the times | Wednesday December 22 2021 69
Sport
DAVE HUNT/EPAselector, he has to shoulder
responsibility with Joe Root. There
have been a rash of poor decisions —
selection, mainly — for which he has
the final call. The move to invest
responsibility for selection in the head
coach was always a bad one.
SW A lot. He and Root have picked
many odd-looking teams in the past
two years, something the “rest-and-
rotation” policy has masked a little.
Losing the national selector was a bad
idea. Who is asking the difficult
questions now?
SJ With the role that has been created
for him, the buck must stop with
Silverwood, but you do wonder how
much power he actually wields. Covid
and the weather have not helped, but
some seriously odd decisions have
been made about the make-up of the
bowling attack. Smith’s detachment
from the bubble at least offered a view
of the bigger picture.
Is there much of a threat to Root’s
position as captain — and are there
any realistic contenders to take over?
MA If the tour continues to go this
badly, it is hard to see how Root will
remain as captain. Ashes tours have
often done for England captains and
Root is nearer the end of his cycle than
the beginning. There is not a rash of
alternatives, but the notion that there is
no one to take over is the worst
rationale for keeping someone in a job.
SW Yes, although the principal threat is
Root himself concluding that it is time
for a change. Ben Stokes could be a
good alternative, although he would
have to bowl less.
SJ You suspect that it will be Root’s
decision and a 5-0 defeat would
persuade him enough is enough. He’s
no Mike Brearley but he is not as poor a
tactician as some make out. Stokes is
the only viable contender. No one else
is sure of their place in the long term.How much blame should we put on
the way domestic cricket is run?
MA The County Championship has
been hollowed out to accommodate
the T20 Blast and the Hundred in the
main summer months, thus relegating
the championship to the margins.
Pitches are poor; the standard of first-
class cricket is poor. No amount of
planning and preparation will, in the
long run, make up for that.
SW Domestic cricket produces the nextfaster. The Lions programme needs to
be better to bridge the big gap
between county and Test cricket,
particularly its talent identification.Are there any indications about how
the pitch will play at Melbourne?
MA The pitch was a bowler’s graveyard
four years ago, leading to a bore draw.
Chris Rogers is Victoria’s head coach
and I’ve spent a bit of time with him in
the past few days. He says that this
year the groundsman has left much
more grass on the pitch, producing a
better balance between bat and ball.
SW A Sheffield Shield match last month
produced a positive finish in four days.
There are reports that the MCG drop-
ins are not quite as lifeless as they were
after day one.
SJ Australia will surely not want it to be
as flat as it was four years ago.How highly should we rate this
Australia team compared with the
great sides of the past 30 years?
MA Australia are a good but not great
side. Cameron Green is a huge find and
gives them added edge in a bowling
attack that is top class and relentless.
There are some flaws in the battingline-up, but England have not taken
their opportunities.
SW The bowling attack is exceptional in
these conditions; the batting line-up is
not a vintage Australian one.
SJ England are making them look
good, but Green is an all-round
cricketer who can take this team to
another level, and Alex Carey appears
an improvement on Tim Paine with the
gloves. They still carry something of a
passenger in the opener Marcus Harris.Is there any hope England can end ten
years without a win in Australia?
MA If they can get bigger first-innings
scores, then yes. That said, I was always
pessimistic about the outcome of this
tour. Nothing that has happened so far
has made me change my mind.
Australia look a stronger side in the
conditions.
SW Have you been on the Christmas
sherry?
SJ Very little, sadly. The most
disappointing aspect of Adelaide was
that the defeat came with two of
the Australia pacemen absent. Root,
who needs to make that first away
Ashes hundred, and Dawid Malan
need support.generation so it needs to be well run.
There should be a way of ensuring that
someone like Liam Livingstone plays
more first-class cricket.
SJ A lot, but the counties do not help
either with their own agendas and
narrow-mindedness. The schedule is a
mess, but it always has been, and
always will be with 18 counties and too
many competitions. White-ball skills
have improved immeasurably but the
standard of first-class cricket is low.What could be done to produce better
batsmen and spinners in time for the
next Ashes in Australia?
MA Better pitches in English cricket are
a must. A Darwinian process where the
best players emerge through a hard,
tough grounding in first-class cricket is,
in the end, the main thing that will
produce a consistently excellent Test-
match team.
SW Play more championship cricket at
the height of summer; sometimes use
the Kookaburra ball; send young
players on Lions tours to Australia, or
to grade cricket down under.
SJ Long-form batsmen are almost
pariahs at junior level, where nearly all
spinners are also urged to bowl the ballKey performers with bat
and ballMost runs in first two Ashes TestsM Labuschagne (Aus)T Head (Aus)D Warner (Aus)D Malan (Eng)J Root (Eng)S Smith (Aus)C Woakes (Eng)228 76.00221 73.66202 67.33188 47.00175 43.75111 37.00105 26.25Runs AverageWickets AverageMost wickets in first two Ashes TestsM Starc (Aus)N Lyon (Aus)P Cummins (Aus)O Robinson (Eng)C Green (Aus)J Richardson (Aus)J Root (Eng)7 12.717 24.285 12.405 24.004 32.009 21.339 25.00Partnerships of 50 or
more runsD Warner, M LabuschagneD Malan, J RootD Warner, M LabuschagneD Malan, J RootS Smith, A CareyM Labuschagne, T HeadT Head, M StarcT Head, P CumminsM Labuschagne, S SmithJ Buttler, C WoakesM Starc, M NeserO Pope, J ButtlerS Smith, T HeadAustralia
England172156918916213861528570655850We selected
right teams
- Silverwood
Ponting, the former Australia captain,
to question whether Root could remain
in the role.
Silverwood said that Root had been
just as scathing of his team-mates in a
private debrief with them.
“He was just truthful,” Silverwood
said. “What you saw [in Root’s inter-
views] was what we got in the dressing
room after. It was good, it was honest, it
was needed. There were some honest
chats, which was great. And I think
there are lessons to be learnt.”
Silverwood, 46, who insisted he was
the right man for the job, said that the
seamers deserved to be criticised for
their inability to react to the challenges
posed in the day-night Test. “He [Root]
has been stronger [with them],” he said.
“He was talking to them. You know
Joe’s opinion because he’s told you. Heis right. Could we have pitched it up
further? Potentially, yes, although look
at the lengths both teams bowled, they
were similar, but Australia have showed
us how to play in their conditions.
“It’s not just batting and bowling.
Look at how many chances we have
given up, dropped catches, missed run-
outs and everything else. We have to be
better. It’s not about cutting us slack.
Preparations [for the series] with the
weather were not ideal but the fact is we
have to perform better. The discipline
around no-balls is unacceptable, there
is no hiding from it, we have to be better.
Wickets off no-balls is unacceptable.
We faced up to that last night, I brought
it up last night. This cannot happen; it’s
a basic error and the lads accepted that.”
Silverwood defended his selection
for the first two Tests, saying he would
pick a spinner and omit Stuart Broad
and James Anderson for the first Test at
the Gabba and pick four right-arm
seamers for Adelaide. “No, I don’t [ac-
cept we got it wrong], we picked the best
attack for those conditions,” he said.continued from back
Silverwood said
England’s seamers
deserved criticism