England’s first-test defeat to Pakistan could force a much-needed ECB overhaul
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Updated 20/07/2016 at 21:10 GMT
England’s 75-run defeat to Pakistan in the first test of the summer series at Lord’s could ultimately prove to have a positive impact on English cricket.
Trevor Bayliss and Alastair Cook talk tactics
Image credit: Reuters
Reports on Wednesday suggest that the defeat, performance and – most importantly – selection have drawn a strong reaction out of ECB Director of Cricket Andrew Strauss, particularly the decision to leave James Anderson and Ben Stokes out of the 12-man squad.
Both coach Trevor Bayliss and captain Alistair Cook were rumoured to have wanted the pair in the XI for Lord’s, but the selection committee of James Whitaker, Angus Fraser and Mick Newell decided to give them an extra week of recovery and pick Gary Ballance and Toby Roland-Jones in the squad instead.
Strauss had already been considering an overhaul of the selection process for the England team, according to Daily Mail cricket writer Paul Newman, but the clash between the selectors and coach at Lord’s has made his mind up.
The future system – likely to be brought in at the end of the English summer – would see Strauss himself joining Bayliss and Cook on a three-man panel tasked with picking the team.
The move, if implemented, would be a welcome change to an antiquated system that creates tension behind the scenes and limits the impact that the national team’s big decision-makers can have on each specific series.
So, while defeat at Lord’s was a blow, the impact of the loss on the England hierarchy could be overwhelmingly positive for the future.
Looking ahead to the second test, the selectors have taken the decisions out of their own hands by naming a 14-man squad with a host of permutations.
Anderson and Stokes to return?
The pair are both back from injury for the Old Trafford test and the decision for Bayliss and Cook is not whether they will start, but who they will replace.
The form of Chris Woakes means he is a dead-cert for selection, as is stalwart Stuart Broad, meaning that the out-of-sorts Steven Finn and Lord’s debutant Jake Ball would be the obvious two to make way. That, in turn, would strengthen England’s batting, with Stokes to come in at 6, pushing the talented lower order down one.
However, the recent injuries of Stokes and Anderson may persuade the England bosses to opt for six bowling options by picking the Durham all-rounder at five. James Vince, with a test average of just 18.6 from his six innings, would appear to be the most vulnerable member of the batting line-up, while picking six bowlers would mean plenty of variation in the attack.
What about Moeen?
Moeen Ali’s rash shot in the second innings of the Lord’s test hinted at a player with low confidence, but it is Moeen’s bowling that is the real problem – an average of over 90 in 2016 simply not good enough for test level.
Moeen is a fascinating cricketer, brilliant to watch with the bat and more of a useful wicket-taker than his critics would suggest with his off-breaks. But his lack of form with the ball has made his place in the side extremely vulnerable.
Adil Rashid, drafted into the squad for Manchester, would be the most obvious replacement, particularly given Pakistan’s raft of right-handers.
However, it’s not that long ago that Ali scored 150 not out against Sri Lanka, while his second innings dismissals of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan might just be enough to save the incumbent. Plus there’s also a logical reason to keep Moeen in the side:
I've always thought of playing two spinners (at home), at some stage," Bayliss said after the first test. "Pakistan have three left-arm pace bowlers who created rough outside the off stump for Moeen. So looking ahead, if we did happen to have two spinners, they could both play an important part for us.
Spin from both ends?
One option that England may go for is a dual spin attack, with Stokes coming in at five to leave space for both Rashid and Moeen in a six-man bowling attack.
The Old Trafford wicket takes plenty of spin and should be even more dry after the recent warm weather in the area, although it could be a risk against a Pakistan side who leave to go after spin bowling – as they showed against England in the UAE back in the autumn.
And what about the batsman?
England’s batsman bore the brunt of the blame for the Lord’s defeat so, never mind changes to the bowling attack, the big issue for England is how they manage to deal with the brilliant Yasir Shah.
The spinner jumped to the top of the test rankings with his performance at the home of cricket, bamboozling England even without being able to generate much turn.
Yasir Shah, I reckon, is the best leg-spinner since Shane Warne," Ben Stokes said ahead of the second test. "But we go into the test match knowing how he goes about bowling and we should be able to counteract that.
And it’s not just Shah that England have to worry about. Pakistan’s left armers have the pace and movement to take early wicket, exposing that vulnerable middle-order to Shah’s spin early on in the innings.
Series hangs in the balance
Lose this test and the series is gone for England, so they are going to have to pull it together quickly.
Getting a good total on the board against Pakistan’s dangerous bowling attack is the key. The visitors look like they could struggle with the bat on this tour, so setting a sizeable first innings score should put England well on the way to levelling the series.
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