ROOT HAS TO STOP THE ROT
Three new caps likely as England think again
As honeymoons go it has been more like a wet weekend in Bognor than a sunsoaked month in Barbados, but now Joe Root has to make sure his marriage to the England captaincy does not hit the rocks before it has even really begun.
The new captain could certainly be excused for wondering just what England team will turn up for the 100th Test at The Oval, having seem them turn into both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in his first two matches in charge.
‘It hasn’t been very long, has it?’ smiled Root when pondering a ‘honeymoon’ that began with a crushing victory over south Africa at Lord’s and then came to a shuddering halt with an even more emphatic defeat at Trent Bridge.
‘People expect a lot from us because we are a good side,’ added Root as he considered criticism of England’s second Test capitulation. ‘We all know the last Test wasn’t a reflection of what we can do and there are some hungry lads in the dressing room desperate to again show what we are capable of.’
Nothing summed up the fragile nature of Root’s new relationship more than the Nottingham ‘spat’ with his hero and mentor Michael Vaughan, who accused England on Test Match Special of lacking respect for the longer game.
‘I have spoken to Michael,’ said Root, who had responded to Vaughan in the aftermath of defeat by saying ‘I can’t believe he said that.’
‘It’s his job to be opinionated and say what he thinks. At the time I was very disappointed with the way we played and was caught a bit off guard by the question. It felt a bit personal but on reflection you have to understand people have an obligation to do their job.’
so after kissing and making up with Vaughan, Root’s priority is somehow to find consistency from an immensely talented but hugely frustrating England side who just cannot seem to get the balance right between attack and defence.
It was interesting to hear Ben stokes this week repeat the mantra of coach Trevor Bayliss, who says positive cricket should mean being decisive in whatever a player does, rather than throw it away too easily in the name of aggression.
‘We have to make sure we recognise those periods in a game when it can be a bit tough, and find a way to get through them,’ said Root of England’s miserable collapse at Trent Bridge to a sixth defeat in their past eight Tests.
‘Yes, we have to stay true to ourselves, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t able to bat long periods. We have done it plenty of times and last week was not good enough, not a true reflection of us as a side. We really want to get it right when we go out there at The Oval.’
England, of course, have not helped themselves with questionable selections and strategies that leave them, with just five Tests to go before the Ashes, with an unsettled side that could feature as many as three debutants today.
At least the fractured finger suffered by Gary Ballance has saved England wasting any more time on a batsman whose game has been found out at the highest level and has given a chance to the latest cab off the rank, Tom Westley.
The selectors’ quest for top order batsmen capable of succeeding has resembled a guessing game, and nobody can be quite sure whether Westley, at 28, is the answer or will go the same way as the likes of Ballance, Nick Compton, James Vince, sam Robson and Adam Lyth in failing to make the big step up. But he deserves his chance after showing he can score runs in Division One as well as Two and Westley has a welcome knack of going big against international attacks for the Lions, including against south Africa this season.
Equally, Toby Roland-Jones, who gets good players out on good pitches, is worthy of his opportunity, at 29, to deputise for the worryingly fragile Mark Wood, who misses out with the heel injury that hindered him at Trent Bridge.
England had not decided last night whether to stick with their original intention of stubbornly retaining Liam Dawson or, with rain around and the pitch likely to be green today, throwing in an extra batsman in Dawid Malan.
Really, it should be a no-brainer. The ridiculous ploy to call Dawson their premier spinner to ease pressure on Moeen Ali has been found to be the nonsense it appeared before this Investec series.
The bottom line is that Dawson is highly unlikely to feature in the Ashes while Malan, also hardly a youngster at 29, displayed the bigmatch temperament that will be needed in Australia on his Twenty20 debut at Cardiff.
And if Malan’s inclusion means Moeen who, like it or not, is England’s best spinner, will have to
bat at No 8 with Jonny Bairstow lower than he wants at seven to accommodate the Middlesex man at five, then so be it.
Kagiso Rabada is back for South Africa, and everything points to the momentum being with them and their mightily impressive captain Faf du Plessis on a ground where South Africa thrashed England by an innings five years ago.
Yet that is precisely the type of situation when England usually confound expectations. They will probably celebrate the landmark Test at this famous old ground with a thumping victory and leave Root a picture of domestic bliss.