Ashes 2021/22: Stuart Broad a chance to return for England in Sydney but it’s all too late
England’s confused selectors are considering recalling Stuart Broad – but he’s already missed the party. If the Aussies were stunned, what does Broad himself think?
The man Australia feared may be recalled – for the conditions that suit him least.
England’s confused selectors are considering bringing Stuart Broad back for the Sydney Test, but he’s already missed the party and everyone knows it.
Broad wrote in his column for the UK’s Daily Mail that he feels he was benched for the two pitches in Brisbane and Melbourne where he could have done genuine damage to Australia and potentially changed the course of a one-sided series.
Two of his biggest adversaries, Steve Smith and David Warner, don’t disagree and it was Christmas coming early to only have to face Broad in one of the three Tests before the series was decided.
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“We have been a bit surprised,” Smith said on Monday.
“They’re two wickets that would have suited him pretty well.
“He bowled well in Adelaide. He’s always been a good contest for me. He’s got me out quite few times, I’ve scored some runs off him so it’s been a decent battle.
“They’ve got quality bowlers. Him and Jimmy together are two world class performers, they have been for a long time.
“Maybe we’ll see them out here together this week, I’m not sure.”
Broad tormented Warner and Marcus Harris during the 2019 Ashes in the UK, and the left-handers have scarcely believed their luck at not being confronted by the English magician on the first morning of the series in Brisbane when Joe Root also decided to bat.
The other Test he missed out – the MCG – has been described by Smith as the biggest seaming deck he’s ever encountered in Test cricket.
There is no second guessing what Broad thinks about the situation, even if he comes back into the attack for flatter, batter-friendly conditions in Sydney.
“As a wobble-seam bowler, I feel as though I missed out on two of the best wobble-seam pitches in Australia. Only playing once has made this a very disappointing trip, one that has not met my personal expectations,” Broad wrote in the Daily Mail.
“The biggest frustration is losing the Ashes, being 3-0 down and feeling like I‘ve not really done anything. Not being able, as an experienced player, to influence a series while it’s live is tough.
“We also lost two vital tosses in Adelaide and Melbourne. They were massive. I‘ve never seen so much thatchy grass on a pitch than that at the MCG — enough to make bowlers drool and batsmen weep.”
Meanwhile, captain Root says the decimation of England’s coaching staff has forced players to stand up and climb into the trenches together as they fight to salvage their reputation in Sydney.
With head coach Chris Silverwood, and most of his assistants, struck down with COVID, it’s been up to England’s players to prepare themselves for the fourth Test – with Root among those left to throw balls to teammates in the nets.
Root hopes having no choice but to take personal responsibility will help save England from the humiliation of another Ashes clean sweep.
“More than anything, you have to stand up and fill those voids where they are. It doesn’t just come from me,” said Root.
“Every single player has to muck in to give everyone the best chance to train as well as they can.
“Training looked very different yesterday and today and it is an opportunity for us to help each other out, get tight and stand up in a bit of adversity.
“With the amount of coaches we have had missing, it has made things disjointed and challenging, but it is a chance to come together and work together.
“Human beings work together and help each other and we tried to prepare as well as we can do and stand up in a bit of adversity and we must use that in a positive way when we get out on the field.
“We are all feeling for the guys sat there in isolation and desperately wanting to help us turn things around and put in better performances.
“We have an opportunity to do that. We don’t see that as a heavy burden, but a chance to make big Test runs as a batter or take wickets with ball in hand and walk away from this trip with something.”
How the ECB sabotaged Root’s Test captaincy
- Sam Landsberger
Joe Root’s Test captaincy has been sabotaged by England’s World Cup focus and he should “walk tomorrow morning” unless the hierarchy promises to fix its broken red-ball system.
Root’s individual brilliance in 2021 was overshadowed by England losing the most matches in its history and former captain Michael Vaughan said Root was wasting his time attempting to lead a team that is set up to fail.
ECB managing director Ashley Giles jetted into Sydney on the weekend with a thorough review into the latest Ashes humiliation set to begin with two Tests still to be played.
Chris Silverwood is odds-on to lose his job, but Vaughan said the skipper should be spared – and then it was down to Root to decide if he even wanted to remain in charge.
“So long as he’s got the mind and gets the support and gets the dedication from the ECB that things are going to be different (he should stay),” Vaughan told News Corp.
“But if it’s going to be the same then he should walk tomorrow morning. Because what’s the point?
“If England and the ECB aren’t going to change the system and change the way they work with the red ball team and give him more tools … I just think one or two people within the backroom could be better.
“I don’t think Joe’s been supported brilliantly. If you look at his time as England captain it was all about the World Cup in 2019, so he had no real support leading into that (home Ashes).
“The World Cup finished and they were playing the Ashes about eight days later, so there was no build-up.
“As soon as we drew the Ashes in England (2019) it was all about this tour, then that all got changed because of Covid.
“But the T20 World Cup was moved to this year and they ended up focusing a bit more on the white-ball team because they thought that was their best chance of winning.
“Ben Stokes didn’t play in the summer and didn’t play in Australia last time. As an England captain I don’t think he’s had much fortune to be honest.
