How on earth do England bounce back from a 246 run defeat in the 2nd Test against India?
There isn’t much wrong with this England team, barring the occasional batting collapse in sub-continent conditions, so how can England level the series…
1. Drop Ben Duckett
There is no question that Duckett is an excellent batsmen, his record for Northants over the last few seasons cannot be ignored. Also to ask a batsmen to open, then bat four in his first few Test matches is harsh. If slightly unfair. However Duckett has turned into a walking wicket. Ravi Ashwin was all over him in Vizag, and he needs to be taken out of the firing line for now. So who is next in line?
England need to find a way to get Jos Buttler into the side. Yes he’s red ball averages aren’t much to write home about, but he has that X-Factor which very few England players have been blessed with. Well if Buttler is picked, England have the luxury of having two (in Buttler) and Ben Stokes.
Buttler cannot bat four, therefore Mooen Ali and Jonny Bairstow move up the order (4 and 5 respectively). However that middle order should be fairly fluid depending on the circumstances of the game. Why should a batting order be set in stone? If you had Moeen, Bairstow, Stokes and Buttler in that middle order, it’s mouthwatering.
2. Play Three Seamers
England’s strength in the bowling department is the seam bowling. They have the best opening attack in world cricket, ably backed up by quick bowlers who are all improving with exposure to the Test team (Chris Woakes, Mark Wood). England have been caught in the trap of playing 3 spinners in India. However is the 3rd spinner really that good, that you give up one of your excellent fast bowlers? In my opinion no. Indian batsmen are the best players of spin in the world, especially in their home country. Zafar Ansari holds no fears to them. However Chris Woakes bowling fast attacking outside their off-stump will do. If England need a 3rdspin bowler to bowl a few overs then Joe Root can do the job equally as well Ansari. England have multi-faceted players. Let’s use them!
3. Play your Natural Game!
England have to bat for a huge length of time to save the 2nd Test, and the coach/captain laid down an edict that the side were to dig-in. At times during that 2nd innings I thought the scoreboard was going backwards! England have attacking players. Play attacking strokes. You cannot allow Indian spinners just to churn out the maidens. The pressure builds. Put them under pressure and play your natural game. India always play Tests under huge pressure from their media/supporters, well ramp it up on them as well. Asking Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow to block and block is not getting the best out of them.
4. 1st Innings Runs are vital
In the sub-continent the 2nd innings of both sides can turn into a bit of a farce. The ball is turning square, as the pitch continues to deteriorate. In your 1st innings you must get over 400 minimum, otherwise your not in the game. England only scored 255 in Vizag, at one stage they were 80/5. In Rajkot in the 1st Test England scored 537 first up, and were well in the match. It sounds simple but England must get 1st innings runs, which leads us too….
5. Please win the toss Cookie!
England cannot bat on a 5th day pitch in the sub-continent. Be it India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka our Dubai. There is two ways to try and negate this. One is obviously win the toss, but this is very much 50/50. However an alternative might be that England play their natural game, and try and take the 5th day out of the equation if they loss the toss. Move the game along, try and get into a match winning position by the end of Day 3. It’s risky, but England have to win two out of the three remaining Tests. So why not!
My team for the 3rd Test – Cook, Hameed, Root, Moeen, Bairstow, Stokes, Buttler, Rashid, Woakes, Broad, Anderson.
