Section:GDN 1N PaGe:43 Edition Date:190821 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 20/8/2019 20:21 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Wednesday 21 Au g u st 2019 The Guardian •
43when you’re facing fast bowling. It’s
bloody brilliant.
“Our guys play a lot of short-ball
cricket in Australia. We tend to play on
bouncy wickets. We play on the W aca,
we play on the Gabba. So they’re used
to playing off the back foot and I’m sure
they’ll prepare accordingly.”
Langer suggested that, beyond the
loss of Smith, the tourists will keep
faith with the rest of their batting line-
up and, as was the case before Lord’s,
he tipped David Warner to deliver
after a quiet start to the series that
has meant a top score of eight to date.
“I expect [a lot] out of David every
time he plays, whether Steve Smith is
playing or not playing,” said Langer.
“We expect it of all our senior play-
ers. He looked really sharp in the nets
today. He’ll be hungry. So don’t write
off David Warner.”
Australia’s main decision instead
surrounds the quicks. Starc is push-
ing hard for a fi rst outing but James
Pattinson – similarly fast but perhaps
more controlled with it – is another
option, if fresh legs are required, after
being rested at Lord’s.
Steve Smith in numbers
Past four years in the Ashes
143 The Oval Aug 2015
141* Brisbane Nov 2017
40 & 6 Adelaide Dec 2017
239 Perth Dec 2017
76 & 102* Melbourne Dec 2017
83 Sydney Jan 2018
144 & 142 Edgbaston Aug 2019
92 Lord’s Aug 2019
Total: 1,208 runs at an average of 134.22Leading run-scorers this series
SPD Smith (Aus) 378 in 3 inns
RJ Burns (Eng) 226 in 4 inns
BA Stokes (Eng) 184 in 4 inns
TM Head (Aus) 135 in 4 inns
MS Wade (Aus) 118 in 4 innsSmith has scored 32% of Australia’s runs
Smith Total Smith %
Edgbaston:
1st inns 144 284 50.1%
2nd inns 142 487-7 29.2%
Lord’s:
1st inns 92 250 36.8%
2nd inns DNB 154-6 –The balls that got away
587 balls bowled by England at Smith in this
series – three have got him out – 584 have notTeam record with and without Smith
Steve Smith has played 66 Tests – including
his debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010- and Australia have won 33 of them, a win
ratio of 50%. Since his first match, Australia
have been victorious in only 15 of the 35
Tests he has missed, a win ratio of 43%.
Roy’s future lies in middle
order, believes Bayliss
Ali MartinTrevor Bayliss is not known to be an
Eric Morecambe fan but, when asked
about England’s line up for the third
Ashes Test, the coach essentially
claimed they are playing all the notes,
just not necessarily in the right order.
“We think we’ve got the best seven
batters available to us at the moment,”
said Bayliss before train ing yesterday.
“Whether we can change it round and
make that any better I’m not sure but
we’ll certainly have a discussion about
it.”
Jason Roy looks set to continue as
opener for one more Test and, to judge
by his aggressive approach in the nets
two days out from a match England
cannot aff ord to lose, the right-hander
is not going to die wondering. But with
one half-century from six Test innings- and then from No 3 when Jack Leach
performed his nightwatchman hero-
ics against Ireland – there are growing
concerns over his suitability against
the new ball.
Bayliss appears to share these. “Per-
sonally I think he probably is suited to
the middle order but we’ve selected
him in the top of the order because of
his form in the one-day team. It hasn’t
worked yet but he can easily come out
and blast a quick hundred. Long term
he’s more middle order. He’d feel more
comfortable there but he’s doing a job
for the team at the moment.”
Roy is not yet fi ghting for his place,
rather there appears to be a debate
behind the scenes as to whether he
and Joe Denly, at No 4, should swap
positions. As such, it is not a stretch
to conclude that this confusion is sub-
optimal midway through an Ashes
series.
The head scratching goes beyond
this pair too. Joe Root volunteered to
move to No 3 for this series despite
a preference to bat one lower, while
England are also trying to work out the
best order for Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler
and Jonny Bairstow.
Stokes and Buttler switched spots in
the second innings at Lord’s, sharing
a 90-run partnership that resulted in
the former kicking on for his fi rst Test
century in nearly two years from No 5.
Jonny Bairstow also made scores of 52
and 30 in the match from his preferred
No 7 spot. Yet England are still thinking
about shuffl ing this around again, with
Stokes staying put and Buttler possibly
moving down to play as a specialist
batsman at No 7 again, the position he
was originally handed on his return to
the team last year.Asked about all these various
combinations, Bayliss said: “It’s
something we have to look at. Each
individual has to be happy with that
as well. [But] there might come a time
when we have to put a foot down and
say no, this is what’s happening. Like
it or lump it.”
Much depends on the workloads
of Stokes and Bairstow, who have
additional duties with the ball and
the gloves respectively. The former’s
mid-game promotion also owed
much to bowling only eight overs in
Australia’s fi rst innings , when Jofra
Archer’s incredible stamina allowed
him to send down 29.