“He hasn’t helped himself. I don’t think selections have been good and his tactics have been off the mark consistently recently, which is probably his mind not thinking clearly.”
While England tied the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s – and were awarded the trophy on a boundary countback – it was eliminated in the semi-final of this summer’s pre-Ashes T20 tournament.
Root will become England’s most experienced Test captain of all time on Wednesday when he tosses the coin for the 60th time.
Vaughan, who led England in 51 Tests, tipped Root to go on.
“I just don’t think he’s getting the right support with the ECB. But if he gets that I think he’ll stay on,” the Fox Cricket expert said.
“If he doesn’t I think he should disappear and let someone else deal with the rubbish.”
STOKES GRILLED: HAS HE THOUGHT ABOUT REPLACING ROOT?
- Mike Atherton
Ben Stokes has thrown his support behind England’s beleaguered management.
As the Covid net closed in, rendering the prospects of finishing the Ashes increasingly precarious, Stokes, a potential candidate for the captaincy if a vacancy arises, reiterated that Joe Root and Chris Silverwood continued to enjoy the loyalty of the players despite a year in which England have lost more matches than ever before.
Speaking at the Sydney Cricket Ground three days before the start of the fourth Test, Stokes said: “The most important opinions are those guys in the dressing room and they [Root and Silverwood] have got our full support. Captaincy is more than about setting fields or picking the team or making decisions out there in the middle. A captain is someone you want to go out and play for. Joe Root is someone I always want to play for.
“Chris Silverwood is exactly the same. He’s a real players’ coach. He stands up for you as individuals and players as well. All the hype in the media recently about their futures, they know full well they have the support of everyone in there and that’s all that matters.” After isolating with his family in Melbourne, Silverwood has tested positive for Covid-19 and will remain in isolation until January 8. He remains asymptomatic and in good health.
Silverwood is the most likely fall guy no matter how the series finishes, but an improved performance would help Root, who retains the support of key figures at ECB. Ashley Giles, Silverwood’s boss, landed in Sydney over the weekend, but was waiting on a negative PCR test before joining the team, while the former England one-day captain, Adam Hollioake, who had been enlisted to provide support for the stand-in head coach, Graham Thorpe, had to pull out when a close contact tested positive.
The chaotic feel to events generally was exacerbated at Sunday’s practice session when two local net bowlers, already engaged in bowling at England’s batsmen, tested positive for Covid after pre-ground entry tests. Although Cricket Australia (CA) insisted these reflected prior infection and did not pose a risk, it led to the withdrawal of all the net bowlers, leaving England’s seamers to carry the load: fresh from hearing news of his father’s OBE in the New Year’s Honours, Mark Wood ran in with his usual gusto and Stuart Broad, potentially in line to replace Ollie Robinson, had a long stint.
It is a small miracle that, with the exception of Travis Head, who will miss the Sydney Test, the outbreak has yet to affect either set of players significantly. The rising rates in Sydney and Melbourne especially have begun to decimate availability in the Big Bash League, which is running concurrently with the Ashes series. The match between Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers was scheduled to go ahead, despite 10 players and eight staff having tested positive for the Stars and four for the Scorchers.
The Sydney Test will turn pink in memory of Jane McGrath, late wife of the Australia former great fast bowler Glenn McGrath, and each year money is raised for the McGrath Foundation, which supports those families suffering through a diagnosis of breast cancer. McGrath tested positive for Covid over the weekend and will require a negative PCR test before he is able to attend the third day, the Jane McGrath day.
Against this backdrop, CA is determined to plough on with the series. Bradley Hazzard, the New South Wales health minister, described the Sydney Test as “sacred” and especially important this year as a sign of a return to normality, while the financial implications of a cancellation for CA would be significant.
So far, England players have toed the line – in public at least – with Zak Crawley saying that he was “absolutely comfortable” with the Test going ahead and that he would be fine if Covid protocols were tightened further. All Australia’s players returned negative Tests on Sunday and England’s underwent a further round of testing, their seventh in the past eight days.
Crawley and Stokes were among the batsmen forced to make do at a practice session resembling that from a generation ago, with coaching support down to a minimum and players taking up responsibility to throw balls to each other.
“The next couple of days are about getting what you can out of the resources we have available. You have to do your own stuff, look after yourself and your own preparation,” Stokes said.
Stokes has endured a tricky return to the team after missing a large chunk of the summer to look after his mental wellbeing and a finger injury suffered in the Indian Premier League. He has struggled to impose himself on the series, with a top score of 34 in six innings and a three-wicket haul his best with the ball. He has looked as though he has found it hard to get up to speed for the intensity of Ashes cricket.
He reflected on the last hour of the second day at Melbourne, where he rated the bowling from Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins as good as he has seen and said it was the first time he had been taken aback by an atmosphere in the ground, so wild and frenzied was it. For Stokes to say that shows the challenge faced by some of England’s younger, less experienced players. Nathan Lyon, the spinner, suggested there would be no let up in the desire for a 4-0 or 5-0 scoreline.
Should that happen, the calls for Stokes to replace Root will intensify, but Stokes was adamant he has given this eventuality little thought.
