NASSER HUSSAIN’S FIRST TEST RATINGS
ALASTAIR COOK
FaiLeD twice. some will say he was unlucky in the second inningsn to be caught down the leg side, s but when he’s out of rhythm his head falls over to the off side and he becomes vulnerable to those deliveries. d He’s the kind of player who needs to get into a groove, but two weeks before he came out to New N Zealand he was lambing on his farm. fa He needed to play more before an a important Test series.
MARK M STONEMAN
He’s made a few starts now in Test cricket, but hasn’t made more than 56. That was a disappointing way to go in the second innings; he must have known Neil Wagner would bounce him, and there were men out for the shot. He needs to convert one of his starts in the second Test at Christchurch. if not, he’ll be looking over his shoulder.
JOE ROOT
He made a gutsy half-century in the second innings, but his dismissal in the last over of the fourth evening left the door open for New Zealand. and he was one of many to play a loose shot on that horrific first morning — an expansive drive against the swinging ball wasn’t a great option. He should also take some responsibility for england’s attack. He said before the game that his team needed to do things differently after the ashes, then went in with four right-arm seamers of roughly the same pace.
DAWID MALAN
He basically got out to a couple of prods. He’s been playing the ball late, which is the right thing to do, but he wasn’t moving his feet, so it looked as if he was playing French cricket. He’s looking a bit vulnerable outside off stump, as he did in england last summer.
BEN STOKES
aNoTHeR bloke who suffered from a lack of preparation, though for different reasons. But to expect him to go out at No 5 against Trent Boult and Tim southee was a big ask. He played well second time round, but then got out just before the dinner break. perhaps the problems he was having with his back meant he felt he had to take on Wagner’s short stuff, but it was a wide ball and he could easily have left it alone.
JONNY BAIRSTOW
He kept well, but had a couple of soft dismissals. He was out driving on the up in the first innings, then pulled a long hop straight to midwicket in the second — not long after pulling a long hop to mid-on and being dropped.
MOEEN ALI
His bowling was innocuous yet again, as it has been all winter, and i think it’s time for a change — which could mean a Test debut for somerset’s Jack Leach at Christchurch. i’m not sure he’s watching the ball properly — maybe because he’s worried about the short one.
CHRIS WOAKES
THaT was a good effort with the bat on the last day, but his bowling has been a concern this winter. in a way, he mirrors england’s problem: he was excellent in the one-day series, when batsmen come after him, but toothless in the Tests, when they can just wait for the bad ball. He needs to find nip and pace with the Kookaburra.
CRAIG OVERTON
His first-innings runs meant england avoided being bowled out for 30, but his bowling just looks a bit samey — he’s the fourth right-arm seamer in the team, and probably the slowest. He’s symptomatic of england’s lack of X-factor in their attack, which is why they may use Mark Wood in Christchurch.
STUART BROAD
DespiTe the work he’s put in, i’m not convinced he’s moving the ball away from the right-hander. His wrist still looks to be in the same position. it was nice for him to get to 400 Test wickets, and he might have had a couple more but for dropped catches.
JIMMY ANDERSON
He bowled pretty well, even though he’s not a big fan of pink-ball cricket when the lights aren’t on. He’s going to be around for a while, but he needs others to back him up. it worries me that even with four england greats in this side — Cook, Root, Broad and anderson — they have lost nine of their last 10 Tests away from home. They need to plan for the future.