The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Strengths key for England
THE ASHES: Cook hopes team can build on Cardiff win
Alastair Cook has told England they must stay true to themselves in the Lord’s Test, because that is their best chance of beating Australia again.
As Cook’s men seek to win back the Ashes after the miserable whitewash tour Down Under two winters ago, their next critical step is to add victory at HQ to the 169-run triumph in Cardiff.
The captain might have looked as if he was tweaking his own record-breaking batting in that first Investec Test.
But he dismissed such suggestions as he prepared for England’s follow-up mission, choosing to emphasise instead the collective commitment to attacking intent and the success it has already brought.
Cook was twice spotted in Wales advancing to Nathan Lyon’s off-spin, to no avail in his first-innings 20, and he then fell second time round too when he went on the attack early.
He declined to acknowledge the significance of that apparent departure from the methods which have helped him become England’s leading Test run- scorer, as he restated a determination to follow the brief agreed by himself and new coach Trevor Bayliss.
“That’s probably reading a little too much into it,” he said.
“Trevor has said all along that it’s absolutely vital we play to our strengths.
“That is why you all got picked in the first place.
“It is an old saying, but you have to stay true to yourself.”
The requirement here, against opponents destabilised by veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin’s absence for personal reasons and the likely dropping of mainstay Shane Watson, is that England avoid their recent habit of immediately losing a series lead – as they did in the West Indies in April and then at home to New Zealand.
Cook just hopes they can tap into the Cardiff vibe again.
“We have to get on the front foot, as we did in that Test match.
“One from one is pretty good – the challenge now is can we do it again here?
“The last (two) Test series, we haven’t done that.
“We hope we can get the crowd behind us like they were in Cardiff.
England ought at least, according to Cook, have a full-strength and unchanged team available to them.
He allayed any concerns that Moeen Ali, who practised only sparingly over the past two days, is a significant doubt – after a recurrence of pain in his side, having missed the start of the Caribbean tour with a similar problem.
Moeen hit a half-century and took five wickets in Cardiff, and Cook appears confident he will be fit to play his pivotal role with bat and ball again.
“It was precautionary,” he said of the all-rounder’s comparative inaction at nets.
Meanwhile, Australia captain Michael Clarke insists England have yet to land a knockout punch in the Ashes and expects his side to bounce back at Lord’s.
“You’ve got to cop a few smacks in the mouth. In Cardiff, round one, we got beaten. Round two? I’m not so sure,” he said.
“Through your career it’s a rollercoaster ride, in life number one and then in cricket. If you want to be the best, if you want to play at the highest level, you’ve got to deal with that.
“I’ve got a sense we need to turn things around right now in this Test match.”