By Sam Moakes
England kick off a four-test match series against Virat Kohli’s India tomorrow, who remain unbeaten for nine years in home test series’ and are coming off a win for the ages in Australia. Joe Root’s men hold a record themselves, as the first England side to win five consecutive away tests for 100 years, but this is almost certainly going to come to an end for these reasons:
Virat Kohli (centre left) and Joe Root (centre right) during a toss the last time England faced off against India. Photo from the BCCI, featured on an article by The Statemen, 7 September 2018.
Opening For Business…But Not For Long
Why not start this preview as England will, with the openers. As Jonny Bairstow gets a few weeks off at home, Rory Burns will more than likely come back to open with Dom Sibley as Zak Crawley is ruled out due to a wrist injury. This opening duo will be crucial in defining whether England can even think about competing in India. But the outlook is bleak.
Now, we all know that spin is king on the flat, cracking pitches under India’s hot sun. Sibley and Crawley’s challenges against the spinning ball were there for all to see in Sri Lanka, even on pitches that perhaps did not turn as much as they will in India. Sri Lanka’s frontline spinner Lasith Embuldeniya took seven of their eight wickets available across four innings, with Sibley’s 56* in the final innings preventing him from getting a full house.
Dom Sibley playing a forward defensive shot vs Sri Lanka. Photo by Sri Lanka Cricket.
Perhaps more glaring is that the pair only managed to record a combined 97 total runs across both matches, with just Embuldeniya showing any kind of threat. To make the picture bleaker Embuldeniya is just the 36th highest rated ICC Test bowler in the world. India’s Ravi Ashwin? Eighth, and the highest ranking spinner. With two of Axar Patel, who could be chosen as he has the ability to turn the ball away from England’s over-represented squad of right-handers, Washington Sundar or Kuldeep Yadav coming in alongside Ashwin, the inexperienced Sibley will have to show Root-like tenacity to just survive.
But hey, Rory Burns is back. His unorthodox stance and relative experience can save us, right…right? Well, no. Rory Burns’ summer series against the West Indies unearthed his own problems against spin, losing five of his eight wickets to all-rounder offie Roston Chase. Burns averaged just 28.2 last summer, and hasn’t played any first-class cricket since September. For perspective, in India’s last series loss at home, Alistair Cook posted 562 in eight innings. I’m not confident our duo will get anywhere near that, having not played a single game on Indian turf between them.
Runs scored per batsman in England’s test tour of Sri Lanka, where Joe Root scored 44% of England’s total runs. Note: ‘Bowlers’ include J. Anderson (4), M. Wood (3), S. Broad (11) and J. Leach (5). Data taken from BBC Sport’s scorecards.
I might be clutching at straws here, but there are some positive things about England’s batting. England’s best player of spin, Joe Root, is coming off the back of 228 and 186 in Galle, scoring 44% of England’s runs in Sri Lanka. He also averages 60.8 against Jadeja (though not playing) and 83.7 against Ashwin in tests, which is a very good sign for England.
The return of Ben Stokes should bolster the middle order, though he only averages 27 against India. Sibley battled hard for his unbeaten 56 in Sri Lanka, and may go into the India series in a better headspace after being in a “pretty dark place”. His likely opening partner Rory Burns showed some improvement in the summer, adding the sweep shot in an innings where he scored 90. But after ending his summer with scores of four, ten, a duck and six, I’m not too hopeful.
Only Joe Root averages over 38 of England’s more experienced batsman (54.13), with Bairstow (36.88), Buttler (35.56) and Stokes (29.92) lagging behind. Data taken from howSTAT!.com.
All that and I haven’t even mentioned quickies Jasprit Bumrah or Ishant Sharma. England are in for a real difficult time at the crease.
Ten Spin Bowling (Wickets Needed)
In truth, this has always been an area of difficulty for England. With the exceptions of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, England have failed to produce a high quality spinner in the last twenty years as a result of the swing-friendly conditions of the English summer. And, dissapointingly, this is the case now.
As saddening as it is, England’s current frontline spinners will not be anywhere near the level they need to be to sustainably threaten the Indian attack. This might be strange to hear if someone looks at Dom Bess and Jack Leach’s figures in Sri Lanka: A five-fer each and 22 wickets out of a possible 40. However, Bess’ maiden five-wicket haul will no doubt be his easiest in Test cricket, as Sri Lanka hacked at poor half-trackers and gifted Bess their wickets with a bow and all. Bessy lacked the control needed in the sub-continent, too often relying on the odd good ball.
Leach, taking an promising 10 wickets for an average of 35.5, should be slightly buoyed after his return from ill-health. But his own admittance after the Sri Lanka that he felt “a little rusty” is a quite worrying. On the one hand, he is bound to be off the pace after not playing cricket since September, and 100+ overs under his belt must be positive. But on the other, India. This Indian side are packed full of batting talent that goes deep, as Washington Sundar and Shardal Thakur’s seventh-wicket stand worth 123 in the recent Brisbane Test will tell you. There is no time for “rust” when facing Sharma, Gill, Pujara, Kholi, Rahul, Rahane, Pant…(fades into distance). You get the point.
