Danger ahead
England must not lose big three at same time
The second day at the MCG was a reminder — as if we needed it — of the vital importance of england’s three most senior players. Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson will go down as three of our greatest Test cricketers, so it is also a reminder to be careful what you wish for. england fans will rightly ask where these performances were when the Ashes were still live at Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. And the players themselves — especially Cook and Broad — will be disappointed that they went missing just when their team most needed them. But I had to laugh when I saw people writing them off. Time and again, these guys have shown their class. Don’t forget, we are talking here about the leading runscorer in england Test history and the country’s two leading wicket-takers. They are not quite irreplaceable but they are not far off.
The key over the next few years will be to avoid losing all three at the same time. You do not sacrifice over 11,000 Test runs or more than 900 wickets and expect to fill the hole just like that.
But if I was looking ahead to the 2019 Ashes, I would say the one who concerns me most is Broad. At 31 he is younger than Anderson, who is now 35, but to me Anderson has always seemed to have the more natural body for bowling fast.
Because of the skills he has, Anderson (below) can afford a slight drop in pace while still being effective — especially in england. Broad, by contrast, needs that pace to cause problems. When it drops off slightly, he loses some of the X-factor that has produced so many matchwinning spells down the years. My worry is that his body will fall apart more quickly than Anderson’s. But that is for further down the line. What matters at the moment is that england captain Joe Root can look each of this trio in the eye and see hunger and drive.
When you have played as long as they have, it can be tempting to look at the money you have made and your work-life balance and decide that now is the moment to spend more time with your young family.
From everything that is coming out of the england camp, though, that does not seem to be the case with these three. Cook has been working harder than ever in the nets with his own personal coach, and the word is that Broad has put in an extra shift after his poor performance at the WACA.
Anderson has had a pretty good series in any case, but there has been no let-up from him either. That can often be the case when an international cricketer reaches his mid-30s, but I do not see it from these three — and england will be grateful for that.
The sight of Cook scoring his 32nd Test hundred will be a relief, because if the past five years have shown anything, it is how much england have struggled to replace Andrew Strauss at the top of the order.
The jury is still out on Mark Stoneman, so let’s give Cook the time he needs. With players of his class, you give them that little bit longer to get themselves out of a rut.
It is no coincidence that the moment they all fire on the same day, england look like a side who can compete with Australia. Yes, they are 3-0 down, but these guys are so competitive that they will not be happy at the prospect of another whitewash.
They are also competitive with each other. Broad and Anderson are great colleagues, but it will have hurt Broad to see his mate outbowl him in the last two Tests, then to hear Anderson talking in the press conference about how Broad is putting in plenty of hard work. As long as these two are out there, egging each other on, england will benefit. We should not be so quick to write these guys off.