Chris Tremlett: England have lost sight of the art of opening and need to go back to basics
As much as it’s ultimately good for the game to avoid two dead rubbers, England’s thrashing by India, which was confirmed this morning, was very disappointing.
Trent Bridge is a ground where England tend to play well and with James Anderson and Stuart Broad on a high after the Lord’s win they would have been confident of making it 3-0 and securing the Test series.
But right from winning the toss and putting India in to bat they were playing catch up. Led by captain Virat Kohli the tourists turned the series on its head by out-playing their opponents in every aspect.
Their batsmen applied themselves well and dealt with the conditions better, their attack bowled better and at a consistently higher pace and they were near-faultless in their catching.
Jasprit Bumrah (left) and KL Rahul were two of the stars for India in the field at Trent Bridge (Source: Getty)
From an English perspective it was the same old story.
Losing early wickets is a major flaw which keeps leaving the middle order exposed to the new ball. A collapse is happening too often.
Even in winning their previous three matches, the problem has loomed large and they’re going to have to sort it out if they have aspirations to become one of the best teams in the world again.
Temperament
Ben Stokes’ innings of 62 off 187 balls in the second innings used to be the norm, but you don’t see that sort of knock much nowadays because the game is changing.
With Twenty20 and the one-day game progressing I think it’s natural for batsmen to play more shots and score quicker.
Ben Stokes batted carefully alongside Jos Buttler, but his type of innings is becoming rarer (Source: Getty)
But because of the direction the game is going the old school temperament of getting through the new ball is disappearing.
Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott used to do it fantastically well for England. As a bowler sat in the pavilion you’d be confident they’d blunt the new ball, so that when the ball went soft the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior could come in and play their shots.
Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow can do that same job, but unfortunately we don’t seem to have guys with the ability to get the side through 40 overs with only one or two wickets lost.
They do it occasionally, but not consistently enough. Guys at the top of the order don’t seem able to adapt and do the boring things.
Consistency
With Keaton Jennings struggling and Cook perhaps ruled out of the next Test by the birth of his third child I think Rory Burns can come in.
The Surrey left-hander has been consistent, scoring over 1,000 first-class runs in each of the last four seasons, and having played with him I know his attitude is good, he bats time and he’s a bit of a throwback.
Rory Burns has scored 951 runs at an average of 67.92 for Surrey in the County Championship this season (Source: Getty)
He certainly deserves a chance, but he’s not going to come in and magically turn things around. Like any opening batsman, he has weaknesses. It’s not easy at the top of the order, especially for someone who’s never played a Test match.
Bairstow’s fractured finger means another potential change, so England have a lot to consider over the next week.
They need to buck up their ideas because the next two venues, the Ageas Bowl and the Oval, are less conducive to swing and look to suit India better. With the score line at 2-1 it’s going to be tight.