Ok, so England lost a series they shouldn’t have. They seem to have played some decent cricket along the way and the pitches had a large part in delaying their victory charge in the previous matches. Nonetheless, are England better or worse off for the forthcoming English summer and the prospect of facing the Aussies?
Selection…
It’s been an experimental tour in many ways with Bell, Harmison and Monty all dropped due to a trot of poor performances. Encouraging that this has happened to scotch the idea of an England closed shop and hopefully players like Shah, Khan and Rashid will take their opportunities.
Captaincy
On all sorts of levels, Andrew Strauss is in for the long haul. He’s batting sublimely, is conducting himself well and doesn’t seem worried about shaking things up if the team isn’t aachieving what it should be. A 1-0 defeat in his first Test series shouldn’t detract from a decent debut tour in difficult circumstances.
Bowling
When fit again, Swann clearly has taken the first spinner’s berth from Monty who at least is taking wickets again and squeeling excitedly, if over-jealously. A shame Rashid didn’t get a chance in the last Test but then he has the ODIs to show what he’s made of and if he impresses then that makes things interesting for the selectors for the return series and Australia.
Batting
First Test aberration aside, the batting is racking up the runs, in the Windies at least, though the number three slot remains an issue. Having deposed Ian Bell finally, it was a crying shame that Owais Shah did not capitalise and being run out does not help his cause. I suspect Bell will return for the Tests back in England. Cook, Strauss, Vaughan, Pietersen, Collingwood, Flintoff has a ring to it….
Bowling
Clearly English wickets will not be dreadfully flat, run-laden beasts unless Somerset gets surprisingly awarded Test venue status anytime soon. So, the good news is that taking wickets shouldn’t be quite so taxing. The issue that continues to linger like a bad smell is that when the going gets tough and Andrew Flintoff isn’t on the field……………………England tend to struggle. Yes, they have a fine record without him in the side but there might just be that unconscious reliance on the big man to step up.
Pace bowling slots are by no means nailed down for the Windies at Lords. Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Harmison and James Anderson might all be jettisoned or retained en masse. I guess the endless ODIs in between might play a part there…..what price a rejuvenated Matthew Hoggard in seaming conditions early May? Of all the pace options, I’d imagine Stuart Broad is the only one whose place seems cemented.
England in decent nick?
You only have to see how Australia are mashing SA in their own backyard to see that tales of the Aussies’ demise (see the 14 pages or so in Wisden for starters) have been somewhat over-egged. Losing away in India can happen to anyone and narrowly at home to Graeme Smith’s troops was unexpected but not life-threatening. Ricky Ponting’s team has cast aside the ageing drift wood, embraced young talent and come back in spades. They will arrive in form and with serious confidence.
England must now try and win something in West Indies (at least it’s limited overs cricket so a result is assured) and then thrash the West Indies when they return to England. By then, the unwelcome diversion of the IPL will have made millionaires of some in the England upper echelons but one secretly hopes Andrew Flintoff avoids wreaking further havoc on his body at the IPL as his presence against Australia is absolutely unerringly crucial…