Daily Mail - 21.08.2019

Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 21, 2019

79

ROY’S LAST SHOT AT TOP SPOT

head injuries, he will be checked

again today.

As long as he is declared fit,

Roy looks sure to open, even

though he has struggled to

adapt to the demands of the

longer game and coach Trevor

Bayliss believes he is better

suited to the middle order.

England are loath to change

their fragile batting line-up too

quickly and look set to go in

with the same top four who

played in the draw at Lord’s.

That means Roy, a white-ball

destroyer at the top of the

order, will open with Rory Burns

while Joe Denly stays at four.

But if Roy fails again, he seems

certain to swap with Denly.

Bayliss said: ‘He probably is best

suited to the middle order but

we’ve selected him at the top

because of his form and

experience in the one-day

game. He did miss out a couple

of times when he first opened

the batting in white-ball cricket,

so putting him at the top again

here wouldn’t be a concern.

‘We know it’s different in Test

cricket but it’s the option we

took because the one spot

available to Jason was at the

top. Long-term, he would feel

more comfortable in the middle

order but he’s doing a job for

the team.’

One change England do look

likely to make is putting Jos

Buttler back down to seven

tomorrow, with Ben Stokes

being confirmed in the No 5

position from where he

smashed a century at Lord’s and

Jonny Bairstow promoted to six

while keeping the gloves.

‘Stokes and Bairstow could

easily bat four and five but with

them bowling and keeping it

doesn’t make it easy,’ said

Bayliss.

England are adamant captain

Joe Root is happy to remain at

three even though he was

dismissed first ball in the second

innings at Lord’s and is believed

to prefer his old role at four.

‘Joe came to us to say he

wanted to go to three,’ insisted

Bayliss, a long-term advocate of

his captain going in first drop.

‘He does get to bat where he

wants to. I can’t see too much of

a difference between three and

four. There are one or two

batsmen playing in the wrong

positions, but we’re trying to do

what’s best for the team.’

England look sure to keep an

unchanged team, with Sam

Curran missing out again, even

though they are keeping a

careful eye on the workload of

Chris Woakes in particular.

‘There’s nothing wrong with

Woakesy but it is a decision we

will have to make,’ added

Bayliss. ‘He’s certainly bowling

well with everything that has

been going on at the other end.’

Woakes could be first in the

queue for a break at Old Trafford

should Jimmy Anderson come

through his fitness test with

Lancashire seconds.

PAUL NEWMAN

Cricket Correspondent

THE ASHES

Ouch: Trescothick checks on

the stricken Roy GETTY IMAGES

IT IS easy to be wise after the

event, but I believe everything

has been handled correctly ever

since Steve Smith was struck on

the neck with a nasty blow by

Jofra Archer at Lord’s.

Once the Australia team doctor

had completed the concussion

protocols on Saturday, there was

no reason why Smith should not

resume his innings.

And when he was found to be

suffering delayed concussion, the

right thing was done again with

Smith being taken out of the last

day of the second Test and

yesterday being ruled out of the

third game at Headingley.

I’m certainly not taking the

situation lightly. Cricketers are

used to playing through pain,

but anything that can affect the

brain has to be treated with the

utmost care. It is paramount for

decisions like this to be taken by

qualified medical staff rather

than leaving it up to the player.

Cricketers have always been hit

on the head and the last thing I

want to see is them being taken

out of the game automatically as

soon as they are struck. Part of

the game is bowling bouncers

and part of it is being hit in that

area. Where do you draw the

line? Once a player is cleared by

qualified people, they should be

allowed to carry on.

I was not surprised Smith

wanted to get back out there. He

lives and breathes cricket and

has missed enough time as it is

with his year’s suspension

without having to sit out this

crucial Test. But the right

decision has been made for him.

It’s important now that he has a

good rest ahead of the fourth

Test, which will be played on

probably the quickest pitch of

the series at Old Trafford,

because we need to see how he

reacts mentally to being hit by

Archer. Whoever you are and

however good you are, you never

like facing truly fast bowling and

once you have taken a serious

blow like that things can change.

This is a huge moment in the

Ashes. There is no question

Smith’s absence is a massive

blow for Australia and the series

as a spectacle. This is the one

lad who has been scoring big

runs consistently. He has been

the main difference between the

sides so far.

We will discover now whether

Australia are a one-man batting

side and what this does is put

more pressure on David Warner,

who has had a miserable first

two Tests, making four

single-figure scores.

Warner has been a bit too nicey,

nicey during this series.

If I was Tim Paine, I wouldn’t

want him trying to win a

popularity contest. I want

Warner to go out and score the

runs we know he is capable of.

Maybe to do that he needs to be

that nasty, in-your-face cricketer

we saw before, obviously without

crossing that imaginary line

Australia made up.

Warner doesn’t need to make

friends. He needs to win games

of cricket for his country.

Right call on

Smith...now

Warner needs

to get nasty

THE ASHES

by NASSER

HUSSAIN

O hT thik h k

Good form: Anderson follows through as he starts his comeback

JAMES ANDERSON bowled nine

overs and took two wickets for

Lancashire’s second team as he

began his Ashes comeback

attempt yesterday.

The 37-year-old hopes to be fit

for the fourth Test at his home

ground of Old Trafford,

beginning on September 4,

and played in a friendly against

Leicestershire at the Northern

Club in Great Crosby, Liverpool.

Anderson bowled a spell in each

of the first two sessions and

second-team coach Chris

Benbow said: ‘He’s fine, he’s

happy. He had an allotted spell

of overs he wanted to bowl and

he’s probably bowled a little bit

more than he planned to.’

Stepping out: Anderson played

in a sedate atmosphere

PICTURES:

IAN

HODGSON

JOFRA

THE BREAKDOWN

SEE PAGE 77

32

PER cent of

Australia’s

runs in this

Ashes series

have been

scored by Smith, despite him

missing the second innings

at Lord’s with concussion.

378

SMITH has

racked up

378 runs in

this series at

an average

of 126. All Australians not

named Smith have scored 704

at 23.5.

WHAT THE AUSSIES

WILL BE MISSING...

n JOE ROOT’S Test

average is the best

in England’s squad,

at 48.34. Smith, at

63.24, could get a

duck in each of his

next 32 innings and

still have a higher

average.

n SMITH’S last six

scores in Tests

against England

are: 92, 142, 144,

102 not out, 76

and 239.

... BUT LOOK WHO’S

BACK IN THE SWING

V1