Something’s up with Broad... he must be left out
Stuart Broad has only been bowling four-over spells for most of this ashes series and I can’t ever remember my captain telling me ‘that will do’ after such a short stint. Something appears to be wrong with him and it’s a big issue for England.
I’ve always liked Broad and the area he bowls, but you can’t do anything in four-over spells.
the best strike-rate in the history of the test game belongs to Waqar Younis and dale Steyn, who took their wickets every 42 balls.
I don’t know whether the knee injury he apparently has is affecting him or he is just down on form, but it’s been a long time since he has taken a wicket.
It’s a tough one for England because their two senior bowlers, Broad and Jimmy anderson, have both played more than a hundred tests and have taken more than 900 wickets between them but, for all anderson’s effort, they haven’t looked close to taking 20 wickets in any test here.
No one can go on forever and, when you are not doing the business any more, you have to consider what comes next. as tough a call as it would be for England ahead of the fourth test, maybe it is time for a bit of a change.
I was fortunate enough to go out on top after the 2007 World Cup, but it’s not always easy to know when the time is right and some guys have to be moved on before they are ready to go. Broad, at 31, is not old and should have a few years left in him, but being left out now might be the wake-up call he needs.
How long he has left depends on what his priorities are. If he still has his goals and is focused on being the best, with money secondary, then he will still be able to do it for England. If money becomes the priority, that’s when you can struggle.
Broad’s problems sum up the fortunes of the two attacks. that gulf has been one of the reasons why australia have again won the ashes after just three tests. the only time the England attack has looked dangerous was when conditions suited them in the second innings at adelaide and for a spell in Perth when there was reverse swing, but that was only really anderson.
Craig overton has been a find for England and it is a blow that he will almost certainly miss the Boxing day test with his rib injury. Maybe his absence will open the door to Mark Wood because at least he has a bit of pace.
darren Lehmann has made it clear he only wants fast bowlers who can bowl at least 87mph and the difference in firepower between these two attacks really is incredible — but you don’t need to have extreme pace to be successful.
there have been plenty of bowlers who have proved that over the years and overton actually was the pick of the England bowlers for much of the time in Perth because he adapted to the conditions. that is what they all have to do in the absence of the pace that all three of the australian fast bowlers have.
there is no doubt that Pat Cummins, for instance, has real pace and it is very satisfying for australia to see him having such a good series, with ball and bat, after all the injury problems he has had since making his test debut at 18.
His action put pressure on his back when he first started but now he doesn’t have that little twist at the top of his load which led to his issues and he has worked very hard on making his body stronger.
Cummins has certainly benefited from working with dennis Lillee — he is still the best fast bowling coach in the world.
So the big question now is can England avoid my prediction of 5-0. that may depend on how much rain there is around in Melbourne next week! It is certainly going to be tough for them to avoid that fate now. England have to turn things around drastically because australia are on a high and would love to repeat the scoreline the last time the ashes were played in this country.
there is no doubt they can do it again. Joe root will be bitterly disappointed with the way the series has gone. We have talked about the lack of firepower at his disposal and, much as I admire alastair Cook and all that he has achieved, he has looked woefully out of form.
then there is the captain himself. root is looking to be positive, but you can leave the ball positively and he seems to be wanting to play at too many deliveries and getting out to balls he could have easily left.
there have been positives for England. Mark Stoneman has done okay, dawid Malan has looked good while James Vince looks a quality player and is getting better every game. the ball he got from Mitchell Starc in Perth would have got out every right-handed batsman the world has ever seen.
Some people have said don Bradman would have late cut it for four, but I think even the don would have got out to it!
So it’s not all doom and gloom for England. they just have to compete for longer. otherwise it’s going to be a familiar story over the last two tests.