Warriors snap up released Sammut
AThe pair may have 998 Test wickets between them but as England handed Sri Lanka a thumping they may as well have been watching on with their feet up on a sun lounger grasping a cocktail. Anderson bowled 41 overs in the Sri Lankan sun, Broad just 14. Between them they boasted a return of just one wicket.
That, of course, was largely down to the excellence of England’s spin attack, with Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jack Leach claiming 49 between them. A wicket for the off-spinning captain, Joe Root, made that a figure a nice round 50.
It’s safe to assume that things will be very different by the time the
Aussies touch down and bid to retain the Ashes next summer.
Their former team-mate, Ian Bell, certainly thinks so.
Only two players in history have won as many Ashes series as the Warwickshire man, with Wilfred Rhodes and Ian Botham equalling Bell’s total of five.
And although much of the focus has been on the youthful verve of Root’s emerging England side, Bell believes there will no substitute for experience once Mitch Starc has marked out his run and Steve Smith has taken guard.
“They’ve had a quiet tour but without a shadow of doubt they’ll be crucial next summer,” says Bell.
“Winning Test matches away from home is hard. There was a lot of talk during the Ashes last year that you can’t just say, ‘this is our team and this is our team away from home’.
“Tactically, England have been spot-on this winter.
“Broady is still one of our best bowlers but you couldn’t play him and Jimmy and still play three spinners.
“We did something a little bit different, we looked outside the box. WIGAN have signed half-back Jarrod Sammut after his release from newly-promoted Super League side London Broncos. Sammut, 31, (left) scored more than 560 points for Broncos over the past two years and he kicked two goals in the their 4-2 win over Toronto Wolfpack in the Million Pound Game that sealed their return to the top flight. Warriors head coach Adrian Lam said: “Jarrod is player who can produce a little bit of magic and keep defences guessing. He’s a livewire type of half-back.”