England’s barreling bottom did, does and will not pay dividends
Ed Smith-powered English side have scratched the barrel before, are scratching it now and will continue to scratch it to avail no result. The problem does not just lie in the domestic circuit, it lies in the way that Smith and co envision the five-day format in cricket, a format blind to them.
England’s barreling bottom did, does and will not pay dividends. They have reached the rock bottom of that talent barrel or have they?
Three players have come out from the talent pool in the last year, with only one of them making real amends in the Test format, that is Ollie Pope. Apart from Pope, England have put far more than required trust on the limited-overs specialists, the usual suspects, the Bairstows and the Butlers.
Their approach has been nothing short of shabby, with very little homework done before the Ashes series which began their downfall, or did it? The downfall was one in reckoning with England failing to capitalise on the talents from some time now going back to the veterans time and again. How much more could you exploit from two of the best bowlers’ given that they are struggling to cope with the calendar year after year?
But who really is the best option, considering the top three wicket-takers are all not English? South Africans top the list underlining some of the deepest issues that the English board has, where are the talents and how long do they have to wait? The youngsters are just put into the deepest of the ocean when they face quality oppositions upfront. If only the vision of the selectors were as clear as the sponsors of their Championship, they would have given equal importance to the long-format if not more than what they gave to the limited-overs.
“I think he’s a more complete player now than he ever has been. It just felt like absolutely the right time for Jason to make his Test debut,” said Ed Smith before giving the cap to Jason Roy ahead of the first Ashes Test. Imagine a player, who has not played a single game at the top of the order with the red-ball in the county being tipped over to the likes of Will Rhodes and Dom Sibley who were well-established with the bat in the said conditions. That’s abysmal, which incidentally also could be the title of Ed Smith’s time as the selector.
Let’s get back to County, who’s behind Essex’s domination in the County? One that watched the games could point out easily at the South African spinner Simon Harmer for his exploits behind their success, moreover, one who just looked at the statistics could even point at the same direction. Where are the English bowlers and why aren’t they performing, well for a fact that they are not properly groomed. Imagine a 43-year-old Darren Stevens as your 5th leading wicket-taker just behind Matt Milnes, with 52 wickets. Tom Bailey, who finished as the highest wicket-taker in the 2018-19 season has been overlooked, literally too. What is this consistency you may wonder, that is what happens when your experienced players are holding on to their dear spot for more time than required!
Jamie Porter is another name that would come right into the frame for an English fan, however, where does he really stand in the current set-up, ignored after being in the squad when India visited England. In one year, he is nowhere to be seen? That needs more explanation from the selectors. Porter is again sadly one of the bowlers who is stuck in the loop of ‘Mysteries of Ed Smith,’ one even the likes of Sherlock Holmes can not possibly conquer.
This has been England’s approach for some time, remember Sir Alastair Cook derailing his retirement because the selectors could not find a replacement while there was a certain Burns waiting in the hut! Are Stuart Broad and James Anderson in tandem the best option, or is Chris Woakes even in line to replace either one of them when their time to hang the boots come? Tantalizingly, the selectors have continued to keep giving the duo a long run when their legs demand ‘rest’ and loads of it.
Let’s get realistic here, how long would the duo of Bairstow and Buttler get the rope? “England would not be afraid of taking big decisions,” said Chris Silverwood ahead of the second Test in South Africa. But let’s be practical when have England possibly had the guts to take the big decision? They gave Adil Rashid a cap, gave the long rope to Roy and furthermore have trusted Tom Curran with the ball in Tests earlier.
“Jonny wasn't in the team going into New Zealand, but he did a lot of work behind the scenes. Jos is in a position where he will sometimes have to marshal the tail as well,“ added Silverwood. If that is what the selectors are looking that, England are not getting anywhere. Having both of them in the same team is a mess, Bairstow does neither look like the keeper nor the batsman he looks in the limited format. However, you continue to give them chances until they fail, when they are already failing. Ben Foakes averages nearly 2 dismissals every innings and is the third-best keeper in the domestic circuit, but who continues to feature? Jonny Bairstow!
Well, English fans are clearly dejected and disappointed and you clearly know why now because the selectors are not the revolutionary that seem to be in front of the screen. Given that England are already a Test down in the series against South Africa, their ploy of giving importance to the limited-overs format has clearly taken its toll on the team. Clearly, Smith and co did not capitalise the series against New Zealand and more clearly haven’t thought about the future of English cricket Specsavers-esque enough.
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