Accomodation

This week has been possibly the most hyperbolic week in the history of sports media coverage, ever. Quotes such as 'worst English display' and 'lowest point in English cricket' have been banded about as though the 2006-07 series never happened. And although England's second innings in Melbourne was dreadful, it was nothing compared to six years ago at Adelaide, when the whole team fell onto a Shane Warne shaped sword whilst batting on the M1.

Worst of all the criticism in my opinion, is that being thrown at Kevin Pietersen. Yes he may be having an average series, but he is one of the few England players that occasionally looks comfortable against a fine Australian attack. And yet these same denouncers of character seem to think Joe Root is the ultimate answer, and should be yet again moved down the order to accommodate his shortcomings.

Now obviously the caveat must be stated - Root is the brightest prospect in English cricket, and has already shown that talent at international level. However, the stats will show he has the lowest average in the top six, and apart from a great innings Adelaide has looked defensive and vulnerable. And now column inches are being dedicated to the idea of him dropping down to five with Ian Bell moving up the order to shield Root from the new ball. Madness.

There are few sides in the world that would sacrifice a performing Senior player in order to possibly help a struggling Junior. Ian Bell, like Michael Clarke, bats better at five, is good against spin and will inevitably move up to four when Pietersen retires. It would be foolish to risk him against the new ball and impart further woes onto an already struggling batting line-up.

Joe Root should not be mollycoddled. Alastair Cook faced similar problems to Root early in his career; being predominantly a back-foot player he struggled (and is struggling again) with the full ball outside off-stump. But he was definite in his status as an opener, and so figured out a technique that allowed him to be the great player his is today. Root has been given the option of an easier life coming in later, and so constantly has a scapegoat, the excuse of 'well i'd be better down the order'.

He needs to adapt, or be replaced until he can fulfil the role England need him to fill - that of a top order player. There is time for him and easier opposition to come, I just hope England replace the right man, and don't put all their eggs into a soft future basket.

'The new...'

Last night, at the embarrassingly late time of 4am, I found myself awake and watching the live coverage of the England XI vs Cricket Australia Chairman's XI game played on an Aussie Rules Football pitch. It was a fairly dull affair mainly due to the slow outfield, poor standard of bowling and general lack of any aptitude from a despondent and downtrodden England side.

Despite this, I did find myself briefly engaged due to one man - Ben Stokes. With a carefree walk to the crease and a nonchalant swinging of the arms he reminded me of a young, incredibly burnt, Clive Lloyd. Unfortunately that was as far as the comparison went, with his brief innings of 28 starting and stalling until he was well caught at short leg. The more time he spent at the crease, the more it lead me to another comparison with much more commonality than that of a West Indian legend - that of Andrew Flintoff.

Like Flintoff he started his career as more of a batter; hard-hitting, belligerent, and showing immense power and presence at the crease even at a young age. Also like Flintoff, he was perhaps the wrong side of the fitness line, 'high skin fold percentage' as the Australians would say. And even more like Flintoff, he had the hint of a reckless side - he was sent home last winter from an England Lions tour due for repeat offences of late-night drinking.

The disgrace of being sent home appears to have been the catalyst he needed - He has become bigger, broader and leaner, allowing him to develop his bowling and clock speeds of 90mph last summer, taking 42 First Class wickets at 26.57. His batting is still developing, and while he does have a propensity to be rash at times, his inclusion in the Ashes squad shows there is clearly enough to suggest he can succeed at test level.

I noticed him yesterday for none of these reasons, but solely due to his swagger and body language. After the absolute trashing England received at Brisbane, it was refreshing to see someone who looked confident and assured in the middle, as though he was above the bowlers and wanted them to know it.

It's easy after a heavy defeat to look for quick answers, a miracle cure. The selections of certain recent Australia players has shown the folly of this. It is also easy to look for 'the next...' and 'the new...' - every allrounder in the 90's was dubbed 'the new Ian Botham', and England are still searching for 'the new Andrew Flintoff'. So for any new allrounder, this may have to be an albatross they wear around their neck.

