Author: Bobji

The Ashes England perspective

Down 0-2 and eventually squaring the series 2-2 was an extraordinary achievement. I expected England to win atleast one Test. Afterall, they were playing at home under familiar conditions but never did I expect them to win 2. If not for rain at Old Trafford, they could have walked away with The Ashes itself. The turnaround was significant and dramatic. Now to imagine that if only Stokes hadn’t declared at Headingley or if only Bairstow had held onto his chances, perhaps, it will be England who would have had the last laugh.

Did the Bairstow incident invigorated England?

YouTube is now filled with the Bairstow incident. The replay of the said incident is available at the click of a mouse. Just a casual glance will reveal the actual play. Bairstow ducks into a bouncer from Green and without any hesitation, walks off. At this point, if one were to look at Alex Carey, it can be clearly seen that he caught the ball and threw it in one swift motion. There wasn’t even the slightest pause. It all happened in one seamless motion. This essentially means that the ball wasn’t dead and was very much in play. This wasn’t different from stumping. Even when a batsman is stumped, he wasn’t attempting to run. He merely tries to get back into the crease. Ofcourse, Bairstow forgot that there was one.

It was Bairstow’s stupidity that led to his downfall. He has got no one to blame except himself. He did not even return and tap the bat inside the popping crease to signal that he understood that the ball was dead but kept walking without imagining the consequences. Australians were well within their rights to take the opportunity which they did.

Critics of the Australian alleged lack of sportsmanship must understand that they are in England to win The Ashes and not to make friends. England will do well at introspecting and looking at their performance rather than blaming external factors for their subjugation so far. The ill-timed declaration, misfiring batsmen, seamers of the same wavelength and above all, a wicket-keeper who cannot catch the ball.

Some of the comments

Geoffrey Boycott, the much respected former English batsman and commentator, has called for a public apology from the Australians.

“Australia need to have a think about what they did and make a fulsome public apology. That way it will redress the situation and everyone can then move on.”

Now, this is a bit farfetched. The Australians have not committed a crime to ask for an apology. What they did was well within the laws of the game. Boycott a respected commentator who is quite blunt when he speaks, must have squarely blamed Bairstow for his moment of madness. Instead, he called for Australia to apologise. It is not correct Mr. Boycott.

“SPIRIT OF CRICKET REDUCED TO ASHES,” the headline splashed across The Daily Express read

Daily Star’s headline: “SHAMELESS STUMPING STORM. SAME OLD AUSSIES”.

Ben Stokes, “If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.”

This incident though Bairstow’s fault, seems to have revived England. It was revealed that despite the end of the series and the animosity, England did not participate in the traditional drinking session at the end of the series. It remained fresh or perhaps it remained fresh for England by design that they needed inspiration from somewhere and this incident provided that.

Bazball at Old Trafford

It was breathtaking. Especially, Zak Crawley who switched into the 5^th gear and never took his foot off the accelerator. He is someone who has got all the shots in the book and is not afraid to unleash them. Perhaps, his temperament is his biggest obstacle. From a much-maligned cricketer to having finished the series as the highest scorer for England, Crawley has secured his place for the near future. Crawley and Bairstow are the lynchpin for Bazball. The epitomise the spirit of Bazball. While they are at the wicket, there isn’t any dull moment. Both of them are always on the lookout for runs. Not necessarily through boundaries but by constantly rotating the strike and keeping the scorecard moving. If Crawley can become consistent, England will be thrilled while the opponents will sweat their pants.

Ben Stokes knee

Stokes is the fulcrum of the side. So much revolves around him. He almost repeated the Headingley heroics at Edgbaston. The assault was incredible to watch. He will be disappointed not because England lost that game but because the batsmen, though they are tailenders, who can bat, simply did not believe that they can win and threw their wickets away. This was in complete contrast to how Cummins and Lyon batted at Headingley.

