch approached. Then either side of the interval a cluster of wickets came which decimated the top and middle order.

First Watson (22) edged to Swann at slip on the eve of lunch. Not long after the players returned, Broad ruthlessly exposed Clarke’s (1) susceptibility to the short ball with a towering bouncer. Warner (49) let go a promising start which included a number of flourishing boundaries by tamely lolloping the ball to Pietersen, become Broad’s fourth victim in the process. James Anderson (2-61) got into the act by putting George Bailey (3) out of his misery. The latest man to fill Australia’s number six spot looked about as steady as a drunken sailor on the high seas before he finally perished.

Chris Tremlett (1-51) got some reward for a patient day’s bowling with the wicket of Steve Smith (31). Tremlett was accurate throughout most of the day, but did seem to lack the frightening zip and pace that made him such a menacing presence three years ago.

At 132-6, it looked as though the wheels had well and truly come off. The dramatic collapse was alleviated though as Australia fought back. A stoic partnership between Brad Haddin (78*) and Johnson (64) repelled England throughout much of the afternoon and evening. Graeme Swann (0-80) had one of his more frustrating days. He was clearly targeted and had a fascinating battle with Johnson, the returning Aussie showed that he was comfortable to hit over the top with a couple of finely struck sixes.

The partnership of 114 gave Australia hope, but it wasn’t to survive the second new ball. Broad (5-65) returned with renewed vigour. A full delivery that swung back a little demolished Johnson’s stumps as he enjoyed his moment in the baking Brisbane sun. Anderson accounted for Peter Siddle (7) late on; skipper Alastair Cook clinging on to his third catch of the day in the slips.

Haddin remained though; leaving Australia to close on 273-8. The veteran keeper can be pleased with his defiant knock whilst knowing that he really needs to add to his 78 runs so far in the morning. England can reflect on a great first day. They were notably relaxed in the build-up to this game and executed their plans perfectly.

The Aussie press will now be very worried, He Who Must Not Be Named may well steal the headlines many more times before this series is over.