You cannot build a side using a revolving door
Hconstant rotation shows long format is not England’s priority this year, as we were promised it would be
What we have to understand now is that to some players, the Indian Premier League is more important than four Test matches in India.
We may not all agree with it, and some will deny it, but that is the message coming out of England at the moment.
I have no problem with Moeen Ali going home. He was offered a break so, like others, he has taken it. I did not like the implication from England that he had “chosen” to miss the last two Tests. I did not hear that when Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow went home.
But what was ridiculous was picking Moeen for one Test when you knew he was off. Why pick him and drop a young off-spinner, Dom Bess, who is available for the whole series? What a waste of a Test.
We are living in unusual times, but England are making decisions that show their focus is not the Test team, like we were promised. Why did Buttler and Bairstow go home during the Tests instead of being pulled out of the T20 series against India?
The T20 team are a welloiled unit, the Test side are not. After 2019, we were told England’s priority would be winning back the Ashes. But in four Tests this year they have used 19 players. That shows Test cricket is not the priority.
The problem is players are desperate to play in the T20 series against India because that is where they build their profile. That is the changing of the guard in international cricket.
I understand it, but let’s not take the mickey out of Test cricket. This is where you need strong management. Players will always push for what they want. But it is the job of the management to say: “No, this year is about Test cricket.”
I feel sorry for Joe Root. I do not know what is going on behind the scenes, but if I was Test captain I would not be agreeing to it. I would want my best team playing every game this year.
The next thing we will hear is that a couple of England players are missing the start of the Test series against New Zealand in the summer because they are in the finals of the IPL.
It is not just because of the money. I also think modern players enjoy playing the white-ball game more. They say the right things about Test cricket being the pinnacle, and it is for a lot of them, but a number can play all formats to a high standard and if you give them the choice on a given day, they will take T20 every time.
I have never seen a great team develop through chopping and changing. High-quality Test teams roll off your tongue, like England’s in 2010 and the great Australia side. You get used to seeing the same 10 or 11 players.
England went 1-0 up and made four changes, and there could be five for the next Test. Ed Smith has made some good calls, but he can overcomplicate things. I am pretty sure Bess was dropped because the data said he should have taken just seven wickets at 35.99 and not 17 at 22, which was his average after four Tests this winter.
Moeen took eight wickets in this game, but could have gone one for 150 in the first innings. Data does not account for luck. I scored 18 Test hundreds, I am sure I was dropped at some stage every time. They should have given Bess another Test to gain more experience and confidence. He might have taken eight wickets this week on that pitch as well, another haul for a young spinner you are trying to develop, but instead he missed the game for a player going home. It does not make sense.
England could pick their best team and still lose because India are very good. But that does not matter because you are developing a team. It is hard to do that with a revolving door. Everything is different and it is hard to build up an understanding with people. You do not win many big series by making lots of changes and it will deliver inconsistency.
India could have won this Test whether they won the toss or not. England had to win the toss to have a chance. India have better batsmen to cope with a spinning ball and better spinners to exploit a turning surface.
India had their buzz back in front of a crowd. Virat Kohli was back to his old ways. His behaviour towards the umpire on the third evening was not right. But the Indian juggernaut has got going now and it will to be hard to stop.