Stokes’s knee is a constant source of irritation for him. He may not be around for too long. Probably another couple of years. I guess he will wait for one glory in Australia in 2025 and will call it a day. The immediate future for England selectors is to somehow convince Stokes to play in the ODI World Cup. He reserves his best for such events.

The competing teams for the WTC 2025 Finals are already quite clear. England with their brand of cricket will certainly reach the finals. The identity of their opponent may not be shrouded in mystery. Australia, specifically, if Smith & Lyon does not retire and they find a good opener to replace Warner, will be in the finals to defend. I do not see any major change in the personnel in a couple of years time.

Australia is not the great side of the Steve Waugh, Ponting era but they are proving to be resilient under Cummins. Series win in Pakistan, drawn series in Sri Lanka, WTC winner and now a shared Ashes. Things are alright for them.

The Ashes Australian perspective. Another edition of The Ashes has been done and dusted. The series was well-fought between two evenly-matched teams. No quarter was given and none asked. There were some stellar individual performances as well as some sterling rearguard actions. Inevitable comparisons were made with the 2005 Ashes series which not at all made much sense because that series was on a higher level. Here, two teams went in with all their might and in the end, they couldn’t be separated.

Perhaps, the 2-2 was a just end to a series which at one stage, threatened to go the Australian way. Test cricket needs such a riveting series from time to time to rekindle interest in the format. The assault from T20 cricket with the full support of franchises worldwide is relentless. It will inevitably result in short forms of the game, consuming Test cricket. Until then, to retain interest, such a series is very much required.

The inevitable comparison with 2005

Well, the 2005 series will remain an icon. No other Ashes series in living memory, can even come close to the action, entertainment and overall quality of that series. This latest series was played between evenly matched teams but on a lower level but the quality of the 2005 series was on a higher plane. For starters, Australia had a galaxy of stars in Warne, McGrath, Ponting, Martyn, Hayden, Langer and last but not the least, Adam Gilchrist. Their bowling was outstanding and their batting was terrific. Australia were the pioneers of the Bazball theory though at a less frantic pace and these men epitomized that to a great degree.

It took a special effort to defeat such an Australian team even in a Test and it took sustained special efforts to defeat that Australian side in a series. Laxman and Dravid’s Calcutta heroics are still held in awe because that sort of effort was very much needed.

England had to play a different ball-game that they were unused to. For a very longtime, England’s approach was conservative and monotonous. It needed a Michael Vaughan to break that monotony and approach the series like an Australian would. He attacked with 4 tall and well built fast bowlers, all capable of hurling the red-cherry at 90MPH. It must be done day in and day out for 5 Tests and unsuspecting batsmen who were determined to annihilate England. Flintoff played the best cricket of his career in that series. Jones was menacing with reverse swing. Harmison bowled with a lot of pace and Hoggard with lots of guile. The inspired selection of Pietersen over Thorpe. England would have otherwise opted for the safety net of Thorpe over the flamboyant Pietersen. He played his part with a brilliant hundred in the last Test.

The only similarity

England was still humiliated in the first Test despite such preparation. It took a freak injury to Glenn McGrath to alter the course of the series and that will be the only similarity between the series. Just as Australia drifted off-course in 2005 because of the injury to McGrath, they went off-course because of the injury to Nathan Lyon. Probably, if Lyon had been bowling, England may not have won both the final Tests. The impact Lyon has on the Australian side is enormous. Not for nothing is he called the GOAT by them. Todd Murphy is promising but he needs to bowl lot more to improve quickly.

The absence of Lyon

It was a body blow for Australia’s chances. Not for nothing is Lyon called the GOAT within Australian circles. Greatest Of All Time. It does not mean that he is the greatest spinner to have played for Australia. There was a certain Shane Warne. He is known as the GOAT because he has been much-maligned cricketer during the middle part of his career. There were calls for him to be dropped  but he responded with picking up wickets. Lyon not only picks up wickets regularly but also manages to keep the scoring down. He allows the quicker bowlers to be rotated. Let us remember that Australia play with the same set of quicks, Hazlewood, Starc & Cummins regularly. It is Lyon who helps in keeping them fresh and going for longer periods.