But in my opinion, Ben Stokes may be that man, and is worth a try for the next Test at Adelaide. He doesn't have the scars that Johnny Bairstow has, nor the timid look occasionally conveyed by Gary Ballance. Will he be the difference between the two teams? Probably not. May he fail miserably? Quite possibly. But the aggression and attitude he could bring to the team is something England are currently lacking.

The whole England team may be sent home in disgrace from this Ashes tour. But, there is a still a possibility that this new man on the horizon, could be the catalyst England need.

Moneyball

The best-selling book and subsequent Hollywood film ‘Moneyball’ is based around the tactics of the Oakland A’s Baseball team. They changed their outlook on player recruitment, moving away from tradition scouting methods based on appearance, and looking more at statistical analysis and how certain players can fill specific roles within a team.

We can already see these changes happening within cricket. Northamptonshire Chief Executive David Smith and Coach David Ripley had a tiny budget to work with, but managed to win this year’s T20 by making solid signings of previously under-appreciated players, and bringing in some relatively cheap overseas talents that might not bring in the crowds, but did put in performances.

 James Middlebrook and Matt Spriegel had both been released from big counties, but formed the vital spin attack that bowled economically in the middle overs to squeeze opposition. Kyle Coetzer was released from Durham, but opened the batting for Northants and in a similar vein to Jonathan Trott for Warwickshire, batted through the innings and provided the platform for the hitters later on. Steven Crook was also released from Middlesex, but bowled with pace and offered explosive lower-order batting.  The previously unknown Azharullah was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, bowling reverse swinging yorkers in the final overs. And Cameron White and Richard Levi, two proven t20 players but not necessarily marquee signings, scored six fifties and a hundred between them. All of this alongside local talents like David Willey and Alex Wakely took Northants to the title, beating the likes of Surrey, Essex and Somerset along the way.

What this tells us is that cricket is not all about appearances, regardless of what our current system may dictate. Richard Levi wouldn’t get a sniff at a contract if he were a young pro today yet has scored the fastest international t20 hundred. Samit Patel has been left out of the England ODI set up because of his weight, despite averaging over 50 in List A with the bat this year.  And James Taylor (First Class average of 56.20 this year) is seemingly not in the Test side due to his shorter stature and unorthodox technique, compared to the preferred Johnny Bairstow who ‘looks the part’.

It is time that English cricket adapted. Just because a player is released doesn’t mean he’s useless, and just because they look the part doesn’t mean they are. In-depth selection is needed if we are to move forward, and should go further than what county a player is at, or how they compare in a photograph. 

Ireland.

If international cricket were a village club, Ireland would be the young, second team medium pacer. Not yet developed enough to warrant a elevation, or as talented as those currently in the higher tier, Ireland has a lot to learn and is trying hard. Not as old or as established as the cocky first-teamers, they are making waves with some notable performances, demanding attention. Their neighbours England will give them the occasional net as a nice gesture, albeit begrudgingly and with no real thought towards their long-term promotion. But in the big games they are doing what any medium pacer must do - they are asking questions.

Ireland's humble beginnings are well and truly a thing of the past. Today's game in a fairly impressive Malahide stadium proved the quality of some of it's individuals (not least the two Irish players in the England side) and may have made the ICC sit up and pay attention. Players like James Taylor and Luke Wright have dominated county cricket this year with averages of 77.57 and 62.75, but were made to look out of their depth on a slightly slow track (but one that produced nearly 550 runs in the day). Indeed James Taylor looked like he was making up his technique on the spot, with 39 year-old Trent Johnston squaring him up so many time he might as well batted front-on. Surely the team they put out today would give the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, and maybe even the West Indies a good contest?

However there are still many roadblocks in the path to Test status. One such block is their lack of a first-class system in Ireland. This is a must before they are eligible for test status, but it also means they will continually lose players to the England set-up. Many critics bemoan the fact that England 'cherry pick' the best of Irish talent, but who can begrudge them or indeed the players for trying to play as high as they can. County cricket also allows the develop of players, helping them succeed at international level - how good would the likes of Ed Joyce and Niall O'Brien be if they were confined to hometown club cricket? It's precisely why a first class system needs putting in place - to mould future players into true international stars.

