NEIL MANTHORP: England defied logic and tripped over their own egos
Adaptation to normal cricket instead of ‘Bazball’ would have got them home in controversial Ashes Test
03 July 2023 - 20:25
byNEIL MANTHORP
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Cricket fans who didn’t spend Sunday afternoon watching the final day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on television missed an astonishing, counterattacking innings from Ben Stokes which threatened to deliver one of the greatest run-chase victories in Test history.
When Stokes reached 155 his team needed just 80 more for victory with four wickets in hand having been reduced to 45/4 shortly before the close of play on the fourth evening. But then the England captain miscued a catch to cover and his team were bowled out for 327 to lose by 43 runs and concede a 2-0 lead in the series with three Tests to play.
The media activity in the 24 hours after the result, both mainstream and minor stream, made the action on the final day seem almost tame. And it all centred on the nebulous concept that there is a “spirit of cricket”. Or at least, that there is any, or has ever been, a consistency in the concept. It is only ever there to be called upon when convenient, and always has been.
Jonny Bairstow, England’s last remaining batsman, was “stumped” by Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who rolled the ball on to the stumps from 20m away when his opposite number wandered out of his crease at the end of the over, assuming the ball was “dead”.
But while the ball was in Carey’s gloves it remained very much “alive” and, having seen Bairstow leave his crease prematurely on a couple of occasions earlier in the over, he seized his chance, taking underarm aim at the stumps almost immediately after catching it. It was entirely and irrefutably within the laws of the game, which left England with no option but to call upon its “spirit”.
Everyone knows about Ashes history, but they may not realise how long it has been repeating itself. At the Oval in 1882 England needed just 88 for victory in the fourth innings. During the third innings WG Grace, the most famous cricketer in the world, had run out a young, naive Australian batsman, Sammy Jones, after fielding the ball at short cover. Jones deferentially asked permission to leave his crease, Grace nodded, and then threw the wicket down as he did so.
“I taught the young man a lesson today,” Grace said after the day’s play, assuming England would win. But Fiery Fred Spofforth, the fastest bowler in the world, was incensed and claimed 7/44 to bowl England out for 77 for an 11-run victory.
The real reason England lost at Lord’s was their inability, or unwillingness, to attack at the right time, with bat and ball. No matter how much “Bazball” has changed the landscape of Test cricket forever, no team will be able to attack all the time — unless their opposition is hopelessly enfeebled. Five days is simply too long. It’s like trying to sprint a marathon.
Attack, for sure, but do so on your terms. England conceded 416 after choosing to bowl first, but they fought back brilliantly to reach 188/1 and had the “bonus” of seeing spinner Nathan Lyon hobbling out of the series with a torn calf muscle.
At that point a desperate Australian captain, Pat Cummins, gambled and gave the home side the opportunity to “take them on”. He threw down the gauntlet of a short-pitched bowling barrage and set a field as subtle as the plot of a children’s book.
England’s batsmen, buoyed by their success with being bold and fearless over the past 12 months, couldn’t resist the invitation. They immediately picked up the gauntlet of challenge and tripped over their own feet in doing so. Three top-order batters holed out against bouncers and their advantage was gone.
Had they played “normal”, low-risk cricket on a flat pitch against an old ball, for just an hour, Cummins and his fellow seamers would have started tiring and, without a frontline spinner to turn to for respite, England could have manufactured the perfect scenario to launch their new, bullish approach. England blew it because they allowed ego to dominate logic.
In the Ashes series of 2013 Stuart Broad edged a ball from spinner Ashton Agar straight to slip, stood his ground and got away with it, and the outcome was a slim and tense victory. Afterwards he said: “Those things aren’t remembered. It’s winning the series that will be remembered. We do have a win-at-all costs mentality.
“I think we’re quite an unpleasant team to play against at the moment. Teams won’t play against us and enjoy the experience. That’s what we want.”
On Sunday, having replaced Bairstow at the crease, he told Carey: “That’s all you will ever be remembered for, disgraceful!” Carey was later subjected to intense abuse from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members at lunch, the vast majority of whom didn’t know the laws of the game.
