OPINION
Follow UsThe most salient feature of an all-rounder’s credentials lies in his/her averages. The batting average should be higher than the bowling average. The magnitude of the difference, with batting average on the higher side, highlights the quality of the all-rounder. The same reflects on the quality of a team as well. Good sides are generally referred to as all-round sides which translates to having a higher batting average than the bowling average.
Since the start of 2021, England average 23.9 with the bat as compared to 30.5 with the ball.
Certainly, that isn’t a healthy balance. At least one facet is truly off the mark.
The global runs per wicket ratio in this time period is 28.8*. England are off the radar on both fronts but while the bowling difference is manageable, the batting deficit is a self-inflicted knockout punch.
England have lost 10 out of their 17 Tests in this period. They have won only four and each of the three draws was inflicted by weather. It is safe to presume that it's the batting that has let them down.
Their runs-per-wicket and balls-per-wicket ratio are the lowest. Neither they are scoring runs nor they are staying long enough in the middle.
“There seems to be a reinvention of the wheel in batting. There are techniques that seem to say that everyone who has played the game before is wrong and we are right. Please, get back to batting normally,” said an infuriated Nasser Hussain after England collapsed to 122 all out on a batting friendly Edgbaston pitch against New Zealand in June.
In a country that has framed the basics of orthodox batting, Joe Root was the only player who batted as per Hussain's request. Hence, it is no coincidence that on the four occasions when England scored 350, it was at the back of big contributions from Root - 228, 186, 218 and 180*. On the other end, more often than not, there was something funky going on - strange stance, awkward back lifts, front foot going too across, fiddling outside the off-stump.
In Ashes 2021/22 series, England averaged only 20.20, their joint-lowest in a series outside Asia since 1985.
"Doesn't matter what bowlers you play if you are getting bowled out for 140,” concluded Stuart Broad after taking a five-for in the Sydney Test earlier this year.
All the cricket England played in 2021 prior to December was in preparation for their assignment Down Under. As it happens with every anticipated event that takes a catastrophic route, a reshuffle was evident.
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On the bowling front, the celebrated duo of James Anderson and Broad have been shown the way. Maybe it is not the end of the road for them but their absence is a futuristic statement.
But that could be the case for their first-choice wicketkeeper-batter for a number of years now, Jos Buttler who is one of the four batters to have been omitted from the Ashes bunch. Buttler has been the flagbearer of England’s obsession with their white-ball stars.
Awed by Buttler’s success in shorter formats, England even played him as a specialist batter at seven. The Ashes was probably his last chance to render England’s investment in him worthy. After averaging 22.8 across 10 Tests since 2021, he might well have exhausted the length of the rope.
ECB’s interim director Andrew Strauss has stated otherwise but Ben Foakes' selection as the first-choice wicketkeeper on the Caribbean trip confirms that Buttler’s return now depends on factors beyond his control.
In other major shifts, England will yet again have a brand new opening pair. Since September 2012, the retirement of Strauss, they have tried 21 openers, the most by a Test side.
For long, their problem was the absence of an opening partner for Alastair Cook. The fact that they couldn’t find anyone until Cook’s retirement parched them further and only underlines the dearth of long-term batting solutions in the county system.
In Ashes 2021/22, England’s openers averaged 16.1 as compared to Australia’s 28.1. Zak Crawley is the only one who reached a fifty. It is his 77 at SCG that now makes him their incumbent opener. He will be partnered with Alex Lees, the Durham opener who is set to make his debut against West Indies. Both have been earmarked for a bright future and for once, England will hope their desperate hunt for openers get them somewhere.
Dawid Malan is the fourth member of the Ashes batting line-up to face the snub. In the recent past, England have used the number three only as a filler position between the openers and Root. With the skipper insisting on batting at three in the Caribbean, that role didn’t exist. It would be natural to feel bad for Malan had he averaged more than 24.4 across five Tests Down Under.
Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence managed to cling on to their spots. Pope averaged 11.2 in three Tests in Australia but has kept his place on his future potential. His presence is an indication that England have not hit the panic button but they are trusting the process.
Lawrence was benched throughout the Ashes. He may thank his stars as it was that kind of a tour where not playing was better in the hindsight. The gift of hindsight and an 83 in the warm-up game keep Lawrence in front for the number four spot.
For long, England have shown a perplexing approach towards assembling their batting resources in Test cricket. Blinded by their white-ball success, they have unsuccessfully tried to blend it with their red-ball fortunes. There is no other explanation behind Jason Roy playing Test cricket in 2019. That is where Hussain’s words gain perspective.
Everything comes with its pros and cons. Maybe the upside of the Ashes drubbing is that England will finally look beyond their white-ball stars and build a red-ball team by “batting normally”.
* Stats prior to the India-Sri Lanka and Pakistan-Australia series.