It was Lyon’s absence that was dearly felt by Australia. Suddenly, Cummins didn’t know who to pick. He picked Todd Murphy but did not have any confidence in him and seldom gave him the same support that Lyon usually gets. At Old Trafford, Cummins went the opposite direction once Green returned with picking an all-seam, 5 of them, attack and that too on a pitch that helped the spinners. Cummins roamed like a headless chicken without Lyon to calm things down.

The ultra-conservative approach

Australians are known for their aggression. They are not exponents of Bazball but they are never far from Bazball. Their usual scoring rate is around the 3.5 runs mark but both at Old Trafford and at The Oval, they lost the plot because they were unsure how to bat. We had Marnus Labuschagne bat like Pujara. His strike rate was less than 10 at The Oval and alongwith Khawaja, Australia never went anywhere. Their partnership of nothing was the primary reason for Australia taking a slender lead which could have otherwise been a substantial lead. Only Head and to some extent Marsh, had any inclination to score runs.

The top and middle order, completely altered the batting ability and were content on locking one end. Perhaps, the fact that Australia were leading 2-0 at the end of Lords and needing only to draw a couple of games to win The Ashes outright, influenced their batting. Nonetheless, it was an unAustralian display. The inability to bat with a little bit of freedom against the English seamers put paid to their hopes of winning the series.  

Lack of response to Bazball

Especially at Old Trafford, the Australians were outplayed. Rain saved the day for them which would have otherwise resulted in an emphatic win for England. Australia would not have recovered from that and would have lost at The Oval much more easily than they did. It is known to everyone what sort of approach will England take. Australia successfully thwarted that at Headingley and at Lords but the sheer effort that it takes, both physically and mentally, to counter such a threat proved overwhelming for Australia.

The David Warner conundrum

It was really a surprise to see that Australia did not have a backup opener. David Warner has never really scored runs in England. It was risky to have included him in the first place but to have no contingency plan if things go south, Australia seems to have placed all their eggs in the same basket. Though Warner got his highest score in England in this series, 66, much more was expected from him. Broad again picked him up on a few occasions. This is not to state that he didn’t try. He did but for someone this experienced, that did not materialise to substantial innings.

Warner’s struggle led directly to Australia being on the backfoot far too often to their liking. England has shown that Anderson and Broad can be dropped from the team in certain conditions because of their ineffectiveness. Why didn’t Australia do the same with Warner is perplexing.

England is sitting pretty in the Old Trafford Test. A brute of an innings from the much-maligned Zak Crawley, has put them in the driver’s seat. Michael Atherton, the much respected British commentator, remarked during his innings that Crawley has not been consistent but if he can get himself set, he plays an innings of sheer brilliance. He was not wrong because Crawley’s strokeplay was simply outstanding. England is now beautifully placed to square the series and have a shot at winning The Ashes outright. Are we witnessing history?

Prior to the start of the Manchester Test, England’s chance to win the Ashes was slim if not downright impossible. It improved from impossible to slim after the victory at Headingley. Now, it has improved from slim to possible. For the first time in this series, after day one of the first Test, England was able to unleash the full potential of Bazball on the hapless Australians. The result is devastating for Australia. The pitch is flat which allowed the English batsmen to unleash their strokeplay.

Cummins would not know what had hit him. Sure, he has experienced bad days on the field but this was simply chastening. It started with the very first ball of the day when he drove a length delivery from Anderson to cover and by the close of play, he went for more than 6 runs an over. This was an experience Cummins will not forget that easily. Probably, Cummins is tired. This was his 5^th Test over the last 6 weeks. It started with the WTC Finals and from then on, his bowling effort, though not against India, has been high. Added to that are his decisions as the captain. Australia cannot afford to lose him but he is also a human. He has so far bowled 126 overs, by far the most by an Australian this series.

