England need to be introduced to concept of consequences after Ashes flops | Mark Ramprakash
There’s always a lot of white noise around an Ashes series but at the moment for England it must be overwhelming, not just given their performances in the first two Tests but because of the mid-tour break they’ve just been on, with assorted media and attention-seekers following them around the beaches of Noosa.I absolutely understand that Brendon McCullum’s priority is to do what he believes is right for the team, but the optics around that trip were not great and many England fans, who have spent their hard-earned money travelling to Australia with little reward so far, will be quick to bring it up if they produce another poor display.Having just been rewarded for their two defeats with a nice few days of Queensland sunshine, it might now be time for the team to be introduced to the concept of consequences.They aren’t something this group have had to deal with for a while.The consistency of selection has been amazing, with players protected as a matter of policy from the threat of losing their place.
McCullum is now promising more of the same but I think the players will be realising that they, and beyond them the coaches in charge of the side and the ethos they have established over the past three years, are not immune if the team’s fortunes do not change.I expect the group will have acknowledged that what they have done so far on this tour has not worked.They want to play with freedom, to take the aggressive option, but are they playing to entertain or are they playing to win? Because at the moment they are losing, and the only people they are entertaining are Australian.I think back to two of the statements made by senior members of the England setup in Brisbane during and after the last Test.One was Ben Stokes promising to have honest conversations with his players – I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the team’s mantra of putting pressure on their opponents wherever possible, but their decision-making has to improve, and that is what he will have wanted to talk about.
But I can’t forget Marcus Trescothick’s extraordinary admission that there had been no chats among the group about the perils of driving on the up outside off-stump.For that not to be discussed on a tour of Australia, particularly given it has been a real issue in England’s performances so far, really beggars belief.In teams I was involved with the batters would tend to get together and discuss an upcoming match: potential pitch conditions; boundary sizes; whether there was a prevailing breeze and what challenges the opposition bowlers were going to pose.Trescothick’s statement implies that these conversations are not happening, and it may be tricky to introduce them now into such an established group.But without them it is hard to address the kind of shortcomings we have seen.
Stokes and the coaching group may want to discuss necessary refinements to the batters’ approach, but without seeding doubt in their minds,Come the first morning of the third Test they each have to be absolutely clear about and committed to the way they want to go,They have to believe they can get big scores and maybe Adelaide, where the pitch traditionally has a little less spice and bounce than those in Perth or Brisbane, will be more conducive to their aggressive approach,The players will be desperately trying to cling on to their confidence and belief, remembering previous good performances, how they felt and what they did well,I remember Sachin Tendulkar making a famous double hundred in Sydney in 2004 without playing a single cover drive, because he’d been guilty of edging outside off-stump a few times.
That’s an example of a great player showing adaptability and deciding to eliminate an area of vulnerability,Of course not everyone will have the honesty and the discipline to take that extreme approach but it does show what can be done with the right attitude and mindset,The problem for England is that they may not be able to change their mindsets, or for that matter their personnel,I saw enough from Will Jacks in Brisbane for me to think he should keep his place in Adelaide – he took a brilliant catch, batted with guts and determination, and there is not really much difference between his off-spin and Shoaib Bashir’s on a wicket that is likely to be pretty flat,I expect to see a change in the lineup of pace bowlers – we haven’t seen the best of Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer has lacked penetration, Brydon Carse has been expensive, and Stokes did not seem to think they executed the team’s plans well enough at the Gabba.
I can see Carse being taken out of the firing line, and maybe Josh Tongue can be the metronome they need to give them control at one end.But what about the batting? The best No 3s I can remember brought a calmness to proceedings and with Ollie Pope struggling England may benefit from having someone in the wings who could come in and play in a more conventional way and protect the middle order.But McCullum has said we should not expect any changes, and has created a situation where there aren’t any options.He must have considered bringing in Jacob Bethell, the only spare batter in the squad, who would change the dynamic as a left-hander who brings a bit of calmness.I have always been impressed by his temperament, and I don’t think he’d be overawed by the occasion – but his recent performances, what few of them there have been, haven’t exactly made a compelling case for his inclusion.
I remember when England went to the West Indies in 1998 there were so many possible permutations of batters, so much flexibility in the lineup, people who could move up and down the order, could bat at three or at six.The ability to shuffle our pack, in a tour against tough opponents being played on tough pitches, was helpful (though it didn’t help us avoid a series defeat).But McCullum and Stokes value certainty, the same logic that drives them to announce their team two days before a game starts – clearly beneficial to their opponents, but they feel it is even more helpful for their own players to know where they stand.Well I hope that logic is sound, because they certainly know where they stand now.They are 2-0 down and they have all the clarity they could wish for: no messing about, they have to stand up, they have to perform, and they have to find a way to win.
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