Yes, it is hard to wait for the 4th 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 4th 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