Which are compiled for the benefit of the entire cricket-playing world by ... their own club.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
NEIL MANTHORP: England defied logic and tripped over their own egos
Adaptation to normal cricket instead of ‘Bazball’ would have got them home in controversial Ashes Test
Cricket fans who didn’t spend Sunday afternoon watching the final day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on television missed an astonishing, counterattacking innings from Ben Stokes which threatened to deliver one of the greatest run-chase victories in Test history.
When Stokes reached 155 his team needed just 80 more for victory with four wickets in hand having been reduced to 45/4 shortly before the close of play on the fourth evening. But then the England captain miscued a catch to cover and his team were bowled out for 327 to lose by 43 runs and concede a 2-0 lead in the series with three Tests to play.
The media activity in the 24 hours after the result, both mainstream and minor stream, made the action on the final day seem almost tame. And it all centred on the nebulous concept that there is a “spirit of cricket”. Or at least, that there is any, or has ever been, a consistency in the concept. It is only ever there to be called upon when convenient, and always has been.
Jonny Bairstow, England’s last remaining batsman, was “stumped” by Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who rolled the ball on to the stumps from 20m away when his opposite number wandered out of his crease at the end of the over, assuming the ball was “dead”.
But while the ball was in Carey’s gloves it remained very much “alive” and, having seen Bairstow leave his crease prematurely on a couple of occasions earlier in the over, he seized his chance, taking underarm aim at the stumps almost immediately after catching it. It was entirely and irrefutably within the laws of the game, which left England with no option but to call upon its “spirit”.
Everyone knows about Ashes history, but they may not realise how long it has been repeating itself. At the Oval in 1882 England needed just 88 for victory in the fourth innings. During the third innings WG Grace, the most famous cricketer in the world, had run out a young, naive Australian batsman, Sammy Jones, after fielding the ball at short cover. Jones deferentially asked permission to leave his crease, Grace nodded, and then threw the wicket down as he did so.
“I taught the young man a lesson today,” Grace said after the day’s play, assuming England would win. But Fiery Fred Spofforth, the fastest bowler in the world, was incensed and claimed 7/44 to bowl England out for 77 for an 11-run victory.
The real reason England lost at Lord’s was their inability, or unwillingness, to attack at the right time, with bat and ball. No matter how much “Bazball” has changed the landscape of Test cricket forever, no team will be able to attack all the time — unless their opposition is hopelessly enfeebled. Five days is simply too long. It’s like trying to sprint a marathon.
Attack, for sure, but do so on your terms. England conceded 416 after choosing to bowl first, but they fought back brilliantly to reach 188/1 and had the “bonus” of seeing spinner Nathan Lyon hobbling out of the series with a torn calf muscle.
At that point a desperate Australian captain, Pat Cummins, gambled and gave the home side the opportunity to “take them on”. He threw down the gauntlet of a short-pitched bowling barrage and set a field as subtle as the plot of a children’s book.
England’s batsmen, buoyed by their success with being bold and fearless over the past 12 months, couldn’t resist the invitation. They immediately picked up the gauntlet of challenge and tripped over their own feet in doing so. Three top-order batters holed out against bouncers and their advantage was gone.
Had they played “normal”, low-risk cricket on a flat pitch against an old ball, for just an hour, Cummins and his fellow seamers would have started tiring and, without a frontline spinner to turn to for respite, England could have manufactured the perfect scenario to launch their new, bullish approach. England blew it because they allowed ego to dominate logic.
In the Ashes series of 2013 Stuart Broad edged a ball from spinner Ashton Agar straight to slip, stood his ground and got away with it, and the outcome was a slim and tense victory. Afterwards he said: “Those things aren’t remembered. It’s winning the series that will be remembered. We do have a win-at-all costs mentality.
“I think we’re quite an unpleasant team to play against at the moment. Teams won’t play against us and enjoy the experience. That’s what we want.”
On Sunday, having replaced Bairstow at the crease, he told Carey: “That’s all you will ever be remembered for, disgraceful!” Carey was later subjected to intense abuse from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members at lunch, the vast majority of whom didn’t know the laws of the game.
Which are compiled for the benefit of the entire cricket-playing world by ... their own club.
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