First, let’s not be too churlish or too harsh. The Edgbaston Test was a great game of cricket and anyone who loves the game, rather than just supports England, will have cherished it.
Nasser Hussain and Kevin Pietersen were critical of England’s tactics after the game was lost but we shouldn’t be too quick to judge. Test cricket is a long game. It takes place not over 5 days but over 25 days, the full extent of this Ashes series. England’s approach may therefore yet be vindicated.
That said, it is rather worrying that Australia managed to look defensive and rather cowed, the man they brought in to keep it tight (Boland) went at five and a half an over, the three best-ranked batsmen in the world managed 101 between them in six innings, and they still managed to win.
So, here are some thoughts on what went wrong. Maybe they are omens or maybe, Stokes and McCullum being the remarkable convention-upsetting characters that they are, Test cricket is not yet biting back. It might be, though.
1. The first ball is only one ball
No, it doesn’t “set the tone”, Of course it doesn’t. Test cricket is played over 35 hours and 5 days, not one ball. Just because your slogger of an opening bat biffs the first ball to the boundary doesn’t mean the course of the game is set. The over-interpretation of this moment was quite absurd. In the event, Crawley was out three times for 68 runs and England lost the game. So much for the agenda-setting power of a single ball.
2. Play your best-wicketkeeper.
The wicketkeeper definitely needs to be capable of making runs. But we are not suggesting Bob Taylor, to bat at number 9 and eke out a few down the order. Ben Foakes has a first-class average close to 40. He is a better batsman than Dan Lawrence, the next man into the middle order. He is also a magnificent wicketkeeper and it is hard to believe that he would have missed the stumping off Moeen Ali before Cameron Green had scored. Foakes would, in all probability, have caught Alex Carey when Bairstow put him down. The combined effect of these misses was 78 runs, exactly what Bairstow contributed in the first innings. Surely the net effect of Foakes would be the greater, though this is not a case for dropping Bairstow. They should both be in the side.
3. Bold declaration
Ben Stokes took some flak for his declaration, late on the first day. England were just short of 400, Joe Root was 118 not out and Ollie Robinson was hitting heartily. Another 50 runs, which were entirely possible, would have been very welcome. Warner and Khawaja played out a few overs without incident and England forwent runs they could have done with. That said, if England had batted on, it is quite possible the game would have petered out into a draw. The declaration, as it turned out, opened up the prospect of victory at the cost of eventual defeat. I can see why an old pro might grumble at the outcome but you have to be particularly hard-hearted not to appreciate the final day. Stokes ought to be applauded for this rather than chastised.
4. Don’t think you can come into Test cricket unprepared
The selection of Moeen Ali didn’t work. Both teams had one batsmen who was better than all the rest (Root and Khawaja), small contributions from the rest and seam bowling that was a bit hit and miss. The big difference between the teams was the wicketkeeping and the spin bowling. Nathan Lyon took 8 for 229 in 53 overs. Moeen Ali and Joe Root between them bowled 69 overs and took 4 for 262.
"The selection of Moeen Ali didn’t work"
Of course, the ECB have decided to phase the season so that no prospective red ball spinner gets a chance to bowl on wickets that suit. Starting the County Championship in April, and handing over August, high summer, to the infantile idiocy of The Hundred means the death of test spin in England.
As an Aussie, I was surprised to see that Jimmy Anderson was your least threatening bowler. Do you think the next few tests will have some greener wickets with more swing, or will the groundsmen keep them flat to suit the English batting attack?