England have arguably the worst batting line-up in memory – don’t rule out Australia securing 5-0 whitewash
ENGLAND’S batting statistics are horrendous, and the more you look, the worse they become.
Here is a snapshot — Joe Root has six of England’s seven Test centuries in 2021 and 1,052 runs more than the next best batsman.
Yes, it is a one-man show.
And, unless others start contributing, this Ashes series is heading for a hammering and potential 5-0 whitewash.
Head coach Chris Silverwood trotted out lines about the batters having ‘talent’ and ‘character’, but even he cannot believe their performances are good enough.
This is arguably the worst England batting line-up in living memory.
Whether it is Rory Burns’ weird technique, Ollie Pope’s cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof edginess or Jos Buttler’s unfulfilled talent in Test cricket, there are problems everywhere.
Even Ben Stokes, so often the dream maker, is enduring a barren year and looks under-prepared and short of confidence.
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And if England want to make changes?
Well, the reserves in Australia are Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence and Jonny Bairstow, who have struggled desperately in Test cricket in 2021.
England were bowled out for 147 in the first innings in Brisbane and lost eight for 74 in the second.
For all the talk about leaving out bowlers Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, that is the reason they were crushed by nine wickets.
Perhaps most worrying of all, they seem to be getting worse.
Burns and Pope are going backwards while older hands like Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow show declining averages.
England have not produced a consistently world-class batsman since Root made his debut in 2012.
It is not as if Silverwood, now chief selector as well as coach, is picking the wrong people.
It is just nobody else is making a compelling case for selection.
Batting woes are the main reason England have lost seven out of ten Tests, drawing two and winning just one.
There are several theories why England’s batsmen struggle.
The most likely reason is the priority given to white ball cricket, typified by the spurious new Hundred competition, with red ball matches kicked to the beginning and end of the summer.
Silverwood said: “We have a good bunch of players capable of winning the Ashes so that is what we are focusing on.
“We know it’s going to be tough so we must give the players the confidence we can to win the series.
“We had a good chat in the dressing room after losing the First Test.
“There are obvious areas we need to improve, such as catching and building big partnerships. We reset and go again.
“They are hurting but believe they can win the series. We have gone 1-0 down before and bounced back. We have players to match the Australians.
“It’s frustrating for all of us that we’re not able to build big totals. We keep working on it, concentrating in the nets on those first 20 balls.
“I don’t think confidence is an issue because they’re all good players, they’re all capable of scoring runs and taking wickets, and they’re capable of beating the best teams.
“If you look at who we’ve played in those last ten Tests, they’re good sides such as India and New Zealand, the best in the world.
“The confidence is there that we can compete with Australia and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
England might have a better chance in the pink ball Second Test in Adelaide, which starts on Wednesday night, as it suits Broad and Anderson.
The pair were both omitted in Brisbane to ensure there was no chance of injury before the day/night match.
But England are already one down, so that worked well, didn’t it?
Silverwood added: “Stuart has been great. He was disappointed not to play but understood that this is a long series and everybody will play a part at some stage.
“We had good conversations with Stuart before any decisions were made and he was 100 per cent on board.
“Stuart and Jimmy are fit and ready to go for the Second Test.”
Former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting reckons England could be whitewashed.
He said: “The conditions are only going to get better for Australia. The pitch in Brisbane was very English-like. If England don’t win in Adelaide, there could be shades of 2006-07, when we won 5-0.”
There was some good news for England though as Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the Second Test.
The Aussie fast bowler, who suffered a minor side strain in the First Test, flew home to Sydney while the squad prepared to travel to Adelaide.
It is not thought Hazlewood’s injury is serious but the Australia do not want to risk further damage.
Emerging quickie Jhye Richardson is poised to take his place.
Opener David Warner, struck in the ribs by a ball from Ben Stokes, took no part in the First Test after day two.
He is said to be in discomfort but expected to play in Adelaide.