LEACH SPINS ALI OUT OF PICTURE
MOEEN ALI is set to be the biggest victim as England ring the changes in an attempt to end their winter of Test misery.
Days after celebrating his 50th cap, Moeen is to be dropped for Somerset spinner Jack Leach (below) as the team search for a way to take 20 wickets for just the second time in seven Tests.
But more changes are on the cards for the second Test in New Zealand starting tomorrow, with Craig Overton and Chris Woakes also at risk from Mark Wood, who could offer some extra pace for at least a couple of short spells, and from Ben Stokes, who England hope will be fit enough to play as the fourth seamer.
That could mean a second debutant in the shape of Liam Livingstone, who is ready to leapfrog James Vince into the side and give Joe Root another man who looks to thrive on being in the cut and thrust of the action.
Coach Trevor Bayliss admitted: “I’m sure Mo’s disappointed with the way he’s gone as well. He had a fantastic summer, this winter away I’m sure hasn’t gone how he would have liked.
“Anyone who doesn’t perform at this level gets spoken about, and do we make a change? Having lost so many games overseas, we’ve given a lot of guys an opportunity who haven’t really grabbed hold of it. At some stage we have to look at who is next.
“We’re not scoring enough runs or taking enough wickets. Doing it away from home makes it that much more difficult in unfamiliar conditions. We’ve some very good bowlers, but struggled to bowl teams out and get the ball to actually move on a flat wicket and that’s something we’ve known for a while.”
It is highly unlikely England cricket director Andrew Strauss will rock the coaching boat of the Test team before Bayliss goes, knowing it could have a serious knock-on effect to the one-day team. But once the Aussie steps down next year it is clear there needs to be a separate coach for the white and red-ball teams to manage the demands of the formats. Bayliss added: “I’ve said before that going forward there will be a number of teams, especially the teams that play a lot, where it will go that way.
“It’s very difficult for the players to play all three forms and if you end up with three different teams I think this goes hand-in-hand with different coaching structures.
“I’m more than happy to keep doing it. I’m one of those guys, that if someone higher up wants to make a change I can’t do anything about it, but I’m still enjoying it.”