WASHOUT GIVES ROOT A BREAK
So will England now make changes?
Joe Root had the look of a man who had got away with one after rain ruined what could have been an exciting finale to the first test at trent Bridge yesterday. the england captain may have been right to suggest a couple of early wickets could easily have changed the course of the test, which seemed to be heading India’s way.
But Virat Kohli has much less to ponder before the sides head to Lord’s for thursday’s second instalment of a five-test series that remains a stern examination of england.
Certainly Root seemed more content after this wash-out than before the match, when he had the weight of an increasingly troubled world on his shoulders as captain.
‘I’d be lying if I said India weren’t in the driving seat going into the last day,’ admitted Root when play was finally abandoned with the tourists needing another 157 for victory with nine wickets left.
‘But we know on a pitch like this wickets can fall in clusters and the game can turn on its head. the pressure of batting on the final day could have seen it turn in our favour.
‘At one stage it did look as though the weather would allow us 40 overs and I do think we would have been able to create nine chances in that time on a surface like that.’
that may be so, but the problem for england is not bowling that can create those chances but top-order batting which still sees them perennially chasing the game. And fielding of a standard that offers no guarantees they would have taken chances even if they were offered to them. After capitulating to 183 all out in their first innings, england only got out of this with honours even because Root was back to his superlative best on Saturday — making one of the finest of his 21 test centuries. they must again decide whether the time is right to make changes to a top order that does not look fit for the purpose of making the big firstinnings runs essential to coach Chris Silverwood’s oft-stated gameplan. Rory Burns may have been england’s player of the series against New Zealand but he made his fourth duck of the year here and struggled against India’s potent seam attack. Dom Sibley displayed a slightly more orthodox technique but still does not have the shots to do anything other than survive — as he did in this test for five-and-a-half hours but only 46 runs. the biggest top-three worry is Zak Crawley, who since seemingly announcing himself as a rare talent by making 267 against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl last summer, averages only 11.14 from 14 innings. the rejuvenated Haseeb Hameed remains in an enlarged england squad that was selected for the opening two tests but Root suggested Crawley, along with the other two under threat, may get one more chance at Lord’s.
‘You have to be a strong character and I think Zak is that,’ said Root. ‘He has great maturity for a young age. He’s shown everyone he can perform at this level and next time he goes out there he has to remember that and enjoy the opportunity to make big runs again.’
the balance of a side shorn of Ben Stokes is the other pressing item on england’s agenda. Sam Curran may have twice contributed useful lowerorder runs here but he went wicketless and Root cannot afford to have a passenger among only four bowlers.
So can england add a fifth in Mark Wood or the lesser spotted Jack Leach by leaving out one of the other underperforming batsmen — Jonny Bairstow or Dan Lawrence — and risk further weakening the batting? or might they simply replace Curran and stick to a four-bowler policy?
‘It’s something we’ve got to keep looking at,’ said Root. ‘We want to try to find something sensible sooner rather than later and depending on conditions we might have to alter our side at Lord’s. You want continuity but whether it’s rest and rotation, injuries or Covid, that’s something we’ve not had.’
there is one player, of course, who could solve the question of balance and bring spin back to the side — Moeen Ali. His absence continues to be something of a mystery.
Unless england add to their squad today — and Root did not rule that out — Moeen’s exile will remain, as will many of england’s problems.
A rain-ruined draw and the emergence of a bowler of test quality in ollie Robinson to ease the blow of the absence of Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes has not altered that.
England 183 and 303, India 278 and 52-1. Match Drawn.