The Ashes are back in Australian hands after three Tests that have been a tale of two captains. One has been setting the gold standard as a batsman and been blessed with potent fast‑bowling resources, the other low on runs and without the necessary tools at his disposal.
Smith first, who has shone so brightly in leading from the front with the bat. Perhaps what sums up his series so far has been that Brisbane was his slowest century and Perth his fastest (before doubling it up). Adaptability is the hallmark of his game and was drilled into him from a young age by his father. He is the ultimate run-maker in the mould of Don Bradman.
Like the Don all those years ago, Smith challenges what we thought we knew about batting. Perhaps we need to learn a new lesson that whatever you look like at the crease, the fundamentals are what is key.
Smith just gets into good positions. With his head still and ability to go back or forward easily, the simplicity then is just hitting the ball where the fielders aren’t.
Captaincy in the field can be over‑analysed because it always comes down to the bowlers at your disposal. And in Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, Smith has been blessed. Nathan Lyon has been excellent at adding pressure and complementing the attack but it is the quicks on show who have won the urn back. They have been stronger, faster and hit the bat far harder than any of their opposite numbers.
Root’s lot has been a stark contrast to that of Smith this series. The Ben Stokes matter has dogged the England camp with minor issues flaring up when they wouldn’t have done previously but for all the extra stress of these off‑field distractions – and a lack of runs personally – the captain could not have done much different here.
It always boils down to resources. The batsmen, bar Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow in Perth, have struggled for big runs against this Australian attack. Can Alastair Cook find new mountains to climb when he is 150 caps into his incredible career with an England record under his belt? As I always maintain in these situations, only the individual truly knows.
Root has been portrayed as having a scrambled mind but I don’t see it myself. He has that look-to-score mentality that has simply not resulted in big runs here. There may be more he can do to really knuckle down but shots like the one that got him out second innings in Perth – edging Lyon behind – is one he usually nails for four. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
It is bowling where England may worry most looking ahead. They don’t have anyone making an unanswerable case for selection ahead of those used. The fact is, the selectors picked the best of their fit and available bowlers and they just couldn’t inflict enough damage.
You might chuck names like Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood around – and I love watching these guys bowl – but the former is 32 and the latter struggles to stay on the park. Jamie Overton will one day follow his gutsy twin brother into Test cricket but he wasn’t fit and is unproven.
Jimmy Anderson has been the most threatening, not least when he got his length right with the pink ball (having been one of those who previously made Root’s decision at the toss look poor). But we knew he would not be as effective here as home. The stats backed this up and it has simply come to pass again, for all his efforts.
Stuart Broad, for me, is a concern. He seems to be trying to get the ball to angle into the right-handers, and across the lefties. That to me seems to be a move away from what made him an all‑time great for England. And pace‑wise, he hasn’t clicked consistently enough. You wonder what the future holds here, which is strange when he is the younger of the two. But he’s the type of character who should never be written off.
Chris Woakes is a fine bowler but he needs to go a foot fuller for me to fulfil his potential. I know I am a broken record on this front but you have to get batsmen defending off the front foot. Craig Overton showed raw promise but Moeen Ali has been rendered totally ineffective, such that, with nothing to lose, they have to consider Mason Crane for Melbourne and Sydney.
But it does come back to the chief point of difference on hard Australian pitches: pace. In England, 80mph seamers get rewards at county level.
There are decisions made by coaches and groundstaff in light of the success demanded and jobs being on the line. The groundstaff should not cop it too much when so much cricket is played in April, May and September either.
Now as a coach, I would rather have a fast bowler give me 15 overs of gas in a day over 20 at fast-medium but there just isn’t the incentive to bowl fast due to conditions and pitches. This is not about workloads – I hate that word – just some pragmatism that, in the case of a few clubs, comes before a holistic England-focused approach.
In Australia we push for pace early too, with the first bowler picked for the under-17 or under-19 level state teams always the quickest around, with other attributes sought thereafter. If they are quick, they are in. Is that happening in England? I don’t know but it might be a place to start.
