Why BOTH captains are under pressure
MUCH of the focus in this test will be on the absence of Steve Smith and the skill and menace of Jofra Archer — and this represents a great opportunity for england to get back into the series.
But also, in different ways, both captains come into this game under pressure, and it will be fascinating to see which of Joe Root or tim Paine comes out on top.
Root has been struggling with his technique, so much so that he changed tack midway through the last test. His trigger movement had been to go back and across, but he was getting out lbw and bowled a fair bit, so in the second innings at Lord’s he decided to stay more leg side of the ball.
What happened? the first ball he got he edged behind, so all he succeeded in doing was bringing another mode of dismissal into play. After scores of 57, 28, 14 and 0 in this series, he’ll be desperate to put things right on his home ground.
there are also signs that he’s being a bit conservative with his tactics. When Archer was bowling like the wind in the second innings at Lord’s, I wanted to see more than two slips and a gully. I know
Root posted a leg slip, which looked like an attacking option, but I didn’t see the need for square leg, mid- off and mid- on, especially after he had declared and was trying to force a win. How many batsmen come in and hit a 96mph delivery through mid-on? Learning how best to use Archer will come with time, but more aggression wouldn’t go amiss.
Australia have got themselves into a spot of bother with Paine, and not only because of the circumstances in which he was made captain after Sandpapergate.
Paine is a nice lad and all that, but he’s managed only 66 runs in this series, has got out a couple of times on the pull and hasn’t managed reviews very well.
With no Smith in this game, he has to be at his best, but what exactly is his best? He’s got one first-class hundred in 204 innings, and that was in 2006. every time he arrives at the crease, he seems well organised, but his numbers need to start reflecting how good he looks.
Alex Carey, who performed impressively during the World Cup, has been scoring runs for Sussex, and has to come into the equation if Paine keeps struggling for runs.
the mood of the series has changed. england would have left edgbaston worrying about how to get Smith out, and concerned about the one-dimensional nature of their attack when the ball is not moving.
Now they have arrived in Leeds possessing the trump bowling card, and with a spinner in Jack Leach who is bowling with more confidence and economy than Moeen Ali did in the first test.
they are also up against a batting line-up missing its superstar. Smith’s innings of 144 and 142 won Australia the first test, and he looked immovable at Lord’s until Archer hit him on the neck.
So, yes, england have a real chance, but they still have issues with the bat, not least because Jason Roy and Joe Denly would be better off swapping positions.
Denly is in danger of replicating one of the guys who can’t get in the team. James Vince was castigated for making pretty 20s and 30s, just like Denly is now.
there will come a time when you get an unplayable delivery early in your innings, at which point your failure to cash in once you got a start will come back to bite you.
the third test, in other words, is shaping up as a crucial one for several players on both sides.