The mammoth partnership of 206 runs between Root & Crawley all but took only 30 overs. It will be an understatement to say that Australia were outplayed during that part. It was this passage of play that may ultimately, result in Australia’s loss. It was hard to understand the reason Australia did not opt for the short-ball barrage that they so successfully applied at Lords. Australia felt the absence of a spinner. Travis Head was introduced in the 23^rd over. This in a team that boasts of 5 seamers, a part-time spinner comes into the attack so early. This showed that Australia did not select the correct team. Todd Murphy, perhaps, in hindsight, should have played.

Rain may still come to the aid of Australia. The forecast for the weekend is pretty poor. Thunderstorm is predicted on both the days. Australia needs only a draw to retain the Ashes. England need to win to remain in contention for the Ashes.  

There is India against the West Indies and there is England against Australia. Famously known as The Ashes. It is no brainer as to which one is the more popular series. There cannot be a contrasting series than these. In the future, respective boards will have to ensure that they must not schedule mismatched series while The Ashes is underway. The difference is quite stark and embarrassing. This is a tale of two contrasting series.

Let me begin with The Ashes

3 Tests done. All of them were closely fought. The first and the third almost went down to the wire. There were multiple excellent performances. Khawaja’s runs, Smith’s hundred, Cummins’s and Starc’s high-quality bowling, Wood’s ferocious pace and last but not least, Ben Stokes’s aggressive strokeplay. Thrills and edge-of-the-seat entertainment were not in short supply in the series. It has been a series where even a neutral will find thrilling.

If the on-field action was riveting, the on-field controversies too never ceased to exist. The Alex Carey-Cummins-Bairstow moment will be spoken about for a very longtime. Bairstow is going to hold onto the view that what happened was against the spirit of the game, notwithstanding the same attempts that he may have made earlier. Carey and Cummins will always maintain that it was under the laws of the game. Fans on both the sides will forever be split. For someone like Ashwin, who does not give much credence to the spirit of the game debate, this was a chance well taken by Carey. Cummins and Carey will, atleast till the end of this series, be vilified and booed wherever they go.

Speaking of which, the behaviour of the crowd in this series has been downright abusive. Khawaja has expressed in no uncertain terms that it has been rude.

“Personally, if I am coming to the cricket and watching the cricket, I wouldn’t want my kids to be around that,” Khawaja said ahead of the Old Trafford Test. “If I saw that I would 100 percent make a complaint or just leave. I think some of the stuff can be pretty poor. Over at Edgbaston they were calling Travis Head a c… you know what. I’m like I can’t believe you can actually say that in a public domain anywhere.”

Now the other series

One will be hard-pressed to even allocate time to a series that most of the world does not realise is underway. India vs West Indies over the last 20 years, always had the air of the conqueror against the minnows. West Indies lost their way with the retirement of their last recognised bonafide great in Brian Lara. Since then, they have never really recovered. T20 cricket took over and in their need to earn as much as possible before their playing career is finished, have gone onto represent in multiple global leagues across the world.

The West Indian players are sometimes called mercilessly as mercenaries. This is harsh to the extreme because players have limited amount of shelf-life. They have to earn money for the rest of their lives. They do not know anything else apart from playing the game.

West Indian cricketers are not exceptionally paid like their Indian or English or Aussie or even South African counterparts.

Nonetheless, they are still expected to show some fight against a side for whom, the days when they feared the famous West Indian fast bowlers have long gone by.

What happened to pace and bounce?

West Indian pitches are renowned for the pace and bounce that they carry. Great, tall and ferocious fast bowlers, some with quick arm rotation, some with steep bounce, some with a physical presence that would shame the WWF fighters and a Whispering Death bowler, instilled a sense of fear in every batsman. The same pitches, now, have become an antithesis. For well over 20 years, West Indian captains never thought beyond 4 fast bowlers but are now forced to field a spinner or in the case of the last Test, multiple spinners. This was unheard of in the hallowed turf of the Caribbean.