Another problem is their global attractiveness. Countries with lower GDP levels such as Sri Lanka struggle to sell out test matches against England - how likely is it that locals who won't pay to watch the likes of Pietersen and Bell, will part with their hard earned cash to watch Paul Mooney bowl some tight lines at 70mph, or will queue up to see William Porterfield score a backs-to-the-wall 50? Not very.

The steps Cricket Ireland are taking are undoubtedly in the right direction. It just needs to keep focusing on developing grass roots cricket in order to have local popularity and ultimately professional status. It also needs to keep increasing the Ireland brand all over the world - the likes of Kevin O'Brien playing in the West Indies Premier League being a good start.

But like all club medium pacers, if it keeps improving and churning out results, it will be hard for the first team to ignore them.

One Root in?

Joe Root has been the poster boy for the current England development system. Identified at a young age, he played for England Under-15's and 19's before selection into the Lions team, and finally promotion into the full test team. With an average of 40.23 and 2 hundreds all ready to his name, you can sense there are brilliant and better things to come. It's pat on the back time for all those backroom staff, the scouts and coaches who nurtured and propelled him to his current excellence.

It is an undeniable success story, but does it come under the moniker of a self-fulfilling prophecy? And more importantly, does it highlight an inflexibility within the England set-up of not being able to move outside these young chosen few?

As any coach will tell a child who is left out of a team, some players develop later than others. For me growing up around the Northamptonshire age groups, the example was Mal Loye, who apparently wasn't selected for representative cricket until he was 16, and then played 2nd XI cricket by the time he was 17. This late development is usually prevalent in players from the smaller counties, who won't get a look in for higher selection due to their lack of 'involvement' at a young age. David Willey is a great example of this. Having only played briefly for the England Under 19's off the back of his inclusion with Northants, his career is really starting to pick up momentum. Yet even after a amazing game in the T20 final and a 167 off 101 balls today, he still isn't really being talked about, where as players like Jade Dernbach and Johnny Bairstow from the bigger and more attractive counties can fail time and time again without ever having to look over their shoulders. Chris Woakes is also a man earmarked at an early age, and despite a string of disappointing one day performance, he gets even higher elevation into the test team.

If England are going to invest so much time and money into the Lions team and give them ever more fixtures in an increasingly congested calender, they should be looking at new players and ones who are performing consistently well, not just those that play for the right clubs, and have the right ties to current England management (e.g. Warwickshire and Yorkshire). Otherwise you might as well scrap twelve of the counties and just play tournaments between the six biggest to see who can out-spend who.

I Give It a Year.

On a gloomy night at the Oval, on a pitch where even Kevin Pietersen can't time the ball, in walks débutante Chris Woakes. Looking like a cricket action figure fresh from the box, he caresses his first ball in test cricket through the covers for four. The crowd erupt in partly ironic, partly jubilant applause at this rare break from the two run an over boredom that preceded it. 15 not out at the close including a beautiful back-foot straight drive, and Woakes already looks the business. It would be premature to dub him the next Flintoff/Botham/W.G.Grace, but after his brief innings today I think it confirms why England have been interested in him for so long.

However, the first two days of play cannot be forgotten, and neither can the way Shane Watson dismissed him around the park. He may be a 'batting allrounder' as all the commentators and pundits continue to say, but his route in the team will undoubtedly be decided by his ability to bowl economical spells and get wickets on flat decks. With his involvement in the ODI team almost a guarantee now Bresnan is injured, it will be tough for him to get the necessary first class games and experience in before the Ashes down under, or even before next year. But what is clear is that he needs strong guidance from the England management. It would be easy for them to say ''go and get some wickets and runs'' then turn their backs and watch the statistics, but what I believe is key will be the way in which he gets his wickets and the sort of lengths he bowls. Opening for Warwickshire he can bowl an aggressively full length to get some swing and extract the seam that Edgbaston offers, whilst bowling just back of a length with the older ball. However as Watson proved yesterday and on Wednesday with punishing straight drives and front-foot pulls, there is little margin for error in Test match cricket. This winter and next year will be massive for him, and needs to be spent specifically and wisely.

