So it all ended in a dry, tedious squib. We couldn’t quite press home our slim overnight advantage and the first test ended in a stalemate. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it one last time: it was a desperately poor, depressing pitch. It should never happen again, but it probably will.
The pitch was pretty much a disaster for England. Having lost the toss, our bowlers spent over three days toiling in the field. India spent half that amount. If Dhoni wins the toss at Lord’s later this week, the Indians will have a massive advantage. Thanks ECB. Give yourselves a massive pat on the back for scheduling so many back-to-back tests.
Which brings me on to David Collier. As you might have heard, one of the key men who instigated these ridiculous schedules stepped down as ECB chief executive during this test match. I for one won’t shed any tears.
Just as the selectors called up Simon Kerrigan for the second test (because England lack a specialist spinner) the ECB spin machine went into overdrive. Collier’s tenure as chief exec was presented in glowing terms: the man who had overseen four Ashes triumphs.
What nobody mentioned, of course, is the two 0-5 thrashings, countless embarrassing performances in international limited overs competitions, the construction of absurd fixture lists, the hiring of expensive headhunters in 2009 to appoint the bloke who was already assistant coach, the strange reappointment of Peter Moores, numerous PR blunders, and finally the humiliating Allen Stanford debacle.
As England move on to Lord’s it would be interesting to know what the players and team management think of Collier. They’ve been left with an awful selection headache.
Moores and Cook will be desperate for Anderson and Broad to play a full part in the second test, but there are long-term consequences to consider. They simply cannot risk these key bowlers succumbing to injury or excessive fatigue. Having said that, they cannot afford to lose at Lord’s either.
It’s quite possible one of our opening bowlers will be rested. In which case, Chris Jordan will come into the team. Or will he? If they’re determined to give Kerrigan a game – in which case Cook better handle him better than he did at The Oval last year, and considerably better than he’s handled Moeen Ali this summer – somebody will need to be dropped.
Here’s my guess: Moeen will be dropped. It’s either him or Gary Ballance. We can only pick XI players, and I just can’t see us going into the test with three seamers and Kerrigan. Although one hopes the Lancashire spinner will perform well, it’s by no means a certainty. Cook will want some kind of insurance policy in case he get the yips again.
Just for the record, Kerrigan has taken 29 wickets at 34 in the championship this season. Moeen has taken his at 35 … and scored nearly 500 runs at 66.
I hope Moores and Cook will be thinking clearly on Thursday, rather than just reacting to the public clamour for a spinner. Kerrigan’s stats suggest this is not the right time to pick him. It’s not the time to drop a cricketer of Moeen’s potential either.
If England are going to pick a specialist spinner he has to be worth it. We can’t magic a replacement for Swann from thin air.
When Michael Vaughan was captain, we played to our strengths: four fast bowlers and a spinner who could ‘do a job’ (even if that meant bowling two feet outside leg stump) and contribute in other areas. That man happened to be Ashley Giles, who took his test wickets at 41. Giles wasn’t just picked for his bowling.
The idea that England must have a spinner like Swann to be successful simply isn’t true. The 2005 Ashes winners were an excellent side. South Africa do pretty well without a world class spinner too. Last time I looked, they were joint top of the World Rankings.
In an ideal world, another Graeme Swann would emerge overnight. But it won’t happen. In the meantime, England must play to their strengths … and prepare pitches that give their bowlers a chance.
Whether that happens remains to be seen. Lord’s is usually fairly slow, excellent for batting and hard work for the seamers. Exactly what England don’t want in fact.
James Morgan
I’m thinking of going down the bookies and putting a cheeky tenner on 5 draws! “Administrators?” you’re dead right, the only thing they’ll manage to administrate is the death of Test cricket! This ICC hijack will inevitably come to a horrendous and scurrilous conclusion imho.The English invented some great games, and were pretty good at them…until….in walked a bloke in a blazer!!
As someone who believes great sides are great because they have great players it is always irritating to see all the plaudits given to the coach or manager. Now it seems the chief executive is the one who must be praised for success. Dear oh dear give me strength.
Who was coach of The West Indies in the 70s and 80s? Most people have no idea. Was the great Australian team of the 90s down to the coach or the fantastic talent of the players? Who coached the 1948 Australians? Who cares? The role of the best coaches in any sport is to help identify and foster talent. In England we have this ludicrous Idea that the coach is there to manage talent.
As the football World Cup ends once again with more England failure the refusal to learn the lessons about finding and nurturing talent as the number one priority will be ignored as usual. Instead we will obsess about who the manager is, what system we play, and do the players sing the national anthem we enough vigour.
“Who was coach of The West Indies in the 70s and 80s? ”
PTSC (Public Transport Service Corporation)
:o)
Little bit disingenuous to compare Kerrigan’s and Ali’s bowling averages without mentioning the difference in the number of wickets taken.
Respectfully disagree. Kerrigan has played far more games. Total wickets therefore reveals little in a comparison. Moeen also plays for the same side as Saeed Ajmal, who gets tossed the ball first. Averages is the fairest comparison available.
“I hope Moores and Cook will be thinking clearly on Thursday, rather than just reacting to the public clamour for a spinner. Kerrigan’s stats suggest this is not the right time to pick him. It’s not the time to drop a cricketer of Moeen’s potential either.”
Dropping Moeen two Tests after his brilliant century at Headingley would be absolutely criminal. If they want to pick Kerrigan, he should replace one of the seamers. I would also hope that public opinion plays no part in Moores and Cook’s selection process.
Is it time to start talking about Prior’s place in the side?
We might try to cover that before Lord’s if we can. With Stokes and Ali at 7&8 there is a case (the first time in a long time IMHO) for picking the best pure keeper available. As Buttler hasn’t kept regularly at first class level until this year, there is a case for picking Foster until Buttler is ready. He could play for a year or two, and if he represent us in the Ashes he’d be the younger of the two keepers playing!
I mean 6&7
“What nobody mentioned, of course, is the two 0-5 thrashings, countless embarrassing performances in international limited overs competitions, the construction of absurd fixture lists, the hiring of expensive headhunters in 2009 to appoint the bloke who was already assistant coach, the strange reappointment of Peter Moores, numerous PR blunders, and finally the humiliating Allen Stanford debacle”
you forgot Cook’s invaluable 2 overs …. it’s come to this. I’m off to make ‘watching paint dry’ an Olympic sport
I didn’t read the entire article but this DT headline is worrying …. “IMF warns ECB credibility at risk …….”