As the inexorable merry-go-round that is international cricket keeps turning, England find themselves facing another formidable challenge. A lot has happened since Andrew Strauss’ men won the Ashes less than four months ago. Australia have won yet another ICC one-day tournament. South Africa have risen to number one in both forms of the game, only to be knocked off the top again while their backs were turned. India and Sri Lanka have churned out millions of runs on ludicrously flat pitches. New Zealand and the West Indies have shown that they are capable of being good test sides again, and equally capable of being rubbish. And Pakistan have finally re-entered the test cricketing fray, drug cheats and all.
Despite England’s success in the one day series, the task that awaits them in the coming weeks is a seriously tough proposition. England may be coming fresh from an Ashes victory, but on paper, the South African side that takes the field at Centurion tomorrow will be far stronger than the Australian team they beat in the summer. There are no makeshift openers or faltering veterans in this side. They are an experienced and battle-hardened unit.
Their batting line-up is enviable. De Villers, Duminy and Amla have added flair and aggression to the belligerent run scoring efficiency of Kallis and Smith, while Ashwell Prince has quietly become one of the most dependable performers in world cricket, helping himself to two centuries in four games against England along the way. Their bowling attack is also strong. Ntini has more test wickets than any other fast bowler playing today. Dale Steyn has taken phenomenal 138 wickets at an average of 21 in the last three years – the type of record not seen since the days of McGrath and Pollock, and almost unheard of in these batsmen friendly times. Morne Morkel is quick, dangerous and looked to have found some of his elusive rhythm during the one day series. Paul Harris, the unsung hero of the attack, has taken his first 71 test wickets at a better average than Daniel Vettori. England underestimated him the last time they faced him and would be unwise to do so again. Jacques Kallis is injured for the first test, but will add further strength to the bowling if he returns for the later games.
South Africa aren’t just good on paper. They’re pretty good on the field too. While India may have jumped above them in the test rankings earlier this month, when it comes to winning test matches, South Africa are the best in the world. In the last three years, they have won 19 out of their 30 test matches, a far better record than India, who have managed only 13 wins out of 33 in the same period, and streets ahead of England, who have won only 12 out of 36. Not only that, but in that time, they have beaten both England and Australia in away test series, and managed a 1-1 draw in India. Andrew Strauss wasn’t joking when he said that this series will be tough as they come.
While South Africa have been a model of ruthless consistency, England have seen more swings and roundabouts than a kid’s playground – seesawing from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again in the blink of an eye. Having said that, there does seem to be something about England these days. The two Andys at the helm of the England appear to be moulding them into a far more stable unit than the chaotic regime that preceded them. There’s calm steeliness about the captain and coach that have had a positive effect on the players and team as a whole. There are still calamitous batting collapses and bowling meltdowns, but these seem to be becoming fewer and further between, and when they do occur, they are being treated with a sense of perspective lacking in previous years. As a result, this England team are far better equipped to bounce back from failure than their recent predecessors – their resounding seven wicket victory at Cape Town following hot on the heels of a murderous 100 run drubbing at Centurion in the recent one day series being a case in point. One bad performance doesn’t make a bad team, and Strauss and Flower have managed to instil enough self-belief in the team to help the players realise this. England will be no pushover in this test series either.
England now believe they are a good side, and the number of strong characters in the side will more than likely make the series a close one.
Andrew Strauss has shown an almost super-human strength of mind since taking over the leadership, and has carried the team along a wave of sensational individual performances – the kind that were hoped for when Kevin Peitersen was named as captain, but never expected from Strauss. Having continued his good form in the warm up games, South Africa will be worried about the man who scored three hundreds in five games on the last time England toured there. Jonathan Trott has looked as unfazable as brick wall since his Ashes debut in the summer and will be determined to prove himself to South African, as well as the English, public. England’s rock in a hard place, Paul Collingwood, is in the form of his life, embodying the new attacking mindset demanded by Strauss and Flower. He made the South African bowling look pedestrian in the one day series and has averaged almost 48 since his career saving century against them at Edgbaston last year. In the new regime, Collingwood’s substance is more highly valued than Ian Bell’s style, and should mean he keeps his place at number 5, until the summer at least.