The pitch actually helped the opposition instead of your own team. Perhaps, this was a masterstroke on the part of the West Indian board. You see, if you prepare a pitch that will favour the visiting spinners, they will be able to win and will be they will be more than happy to tour the West Indies again and thereby the board will receive enormous wealth. Now, this is just a conspiracy theory.

The point is that, if West Indies are not the least bit competitive, it will only set them back by several decades. It may even result in the likely scenario in the distant future of the West Indies itself being demolished and the regional countries competing individually. There was a young batsman who made his debut and went onto score a hundred, a big one at that, on his debut. There was an offspinner who took his career-best figures in the West Indies. Does any of that count? Afterall, wasn’t this along the expected lines? Especially for Ashwin.

Wrapping up a tale of two contrasting series

West Indies and England rely to some extent on Indian viewership. More so, West Indies. Tests in the Caribbean are disadvantaged to begin with. It runs late into the night and the Indians will not be willing to stay awake and watch a series that will probably be boring. Time is too short this year and nothing can be done about it. In the following years, either the team must become competitive or must not schedule any series when an interesting series takes place in England.

Yes, it is hard to wait for the 4^th Ashes Test. Never in their wildest imagination, would Australia must have thought that come Old Trafford, they will be 2-1 up in the series with an outstanding chance of winning the Ashes outright at the second opportunity. They would have been happy to reach the halfway stage if England were leading by just a solitary Test. They would have been even happier to get to Old Trafford if the series was even. England is still in the series but to the contrary, it is the Australians who are calling the shots.

Australia has not won a series in England in more than 20 years. They have come close but never managed to cross the line. With England in disarray following consecutive losses and the acrimonious scenes on the last day at Lords, Australia is well placed to win the series in England after 20 years. It is a mild statement to state that Australia is sitting pretty. They are solid.

England is still alive and kicking in the ongoing Ashes. They barely survived at Headingley despite the brilliance of Mark Wood. There are quite a few questions that Ben Stokes and McCullum will have to find answers for before Old Trafford. Despite the win, bowling still needs to be improved. The much-touted Bazball, is for now on the backburner. Australia somehow found a solution to keep the English batsmen quiet. These are the questions for England ahead of Old Trafford.

Continue with Bazball or traditional cricket?

Let us face it. Except for day one of the series, England batsmen were never allowed to score freely by Australia save for a couple of freakish Stokes innings. By and large, they were all kept quiet for 5 straight innings. That in itself is a huge achievement for Australia. Now, England is in a quandary. What do they do? Do they go back to their swashbuckling ways of 2022 or stick to the more traditional method? Bazball did not fetch them victory at Headingley. It was the measured and calm approach of the old traditional cricket that fetched them victory in the 3rd Test. Though England was not blown away in any of the games, they weren’t able to play the free cricket that they have become so accustomed to.

The acrimonious last day

Johnny Bairstow’s dismissal has sparked throughout the cricketing world. Some are for and some are against but that is in the past. England just cannot afford to let that affect them any longer because they do not have that luxury. England are in a must-win situation. They need to win all the remaining Tests to regain the Ashes. Australia only needs to draw one Test to retain the Ashes though, having come so close, they will not be satisfied with anything than a series win. It will be difficult but not impossible for any team to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win the series. I cannot relocate too many instances of it except for one in 1979 between India and Australia.

Bairstow’s dismissal, sought of awakened the beast in Stokes. It was a mindboggling innings but I doubt whether Stokes would have played any differently even if Bairstow was out in the conventional way. There was a very short gap inbetween the Tests and England are really seething from the perceived injustice. They are likely to come out all guns blazing but that may directly benefit Australia.

All that Australia will have to do is maintain balance and see England self-destruct as they did at Edgbaston and Lords.

