England are struggling to find a consistent opening partner for skipper Alastair Cook. The search has been ongoing since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012. The man selected for the current Ashes series, Adam Lyth, has so far failed to make an impact against the Aussies. He has made just 43 runs in his three Ashes innings, including a duck at Lord’s. Of his 193 test runs, 107 of those came in the same innings against New Zealand at Headingley.
England’s Opening Batsman Search Continues
Test cricket is a steep learning curve for batsman — something Lyth hasn’t got to grips with. Six of his Seven dismissals have been caught behind the stumps, and only one of those would have gone on to hit the wicket. The ability to leave the wide ball in this format of the game is crucial for any batsman, especially the opening pair as they try to see off the new ball.
Lyth joins a list of batsmen who have failed to hold down a place in the side. Michael Carberry lasted just six matches at an average of 28.75, which was never going to be enough to keep his place. A high score of 60 in his 12 innings proves that as an opener he could not score enough to make the big total required. In Carberry’s defence, he was in the side thrashed 5-0 down under by Australia. In that series no England player made a real impact on the scorecard, so Carberry wasn’t alone in failure. It does explain his poor average, however.
Nick Compton played in nine matches for an average of 31.93. Of all Cook’s partners since Strauss departed, Compton has the best figures. With that average coming over 17 innings he hardly set the world alight either. Sam Robson also had a brief spell of seven matches but faded away with an average of 30.54.
With Jonathon Trott retiring, who preferred batting at three anyway, as well as Gary Ballance having trouble of his own, England are left desperately short of viable options. In 2015 England have so far played seven Test matches. In every single one of those games, England have been reduced to 52-3 or worse. The stats prove that England have a serious problem at the start of their innings. Coming in at number five, Joe Root is having to rebuild the innings time and time again. Most recently, at Lord’s, Root himself failed with the bat, leaving England exposed on 30-4.
Who are the contenders who could potentially plug the gap? Alex Hales is the choice of many. The Nottinghamshire batsman has stood out in the shorter formats of the game and debate rages on as to whether he can adjust his game to play at Test level. His attacking nature could be just what England need at the top of the order. Putting the bowlers on the back foot would be beneficial to the next few men in. David Warner has a similar approach the game and has so far had success in his Test career. The ability to play your shots right from the off, whilst facing the harder new ball has been proven to work in this modern era of Test cricket. Quick runs immediately set the tone for both sides, meaning entertaining cricket is on display for the best part of five days.
Other than Hales, nobody is bashing down the selectors’ door, which just leaves the likes of Ballance, Ali and Bell to fill in. The trouble is, Bell and Ballance are horribly out of form themselves and aren’t natural openers. Moving Ali up the order leaves Buttler short of support when batting with the tail. Ali is hardly a suitable opener anyway and Joe Root is needed where he is to rebuild if early wickets do fall. When Root does rebuild he plays positively and puts the pressure back on the bowlers. If one of England’s openers played in the same way they could find themselves in dominant positions more often than not.
Alex Hales plays in that positive style, and all have seen the power and style in a wide range of shots during one-day games. The selectors must be close to giving Hales a chance. The dismal form of the top order hasn’t gone unnoticed and cricket fans want to see England competing in all areas throughout every game.
Scoreboard pressure is so important in cricket. However, England have failed to pile the runs on at the top of the order for too long. Alex Hales could be the man to change the way they play early on in Test innings.
