Tough Root to success
HARD-NOSED ENGLAND AXE WOAKES IN THEIR QUEST FOR A SERIES VICTORY AT LORD’S
RATHER like the wicket at Lord’s which yesterday sported what are commonly known as fairy rings, England’s cricket this summer has not been blemish-free.
But captain Joe Root claimed that victory over West Indies and a second series win of his first three months in the job would allow him to finish it with his head held high, full of momentum and confidence ahead of a huge winter in Australia.
Defeat at Headingley has made the summer finale – the first at Lord’s to stretch into September since 1980, which explains the growth of the fungal circles – a must-win blockbuster.
After inconsistency both in selection and form, there was real feeling in Root’s assertion that a good week here will allow him to look back on his first summer “with a lot more ease”.
Given so much talk this summer has been about batting spots, about last-chance saloons and missed opportunities it has generally been assumed the bowling unit for the winter was as good as decided.
But the decision to drop Chris Woakes in favour of Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones for the deciding third Investec Test against West Indies shows at least the position of third seamer is by no means set in stone.
For a man who carried all before him last summer in what was described as anything from breakthrough year to annus mirabilis, his captain’s description of Woakes as “an important squad member” will be an unwelcome blast from the past.
Yet after returning at Headingley from a muscle injury in his side to post disappointing returns of 2-122 with the ball and more specifically show that his pace had dipped, past glories have counted for nothing in a crucial match.
Root insisted that Woakes remains a huge part of his thinking for Australia. But outgoing bowling coach Ottis Gibson’s suggestion that a fully fit Mark Wood would be his idea of the best third seamer for the Ashes and the re-hiring of Roland-Jones
will give Woakes, below, and the selectors pause for thought.
Root conceded the bowler’s return in Leeds probably came too soon.
“He passed all the fitness tests and seemed fit and it is difficult to balance between being physically fit and bowling the right amount in games,” he said.
“But going into this week we have picked the side that suits conditions best and Toby deserves the opportunity. Toby knows the ground extremely well and has had some great success here over the years.”
Asked whether a fully-fit Woakes gets straight back in, Root left the door open.
“The way Chris has played over the last year or so and being such a focal point of our team, it is hard to look past that,” he said. “But we’ve made a call on what side we think is going to win this week and Toby was the choice that we went with. “You want guys putting their hands up, putting in strong performances and making it difficult to leave them out.” Had England wrapped up the series at Headingley instead of West Indies levelling things at 1-1, it is not hard to imagine Woakes’ rehabilitation would have continued at this level rather than back with Warwickshire. They might also have given Mason Crane a run out here in a dead-rubber as well. Yet in both word and deed Root has acknowledged how important winning this final Test is, not only for momentum but also historical record given West Indies have not won a series in England since 1988. With Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan virtually securing their places on the plane Down Under with decent performances in Leeds, Tom Westley needs a good showing here at Lord’s to do the same.
But Westley is not the only one for whom Lord’s could be significant, with Jimmy Anderson needing three more victims to become only the third fast bowler to reach 500 wickets. And Root stands one 50 away from becoming the first man to post half-centuries in 13 consecutive Tests.
For all that Root’s stock answer is that he wishes more of those half-centuries had become centuries, it is a remarkable run of consistency in a team that is becoming remarkable for its inconsistency.
Since they last toured the Caribbean in April 2015, England have won 16 and lost 16 of 37 Tests.