Excellent opening combination

The form of Khawaja and the good partnership at the top between him and Warner at the top has given Australia decent starts in almost all the innings. The case of Warner is especially curious. This is his last tour of England, as well as for Khawaja, and he would dearly want to make it count. He was Broad’s bunny in 2019 but this time around, though he hasn’t got the better of Broad, hasn’t got out to him either. He will count that as a small victory. This partnership has eased the pressure on the remaining batsmen. The first morning, with the sky overcast and the ball expected to swing, Warner and Khawaja resisted for the most part and took the sting away from the English bowlers. That allowed the likes of Smith, Head and to a certain extent, Carey and Head to prosper.

The inclusion of Mark Wood

He has got pace. He runs in hard and is not shy of releasing the ball at uncomfortable speeds. That, he wasn’t part of the England team from Edgbaston is for me, an unpardonable oversight unless he was injured. Wood’s pace and movement after pitching clearly unsettled every Australian player. I have been advocating for Wood to be included in every game until the series is decided. Ofcourse, it makes sense to protect such a precious asset but why wouldn’t you want to make use of his services when the series is alive? Does anyone think that without Wood, England would still have won and that too after the infamous Bairstow incident at Lords? I doubt it. Wood was clearly the difference between the 2 sides.

Cummins who looked quite comfortable and assured of himself with the bat at Edgbaston and Lords, suddenly turned into a nervous wreck. Not just Cummins, the entire Australian tail was weary of facing upto Wood. They were afraid of getting hit by one of his thunderbolts. For once, Ollie Robinson’s words came true.

Johnny Bairstow continues to flounder

If only Bairstow had held onto the chances, England by now would have been leading 2-1 and not the otherway around. His keeping is not at all international standard. He misses every regulation nick and yet, he is persisted with for his batting. I am not advocating for Bairstow to be dropped but he must be relieved of his wicket-keeping duties. All the 3 games were won the Australia and England by small margins. As such, England cannot afford anymore largesse. It is another matter if England is short of good keepers but in Foakes, they have a world class keeper. Ollie Robinson will definitely not play at Old Trafford. It gives a good chance to bring Foakes back to keep wickets. Bairstow will probably be relieved to concentrate on batting alone. It may even unleash the beast within Bairstow.

Let us remember that all those match-winning innings that Bairstow played last year, he wasn’t keeping wickets then. His replacement, Harry Brook, has gone on from strength to strength and cannot be dropped. Stokes has a tricky decision to make. Does he risk Ashes by persisting with Bairstow as the keeper or does he solidify the team with the inclusion of a brilliant wicket-keeper? It will shorten the bowling but Broad, Woakes, Wood, Moeen and if needed Stokes and Root will be able to bowl the necessary overs.

If Bairstow continues to keep, probably one more Australian might tell him that “you have just dropped the Ashes”

Wrapping up It is hard to wait for the 4^th Ashes Test

I know it is tough on the players but Tests in such series must be stitched closely together.

            Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here, here and here

England is still alive and kicking in the ongoing Ashes. They barely survived at Headingley despite the brilliance of Mark Wood. There are quite a few questions that Ben Stokes and McCullum will have to find answers for before Old Trafford. Despite the win, bowling still needs to be improved. The much-touted Bazball, is for now on the backburner. Australia somehow found a solution to keep the English batsmen quiet. These are the questions for England ahead of Old Trafford.

Continue with Bazball or traditional cricket?

Let us face it. Except for day one of the series, England batsmen were never allowed to score freely by Australia save for a couple of freakish Stokes innings. By and large, they were all kept quiet for 5 straight innings. That in itself is a huge achievement for Australia. Now, England is in a quandary. What do they do? Do they go back to their swashbuckling ways of 2022 or stick to the more traditional method? Bazball did not fetch them victory at Headingley. It was the measured and calm approach of the old traditional cricket that fetched them victory in the 3^rd Test. Though England was not blown away in any of the games, they weren’t able to play the free cricket that they have become so accustomed to.

Credit must be given to Australia because they have not allowed them to. Commentators criticised Cummins for placing a sweeper cover in the first over on the first day of the series but now, Cummins stands vindicated. This is what England must counter. If they have to swallow their ego and play a bit more normal cricket, they must. I am not arguing that they will have to completely abandon their earlier method and go back to how they were in 2020. The batsmen must come up with their own method to bat against a specific bowler or during a specific passage of play. Australia has seen England’s method for the last several months and it is clear that they have come up with a plan. The challenge for England is to somehow overcome that and post a good total.

Johnny Bairstow and wicket keeping

5 catches and 1 stumping. That is the number of misses by Johnny Bairstow. In a closely fought series, that is a largesse that England could have done without. If only he had held onto those chances, the table would have been reversed. It would have been England who would have led the series 2-1. However, the England management in their own wisdom has decided to continue with Bairstow for the remainder of the series. It is quite unbelievable. For the sake of English supporters, they can only hope that this foolish decision does not end up in England losing the Ashes.

Geoffrey Boycott, the respected commentator, called for Bairstow to be dropped from the team altogether.

Boycott wants him dropped

“England took a calculated gamble and it hasn’t worked,” wrote Boycott. “In three Tests he has dropped catches, missed a stumping and can’t score any runs. It is very sad and outwardly he may show he is upbeat and full of exuberance, but when you fail on the big stage in the full glare of publicity there is nowhere to hide and deep down it affects your confidence. Someone needs to be brave for him and take him out of the limelight.

Well, I will not go that far. However, I certainly want him replaced as the keeper. Bairstow can continue as a batsman.

The bowling needs a revamp

Ollie Robinson and Moeen Ali are the obvious candidates. Yes, Robinson has picked up wickets at less than 25 in the series and Moeen Ali played a crucial hand in the Headingley victory but the point I am trying to make is that are these bowlers, really good enough as the number suggests? Moeen apart from those crucial wickets, has been taken for runs at will. Head treats him with disdain. Robinson on the otherhand, his fitness is not upto the highest standard. His pace drops alarmingly when he comes back for the 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th spell. That is a serious cause for concern in a game of small margins.

It really is strange that England does not boast of any good spinner. Jack Leach is injured but does that mean that there is no other spinner in the land worthy of an international cap? What was the need to pluck Moeen out of retirement and straight into an important series? At this stage, it is obvious that Moeen will play at Old Trafford and at The Oval. The fact remains that he must not have been recalled from retirement.

As for Robinson, Anderson will probably replace him at Old Trafford. I do not think that his fitness supports playing 4 Tests consecutively. Is Anderson the right fit? Only time can answer.

Wrapping up questions for England ahead of Old Trafford

It is really unfortunate that Ben Stokes and McCullum continue to place their faith in the keeping abilities of Bairstow. It is also sad that Ben Foakes is not even being considered despite him averaging 40 and him being an excellent keeper. Pope’s injury afforded a path for Foakes to be included but the management is not willing to ruminate on him.

Just to think that if only Bairstow had held onto his chances, England will be leading 2-1 and not the other way around. Also, Bairstow, free of the gloves will be a menacing batsman. England in trying to accommodate someone is clearly missing out on a top quality wicket-keeper and a run machine.

Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here, here, here and here

Mitchell Marsh’s comeback was nothing short of brilliant. Cameroon Green is touted as a future prospect who hasn’t done much wrong in his short career so far. Cummins has played 3 consecutive games and has bowled quite a lot of overs. Hazlewood will definitely play at Old Trafford. What to do with David Warner? There are a lot of questions that are facing Cummins and the coach Andrew McDonald. Some of them are really pleasant headaches whereas the others are pain-inducing headaches. Let me offer my two cents on questions for Cummins ahead of Old Trafford.

There is a week gap between the end of the 3^rd Test and the start of the 4^th one. It is time enough for Australia to assess their strategy and learn some lessons from the defeat. Cummins and Australia need not be harsh on themselves. Sure, The Ashes came within their grasp and they let go of it because of the brilliant bowling performance of Mark Wood. There is nothing shameful in that. Mark Wood on that day, would have made even the best of the Australian cricket team under Ponting and Steve Waugh, somewhat like dancing puppies. They did not necessarily lose to a better side, rather, they lost to someone who bowled way too quickly than what Australians were used to till this point.

Green or Marsh or both?

Mitchell Marsh’s innings was nothing short of exceptional. He was the one who did not care about the conditions and played an innings of sublime brilliance. He looked at ease with his clean hitting and wasn’t circumspect against the pace of Wood. It is hard to imagine Cameroon Green playing a similar innings under a similar situation. Without Marsh’s innings, it will be safe to conclude that England would have won in a canter. That Australia survived till the last day was because and only because of Marsh. Added to that, with his brisk pace, he picked up a couple of wickets and kept the scoring down. Nothing more can be asked from your allrounder.

“We’ve got a lot to consider and a lot to weigh up, and Mitch Marsh has put a question to us no doubt,” Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald said.

However, with Green expected to be back after his back injury, the position of Marsh has come under scrutiny. It will be an injustice to drop someone who had just scored a hundred when no one else could contribute a 50.

Having said that, Green is seen as someone who must be groomed for bigger things in the future. His returns so far in this series haven’t been productive, either with the ball or with the bat. Not so long ago, he secured his first Test 100.

Will it make sense to play both Marsh and Green? In that case, Marsh can be asked to open the innings. A typical flamboyant start at the top will help Labuschagne no end. It means that David Warner will have to be dropped. On that topic,

Is it time for Warner to make way?

Warner has had a mixed series so far. It was only a couple of innings ago, he got his highest score in England. A battling 66. It also helped Australia post a huge target. However, his old failings against Broad, have comeback to the fore. Two identical deliveries at Headingley and two identical wafts outside the off and two identical catches by Crawley. The pressure on Warner has grown immensely. If indeed Warner is dropped, he would have already played his last Test. Australia are on the precipice of Ashes success in England in over 20 years. Would they want to jeopardise that by continuing to keep Warner at the top of the order?

More than technical, it is the mental aspect where Warner has lost his battle against Broad. I do not think that a move down the order is being considered by Australia. Having said that, in such an important game, would Australia want to try the untested Marsh at the top? It is not going to get any worse anyway. Michael Clarke, the former captain thinks so.

“The No. 1 issue is you are sticking with Warner, giving him every opportunity, and Broad’s still got his number. Is it time? If it’s time, I wouldn’t even be worried about who opens the batting because you’ve got options.

“I reckon Mitch Marsh is in fine form. If he had to do it, he could do it.

The other option is to open with Travis Head but he is pretty well at number 5. He himself would not want to compromise and open the innings. Also, it makes sense for Australia to let Head alone at his favourite spot.

Leave out the spinner or Boland?

Hazlewood is needed at Old Trafford. Australia must not have rested him for Headingley. Boland was a misfit. When the Ashes was there to be won, Australia must have gone ahead with their best possible outfit. Instead, they chose to rest Hazlewood which was a wrong move. Cummins has already bowled a lot of overs but since he is the captain, unless there is an injury, he will play. Hence, it is assumed that the trio of Starc, Cummins & Hazlewood will be reunited. This leaves Todd Murphy vulnerable. Would Australia want to drop their spinner for Marsh or Green? It will certainly lengthen the batting. It will also give them 5 medium to fast bowling options. However, they run the risk of not bowling the 90 overs required. It may even result in banning Cummins for the all-important final Test if The Ashes is still alive at that point.

Wrapping up questions for Cummins ahead of Old Trafford

Whatever it is, come Old Trafford, Australia have a lot of sweet headaches to solve. The most vulnerable at this point is David Warner. Perhaps, he might announce his retirement even before the Test. In one stroke, Cummins and Australia would not have to worry about playing Marsh or Green.

Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here, here and here