The Pluck of Wingate

Although I must admit to feeling somewhat gleeful in Australia’s panic-stricken changes for the Third Test at the WACA, there is a problem in the England ranks, too. This comes in the form of a Stuart Broad shaped hole in the line up. Broad is the man who provides solidity and menace with the ball, combined with useful runs at 8 or 9.

Unlike Anderson who is either good or bad, Broad has tended to pick up wickets no matter how he is playing, and has developed control with the new ball which Finn does not yet possess. He has more pace and bounce than Bresnan, more menace than Tremlett and more control than Shahzad. He has the capability of ripping apart the opposition batting order, something which all three of the potential replacements have never done for England.

I fear that the England selectors will opt for Bresnan as he is the handiest with the bat and is the safe option. They will ignore his lack of pace, limited swing option and general stodginess as a bowler in order to be assured of not having 3 rabbits down the bottom of the order. I feel this places too much pressure on Swann and Anderson with the ball, and would go for Shahzad for a bit of extra pace and the ability to reverse swing a ball, as an option as a third strike bowler. Tremlett is the third option, he has a 6-for already on this tour, from what I remember he can hold a bat too. A tall bowler with a bit of pace, I would leave him out on the basis that Shahzad has been next in line for England for a while now, time to see if he can step up.

I cannot but feel that this one will end in a draw, with neither side able to bowl the other out. Australia will not produce a green top and skittle England twice like SA did with Morkel and Steyn at the start of the year – which looks the best way to beat us. The lack of consistency in Australian selection undermines any set plans they have, but they have enough in their batting to target Finn and whoever comes in for Broad, meaning the workload on Swann and Anderson will be too great.

England 1-0 up with two to play, I feel.

Gents, first, just a quick word on Alastair Cook; 

A gritty 60 whilst everyone else was falling in the first innings at the Gabba was followed by a breathtaking double century to save the match. He has followed this up by racking up another century in the first innings after the Australian line-up was skittled for less than 250! Magnificent stuff. Cook has 14 Test centuries to his name, and he is not even 26 yet. He will overtake Gooch, Atherton and Stewart as England’s top scorer in Tests of all time, no doubt at all. Assuming he is a) yet to peak and b) plays til perhaps his mid-30s, he could well find himself as the first Englishmen in the top ten all-time Test run scorers! Certainly, his stats to date suggest that he will comfortably get into 5 figures.

I don’t particularly like watching Cook bat, in fact I think he is one of the least elegant and watchable batsmen in the England side (ahead of Paul the Wall and Stephen Finn). I’ve also felt for a while that he makes too many 50s and not enough 100s. However it is impossible to argue against him when in this sublime form. He looks immovable.

Now, 2005.

2005 saw two fantastic sides slugging it out during an epic Ashes series across the English summer. The Australian Juggernaut was halted by a performance of genuine class from an English battery of talent. The best part about it was the the Australia side boasted Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Warne, McGrath, Gillespie, Gilchrist, Lee, Martyn, and others who had tormented not only England but also world cricket for the best part of 15 years. This was an England side who stepped up to the plate, rather than a drastic reduction in Australia’s ability. Potentially the best series of Test cricket ever.

Flintoff put in a series of brilliance, Pietersen was magnificent, Vaughan outwitted his counterpart captain (familiar?), Trescothick and Strauss were immense as an opening partnership. Simon Jones was unbelievable with the old ball, even Ashley Giles put in an admirable shift!

Fast forward to 2010/11.

I’m struggling to get excited by the English batsmen dominating hapless oiks like Doherty and Bollinger. There is much less satisfaction seeing an English century when there are dropped catches and missed run outs by the opposition. The sight of dishevelled men looking glum on the boundary, hiding below the peaks of their Baggy Greens hoping not to be thrown the ball, would once have stirred happy emotions within me. However such has been Australia’s woes, I’m almost yearning for Stuart Clark to rediscover some nip, Warnie’s magnificent wrist coming out of retirement to not just bowl but also captain the side, and the contest being reborn!

I appreciate that this series is not going to be all England - not so long ago we were wondering if we could save the first Test – but as a man who enjoys good, tense Test cricket, these Oz chaps need to up their stuff! We’ll start with Siddle taking a five for tomorrow and England being bowled out with a lead of 200. Then Ponting and Katich batting until halfway through the fifth day where Swann suddenly steps up to the occasion and England need a quickfire 150 from the last session. After another Siddle hattrick rattles through the top order, KP and Broad smash 15 off the last over to win.

On the other hand, England winning this Test comfortably would do. Just about.

Wingate