(^) Daily Mail, Monday, August 12, 2019
It’s no time to panic, but
England’s batting flops
have got to fire at Lord’s
70 THE ASHES 2ND TEST: 2 DAYS TO GO
KEEP CALM...
AND DELIVER
T
here seems to be
a perception that
everything would
be all right with
england’s batting
if they took the gloves off
Jonny Bairstow. It’s deeper
than that and I just do not
get the downer some peo-
ple have on him.
Perhaps it is because Jonny is
perceived as being a bit different,
sometimes difficult and a bit
abrasive but I cannot see the
problem in him wanting the
gloves back when he lost them
through injury in Sri Lanka.
What keeper-batsman wouldn’t
be upset if the keeping was taken
off them? It is part of their art
and part of their job. I’d be more
concerned if Bairstow wasn’t
bothered about the gloves
because that would tell you
something about him.
I don’t know if Jonny went
about it the wrong way in Sri
Lanka after scoring a century as
a specialist batsman but it’s the
same as when he had an argu-
ment with Michael Vaughan dur-
ing the World Cup. he can pick a
fight then go out and prove peo-
ple wrong.
I just do not understand why
Bairstow has copped any more
flak after england’s defeat in the
first Ashes Test than, say, Jos
Buttler (right). Is it because Jos
is perceived as a really good
bloke? Bairstow has six Test
hundreds and has proved himself
time and again.
Yes, he is going through a lean
patch. Absolutely he is. But
everybody does at times during
their international career and
Bairstow has shown he is a very
talented keeper-batsman and
should be backed now ahead of
this week’s second Test.
The reason why Bairstow’s role
in the side is even an issue is
because there are so many areas
of concern in england’s Test bat-
ting at this pivotal stage of the
Ashes. But we should remember
they beat India comfortably last
summer and after two days of the
first Ashes Test were in a com-
manding position, so not every-
thing is bad.
remember, too, that england
should have gone on to a com-
manding score when Joe root
and rory Burns were together at
154 for one at edgbaston even
after allowing Australia to wrig-
gle off the hook at 122 for eight
and get up to 284.
So this is not a time, at one
down with four to play, to
panic. It’s a time for crystal-
clear thought processes
just like we have seen from
eoin Morgan, Trevor Bayl-
iss and the white-ball side
over the last four years.
That white-ball revolu-
tion came from having firm
beliefs and never doubting
them and it is time for
exactly the same approach
in the Test game with-
out any self-doubt
either from the play-
ers or the selectors.
england showed belief in Burns
before edgbaston and he repaid
them with a hundred.
The problem is that, for all the
depth in england’s line-up, there
are obvious chinks and going into
the first Test it was clear that
two key figures in Bairstow and
Moeen Ali were either short of
form or devoid of confidence.
Then we have two batsmen who
made their way in white-ball
cricket in Buttler and Jason roy
who still have something to prove
in the red-ball game.
Buttler has only five first-class
centuries having spent all his
county career playing on good
pitches at Taunton and Old Traf-
ford so there must be a reason for
that. The signs were good last
summer against India but he
hasn’t cracked it yet.
Neither has roy. england have
thrown in a lad who plays a lot of
shots, up against a very good
seam attack on pitches
that do a bit. And he is
coming off the back of
getting out at edgbaston
to Nathan Lyon trying to
play the sort of shot he
regularly succeeds with
in the white-ball game. I
would prefer to see him at
four but now england have
put him at the top of the
order, against the
moving ball in
difficult condi-
tions, they
must hold their nerve and give
him time.
The big problem is the col-
lapses. Once england go they
really go and they need tough-
ness to overcome these chinks.
Their middle order have been
able to bully some sides but I’m
not sure they can bully Australia.
Sam Curran was the man who
so often got them out of a hole
last summer and he is in the
squad for Lord’s, but would he be
able to counter-attack against
Australia as he did India? If he
came in now, england would be
unbalanced and would have too
much bowling.
Moeen had to be left out
because he looked mentally shot
and you can only imagine how
much that World Cup win took
out of all those players who were
involved. I was always concerned
it would take a mental toll on the
batsmen and a physical one on
the bowlers and so it has proved
but what england need now is
consistency.
And above all they need
to stay calm. They
need frontline
batsmen to
get big runs
and they
need
clear
think-
ing to
pull
that off.
THE ASHES
by NASSER
HUSSAIN
FOOTIE BOOST FOR AUSSIES
AuSTrALIA’S Ashes
challenge received Premier
League backing yesterday
when Brighton goalkeeper
Mat ryan experienced a
different kind of net by
watching their training
session at Lord’s.
ryan, fresh from keeping a
clean sheet in Brighton’s
3-0 victory over Watford on
Saturday, chatted to his
compatriots before urging
them to give him the
bragging rights over his
Brighton team-mates by
going on to win the urn.
‘I couldn’t put it into words
how satisfying it would be
for Australia to win the
Ashes,’ said the Sydney-
born goalkeeper who has
played in two World Cups
for Australia. ‘I’m always
looking for reasons to stick
it to the Brighton guys.
‘They had the last laugh in
the World Cup so it was
nice to get that leg up in
the first match of the
Ashes. It’s been a while
since we won it on away soil
so it would be great if we
could do it here now.’
ryan was a keen cricketer
in his youth but resisted
the urge to join in the
optional Aussie training
session before Wednesday’s
second Test. ‘I don’t think
my club would be too keen
on the cricket ball coming
at me at 90 miles per hour
so I’ll stay away for now,’ he
said. ‘I used to be a bit of
an all-rounder so maybe I
could contribute a couple
of overs of off spin. We’ve
got a day off on Wednesday
so I’m looking forward to
coming here (Lord’s) again.’
Australia’s football
connection was extended
further when a group of
players visited the London
Stadium on Saturday to
watch West ham take on
Manchester City.
New fans: (from left to right) James Pattinson, Steve Waugh (former captain and now
mentor), Peter Siddle, Marcus Harris, Tim Paine and Mitchell Marsh at West Ham
By PAUL NEWMAN
THE ASHES
lily
(lily)
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