Michael Vaughan On Ballance’s biggest battle
Batsman facing mental challenge to fit in at three if he wants to be in the mix for Ashes tour
If you stood square on to the wicket and watched Alastair Cook’s movements and then did the same to Gary Ballance, you would notice they are very similar. Cook goes right back on to his stumps and does not have a massive press forward, just like Gary. But what Cook has is immense mental strength. His mind is always on the moment. He is not worrying if the ball is going to be short, or full, or thinking back to the last delivery. Cook just watches every ball and reacts. He rarely premeditates.
Gary is now in a mental battle. You can pick at his technique and find faults but at Test level you can do that to almost every player. Graeme Smith’s technique was not one you wanted to copy. But he was mentally strong and had a great Test career because of it.
So, it is too easy to say Gary is technically not good enough, because players such as Smith have proved you can be good enough if your mind is strong.
Gary faces a mental challenge on several levels. First, over his position in the batting order. Secondly, can he forget his dismissals at Lord’s and concentrate on the positives from that match? Thirdly, can he cope with the relentless pressure of a Test series where opponents can continually pick at your weaknesses? It is clear from county cricket, and where he batted for the Lions, that he does not want to bat at three. He wants to bat at four or five, but sometimes you have to accept that to get back in this England team you have to do something against your wishes.
His mindset here has to be like it was in the second innings at Lord’s, where he was much more positive at the start. Cook and Keaton Jennings had batted 30-odd overs and it was almost as if Gary was coming in at number five, not three, and he took the attack to South Africa with a couple of nice cover drives.
At number three, you have to be able to naturally move through the gears. Yes, you need to know where your off stump is and get the feet moving, but, crucially,
The more times you are dismissed by the same bowler, the harder the challenge becomes
you have to arrive busy at the crease and looking to score. That is how he will succeed.
Gary is not a natural number three but he has to make it work for him to stay in this England team to make sure he is still in the mix when the side arrives in Australia. I cannot see England going with six bowling options in Australia, so there will be a slot for an extra batsman. Ballance may have to move from three to five, which could suit him, but he has to make sure he is still in the frame by then by making runs in an unnatural position now.
The psychological battle for him this week is to forget his two dismissals at Lord’s. I don’t worry about the second-innings snickoff behind. I am afraid that will happen to left-handers facing Morne Morkel. You will get the odd good cherry and I do not think he was technically at fault. It was just a decent ball in a decent area.
But, in the first innings, he either took his eye off the ball or had a mental lapse. Perhaps he was thinking about the short ball, or his mind wandered. Only Gary can answer that. But it was not the kind of delivery he should have been getting out to. He has to be honest with himself and ask what he did wrong at that moment, and make sure it does not happen again.
If you had told Gary the next ball was going to be full, on off stump, he would have played it with his eyes closed. It was not an unplayable ball but he was stuck on the crease and played across it. I just question whether his mind was in the right place.
England have been consistent over time in picking players and sticking with them but one thing is for sure, Gary will not be given as long a run this time because it is his third spell in the team.
He has to look at the positives at Lord’s. He played some nice shots and it was a better-looking Gary Ballance than the last time he was in an England jersey. He played a couple of lovely cover drives and has to repeat the positivity he showed in getting to 34 in the second innings. The difference this time is that he must not switch off, worry about what will come next or premeditate. He can face every type of delivery they throw at him. It is just whether he is strong enough to positively react. If he does that, he has got a chance.
One thing for sure is that Morkel will be bowling to him as soon as he goes out to the middle, which is why Test cricket is so hard. You get out in county cricket and the week after you face a different team with different bowlers. In Test cricket, weaknesses are spotted by the opposition and pounced on. As soon as Gary comes in, Faf du Plessis will lob the ball to Morkel and the mental challenge for Gary will start all over again. The more times you fail, and are dismissed by the same bowler, the harder the challenge becomes. It is relentless.