“I’ve never really had an ambition to be a captain,” he said.
“That’s totally Joe’s decision; he shouldn’t be forced into doing it [quitting]. I’m sure Cooky [Alastair Cook] felt the same way. He did it for so long. When he knew his time was up, his time was up. Those discussions haven’t been entered anywhere near Joe, yet.
“He’s brought this team a long way. He’s done some great things. Obviously this series hasn’t gone too well. Not from a captaincy point of view but from a team and results point of view. Unfortunately, the captain and coach bear the scrutiny for that but there are 10 other guys out there besides the captain.”
This story was originally published by The Times here.
WORST EVER TOURING SIDE NOW TALKING IT UP
Ben Horne, Robert Craddock
England’s beleaguered batsmen have robbed themselves of their last excuse for failing in the Sydney Test — by declaring the wicket should be a run-scoring paradise.
Missing out on Sydney as a batsman has become like failing to catch a fish in an aquarium.
To reshape the words of Frank Sinatra, if you fail there you’ll fail anywhere and batsman Zak Crawley knows it.
“I don’t think it will be a tougher test (than Melbourne),’’ Crawley said.
“I think the wicket is going to be better, and it’ll be a bit easier. Having watched the Ashes a fair bit I feel there seems to be a lot more runs here. I am looking forward to that and hopefully that is the case.
“I’m hoping it’s going to be slightly flatter (than Melbourne), the wicket. It usually is.
“That (Melbourne) offered quite a bit, and that didn’t help. I just learnt there are certain balls I can leave that in England you have to play. I will try to do that slightly better this week.’’
In losing all three Tests England have averaged 18.75 runs per wicket, leading Ricky Ponting to rate them the worst touring side he had seen in Australia.
The statistics back up that statement.
No England team has ever averaged fewer than 20 runs per wicket in Australia across a series — the previous worst was the 1950-51 side which lost the series 4-1 while averaging 20.44 runs per wickets.
In comparison, the England side that won the 2010-11 series 3-1 averaged 51.14 runs per wicket.
Crawley admits Australia’s vaunted pace attack cast a giant shadow and he and his fellow batsmen had to find the right headspace.
“Just not fearing them (is a start). I feel a few of us on our first Ashes tour we’re a bit wary of them but there’s no need to be. They’re great bowlers and some of the best in the world but when you get in as Rooty (Joe Root) and Mala (Dawid Malan) have shown, they’ve look very comfortable at times.
“I will certainly look to be a bit more confident and back myself because I know full well I can score a hundred here this week and that’s what I’m looking to do.’’
Crawley averaged just 10 in eight Tests last year but claims they don’t do justice to the challenges he faced.
“Obviously I haven’t played my best cricket but I feel in a good place. Those stats are misleading sometimes. I have never experienced anything like playing in India — 10 felt like a good score over there at the time.
“I didn’t feel in great touch in the summer so all of a sudden you’re averaging 10. I feel as good as I ever have though and so I don’t look into stats too much.’’
Both sides will be keep an eye on weather forecast in coming days with thunderstorms predicted for all five days from Wednesday.
What Covid? Stokes celebrates NYE under Harbour Bridge
— Todd Balym
Ben Stokes has finally delivered a memorable innings in Australia — but not where England fans had hoped he’d be celebrating.
With the Ashes series gripped by a Covid crisis that is changing the landscape of Australian sport daily, the England star all-rounder took his family to the foreshore to celebrate the New Year beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
In images posted to his wife Clare’s Instagram account, the Stokes family enjoyed the view of Sydney’s world famous bridge with the husband and wife lasting until the midnight fireworks display to bring in the new year.
It had been an undeniably rough 2021 for the England star, so it’s hard to judge him for taking the opportunity to start 2022 at one of the world’s most stunning locations on Sydney’s stunning harbour.
Stokes hasn’t broken any Covid protocols with his NYE celebrations, players are allowed outdoors under the level four restrictions and it’s understood to have been an approved private function and the players are certainly not operating under any sort of curfews.
But in a series where his coach is currently isolating in Melbourne due to the Covid positive tests within the England camp and Australia’s Travis Head has already been ruled out of the fourth Test also due to Covid – the optics of Stokes celebrating surrounded by people is ordinary to say the least.
If Stokes fails any Covid tests in the coming days, England fans would rightly look at these images and wonder whether their highly-paid star was really committed to the rest of the series.
It could be argued that England have nothing at all to celebrate in Australia, given how meekly they’d lost the Ashes series after just 12 days of cricket to be down 3-0 with two games remaining.
The England star appeared shoulder to shoulder with other guests in some of the images – which is in stark contrast to the Covid caution exercised by Australia’s players.
Bowling duo Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon opted to drive from Melbourne to Sydney, rather than fly on the charter flight with the rest of the Australia squad, when news broke of Head’s positive test and the potential of more issues within their travelling party.
All Australian squad members and support staff returned negative test results on Saturday morning, although the result for one family member remained outstanding.
England players all received PCR testing on Saturday morning. Further positive results in their camp could spell disaster for the Ashes series.
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