‘We critique ourselves pretty harshly’: Australia to reconsider short-ball attack after loss

Leeds: As the players disperse to all parts of the United Kingdom and Europe, Australia’s planners will examine the short-ball tactics to the tail that allowed England’s lower order to pile up quick runs that were vital to the outcome of the engrossing Headingley Test.

While both sides used bouncers with corresponding fields during the Lord’s Test on a pitch that offered tricky variation in pace and height, a truer surface in Leeds meant that similar tactics resulted in a glut of runs amid the wickets.

Mark Wood hits out.Credit: Getty

Australia allowed England to climb off the canvas at 7-142 in the first innings and 6-171 in the second, as Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes scored the bulk of their runs at breakneck speed – Wood’s 40 runs in two innings came from a mere 16 balls.

By the same token, England’s clinical effectiveness in snapping off the Australian tail by bowling at the stumps was interrupted by the attempt to dismiss Travis Head with short stuff. As a consequence, he added 54 quick runs with the Nos.10 and 11 Todd Murphy and Scott Boland, greatly increasing the difficulty of England’s chase.

Andrew McDonald, the Australian head coach, conceded that the binary switch from bowling “channel” lengths around the off stump with slips in play to short ball attack mode was something he and Pat Cummins had to reconsider.

“I think if it works you say that it works, and if it doesn’t then you’re probably on the opposite side,” McDonald said. “So I think it’s a combination, it’s always somewhere in the middle of that.

“And I think day one Mark Wood had ball speed and the ball was shifting, the overheads were pretty thick and you tend to pitch the ball up a lot more in those conditions. And when the sun comes out and the ball’s not shifting as much, you’ve probably got less options on the fuller side, so we’ve got to always balance that.

“We critique ourselves pretty harshly, so we’ll be looking into that, no doubt.”

England’s decision to go short to Head has slowed his scoring at times, but he has gradually reasserted himself as the most dangerous member of Australia’s middle order. He quipped on the third evening that if he went home with anything from the trip it would be a newfound ability to play the pull shot.

But the spectre of Wood’s pace has created fresh problems for other, older members of the Australian top order. Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith were all worried by Wood’s speed at various times, while the lower order was left without answers in a shuddering collapse on the first evening.

Chris Woakes during his final day innings in Leeds.Credit: Getty

Tellingly, Wood’s speed and consistency in attacking the stumps was vital in scything through tailenders who expected short balls, providing a further reminder that the best deliveries, whether full or short, are often effective because they are used sparingly, adding the element of surprise.

Wood stated frankly after the Test that he had not faced a full delivery in the nets for weeks.

“All I’ve done is practise bouncers for two weeks,” he revealed. “I haven’t practised anything pitched up – that’s genuine. ‘Colly’ [Paul Collingwood] has been slinging those yellow balls. They sting but don’t hurt. You get used to playing the shot, getting in strong positions, and waiting as much as I can to do well.

“It fills me with great pride to say I can do well against Australia. Look at facing Cummins and Starc. One, it’s not easy. Two, it’s really intimidating. They’re bowling fast, they get good bounce. More often than not they come out on top. Luckily this time, it’s the one out of 100 I’ve managed to get through.”

Between now and their reconvening in Manchester later this week, members of the Australian squad are scattering to a variety of locations.

Steve Smith is headed for Wimbledon and the tennis, a golfing group to Scotland, Mitchell Starc meeting wife Alyssa Healy and the Australian women’s team in Bristol, and others to destinations such as the Cotswolds, Amsterdam, Spain and Paris.

The refresh has been deemed more appropriate for the squad than playing a tour match. One such game in Derby in 2019 proved useful as the Australians rebounded from a narrow Headingley defeat to retain the Ashes at Old Trafford.

Watch every ball of the 2023 Ashes series live and exclusive on Channel 9 and 9Now.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.