Don’t rule out Jimmy just yet, Jofra has X factor and why we need to back Moeen
IDON’T think I have ever been involved in a match before where Jimmy Anderson hasn’t made it t hrough t he f i rst innings, or any innings for that matter, not fulfilling his duties. So when he was forced from the fi eld on t he fi rst morning at Edgbaston it was a new scenario for all of us.
He was fit to play, he’d passed all the testing required and so maybe it was the extra anxiety, pressure, nerves of an Ashes Test that put extra strain on his muscles and added to the stress on his calf.
Down to 10 men after eight overs means you are under pressure straight away. But should we have bowled Australia out for 140? Absolutely. It was a very frustrating thing for me as someone leading that bowling group that we could not do that. If we had we wouldn’t have been in the position we found ourselves in later in the match. Jimmy’s absence was not something that affected us on day one but it arguably did on day four.
He was devastated because he felt like he’d let down the side. But
there was nothing he could do. If you walk off with a sore bone because you can’t cope with the pain that’s a different issue. If you tear your calf there’s nothing you can do about it.
In the changing room, he went around the other bowlers to apologise. He was very down, very quiet and kept putting his head in his hands. The reality of t he situationist hat he’s 37, his preparation all year has been designed to play in this Ashes series and, after four overs, he has to walk off. That’s hard to take.
But I don’t think it is only this summer’s World Cup win that has been written in the stars. Yes, there was incredible drama in that final at Lord’s which made it feel like everything was aligning for England. It would be nice to think things could align for Jimmy too.
Bowling from his own end at Old Trafford, with the urn on the line, and a chance to dominate the end of this series. That’s a positive way to look at it. It will be tricky for him to get back for the third Test at Headingley because there is no cricket for him to prove himself and you can never tell just how long an injury like this takes to heal.
OFF TO A FLIER
Chris Woakes and I realised early that, because of the dryness of the pitch, it was the major wobbling of the seam — and the ball hitting a combination of leather and seam on impact with the pitch — that was creating movement, while bowling more conventional seam-up wasn’t working.
We adapted well to that: although I took five wickets in the first innings, it was only my dismissal of David Warner in the second innings which came via a seam-up.
My pace felt good and I was pleased that I brought the stumps into play as often as I did. Getting a high percentage of batsmen playing at the ball is really crucial for me in this series, as it brings both edges of the bat into the equation.
If I’m honest, while I was very happy with my performance on day one, I might have been trying too hard to get wickets in the second innings on a pitch that didn’t really suit me at all. I just didn’t feel like I could extract anything out of it.
Circumstances meant I bowled 22 overs in each innings and so it has been nice to have a bit of a break between the first and second Tests. I can only imagine it has been a welcome relief for the lads who were involved in the World Cup too. Hopefully we should be refreshed.
HOW TO SOLVE SMITH PROBLEM
People have put forward an argument based on statistics that Steve Smith has a potential weakness against left- arm spin. One thing I would say is that the numbers are skewed somewhat as he was up against Rangana Herath in his pomp in Sri Lanka three years ago and some high-quality bowlers in India over the years.
Having witnessed how much the ball turned in Sri Lanka last year and knowing how pitches on the subcontinent can play from day three onwards, I would say 34 is a bloody good average.
Yes, we will talk about this in the build-up to Lord’s but you have to remember since 2013 he averages more than 100 in the first innings of a Test match, in excess of 62 through his career and in the first Test he only showed a weakness when he got to 140. I don’t think we want to be over-complicating things when it comes to him because, as we saw in 2015, if he bats on slow pitches that don’t move laterally he scores huge but, if he plays on pitches that nibble, he can be dismissed cheaply.
I guess he would have been laughing all the way back to his hotel room last week, playing on that Birmingham pitch and equally if there is some grass on that pitch at Lord’s we go back to plan A and try to find his outside edge.
We stuck to plan A well on day one and he scored a lot of his runs when he was slogging at the end with the field spread, which takes great talent to do. A lot of people haul one down deep square leg’s throat and walk off but not him — he has a real hunger for batting.
Everyone is talking about the extra pace of Jofra Archer being another way to dislodge him but he averages in excess of 90 against bowlers who bowl more t han 86mph. So it’s not necessarily a certain pace or a style of bowling that will help us dismiss him. It’s whether we can stick to plan A as long as possible.
Remember, this is a guy who consistently scores huge amounts of runs, so if we can break him early or even get him for under his average, will it send shockwaves through the Australia team? As an opening bowler, I’m visualising getting him inside my first two spells and, if he is out inside the first 30 overs, what’s that doing to their changing room?
LOOKING UP, NOT DOWN
One thing we know about Lord’s is that overhead conditions are key. We will get movement if t he weather forecast stays as it is — a bit of cloud and rain. It’s the ground with the greatest drainage system in the world so we will be on the field if it’s not raining.
Yes, Australia’s bowling attack will hurt us and did so on day five in Birmingham but we will bowl them out cheaply too and when we do we need it to be a Test-match defining innings.
I FEEL FOR MO
It is well known that Moeen Ali is a confidence cricketer and when he feels backed and has a bit of form behind him he is unstoppable. Conversely, things haven’t gone for him this summer.
Look at the amount of cricket he has played. It’s minimal. England had a large white- ball segment from February all the way through to the end of the World Cup last month and he was in and out of the side. In a one-day game you are bowling a maximum of 10 overs and, as a spinner, I am sure he has found it hard to find any rhythm.
Then, suddenly, he’s being asked to switch tempo and bowl 20 overs and go at three an over with a click of the fingers. There was no real chance to get any lengthy spells under his belt and Test cricket is not an easy format to move into. You can’t just pick up a bat and ball and get stuck into it.
The fact Chris Woakes and I knocked Ireland over in one spell each at Lord’s looked great because it sealed a Test-match win but it denied Moeen a bowl. Then he came into the first Ashes Test with two days of training washed out. Now, if I was saying this about myself I could be accused of making excuses but these are simply reasons from a team-mate’s observations as to why he possibly didn’t bowl at his best last week, as to how things developed to leave Mo feeling exposed. He didn’t bowl as well as he could have done and the pressure built on him.
As a player, it’s really tough to be picked for one Test match and then, unless conditions change drastically, not to be in for the next. That’s a general player’s feeling. If you are selected at the start of a series it would be natural to think you have some credit in the bank the following week.
Of course, I don’t know what has been discussed behind closed doors. I don’t know if selectors have asked Mo how he is and whether he has asked to be taken out of the heat of the battle — because one thing’s for
sure, you can play all the white-ball cricket you like around the world but you are never under more personal- performance scrutiny than in an Ashes series.
And one thing Mo has always done is put the team first so, if he felt out of rhythm, he is the sort of guy who would want to take the pressure off the group.
Don’t assume that will be it for him in this series, though. Australia have a lot of left-handed batsmen and if I was him I would be working hard in the nets and be getting some match overs under my belt, because it’s not inconceivable that we play two spinners somewhere.
We are fortunate to have Jack Leach ready to step in to the holding role. Jack wasn’t officially in the squad at Edgbaston but remained with us because there was no County Championship cricket on. He has a few Test matches under his belt now and is someone who will bring the stumps into play consistently. He also seems comfortable around the international set-up.
X FACTOR, NOT X BOX, JOFRA
Although I am yet to take the field with Jofra, I will be tapping into those who have to assess how he likes to be talked to and what information he likes passed on. He has a clear game plan — he likes to hit people on the head and knock stumps out of the ground!
I sat next to him in the changing room at Edgbaston and I played a bit of FIFA with him at our hotel. Let’s just say those are skills he must improve, because I beat him!