Jack Leach’s 1* might just have damaged his bowling reputation. Photo by AFP, featurd on a Cricket Australia article dated 27 August 2019.
Yes, Bess and Leach got by in Sri Lanka, but neither should be content. As journalist Vithushan Ehantharajah stated, the pair were ‘rubbish, then brilliant, then rubbish again’; it is this lack of control that I am concerned about. Bess, as a young spinner, has not quite managed to show he can tie up an end, whilst Leach is not a strong enough strike bowler to take advantage even if he could. In contrast, England’s spinners in 2012-13 were Panesar and Swann, who took 37 of India’s 58 wickets. With suggestions this might be the best India side in the last 20 years, the spinners might be in for some demoralising bowling.
Let’s try to find some positives about England’s spinning shall we? Well Moeen Ali is in the squad again, and despite having a tough time with bat and ball over the last couple of years, he remains England’s best willing Test bowler. I have to say ‘willing’ as the better spinner, Adil Rashid, shows no signs of wanting to return to red ball cricket – doh. Moeen could certainly have a place in this team, with former England fast-bowler Steve Harmison telling TalkSport that he could see him coming in as a number 3 to add a third spinner that can bat. But this decision will probably only be prompted if (and when) Leach and Bess can’t get the job done. In the meantime, Joe Root should bowl himself more often. If India bat over a hundred overs, Rooty can definitely do a job for 10-15 overs to alleviate some pressure from Bess/Leach.
Moeen Ali during the 2017/18 Ashes Series. Moeen has taken 181 Test wickets at an average of 36.59, but not featured for the test side since Summer 2019. Photo by David Molloy, taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Away from spin, England’s seam attack are back in town. Jofra Archer and his express pace return to the squad after being rested for Sri Lanka, and will definitely be needed on the slower pitches in Chennai and Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, Anderson and Broad’s tendency to make analysts look very silly when doubted means I am hesitant to criticise them, as the pair are coming off decent performances in SL. Jimmy returning figures of 6-40 on a non-swinging wicket in Galle at age 38 is nothing short of ridiculous. Against such a stacked India, staying in the game and not leaking runs will be crucial; luckily this is Anderson and Broad’s strength.
Rotation: Understandable But Not Ideal
Much has been made of England boss Chris Silverwood’s decision to rotate the squad ahead of the India tests. Jos Buttler will go home after the first test, whilst Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Sam Curran are taking some time in England until their return for the third match. Silverwood is trying to get ahead of the curve in alleviating the chances of ‘bubble fatigue’, but this will almost certainly be to the detriment of the playing squad. TalkSport’s Steve Harmison makes the point that, if Buttler scores a century and carries England to victory in the first test, England will lose all that momentum by him leaving the squad.
This begs the question, why could he not be rested for Sri Lanka? SL was undoubtedly the easier matchup, and not one of England’s big ticket test-series’ this year (2 series vs India and The Ashes). Tampering with the squad mid-series could be very damaging, as ex-England captain David Gower suggests India-England is a ‘box-office series’ and should include England’s best team. In addition to the Buttler decision, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood will lose any rythm they achieved in SL. I’m not criticising the theory; I’m in the opinion of Gower, in that the mental effects of the bubble is something you ‘should not overlook’. But the timing of each departure and arrival is certainly odd.
A younger Joe Root (2 January 2014), many knew by then that he was destined for England success, ahead of playing in his 100th Test match tomorrow. Photo by Naparazzi, taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Joe Root’s suggestion that “we couldn’t be in a better place to challenge India” is blind optimism by the England star. Yes, you couldn’t be in a better place Rooty with your double hundred and average of over 50 in India, but your spinners, openers and rotating squad certainly could. This series will be all about England avoiding a crushing, and demoralising 4-0 defeat. Joe Root might need to score something close to 600 to challenge this India side, and if he could avoid coming in at 20-2 every innings that might help.
Hide behind the sofa when Sibley and Burns face spin, go and make a cuppa when Jasprit Bumrah strides in and have the Lord of the Rings box sets ready to put on for India’s inevitable 120 overs+ batting displays. Be prepared, this could be a messy one for England.
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With help from:
Elizabeth Ammon, ‘I was fretting about falling to a spinner again, admits Rory Burns’, The Times, 27 July 2020.
‘India vs England: Squad to leave quarantine after negative Covid-19 tests’, BBC Sport, 1 February 2021.
‘India vs England 2021: Predicted Playing XI for Team India for 1st Test’, Akstsay1.com, 3 February 2021.
Sam Drury, ‘England opener Dom Sibley says he was ‘in a dark place’ prior to his match-winning fifty against Sri Lanka’, Sky Sports, 25 January 2021.
Matthew Henry, ‘Australia vs India: Shardul Thakur & Washington Sundar lead fightback in Brisbane’, BBC Sport, 17 January 2021.
Vithushan Ehantharajah, ‘’The hardest craft’: The perception and curse of being an England spinner’, The Independent, 2 February 2021.
‘David Gower fears rotation could hurt England in ‘immense’ India series’, The Times of India, 4 February 2021.
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