AUSSIES RIGHT AT HOME WITH THIS NEW BALL

ON A day like this, you can see why England wanted to take on Australia this summer with a batch of balls from last year — the ones that swung around corners against India. The recommissioned batch haven’t done much so far in this game, and Chris Woakes made the point on Saturday night that overhead conditions in this game haven’t really helped — as they did that morning at Lord’s where he and Stuart Broad bowled Ireland out for 38. And that’s left England in trouble. It’s hard enough when you lose Jimmy Anderson, the leader of your attack, on the first morning of the Test. But to beat Australia — especially this Australia — you need to find lateral movement. When the ball moves around they can look ordinary. Last time they were in England, they were dismissed for 136 at Edgbaston and 60 at Trent Bridge. Even Steve Smith struggled. But when England have toured Australia recently, and the Kookaburra does nothing on flat pitches, the Aussies have won 5-0 and 4-0. They might as well be playing two different games. One of the changes England will make for the second Test at Lord’s is enforced: Jofra Archer will come in for Anderson and bring extra pace to the attack. But the big decision they will have to make is over Moeen Ali. In the last couple of years he has been superb in English conditions. In 2017, against South Africa and West Indies, he took 30 wickets at 21. Last summer, he picked up a match-winning nine wickets against India at Southampton. You don’t just drop a bloke after one bad game. The question, though, is whether Moeen is mentally shot — and that is something the management will have to decide between now and Lord’s. During the 2017-18 Ashes, his opposite number Nathan Lyon was all over him like a rash, and the same thing happened on the second day here when Moeen played no shot to a ball that knocked back his off stump. It was as if he was unsure whether to stick or twist. Basically, it was the shot of a guy who has lost his confidence. If it was just his batting, you might be able to work with that. But it seems to have affected his bowling too. You could just see from the way he ran in to bowl on the fourth day that something wasn’t quite right. There was an early beamer to Steve Smith and no snap in his action. Technically, it looks as if there are a few issues with his action. Even during the course of a match, he seems to be changing what comes naturally to him, with his right arm splayed out in his delivery stride, to a much tighter action, one he’s been working on with Saqlain Mushtaq. At times he seems to switch between the two, almost as if he’s unsure what works best for him. His body isn’t getting into a strong position. It almost looks like he’s just putting it there. Sometimes the best thing a player can do in these circumstances is go back to their county and rediscover their touch. I’m not saying Moeen is in that place yet, but England will need to be honest with themselves about his state of mind — especially with Jack Leach champing at the bit. It’s easy to be critical of captain Joe Root (left), but when there’s no sideways movement, your best bowler is missing, your main spinner is low on confidence and you’re bowling to one of the greatest-ever Test batsmen, there aren’t too many

places to hide.