England's questions to answer before Ashes test

Ebullient England fresh from their stunning World T20 triumph in the Caribbean, return to test cricket on Thursday at Lord's with what should be a straightforward two test series against Bangladesh. Pakistan should provide stronger opposition when they tour later in the summer, with the emphasis being on the word 'should' given that the only thing in cricket more unpredictable than the Pakistan cricket team is its new skipper Shahid Afridi.

These two series of course are merely the hors d'oeuvre to the sumptuous main course that awaits in Australia in November. England haven't won a series Down Under since 1987 and retaining the Ashes in front of a baying Australian public represents the ultimate challenge for Andrew Strauss and his team.

Despite the obvious buoyancy that currently surrounds this England team, Strauss and canny coach Andy Flower know that they still need to arrange a number of pieces in the jigsaw over the summer in readiness for the Ashes battle that lies ahead. Ricky Ponting's men will be determined to wrest the little urn back from their oldest foes and know that recent history is on their side.

In our view only Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad can be assured of their places, barring injury and loss of form, come the Gabba in November. Alastair Cook, James Anderson and probably Ian Bell are also likely to feature in the XI but will need strong summers in order to be sure of their places.

The questions that Strauss, Flower and chief selector Geoff Miller will want to answer over the course of the summer are:

 

Who should open with Strauss?

In all likelihood Cook will remain as Strauss' opening partner and heir apparent, but his poor record against Australia is a concern. Severe deficiencies in his technique were exposed by Ponting's men last summer and this followed a poor tour to Australia in 2006/07, where his hundred at Perth overshadowed what was otherwise a disappointing series. Cook looked like he had eliminated these flaws over the winter and his patient hundred at Durban laid the foundations for England's win there. With the paucity of other options (Michael Carberry and Adam Lyth are the only two names that spring to mind), this is not the most difficult question for Strauss and Flower to answer.

 

Who bats at three?

Number three remains a problem for England. Jonathan Trott certainly didn't look a natural for the role over the winter, Ian Bell has yet to register a century in over 30 test innings in this pivotal position and Kevin Pietersen has appeared reluctant on take on the extra responsibility of batting at three. This is a crucial question for Strauss and Flower to answer. Hopefully, England's new attacking outlook will extend to Pietersen being foisted into the role - he is England's best batsman and as such should fill the key position in the batting order.

 

Four or five bowlers?

England's preference is to go with five bowlers, but this is perhaps one area where a less attacking option is required. He may have improved tenfold, but the thought of Tim Bresnan batting at seven in an Ashes series in Australia does not exactly fill us with confidence and no doubt Ponting will be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect. It should remain an option, but England need to bed in a number six batsman should they opt for the safe approach as they did in South Africa. With Pietersen, Collingwood and Bell likely to fill slots three, four and five, this would seem to be a battle between Eoin Morgan, Trott, Ravi Bopara and as an outside bet what about Ben Stokes of Durham? Trott's performances over the winter suggest that his magnificent debut at the Oval could have been a case of beginners luck. He will need a big summer to remain in contention. Bopara provides an extra option with his medium pace, but may be too mentally scarred from his nightmares of last summer. Stokes is clearly going to be some player, but he is only 18 and has a mere handful of first-class appearances behind him, so it may be too early for him. This leaves Morgan, who will make his test debut at Lord's. If he can transfer his one day and Twenty 20 form to five day cricket, then England will have their answer especially as Morgan's unorthodoxy and attacking mindset would appear perfect for the number six role.

 

Prior or Kieswetter?

Matt Prior has done well in test cricket since his recall two years ago and in any other circumstances would be a shoo-in for the Ashes. But Kieswetter could become England's Adam Gilchrist and his introduction to international cricket has so far been quite extraordinary. The Somerset keeper's flaw is his work with the gloves, which needs serious improvement. Dropping Ponting or missing a stumping to dismiss Michael Clarke could cost England the series, so Kieswetter will need to show marked progress to take the gloves from Prior this time. But his time will surely come. 

 

Which seamers should board the plane? 

Six seamers are likely to board the plane bound for the land of Dame Edna, but which six? Broad, Bresnan and Anderson will be three, but then it is three more from Steve Finn, Ryan Sidebottom, Ajmal Shahzad, Graham Onions, Steve Harmison, Chris Woakes and maybe even Chris Tremlett. A tall bowler that can extract bounce from the helpful Australian wickets is a must and if Finn continues the good impression he made in Bangladesh then he is the most likely, otherwise a recall for Harmison or even Tremlett is not out of the question. New bowling coach David Saker has already talked up Harmison's chances and if he is in form, we would take him. Onions will also go if he proves his fitness but his long term back injury is a concern. Fitness worries will also probably rule out Sidebottom and Tremlett. Shahzad is untried at test level but is in the squad for the Lord's test so must be in strong contention. There are a lot of questions to answer here.

 

Who should be the back-up spinner?

This is also an intriguing question. A second spinner may be required at Adelaide and Sydney, but there is no obvious candidate. The options would seem to be James Tredwell, Monty Panesar and Adil Rashid, with Rashid's county colleague David Wainwright an outside bet. To further complicate the issue, England are unlikely to play two spinners in any of the summer test matches so will have to make a decision based on county form. Tredwell did reasonably well in Bangladesh but Ponting, Clarke and Michael Hussey would represent a much tougher proposition. Rashid is suffering from a lack of confidence and his wickets have come expensively so far this summer. Wainwright is untried. This leaves Monty, who should go if he can get back to near his best with Sussex as he is the likeliest to run through the Aussie line up.

 

For what it's worth, our preferred XI for the Gabba is Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Morgan, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson and Finn, with Bopara/Trott/Carberry, Bresnan, Onions, Harmison, Kieswetter and Panesar making up the remainder of the squad.

   

Comments

[Gcw]

So here are my answers:

1) Cook
2) Pietersen, no question
3) Let's be flexible here. I would start with four bowlers, get a foothold in the series and select 5 bowlers at the locations where a victory is more achievable. People moan that four bowlers is a negative move, but it 5 bowlers only works if you have a top-quality all rounder. Bresnan is good, but relatively inexperienced.
4) I would take both Prior and Kieswetter, either could probably play purely as a batsman.
5) I cannot believe the stories about Harmison or that anyone in their right minds would consider taking him. Saker has not "talked up his chances", he merely said he would not rule him out. That is code for "no comment", but the media will always create a story from it. Why do you think the Aussies are already saying how tough an opponent he is? Harmison is, barring a massive injury crisis, finished. His form for Durham is completely irrelevant, because he never tours well. So: Broad, Anderson, Bresnan, Finn, Onions, Shahzad.
6) Probably Tredwell unless Rashid's form is good enough to get him a couple of Tests before the summer is out - unlikely. The same with Monty only more so.

I do agree with your Brisbane XI, but the rest of my squad would be:

Trott, Kieswetter, Bresnan, Onions, Shahzad, Tredwell

[Jake]

I agree with your XI too, the only real deviation there would be is if the selectors stick with Trott at 3 and leave out Morgan. I wouldn't, but the selectors will.

There's no need for Keiswetter to go, he won't get in unless Prior is injured, so we can afford to leave him at home.

Bresnan, Shazad and Onions will be the backup seamers, but Bresnan will play if Finn fails to get wickets this summer. Tredwell in as second choice spinner, but he probably won't get a game without Swann being injured.

Morgan and Carberry to be the backup batsmen, Morgan because he deserves it and Carberry in case they decided to go with an opener at 3.

[The Reverse Sweep]

I must confess to being a huge Harmison fan, but I am probably living on past glories here. He has all the tools to do well in Australia but didn't exactly cover himself in glory on the two tours he has made Down Under. So, as long as Finn is ready I have no problem with Harmy not going. On the second spinner debate though, I just don't think Tredwell is good enough to succeed in Australia. Rashid seems to have lost confidence and form, so I would definitely go with Monty providing he produces the goods for Sussex.

[The Reverse Sweep]

I hope the selectors don't go for Trott at three. He is clearly not a test match number three and doesn't even bat there for Warwickshire. I think that Morgan will gatecrash the party and bat at six. We need a back-up keeper in case of injury to Prior and it makes sense that Kieswetter fulfils that role. I tend to agree with you on Carberry, which could mean that Trott misses out entirely - it is a big summer for him! As for the 2nd spinner, I'd definitely opt for Monty over Tredwell any day although I agree that we probably won't play two spinners unless we do so at Adelaide and/or Sydney.

[greyblazer]

The wickets in Australia aren't as bouncy as it used to be and interestingly last year they prepared tracks that had a bit of sideways movement on offer. It maybe due to the fact that Australia don't have either McGrath or Gillespie in the attack.

In recent times the most successful bowler from a visiting team in Australia has been Steyn and he isn't exactly tall. I think too much is made about bouncy tracks in Aus as it has slowed down a bit.

Harmison? the last time he did well away from home in a series was in 2004. If fit but that is a big if Onions can be a bit of surprise package in Australia as he would make the batsmen play. In Australia the kookaburra ball loses its shine very quickly and it is imperative that bowlers make the batsmen play with the new ball.

[greyblazer]

I would also like to add that Broad hasn't been very good in test cricket as he averages over 36 and frankly was disappointing in Bangladesh.

[The Reverse Sweep]

Broad wasn't great in Bangladesh, but the selectors like him and the fact that he has been rested shows he is nailed on for Australia. Hopefully he can reproduce his spell at the Oval on a more regular basis!

[The Reverse Sweep]

I agree with you on Onions, but will he be fit?