In Praise of the Victors

.... with a waspish aside to the commentators

Another remarkable Headingley Test has ended in a tight England victory. Here are a few words in praise of those who did most to bring it about.

Moeen Ali

That was the best 5 runs Moeen Ali will ever score. I have written before that Moeen Ali is a better batsman than a number eight and that he bats better when he is up the order. In his interview after the game Ben Stokes suggested that Moeen himself had asked Brendon McCullum if he could be promoted and McCullum had consented. If the personnel are to remain the same, they should stick to it.

It was good to see a senior professional taking responsibility. Joe Root ought to have done the same as soon as Ollie Pope was injured but didn’t. Good on Moeen for doing so. In one sense, the move didn’t work, Moeen only scored 5 runs. But it had the effect of releasing Harry Brook back to his favoured position of number 5. Brook duly played his best Test innings yet with 75 from 93 balls against first class bowlers, with the stakes and the intensity at their highest. The order looks better with Brook, Stokes and Bairstow at 5, 6 and 7. It’s either Root or Moeen at 3 and if Moeen is the one who fancies it, all power to him.

Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes should play every game in England. He now has 100 wickets at home at just over 22 each. He also has 994 runs at 35.5 with the bat. At home he is a world-class all-rounder, a first change bowler of the highest class and the best number 8 in the history of English cricket.

There is something unassuming and likeable about Woakes. With his sensible haircut and only just beyond bum-fluff beard, he looks like he was searching for the door to the vestry and ended up at the cricket club by mistake. He is an old-fashioned, junior yeoman kind of a man, an impression endorsed by the hint of Solihull in his voice and his calm politeness in interviews. He is popular around the team and has been known to go back to his local club, where he is regarded by all as an unprepossessing hero. He is, in a way, a throwback, an antidote to the performative entertaining of Bazball. Yet he has found his place and had his day and the England team is better for it.

Mark Wood

Two quick thoughts on Wood, beyond the skill and pace of his bowling and the madcap adventure of his batting. First, Wood (and Woakes) show that a lot of nonsense is talked about preparation in sport. Good players are capable of good games even if it is the first game in a while. Second, if there were a contest for most likeable man in sport, Mark Wood would probably beat Chris Woakes into second place. He is thoughtful about his bowling, humble and funny in interviews. When asked what he would do with his week off he told Jonathan Agnew “play with dinosaurs, probably”. He didn’t mean David Warner. That’s Broad’s job.

The language of victory

A note to all commentators. Would it be possible please, just the once, to discuss either the prospect or the fact of victory without using the phrase “get over the line”. I started counting the instances on Sky Sports and Test Match Special – at times I was running two feeds just so I could do the intrepid reporting – but I gave up after 20 repetitions. There is no line. It’s not that sort of game.