Ashes Cricket - It's Time For England To Consider Changes
It's time for England to consider taking some drastic action after they surrendered the Ashes meekly in Perth. England have now lost eighth straight Tests Down Under. They have won just one of their last six series on the road, including drawn series against lowly Test playing nations, Bangladesh and West Indies. England have won just 3 of their last 23 Test matches on foreign soil and now is as good a time as ever for a changing of the guard. England have never really been in this series against a good, but not great, Australian team, and that should signify repercussions for a side that doesn't look like a cohesive or happy unit at this point.
This tour has been a disaster before England arrived really with Ben Stokes’ antics, and further off-field indiscipline combining with on field ineffectiveness. Many expected Australia to win the series, however to do so in a clean sweep is embarrassing for England. Joe Root came into this series as a young captain, with the eye of the tiger as the equal best batsman in the world. However he looks a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders at the moment, as he spoke glumly and without much conviction in his post-match press conference. Root looks a man without the answers, or the energy, as a batsman or captain to turn the tide.
Clearly there needs to be a lot of soul searching done in Team England to avoid what would be a third 5-0 whitewash in their last four Tours to Australia. I would be dropping Stuart Broad and putting Alistair Cook firmly in the gun. Replacing two all-time greats wouldn't necessarily make England stronger; however, that's not the point. Joe Root needs to take ownership of this side and, with some of his most senior players under-performing, Melbourne and Sydney shape as an ideal time to shake things up.
The biggest question I would be asking, if I were in the England hierarchy heading to Melbourne, is how do we get the best out of our Captain and best batsman in Joe Root? Firstly, I would ask him does he desperately want to be the Captain of England? The answer has to be a resounding yes, because he is too good a player to have the captaincy as a burden. If he really doesn't want it, then replace him immediately and tell him to focus all his energy on reclaiming his spot as one of the premier batsmen in the world.
Root looks mentally drained with the bat, a shadow of the world-class batsman he has become over the past four years. Perhaps most disturbing, he doesn't look to be in full command of his side, in my opinion. It doesn't look like his team, and I think that is a problem. Whether he doesn't have the strong personality to get the likes of Broad and Anderson on board, I'm not sure; however the body language between those guys hasn't been great at times. Root has tried a variety of funky fields and plans to some of Australia’s best players, mostly to no avail. It's almost like he is trying too hard to look different with some of these plans, and the litany of boundary riders has set a passive and defensive mentality that can spread like wildfire through a team. You don't win in Australia through attitudinal cricket; however England appear stuck in that mindset.
Whilst this England squad came into Australia as underdogs and looked brittle and lacking in depth compared to Tour’s past, some of their lesser likes have performed admirably. The likes of Mark Stoneman, Dawid Malan and Craig Overton have all shown more than a few glimpses they are worth persisting with, whilst James Vince has flattered to deceive, but has had his moments. However, their senior players have gone missing in action this tour with Cook Broad struggling mightily. Whilst Joe Root and James Anderson have underperformed, they have at least had their moments and looked on the verge of finding form. The same can’t be said for Cook and Broad.
Cook has been a great player however he is in diabolical form. Whether he has 150 games or not under the belt 83 runs from 6 digs is a paltry return. Cook looks totally devoid of confidence or intent in his stroke play. He averages around 30 in Ashes cricket and, outside of the 2010/11 series when he was imperious, Australia seem to have the answers against him. My biggest problem with Cook is not only his form, but the fact he seems to have become more and more defensive and submissive with each innings. Over the past few years Cook has had 5 or 6 different opening partners and, whilst Mark Stoneman looks keen, Cook is putting pressure on his younger comrades by his lack of initiative or ability to turn over the strike.
Broad racked up career worst figures of 0/146 yesterday in an uncharacteristically limp display, which summed up this tour where he has just 5 wickets at an average over 70. He failed to land a consolation wicket and has now gone 54 overs since his last breakthrough. His batting is also a massive concern for me. It sets a bad example when a senior player is virtually running away from the ball as Broad is at the moment. It shows significant psychological scarring and, whilst you can't deny having your face smashed up by a cricket ball would have lasting effects in battle, for the Ashes series it gives the Australians a huge psychological advantage when one of England’s most senior players is cowering away from the ball. He has been a great competitor, but looks out of gas.
Both Broad and Cook could well survive the chop and you could argue their fantastic records deserve such loyalty. On the flip side dropping them might be the wake-up they need prove the great players they are, rediscover their mojo and get back. It could rejuvenate them as they both look stale. I admit I don't know a lot about England's back up players including Mark Wood and Mason Crane. But occasionally, when the decision is made to drop a player with a massive reputation in the game, it puts everyone on notice and, whilst there might be some significant fallout, what exactly do England have to lose from here? Cook’s and Broad’s egos might be dented, but could they really have any complaints on form.