Whether Archer’s body can be
pushed so hard again remains to be
seen but there is little doubting the
bite he has brought to the attack, with
Bayliss comparing it to when England
batsmen in the past had to face Brett
Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Dennis Lillee
or Jeff Thomson.
Despite this Bayliss was as con-
cerned as any in the ground when
Steve Smith was knocked over by
Archer’s short-ball at Lord’s, having
been the coach of New South Wales
when South Australia’s Philip Hughes
suff ered a fatal blow to the neck during
a Sheffi eld Shield match in 2014.
Bayliss said: “I went up to their
medical room to check on Smith when
he came off. It’s something you never
like to see and certainly brought fl ash-
backs from that game a few years ago
when Hughesy got hit.
“When he fell to the ground, just
for that split second it was fairly sim-
ilar to what happened. There was a
little bit of movement early on and it
didn’t take him too long to get up. You
look to the reaction of those around
him and could see there was a diff er-
ent reaction compared to that day a
few years ago.”Anderson
takes two
on cautious
road back
Jimmy Anderson bowled nine overs
and took two wickets for Lancashire’s
second team when he began his Ashes
comeback attempt yesterday.
The England seamer missed the
second Test against Australia at Lord’s
owing to a calf injury and bowled
only four overs in the fi rst Test at
Edgbaston.
The 37-year-old has a lready been
ruled out of the third Test at Heading-
ley but hopes to be fi t for the fourth
at his home ground of Old Traff ord,
beginning on 4 September.
Anderson began his quest to return
in the more sedate atmosphere of a
second XI friendly against Leicester-
shire at the Northern Club in Great
Crosby, Liverpool.
Watched by Ben Langley, the
England and Wales Cricket Board’s
lead physiotherapist, on the first
day of a three-day match, Anderson
bowled a spell in each of the fi rst two
sessions.
He bowled fi ve overs below his reg-
ular pace before lunch and took the
wicket of Sam Bates, caught behind.
He stepped up slightly after the breakand bowled a further four overs, dur-
ing which he trapped Ben Mike lbw.
Anderson spent most of the rest of
the innings, which ended soon after
tea, fi elding at fi rst slip. He was not
required to bat as Lancashire began
their reply.
Anderson will not feature on the
second day because he will return to
Old Traff ord for a recovery and fi tness
session. He is expected to return for
the fi nal day tomorrow.
Chris Benbow, the Lancashire
second-team coach, said: “He’s fi ne,▲ Jason Roy has strugg led as an
opener in the fi rst two Ashes Tests▲ Jimmy Anderson continued his recovery bowling for Lancashire’s second XI
PETER BYRNE/PAMark Robinson guided
England to victory
in the 2017 World CupRobinson steps
down as coach
of England
Women’s tea m
Mark Robinson is to step down as the
England Women’s coach after “ a won-
derful four years” ended with defeat
in the Ashes.
The 52-year-old former Sussex
coach guided England to victory in
the 2017 World Cup and to the fi nal of
last year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in
the Caribbean but he was unable to get
the better of Australia. England won
only one of seven matches in the all-
forms format.
Robinson said: “Although the recent
Ashes was a diffi cult series, a few hard
weeks doesn’t take anything away
from what has been a wonderful four
years. I’ve had so many highlights and
memorable moments with the team.
“Nothing could ever surpass win-
ning the Women’s World Cup on home
soil but from a pure coaching perspec-
tive reaching the T20 fi nal last Novem-
ber – with a depleted team, three non-
contracted players and three players
20 years old or younger – is a huge
personal highlight.
“It’s been exciting to watch so
many players grow and to watch so
many records broken but it feels the
right time to take on a new challenge
and to allow a diff erent voice to come
in before the next T20 World Cup
in Australia.”
The ECB’s director of women’s
cricket, Clare Connor, said: “Mark can
refl ect on his time as England coach
with a great deal of pride. Winning the
World Cup in front of a packed Lord’s
was a landmark moment for the whole
game and his leadership and profes-
sionalism were an integral part of
our success.
“He drove high standards across
young players to become the best team
in the world as well as coaching them
to understand the demands of profes-
sional sport.
“Mark passionately championed
the development of the women’s game
and we thank him for all he has con-
tributed to England women’s cricket
during such an exciting stage of our
journey. However, after discussions
with Mark, we have agreed that now
is the right time for him to step down .”
The assistant coach, Alastair
Maiden, will take temporary charge
for the Women’s Championship series
against Pakistan in December.
Robinson, who played for Sus-
sex and Yorkshire , worked with the
England Lions squad before being
handed the reins of the women’s team
in November 2015. PA Media‘Fast bowlers have not
hit a new peak’
Analysis
Andy Bull Page 35he’s happy. He had an allotted spell
of overs he wanted to bowl over the
course of the three days. Ben Lang-
ley and [Lancashire physiotherapist]
Dave Roberts are happy with how he’s
gone. He’s moving well and he feels all
right.” PA MediaRELEASED BY "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws