There was once a day in time when the sport of cricket was created, and I can only imagine that it was one day later that the hobby of moaning about team selection came to exist. Fast forward to 2020 and both are still going strong.
As England lined up to face West Indies, this particular topic came to a head once again. Several selection choices were criticised, and England slumped to a defeat. In this piece, we’ll be taking a look at some of the decisions in question, the defensibility of them, and whether or not they are done with some longer goal in mind (cough Australia cough).
Joe for Joe
Joe Denly in at 3. Joe Denly digging in to circa 30 runs. Joe Denly facing 100 balls. Joe Denly deciding to press on. Joe Denly out.
I really take no pleasure in this assessment. In fact, I was pretty supportive of Denly’s role in The Ashes, but we are now at a point where England need a top order batsman who can push on past the 30 barrier with a bit more success.
In a way, this issue has perhaps been pushed by the circumstances of selection for the First Test. With Joe Root absent for the birth of his daughter, Denly was selected to play alongside young Zak Crawley at 4. In the first innings neither were fantastic with 18 for Denly and 10 for Crawley, but the difference came in the second where Crawley got to 76 with Denly falling at 29.
The result is a clear choice when Root comes back for the Second Test between past and future for the spare slot. Given their respective performances in the Test, it came as no surprise when Root was announced to be coming in for Denly at Old Trafford. The job for Zak Crawley is to push on and justify the decision, no doubt he has to potential to take the ball and run with it (metaphorically of course, he should really be hitting the ball).
Jos Loss
Make no mistake, Jos Buttler cemented his place in my heart for life in the final moments of the 2019 Cricket World Cup. But, maybe it’s time to cede the gloves in the red ball game.
If I had a pound for every time in the last year or two that I’d heard the Sky coverage refer to an innings as ‘his chance to show he deserves his place in the team’ I would not have hundreds of pounds, but I would indeed have more money than one would expect to have in these circumstances.
The case of Jos Buttler allows me to pivot to a nagging issue I have with the recent selection of the England team. The constant, single-minded move to turn every white ball star into a red ball player. It need not be seen as a dirty thing to have a speciality, be it ODI or Test cricket.
The push to put ODI players into the Test teams leads mainly to embarrassment. It leads to Jason Roy, World Cup star, being reduced to a punchline as Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood clatter his stumps in The Ashes. It leads to Jonny Bairstow routinely being bowled clean by a straight ball. Not everyone is cut out for the Root/Stokes crossover success.
The point being, it might be time to move Jos Buttler aside from Test Cricket. The answer is not a reprieve for Jonny Bairstow. Instead, it may be time to give Ben Foakes another crack at the whip. This is an opinion so popular on Twitter that it has almost become a running joke, but it may just be the time to do it. Buttler is not changing, so perhaps it’s time that the England team does.
It would also give rise to more Stokes, Foakes, and Woakes jokes.
Pace Problems
I love Stuart Broad. So, when I saw of his absence in the First Test a cloud of unhappiness did indeed descend over me. In fact, it was worsened by the lack of Chris Woakes who I admittedly also have a soft spot for.
Unlike the aforementioned selections, this is where one can discern the clearest idea of some strategy from the selectors. In essence, it seemed to be a look to the future. The idea being that the best way to beat Australia away from home in 2021 will be to beat them at their own game of raw pace.
Indeed, there is a strong belief that the Broad-Anderson axis may not cut it in Australia. The answer being to introduce the fear factor brought by Wood and Archer. The issue with this is that it’s founded on several misunderstandings.
One such misunderstanding is that of sport in general, that being that the path to domination is to focus on how others beat you. If 90+ mph deliveries are what Australia use to win, then the best path may not simply be to copy. The first reason is that it is useless in a home game. Playing at Southampton as if it’s the WACA will not work on any level. You won’t win, and it can hardly be seen to be good practice. The other is that you probably won’t be as good as the team who did it to you. There is a real chance you end up without your strengths, and with no real challenge to your opponent’s weaknesses.
The second misunderstanding mainly relates to the style of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. When people think of Jofra Archer they often think of the flying bouncers aimed at Steve Smith. They do not think of the several slower deliveries that it takes to get there. Similarly Wood showed his best in the tour of South Africa, but spent the West Indies match bowling high and wide. Pace is only worthwhile when it’s pace with a plan. To bowl Wood and Archer is to overlook the nuance of what brought out their finest performances in the past, namely a good foil in the form of Broad and Anderson. It is not as simple as putting two pacers in and asking them to go all guns blazing. They cannot do that, and it is unlikely to work. Particularly given the odd selection of deploying them both at Southampton as opposed to Old Trafford. It is now likely that one or both of them is rested at a notoriously fast pitch.
Finally, the most obvious mistake is to overlook the worth of your second best ever bowler. Maybe it’s due to Jimmy Anderson being a bowling God, but sometimes it seems to be understated just how good Stuart Broad is. In fact, Stuart Broad in 2019/20 has been in some of the finest form of his life. He led the bowling attack in The Ashes to great effect, and should never be disregarded quite so easily.
In the Second Test we are likely to see some changes. Broad may well come in for Wood, and Woakes may even come in for a rested Jimmy Anderson. We shall wait and see how it turns out.
Any selections you thought were questionable, do share below or on social media.
One Response
Great article. Completely agree about Broad, disappointing to see him left out.