Australia provide the blueprint for England as Joe Root looks to forge an identity in Test side

Captain’s call: Joe Root talks to Jofra Archer as they walk off at the close of play yesterday
AP
Will Macpherson16 August 2019

Andrew Strauss this week described the end of this summer as a “watershed” moment for the England team he used to manage.

And Strauss is right. It is the end of a cycle he started in 2015. With no World Cup for four years, ODI cricket will be put on the backburner while T20 becomes the white-ball format of choice with a World Cup next year and in 2021. Test cricket will be more of a focus and not just because the World Test Championship has begun.

Trevor Bayliss’s replacement as coach is likely to reflect this. With it looking likely that Eoin Morgan will remain as white-ball captain in the medium term, changes are likely to be limited; perhaps Liam Plunkett will retire, allowing Saqib Mahmood to step up or another exciting young batsman might come in.

The story for the Test team is different. Whether England win or lose the Ashes, there will be a new beginning.

Under Bayliss and Morgan, no viewer could be in two minds about England’s limited-overs identity. If there is an attacking option, it is taken. And, while Morgan and Joe Root have forged a strong behavioural culture and real pride in the England cap (under the three pillars of “Courage, Unity and Respect”), the Test team lack identity under Bayliss and Root.

Bayliss was employed to fix England’s white-ball cricket and has done a superb job. He has not quite been able to drag the Test team with it, despite using many of the same players. What do they stand for? With excellent bowling, poor batting and a phalanx of all-rounders providing lower order bailouts, England have been a team defined by their inconsistency.

Positive not reckless is “the brand of cricket” but that is a tricky balance to strike and they often miss it. Generally, this is good enough to get wins at home but to get stuffed away.

They have picked “orthodox” teams, like the one playing at Lord’s (with five batsmen, four bowlers, an all-rounder and a wicketkeeper) and they have embraced the chaos, like they did late last summer against India and in the win in Sri Lanka. Some called that “total cricket”, with the all-rounders squeezed in and lots of bases covered.

They have picked old players, young players, white-ball experts and Championship churners. They have insisted on variety of attack, then chosen four right-arm seamers and an offie. England have not been helped by their domestic schedule or some spicy surfaces but nothing lasted too long.

Such issues were on show on the second day at Lord’s, as a higgledy-piggledy batting order stumbled to 258. There are players out of position, out of form or out of gas after the World Cup. Jos Buttler looks particularly weary. He has not stopped since last year’s IPL, the tournament that earned him a Test recall: IPL, England’s home summer, Sri Lanka, Big Bash, Caribbean, another IPL, become a father, World Cup, move house, Ashes.

If he is partnered with the right coach, Root — and it should be him partly because there are no other candidates — has a chance to develop a clear vision of what he wants in a team. He might even want to glance over at Justin Langer and Tim Paine’s Australia, who — for all their historical faults — have become a team with a plan, as the rotation of their quicks shows. They seem to have greater understanding of the task at hand, despite being the away team.

Root's captaincy came under scrutiny in the first Test after some questionable tactics in the field
Action Images via Reuters

When this Ashes series is out the way, England do not play Tests against Australia for more than two years. That allows a period of building. Win or lose this series, there seems likely to be some player turnover. England’s first assignment after this series is in New Zealand in November — and that series does not count towards the World Test Championship, so it could feature some new players.

England must decide on the shape of their team. In particular, what does a Test top order look like in 2020? A gallivanting middle order might only work if there are sensible players up top. Is greater specialisation required? These questions need answering whether England escape this series with a win or not.

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