The man Woakes harshly replaced, Johnny Bairstow, can feel hard done by. All the batsman so far at the Oval have got starts, and he will probably feel he deserved a go in this last test, just to prove himself before the away leg. But for me his batting won't be the deciding factor in his England future. James Taylor is amassing some serious runs for Nottinghamshire in Division One, and on the green seamer that is Trent Bridge - no amount of second division runs will alter England's perception of Bairstow. However, Matt Prior has had a below par series and may possibly be attracted by IPL and Big Bash riches, and with no immediate or obvious plans to include Kieswetter or Butler in the test squads, I would feel wicketkeeping is Bairstow's route to future success. Alec Stewart was once considered an opening batter who kept a bit, but with perseverance and hard work became England's number one with the gloves, as can be said for Matt Prior who was frankly awful when he first donned an England shirt (e.g. Sri Lanka 2007). For me this winter should be about Bairstow the wicketkeeper. It's most likely he will retain his place for the Australian tour given England propensity to leave James Taylor on the sidelines, but this shouldn't serve as an excuse to stop developing his skills behind the stumps. Learn from the proximity with Matt Prior, talk to Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy who will be around with Channel 9, and come back to county cricket in 2014 not just as a dashing number 6, but as a top-order player who can hold his own against the likes of Steven Davies. Otherwise he's just another batsman with a test average of 30.

At the moment though, these two are both fighting for the same place at number 6. Ironically it could be ODI cricket that decides the winner.

Too Early?

The question on the minds of most England fans this morning was "what's going on?" and maybe a few "who's he?". In Andy Flower England have had a coach that has foregone the old 'one test and see' mentality of the past, and instead built his regime around consistency of selection and giving players a run of games to prove themselves. This morning however, Johnny Bairstow was discarded after a fairly innocuous series to be replaced by Chris Woakes, with Simon Kerrigan coming in to replace the injured Tim Bresnan.

Chris Woakes was a fairly surprising pick if not one that was always on the horizon; he has spent time with England in the ODI's and has been on their radar for some time, fitting in with the current trend of players that can 'bowl dry', and is a virtual like-for-like replacement for Tim Bresnan. His stats in First Class also justify his selection - an average of 37.67 with the bat and 25.48 with the ball represent those of a brilliant up and coming allrounder - why not play him here on a flat pitch and see how he handles it? It will be interesting to see how he handles it and will act as an indicator for the upcoming Ashes in Australia and his test future in general. Regardless of how he goes and has gone at the Oval, I am sure he will be around for a few years yet.

For me the odd pick was Simon Kerrigan. It was a marquee selection, a grand statement to Australia showing the depth in England's spinning department, and to me seemed a fairly harsh slap in the face to Monty Panesar - 'You could be playing here mate if you hadn't had a mental breakdown'. However, today's play has shown this may have been a step too far and too early for the young Lancashire spinner. He relishes the turning pitches at Old Trafford, but on decks that don't offer as much assistance he has been found wanting on a number of occasions, and has a propensity to lose his action and pitch the ball short as highlighted last year against a rampant Kevin Pietersen at Guildford, and in the recent Lions match at Northampton. There his tormentor was Shane Watson, and history repeated itself today when Watson dispatched Kerrigan for 28 in 2 overs, peppering the midwicket boundary with a multitude of pull shots. Comparisons may be drawn between him and former England player Chris Schofield who had similar problems with a low/absent front arm. Kerrigan seems a far greater player than Schofield and may well come out in the second innings when there's a bit more rough around and take five-for to win the game, but to me that will prove my point exactly - he currently needs help from the pitch or he's in trouble.

It's easy with hindsight to say the Kerrigan pick was a premature one and indeed that of Chris Woakes, but now that they have been made it should send a message to the England establishment - Work in progress. Like Johnny Bairstow and Steven Finn, these players need time to work out their games and be ready for the top level when it next comes, not thrown in at the deep-end and written off as it would appear James Taylor has been. And although it may seem like short-termism to play the likes of Chris Tremlett and Nick Compton, I feel giving them a year or two in the side whilst the younger class graduate is a far better ploy than playing promising talent after promising talent and never seeing the rewards. Hopefully Panesar will serve his penance with Essex and be recalled for the next Ashes series, so that Kerrigan can go out with the Lions and get some good game experience, the kind that you just don't get when you are carrying the drinks.