There have been a few questions about the form of Alastair Cook, but, these seem harsh of a 24 year old who has already notched up 3500 test runs at an average of over 42. Cook’s mental toughness should ensure he overcomes his technical problems. After all, technical weaknesses are much easier to resolve than mental ones, and he’ll like the pace and bounce of South African wickets. When you add Kevin Pietersen’s inevitable return to form into the mix, England’s batting looks a strong unit.
England’s bowling doesn’t look bad either. Graeme Swann is the best spinner in the world these days, or has been since his introduction to test cricket a year ago. Graham Onions has looked more than the part as well. Rightly preferred to Harmison, he is quick enough, accurate and aggressive when he needs to be. He also seems to have a good temperament. His memorable two wickets in two balls at Edgbaston in the Ashes came immediately after being flayed to all parts the previous evening, showing a strength of character so often absent in his Durham colleague. If Anderson and Broad are fit, and Sidebottom’s current return to form continues, England’s seamers should be able cause South Africa problems – if not blow them away.
This brings us to the most pressing issue – the absence of Freddie. The statistics suggest that England have been more successful recently when playing six batsmen, than five bowlers. But many of these victories have come against lesser teams – the only notable exception being against Pakistan were beaten by an on form Harmison and Panesar in 2006. Unfortunately, England’s current bowlers don’t have quite the same firepower as Harmison and Panesar in their pomp. England need five bowlers to consistently take 20 wickets in a game – and England should play five bowlers if they want to stick to their new, attacking approach. It certainly appears to be the way they are leaning at the moment, with Luke Wright the favourite to fill the all-rounder role. The danger of this approach is that, by opting for an inferior all-rounder, England will diminish both disciplines.
Luke Wright has shown in Championship cricket this season that he has the ability to be a good batsmen, and may well be good enough to bat at number seven in test cricket eventually, but his bowling, quite frankly isn’t up to much. He bowls quickish – but at full tilt, for short spells and gun barrel straight. Every ball seems to be an effort ball. This is fine for four or five overs in a one day game, but he will undoubtedly struggle to bowl long spells of penetrative bowling in a test match, without finding some way of deceiving batsmen with movement off the seam or in the air. If England are going to play an all-rounder, it needs to be a bowling all-rounder, which is largely what Flintoff had become by the end of his career.
The elusive balance that England are trying to find doesn’t come along very often. When England were at their best, in 2004-2005, they essentially played three different degrees of all-rounders: Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles. Multi-dimensional cricketers were the order of the day under Duncan Fletcher, and the fact that England could count on people scoring runs at numbers six, seven and eight in the batting order, meant they could play five bowlers. The runs were important, but wickets were the key. This is why Wright, a batting all-rounder, doesn’t fit the bill. Tim Bresnan, who has over 200 first class wickets to his name and could quite legitimately feel aggrieved not to be in the squad as a bowler, would be a better choice to do the job.
What England don’t seem to realise is that they already have an out and out all-rounder in the side in the form of Matt Prior. Prior averages over 44 in test cricket, and is a test match number six. This should give England the flexibility to play bowling all-rounders at numbers seven and eight. This means that whoever bats at number seven doesn’t need to replace Andrew Flintoff, they need to replace Geraint Jones – not quite such a tall order. Both Broad and Swann average over 30 in tests at the moment and should be more than adequate to replace Jones and Giles.
If England are really the attacking side they claim to be, they should play five proper bowlers, with Anderson, Broad, Sidebottom, Onions and Swann, and take advantage of the fact that South Africa only have four bowlers in the first test. This will give them the best chance of winning. Either way, it looks set to be another close, hard-fought series between two well matched teams.
