England’s problem is spin not seam
THE biggest bowling concern for Joe Root is not in the seam department. It’s what they’re going to do with regards to spin. Australians always have and always will take on finger spin because it doesn’t offer a hell of a lot. The policy is to go hard at it.
You didn’t have to be Einstein to see that Jack Leach would be lined up to be pummeled. He’s not a big turner of the ball, the Gabba doesn’t have huge straight boundaries, so of course the Australians were looking to belt him.
If Dom Bess comes in, he can expect the same treatment. I can’t comprehend why wrist spinner Mason Crane wasn’t picked for Australian conditions.
As a finger spinner, Nathan Lyon is an outlier. He is one of the greats of the game as a 400-wicket bowler, but even then they only come around every 67 balls.
A lot has rested on Root’s shoulders for quite a while now because as England’s best player he has to do the bulk of the batting — but the criticism his captaincy has received is unfair.
ROBINSON ON THE PACE
THERE has been some chat about Ollie Robinson’s drop in pace during the Brisbane Test but I don’t see any problem there. He was comfortably the pick of the England seamers.
Robinson’s key strength is his accuracy. Put a shoebox on a length and he’s hitting it more often than any of his team-mates, no question. Be clear about what type of bowler he is. He’s not rapid, he’s 80-84mph when he’s bowling his best.
Not all bowlers hold their optimum pace. I remember playing for Australia against West Indies in 2001 and the speed gun suggested Glenn McGrath was hitting 75-77mph consistently. Yet the scoreboard showed he was taking wickets for fun.
Robinson hovers at just above 80mph, uses the crease, goes wider on occasion and then comes into the stumps, presents the seam, gets the ball to nip about and, because he’s tall, gets extra bounce. All pretty good seam-bowling attributes in my book. Remember, this is his first overseas Test series.
He prepares himself well and is fit and strong. Not that that’s always been the case. I’ve had a long association with him since I was coach at Yorkshire and he was a naive, immature 19-year-old.
He was talented but it didn’t work out because he wasn’t ready to embrace a professional cricketer’s lifestyle.
In Leeds, he was a long way from family and friends and was going back and forth to Kent, sometimes travelling through the night to get to training sessions. That was never sustainable. He was warned on a few occasions about not being where he should have been at certain times but the penny hadn’t quite dropped.
When I arrived at Sussex in 2018, I saw a completely different person and a different cricketer. He was more mature, measured and had grown from a boy into a man. Leaving Yorkshire made him realise how much he wanted to play and now he is a professional in every sense of the word.
A HEAD FOR HEIGHTS
TRAVIS HEAD probably didn’t have the summer he would have liked at Sussex but from our perspective at South Australia, where I am coach, he’s an outstanding player, brilliant leader and integral to improving our state cricket.
I have no doubt he’s a future Australia captain. He finds that balance between being one of the boys and having that authoritative presence. He won’t put up with mediocrity. Or nonsense. So he’s happy to tell the boys exactly what needs to be done. It’s been an honour to see how he has grown.