Shane Warne says England must get nasty in Adelaide to get back into Ashes battle
THE second Ashes Test in Adelaide will be a true test of character for England’s senior players says Shane Warne, and they must become the bullies if they are to have any chance of victory.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Adelaide Test is always one of the best weeks of the cricket year and it’s always the most social too.
But England have to be the exact opposite, be mean even, if they are any chance to get back in to the series.
Australia finished all over them in Brisbane and flexed their muscles.
WARNE: ROOT STILL CARRYING ASHES DEMONS
SLEDGE: ENGLAND VOW TO RETALIATE IN ADELAIDE
HORNE: ENGLAND’S NIGHTMARE SELF-INFLICTED
ASHES: STARC’S SCARY PINK BALL PREDICTION
England need to hit the Aussies hard from ball one with an extra intensity to their cricket.
The visitors need to let the Aussies know that they’re hungry for the contest and not scared of the mountain they need to climb to get back into the series.
If they can’t show that, the Australians will continue to be the schoolyard bullies, and be all over them like a cheap Kevin Pietersen suit.
England need to be nasty in Adelaide, no friendly hellos to the hosts in the morning. They have to show Australia an obvious change in their attitude, because the home team can smell weakness, and won’t show any mercy.
Australia, having found the way to unsettle England with their Bodyline bowling in Brisbane, need to go again with the pink ball, and go even harder on a pitch that will be faster and bouncier, we probably won’t see as much as the pink cherry swings from ball one but the middle and lower order will cop the chin music.
Adelaide will be a test of character as much as skill and the senior English players need to show they’re up for the challenge.
They need to find some fight, play in-your-face, intense cricket or they’ll face another 5-0 whitewash.
The Ashes could be over before they know it if they don’t.
The men to lead the charge for the visitors have to be the skipper Joe Root and the leader of the bowling attack, Jimmy Anderson, who was down on pace in Brisbane.
Jimmy has more than 500 wickets, and once he gets that pink ball in his hand, a ball that will swing for him, especially under lights, he has to do some damage.
If I was England I would be making a change to their bowling attack too, and add some pace.
I’d be sending an SOS to Mark Wood, easily England’s quickest bowler, who is in Brisbane with the English Lions, their second XI.
I’d bring him in to the team for Jake Ball and just let him rip.
Jonny Bairstow should move up the order, too, and bat before Moeen Ali. You can’t leave him with the tail.
Speaking of Bairstow after headbutt-gate they’ve resorted to bringing in a curfew.
And I don’t think curfews work. Being treated like children is not the answer, especially when you need to show some strength and unity as a group to get success. It only leads to aggravation in the camp.
Steve Waugh tried it at the 1999 World Cup and all the players came to me, as the vice-captain, pleading with me to get him to change his mind. It was an easy decision to make after we started so terribly and lost a few games.
He lifted the curfew; we won seven games straight and the World Cup.
There will be no changes to the Australian team and I expect a better and more consistent performance from the fast bowlers and with a confident Nathan Lyon who should continue to weave his magic.
England has to show aggression towards Lyon and not let him settle or he will just own the lead-footed, crease-bound left-handers again. It’s like Lyon is bowling kryptonite to the four of them in the top six.
Speaking of left-handers, Usman Khawaja must also find a way against spin and now.
My tip for him is to be positive when the spin comes on straight away.
If he can’t make runs against Ali it won’t be long until Shaun Marsh is batting at No.3 and Glenn Maxwell, who kept the pressure up with his double-century last week, will be back in the side at No.6.
David Warner looks like he’s got a taste for runs and his opening partner, Cameron Bancroft looks organised. They look the goods at the top of the order.
Adelaide should be a great contest between bat and ball, the new pink rock which we expect to do plenty, especially in that last session under lights.
This day-night Test has come at a perfect time for the English team to fight back after a bad week and show that being ranked No.2 in the world is their rightful position.
SECOND TEST BURNING QUESTIONS
FUN TIME FOR BOWLERS?
THEY say it’s a batsman’s game. Well, Adelaide Oval could just be the summer’s fun park for bowlers, particularly seamers. In the two previous day-night Tests in Adelaide, just one score of 260 or more has been posted in the first three innings of each match. Cool, cloudy weather is forecast for most of the pink-ball match, conditions which are sure to please fast bowlers from both sides. These are not great batting teams. On an unusually slow Gabba pitch that barely seamed, the team scores were an unimpressive 302 and 195 from England, and 328 from Australia before the home side put its foot down in the last innings. It all points to another result in the City of Churches.
ADELAIDE FORECAST
Saturday: Showers easing, 0-1mm. Max 20C.
Sunday: Possible shower. 0-1mm. Max 21C.
Monday: Possible shower. Max 22C.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Max 23C.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Max 23.
IS BOWLING WORKLOAD A FACTOR?
NOT really. England bowled just 16 overs on the last day in Brisbane while the Australian quicks put their feet up. Mitchell Starc (44 overs) bowled the most of any fast bowler at the Gabba followed by Pat Cummins (42.4), James Anderson (40), Josh Hazlewood (38.4), Stuart Broad (35), Chris Woakes (35) and Jake Ball (26). Solid workouts, but no one was fried in the Queensland sun. Cooler temperatures and a session at night in Adelaide will also help. If England is to upset Australia’s rhythm in the field it needs to attack Nathan Lyon. The classy offie delivered 60 overs, including 16 maidens, for match figures of 5-145 at in the first Test. He controlled England’s batsmen from first ball to last. Should England hit Lyon out of the attack it would put the sort of pressure on the home team’s speedsters that could break them.
CAN ENGLAND GET STEVE SMITH OUT?
OF course it can ... it just doesn’t look like any time soon! The Australian captain averages more at the Adelaide Oval (81.8 from four Tests) than at any other home ground. He’s $3.25 at the TAB to be Australia’s highest scorer in the first innings, a very tempting proposition.
TAB market (Australian first innings high bat): $3.25 Smith; $3.75 David Warner; $5 Usman Khawaja; $7 Cameron Bancroft; $8 Peter Handscomb; $9 Shaun Marsh; $21 Tim Paine; $34 Mitchell Starc.
IS ALASTAIR COOKED?
FORMER England captain Alastair Cook made just two and seven at the Gabba. Cook still averages a highly impressive 46.0 from his 148 Tests, but since the start of last English summer he has posted nine scores of 17 or less in eight Tests. They are the signs of a great in decline. Australia needs to keep him down as his contribution as an experienced opening batsman is vital to England’s chances.
MONEY TALKS
PATIENCE was Steve Smith’s friend in Brisbane and it could help punters make a dollar in Adelaide. Australia is $1.70 favourite with the TAB to win the second Test in Adelaide, but it’s not a $1.70 team a punter can trust. Our bowling attack is one of the best in the game, Steve Smith and David Warner are world-class batsmen, but the rest of our top seven are still proving themselves at Test level. With “English” conditions expected there’s always the threat James Anderson and Stuart Broad could catch fire with the ball. Expect Australia to win, but there’s a strong chance Australia’s odds will reach $2.50 to $3 inside the first two days. That’s the time to pounce. TAB market (match odds); $1.70 Australia; $3.35 England; $5.50 Draw.
- Jamie Tate
Originally published as Shane Warne says England must get nasty in Adelaide to get back into Ashes battle