As the inexorable merry-go-round that is international cricket keeps turning, England find themselves facing another formidable challenge. A lot has happened since Andrew Strauss’ men won the Ashes less than four months ago. Australia have won yet another ICC one-day tournament. South Africa have risen to number one in both forms of the game, only to be knocked off the top again while their backs were turned. India and Sri Lanka have churned out millions of runs on ludicrously flat. New Zealand and the West Indies have shown that they are capable of being good test sides again, and equally capable of being rubbish. And Pakistan have finally re-entered the test cricketing fray, drug cheats and all.
Despite England’s success in the one day series, the task that awaits them in the coming weeks is a seriously tough proposition. England may be coming fresh from an Ashes victory, but on paper, the South African side that takes the field at Centurion tomorrow will be far stronger than the Australian team they beat in the summer. There are no makeshift openers or faltering veterans in this side. They are an experienced and battle-hardened unit.
Their batting line-up is enviable. De Villers, Duminy and Amla have added flair and aggression to the belligerent run scoring efficiency of Kallis and Smith, while Ashwell Prince has quietly become one of the most dependable performers in world cricket, helping himself to two centuries four games against England along the way. Their bowling attack is also strong. Ntini has more test wickets than any other fast bowler playing today. Dale Steyn has taken phenomenal 138 wickets at an average of 21 in the last three years – the type of record not seen since the days of McGrath and Pollock, and almost unheard of in these batsmen friendly times. Morne Morkel is quick, dangerous and looked to have found some of his elusive rhythm during the one day series. Paul Harris, the unsung hero of the attack, has taken his first 71 test wickets at a better average than Daniel Vettori. England underestimated him the last time they faced him and would be unwise to do so again. Jacques Kallis is injured for the first test, but will add further strength to the bowling if he returns for the later games.
South Africa aren’t just good on paper. They’re pretty good on the field too. While India may have jumped above them in the test rankings earlier this month, when it comes to winning test matches, South Africa are the best in the world. In the last three years, they have won 19 out of their 30 test matches, a far better record than India, who have managed only 13 wins out of 33 in the same period, and streets ahead of England, who have won only 12 out of 36. Not only that, but in that time, they have beaten both England and Australia in away test series, and managed a 1-1 draw in India. Andrew Strauss wasn’t joking when he said that this series will be tough as they come.
While South Africa have been a model of ruthless consistency, England have seen more swings and roundabouts than a kid’s playground – seesawing from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again in the blink of an eye. Having said that, there does seem to be something about England these days. The two Andys at the helm of the England appear to be moulding them into a far more stable unit than the chaotic regime that preceded them. There’s calm steeliness about the captain and coach that have had a positive effect on the players and team as a whole. There are still calamitous batting collapses and bowling meltdowns, but these seem to be becoming fewer and further between, and when they do occur, they are being treated with a sense of perspective lacking in previous years. As a result, this England team are far better equipped to bounce back from failure than their recent predecessors – their resounding seven wicket victory at Cape Town following hot on the heels of a murderous 100 run drubbing at Centurion in the recent one day series being a case in point. One bad performance doesn’t make a bad team, and Strauss and Flower have managed to instil enough self-belief in the team to help the players realise this. England will be no pushover in this test series either.
England now believe they are a good side, and the number of strong characters in the side will more than likely make the series a close one.
Andrew Strauss has shown an almost super-human strength of mind since taking over the leadership, and has carried the team along a wave of sensational individual performances – the kind that were hoped for when Kevin Peitersen was named as captain, but never expected from Strauss. Having continued his good form in the warm up games, South Africa will be worried about the man who scored three hundreds in five games on the last time England toured there. Jonathan Trott has looked as unfazable as brick wall since his Ashes debut in the summer and will be determined to prove himself to South African, as well as the English, public. England’s rock in a hard place, Paul Collingwood, is in the form of his life, embodying the new attacking mindset demanded by Strauss and Flower. He made the South African bowling look pedestrian in the one day series and has averaged almost 48 since his career saving century against them at Edgbaston last year. In the new regime, Collingwood’s substance is more highly valued than Ian Bell’s style, and should mean he keeps his place at number 5, until the summer at least.
