Stokes the saviour
TOP THREE CAN’T JUST BE A SUPPORT ACT
It was more than a decade ago, the last time an England opening pair lasted as many balls as Zak Crawley and Dom sibley did yesterday. the Lord’s ashes test in 2009.
alastair Cook and andrew strauss put on 196. Of course, England’s top order knew precisely what it was about back then. these days it is no longer so sure.
Building a platform, hanging about. It is the reason 70 runs from 31 overs at st George’s Park almost felt like a knock for the ages. It is the longest an England opening pair has lasted since July 16, 2009: 186 balls. For all the highs, these have not exactly been the golden years.
English cricket does not so much have a top order these days as a crisis management unit.
Under trevor Bayliss, even Cook appeared to have the freedom to play a few shots. Undoubtedly, recent fragility has led to strategic change.
In the first-wicket partnership there was perhaps one shot — sibley lifting a short delivery over the slip cordon t20 style — that owed its existence entirely to the white-ball game. the rest of it was the old-fashioned battening downown of the hatches; two runs an over, slow and steady in the unrelenting sun.
this was how test cricket used to be, and not even the lively pairing of Ben stokes and Ollie Pope after tea could do much to influence these numbers. at the close, England were 224 for four, roughly 100 runs shy of where a good, modern test side might hope to be.
when strauss and Cook made their knock at Lord’s in 2009 — admittedly a far friendlier pitch — England closed the day 364 for six.
their 196 took 16.5 overs more than Crawley and sibley’s 70.
some of this will be down to the Port Elizabeth wicket which, at times, seemed to be waging a vendetta against bat and ball simultaneously.
It didn’t offer much to thee seamers and frustrated thee batsmen. after six overs,, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kockk was standing up to the bowlingg of Vernon Philander.
Yet, undoubtedly, this raw batting line-up is under orders. Joe Denly, at three, is playing nothing like his natural game. He is contained and cautious. In eight of his last nine innings, he has occupied the crease for more than 100 balls without receiving the returns for such diligence.
told this, Darren Gough said Denly was doing his job as he was under instruction to last 100 balls before opening up. Gough, now with talksPOrt, spent time on England’s staff during the recent tour of New Zealand, so he should know. Yet it seems a conservative gameplan, given Denly’s potential.
Imagine ordering some of the great No 3 batsmen to just hang around, with occupation the target. Imagine asking it of ricky Ponting. Denly is no Ponting, but nor is he a player who should be setting his sights low. the fear for all of England’s steady Eddies in the top order is that they will play within themselves in the hope of creating the elusive platform, and eventually be seen as largely interchangeable. Having said this, if England do push past 400 today it will be argued that the basis of the innings was the doggedly pedestrian start. and, yes, there are plenty of teams who work to serve the greater talents within. Yet when Joe root looks scratchier than all of them and surrenders on 27, a mighty amount of work appears to have gone into facilitating what, by the standards of any gun batsman, was a glorified cameo. Only stokes and Pope made complete sense of what had gone before.
For a young man, 22 next month, Crawley (left) had an insightful handle on the day’s play. ‘It was very slow,’ he said. ‘so tough to score, tough to bowl, just very attritional cricket. I think we’re in a good position.
‘If we can push on to the late 300s it will only get more difficult to bat after that.’
this is the least experienced top three in 30 years, and that should also be taken into account.
Crawley, in particular, is the epitome of callow, a battlefield promotion following the injury to rory Burns. It is unlikely he would be opening for England in any circumstances beyond necessity, but he rose to the occasion well yesterday.
In Cape town, apparently, some of the players met up with former England coach Duncan Fletcher for a round of golf. Crawley, a decent player, tagged along.
Only after the group had piled into a buggy that Fletcher was driving did it become apparent Crawley didn’t recognise Fletcher, and had presumed the older chap in the driver’s seat was a host provided by the course.
Fletcher coached his last game with England in 2007. Crawley would have been nine.
so facing up to south africa on a tricky track at the world’s oldest test ground outside of England and australia is some rise, and Crawley is understandably only too happy to curb youthful instincts and do a job for the team. ‘Yes, it’s against my natural game,’ he admitted. ‘If I had a choice I would try to be more free-scoring, but if you play for England you do what the situation demands and block a few.
‘Once you get to 40 you would hope to go on and get a big score, so I’m not going to say I did my job completely. It was a struggle at times, but I enjoyed it.’
and, of course, it would be harsh to pick holes in England’s caution when some of the same players — Crawley in Cape town, for instance — have been criticised for trying to play too many shots too early. If England push towards 400 they could make it very hard for south africa and occupying the crease will seem like the smartest move.
sooner or later, though, these same players have to be trusted to play their game. this is a means to an end. Batsmen one through three cannot remain the support act forever.