Consistency is one of the buzz words in professional sport, but the only thing England’s cricket selectors seem to do at the moment is get things consistently wrong.
I haven’t written about cricket on this site for a while, but having enjoyed a Bank Holiday weekend and a week at home with my parents, I thought it was about time we put football in a little box under the stairs for a while.
My opening statement may appear a little strange when you consider England have won three out of their last four Test matches, but for once, I fear good results are papering over the cracks and propping up crumbling foundations before the whole thing comes crashing down against South Africa later this summer.
Let’s not kid ourselves. New Zealand are one of the weaker nations in world cricket. Not as bad as Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, but roughly equal in talent to the West Indies side beaten so comprehensively on home soil last year.
Yet England, over there during the winter and over here this summer, have made worryingly hard work out of beating them. At Lord’s, New Zealand were moving into a potential match-winning position before the rain wiped out the final day and, at Old Trafford, it took some wonderful bowling from Monty Panesar and a heavy roller to kill the pitch’s bounce for England’s second innings to secure a win.
In the end, England’s win was a triumph over adversity and exciting because of it, but my point is, England should not be struggling so badly against a side of New Zealand’s questionable ability.
If England play like that against South Africa in a couple of months time and if they play like that against Australia in 12 months time, they will be annihilated.
So what are the major problems in a side which, for the first time in 100 years, will be unchanged for a fifth successive Test?
For starters, the batting line-up looks fragile, with Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell both hopelessly out of touch. Alastair Cook is not making many runs at the top of the order and Kevin Pietersen is flattering too deceive far too often for my liking.
If it was not for Andrew Strauss’ return to form and some stubborn batting from Michael Vaughan, England would be losing this series, not winning it. As a unit, the batsmen are not scoring the 400 plus totals which allow team to dominate Test cricket and, as was well documented at Old Trafford, the run rate has become pedestrian, cautious and uninspiring.
I’ve argued for a long time that Collingwood’s place in the side is vulnerable, but while the selectors have stood by him for the Third Test at Trent Bridge there is a suspicion the Durham all-rounder has kept his place mainly because it would be embarrassing to drop England’s one day captain ahead of the summer internationals.
Collingwood still averages 41.64 in Test cricket, but he has not scored a century in 22 innings and since that 128 against the West Indies at Chester-le-Street last June he averages just 33.8. Not a disastrous return, but also not one which ensures he is an automatic choice, which is how the selectors seem to view him.
Mind you, should Collingwood be sent back to Durham to regain some form, you suspect the 32-year-old will simply decide the time is right for him to have surgery on his problematic shoulder rather than play for his county.
It is harsh to solely blame Collingwood for the team’s poor batting and Bell should also be feeling nervous given his lack of runs this season, but who would come into the side? Matt Prior is leading the charts in the County Championship but will he be picked as a specialist batsman? But why has Owais Shah not had a fair chance to show what he can do? Is it a case of the face not fitting? How about Essex’ Ravi Bopara?
However, I also have some issues with the bowling. If England are going to win the Ashes next summer I firmly believe that they need a stronger attack than the one they are sending out now. Ryan Sidebottom is a yes, and so is Monty Panesar, but for me, Stuart Broad isn’t ready to lead an attack yet and James Anderson isn’t good enough when conditions aren’t helpful.
Broad reminds me a lot of Durham’s Liam Plunkett. Sent into the England side at 21, can bat a bit as well as bowl and is praised heavily at first before the wickets dry up, the criticism starts and his game disintegrates, leaving his county coaches to pick up the pieces. As for Anderson, he will always be dominated by world class batsmen and Australia and South Africa have plenty of those.
Nope, if England are going to beat Australia - and perhaps even South Africa - they need two players to be fit and in form, Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison. Quick, hostile and know what is needed to win an Ashes series!
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