There have been a few questions about the form of Alastair Cook, but, these seem harsh of a 24 year old who has already notched up 3500 test runs at an average of over 42. Cook’s mental toughness should ensure he overcomes his technical problems. After all, technical weaknesses are much easier to resolve than mental ones, and he’ll like the pace and bounce of South African wickets. When you add Kevin Pietersen’s inevitable return to form into the mix, England’s batting looks a strong unit.
England’s bowling doesn’t look bad either. Graeme Swann is the best spinner in the world these days, or has been since his introduction to test cricket a year ago. Graham Onions has looked more than the part as well. Rightly preferred to Harmison, he is quick enough, accurate and aggressive when he needs to be. He also seems to have a good temperament. His memorable two wickets in two balls at Edgbaston in the Ashes came immediately after being flayed to all parts the previous evening, showing a strength of character so often absent in his Durham colleague. If Anderson and Broad are fit, and Sidebottom’s current return to form continues, England’s seamers should be able cause South Africa problems – if not blow them away.
This brings us to the most pressing issue – the absence of Freddie. The statistics suggest that England have been more successful recently when playing six batsmen, than five bowlers. But many of these victories have come against lesser teams – the only notable exception being against Pakistan were beaten by an on form Harmison and Panesar in 2006. Unfortunately, England’s current bowlers don’t have quite the same firepower as Harmison and Panesar in their pomp. England need five bowlers to consistently take 20 wickets in a game – and England should play five bowlers if they want to stick to their new, attacking approach. It certainly appears to be the way they are leaning at the moment, with Luke Wright the favourite to fill the all-rounder role. The danger of this approach is that, by opting for an inferior all-rounder, England will diminish both disciplines.
Luke Wright has shown in Championship cricket this season that he has the ability to be a good batsmen, and may well be good enough to bat at number seven in test cricket eventually, but his bowling, quite frankly isn’t up to much. He bowls quickish – but at full tilt, for short spells and gun barrel straight. Every ball seems to be an effort ball. This is fine for four or five overs in a one day game, but he will undoubtedly struggle to bowl long spells of penetrative bowling in a test match, without finding some way of deceiving batsmen with movement off the seam or in the air. If England are going to play an all-rounder, it needs to be a bowling all-rounder, which is largely what Flintoff had become by the end of his career.
The elusive balance that England are trying to find doesn’t come along very often. When England were at their best, in 2004-2005, they essentially played three different degrees of all-rounders: Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles. Multi-dimensional cricketers were the order of the day under Duncan Fletcher, and the fact that England could count on people scoring runs at numbers six, seven and eight in the batting order, meant they could play five bowlers. The runs were important, but wickets were the key. This is why Wright, a batting all-rounder, doesn’t fit the bill. Tim Bresnan, who has over 200 first class wickets to his name and could quite legitimately feel aggrieved not to be in the squad as a bowler, would be a better choice to do the job.
What England don’t seem to realise is that they already have an out and out all-rounder in the side in the form of Matt Prior. Prior averages over 44 in test cricket, and is a test match number six. This should give England the flexibility to play bowling all-rounders at numbers seven and eight. This means that whoever bats at number seven doesn’t need to replace Andrew Flintoff, they need to replace Geraint Jones – not quite such a tall order. Both Broad and Swann average over 30 in tests at the moment and should be more than adequate to replace Jones and Giles.
If England are really the attacking side they claim to be, they should play five proper bowlers, with Anderson, Broad, Sidebottom, Onions and Swann, and take advantage of the fact that South Africa only have four bowlers in the first test. This will give them the best chance of winning. Either way, it looks set to be another close, hard-fought series.
Good work James! I enjoyed reading it, although I am not sure if Graeme Swann is really the best spinner in the world. He is very good though!
Whatever Bigs. The stats don’t lie. Check them out:
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;spanmin1=10+Dec+2008;spanval1=span;template=results;type=bowling