Daily Mail - 01.08.2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1

(^) Daily Mail, Thursday, August 1, 2019
86 THE ASHES 1ST TEST
THE ASHES
PAUL
NEWMAN
Cricket
Correspondent
S
o, how to top the
World Cup then?
Well, an Ashes that
could become a
collection of three-
day shootouts, with two
superlative attacks holding
sway over two brittle
batting line-ups, would not
lack entertainment value.
Hold on to your hats, this
could be eventful.
Frankly, anything could happen
when the old enemies lock horns
today at Edgbaston in one of the
more difficult Ashes series to
predict, with neither England nor
Australia able to guarantee that
fifth or even fourth day ticket hold-
ers will get their money’s worth.
Certainly there was little in
England’s ultimately victorious
Test against Ireland to suggest
they will be able to put their white-
ball dominance to one side and
find the application necessary to
continue their home dominance
over Australia.
‘It will play a massive hand,’
admitted England captain Joe
Root about the likely bowler dom-
inance. ‘It’s not your traditional
Test series in that respect. It’s not
like sides have been banging out
scores of 500 around the world. We
understand that, especially in
England, it can be very difficult at
the top of the order. Then it’s how
you react to that.
‘Are we skilful and smart enough
to make big scores? You have
to play to your strengths too. We
have exploited bowler-friendly
conditions and have found ways of
winning matches. We have a good
record here and it is set up nicely
to be a juicy contest.’
Yet if Root needs reassurance at
the start of what, in the aftermath
of a demanding World Cup, will
be a gruelling five-Test series in
six weeks, then it comes from an
Australia side who should not
exactly make England quake in
their boots. This far-from-vintage
Australia team are not short of
comedy value this year.
First they whipped off their
socks for a bit of earthing on the
Edgbaston outfield before they
were thrashed by England in the
World Cup semi-final.
Then Australia captain Tim
Paine yesterday wound up the
patriotic Edgbaston crowd
by scoffing at their fervent sup-
port before attempting to sum-
mon up the spirit of one of
the great British leaders Sir
Winston Churchill.
Trouble is, the quote ‘behaviour
doesn’t lie’ that was recommended
as a motto for the new squeaky
clean Australia by, of all people,
their combustible former
wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, has
been more commonly used by
eccentric TV presenter David Icke.
Thank goodness Root did not
start quoting Crocodile Dundee or
Dame Edna Everage in
retaliation.
Almost as funny is any attempt
at Australian indignation about
the reception the cheating trio of
Steve Smith, David Warner and
Cameron Bancroft will receive
today in their first Test since
the Sandpaper-gate crisis that
engulfed the whole country, let
alone cricket.
‘They’re human beings, they’ve
got feelings, they’re no different to
anybody else,’ said Paine. Which is
fine, but could you imagine what
would happen if three convicted
English ball-tamperers were walk-
ing out at the Gabba today? Good-
ness, the Brisbane crowd were
hostile enough to Stuart Broad
when all he did was fail to walk, in
true Australian fashion.
The fact is, Australia conducted
a whitewash into the whole sorry
affair, which seemed to overlook
the personal abuse suffered by
Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow in
recent Ashes series.
And they still would have us
believe no one other than the
disgraced trio knew anything
about the ball-tampering.
Pull the other one. The ‘Sandpa-
per Three’ deserve all they
will verbally get today. Boo away,
people.
More seriously, Paine was prickly
when questioned about his place
because clearly he does not merit
one and that has an impact on
the balance of his team and has
ultimately led them to leave out
their best bowler Mitchell Starc.
Alex Carey, a better keeper-
batsman, was omitted from the
Australian squad because of the
presence of the man who
admittedly had to take over the
captaincy in the most difficult of
HOLD ON FOR A
RORY BURNS 4.5
He is learning his craft and
is a player selected for the
right reasons, having scored
heavily for Surrey, but needs
to take the opportunity. Fair
play to the selectors for
giving him a proper run.
JASON ROY 5.5
Unconventional route into
the Test side and I sense
England want an attacking
batsman up the top to put
the onus back on the
opposition bowlers.
JOE ROOT (capt) 7. 5
Right call to go to three. You
have to trust the openers to
do their job, to get through
the new ball and to allow him
to score big runs.
JOE DENLY 5.5
Managed to get some form
behind him, with two big
hundreds for Kent, after
missing out on the World Cup.
Leg-spin’s not frontline at
Test level but adds value.
JOS BUTTLER 6
By his high standards, he
experienced a relatively
quiet World Cup but we know
what a good player he is. He
needs a good long run at Test
level to show what he can do.
BEN STOKES 7
I like him at No 6, particularly
if he is bowling a decent
amount of overs. His maiden
Test ton in Perth a few years
ago against Mitchell Johnson
in his pomp was pure class.
JONNY BAIRSTOW (wkt) 6
Naturally scores quickly and
should be given licence to
be positive. My one worry is
that he does get bowled a
lot. Throws his hands at the
ball at times but when he is in
his best touch he plays it late
under his nose.
MOEEN ALI 6.5
His batting has not been as
effective as you might like
but he is in the side as a
frontline spinner, whose
record has been excellent
in the last year. A good
player but needs patience
with the bat.
CHRIS WOAKES 7
Pretty ordinary early in that
Ireland Test but came back
with a bang. Benefited from
some poor batting and a
willingness to stick to
disciplined lines and lengths,
making him dangerous when
the ball nibbled off the seam.
STUART BROAD 7
When he is at his best, he is
taking his wickets, nicking off
batsmen on the front foot,
bowled and lbws, which
suggests getting his length
right is key. Think back to his
eight for 15 versus Australia
at Trent Bridge. Devastating.
JAMES ANDERSON 7. 5
Coming back from a calf
injury but he has been
devastating in domestic
cricket with 30 wickets at
under 10. He will test
Australia’s batting with his
ability to move it both ways.
ENGLAND
FORM GUIDE
JASON GILLESPIE’S
Brittle batting
and brilliant
bowling will
have us on the
edge of our
seats...
Safe hands:
Roy takes a
catch as Root
(left) and
Bairstow look
on yesterday PA
MARTIN SAMUEL &
NASSER HUSSAIN:
PAGES 84-85

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