“Has-been” former players like me do not enjoy criticising the England team’s performances, but we cannot write good things when they play bad cricket.
“Has-been” former players like me do not enjoy criticising the England team’s performances, but we cannot write good things when they play bad cricket.
We want England to win. Always. I have never been asked to help, but if they came to me for advice I would give it gladly.
It is too late to ask for better preparation and practice matches. They have to make do with what they have got and there are ways they can improve the team.
With no match cricket for over a month it is asking a lot for Jacob Bethell to step up and deal with a new ball in the hands of rampant Australian bowlers. For me he stands a better chance of success at No 6.
Ben Stokes should bat No 3. At times he has shown great discipline, concentration and bloody-mindedness against the seamers. Yes, facing the new ball early on will be tougher than at No 6, but he has form and experience, rather than asking a young kid to do it. Ben is blocking well but he needs to find a happy medium to keep the scoreboard ticking over as well.
Pat Cummins is out of the series and that is good news for Joe Root. He had a problem with Cummins bowling fast in the corridor just outside off stump because his feet are stuck in the crease, which makes him fiddle for the ball away from his body. Normally his footwork is excellent. Occasionally every batsman faces a bowler who causes them a huge problem. When that happens the key to solving it is to first recognise what you are doing wrong and then make a big effort to get that left foot forward so your head is nearer and over the ball. Meet it with the full face and none of this angling the bat with an open face to third man. Joe will face Cummins again in the next Ashes series in 2027 and will have to overcome that hurdle. If he does so, he is good enough to score hundreds off their bowling.
What a waste of talent!
What can you say to Harry Brook that will make him listen? He bats as if it is T20. The greatest run-scorer of any era was Don Bradman. He regularly scored faster than any other batsman in history. There have been occasional innings from various batsmen who scored faster in one-off innings but Bradman did it every time he played.
Bradman only hit six sixes in his entire Test career. If you read his books he says he hit the ball on the floor not in the air because that way you can’t be caught out. He didn’t use the sweep and the reverse sweep had not been invented.
I asked Bill Bowes, who bowled to Bradman, how he scored so fast. Bill said he placed the ball in the gaps. When they changed the field Bradman found another gap and he never gave you a chance. He was ruthless.
So Harry, nobody wants to rein you in or stop you playing your strokes because you are “box office” and you can win matches, but so far you flatter and then get yourself out. What a waste of talent!
Harry Brook misses the reverse sweep and is clean bowled 😬
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 20, 2025
📺 Watch #TheAshes LIVE on TNT Sports and discovery+ pic.twitter.com/QDRIdelaS1
Have a think how many times the bowlers bowl you out with a good ’un and how many times you give it away. Take note from the greatest ever batsman and do not give your wicket away. You could be the greatest batsman of this generation and help England become the best team in the world.
In the Adelaide Test it was a delight to watch Zak Crawley making an effort to play close to his pad and restraining himself from going fishing outside off stump. He looked like a proper batsman. Why has it taken so long for the penny to drop? Patience is underrated, but crucial up front.
The more you can leave balls outside off stump, the more the bowlers will get frustrated and have to bowl straighter because they can’t afford to waste the new ball by not making you play. Same again please Zak, every time you bat.
Ben Duckett has a similar problem in this Ashes series. The Aussie bowlers are probing at his off stump and just outside and he is uncomfortable not knowing what to play and what to leave.
Throughout his Test career he has publicly said he is not going to leave any balls outside off stump. He has thrashed plenty of new-ball bowlers who have given him width, either too full or too short, but many of those seamers have not had the quality and discipline of these Aussies.
It is very difficult to thrash a new ball that is seaming or swinging a bit on a good length and line. I should know: I have been there. Once the bowlers don’t give him a four ball he is stuck having to leave it or defend it, which is against all his batting instinct. He has never had to do it and immediately he is out of his comfort zone, caught in two minds about what to do.
He has been so bullish about Test cricket, thinking it was easy, but my experience of sport is that when you think you have cracked it... it then bites you.
There is no other opener to take his place so he will have to play, but he needs to make a plan to protect his stumps and get some time in the middle. After 45 minutes batting, or at the drinks break, take a deep breath, relax and then look to score. That way even if he gets out after an hour he will have helped his team-mates by seeing some shine off the ball.
Smith making the same mistake is stupid
In the second innings at Adelaide Jamie Smith hit Cummins over the top for four and people went “wow, what a shot”.
He tried the same to Mitchell Starc and holed out. Ricky Ponting, commenting at the time, went bonkers. At that stage Smith was batting superbly with Will Jacks and they had the Aussies rattled, wondering how or where to get a wicket. England were just getting a glimpse of an unlikely victory.
Ricky Ponting's full comment on Jamie Smith's dismissal:
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 21, 2025
"Dopey, dopey, dopey. There's another one of those moments. Another one of those times where they don't need it, they didn't need to do that.
"The batting was looking easy for him. A new ball on this wicket, the best time… pic.twitter.com/3Su7vmqBpF
They were playing risky strokes not needed at that moment in the match. It summed up this team. When the situation calls for a touch of caution or common sense they go for the glory shots and don’t grasp what is required at pivotal moments.
The beauty of Test cricket is the ebb and flow of the game and our guys don’t sense when to attack and when to play carefully. Maybe they don’t grasp it because they don’t want to or are told to just attack and play with freedom.
Against India at the Oval, Smith failed to assess the situation and played an airy-fairy getting-out shot and England lost. Someone needs to tell him it is not his talent that is letting down England, it is his thinking and he doesn’t learn. Making a mistake is human, but to keep making the same mistake is stupid.
Bowlers search for magic balls when they need to build up pressure
For the seam bowlers it is simple: go back to basics. Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson are fast-medium bowlers and should be bowling repeatedly in the corridor of off stump and just outside with focus and discipline. Keep the ball on a fuller length and have three fielders in the covers as protection. Deny Australia freebies and build up pressure.
Our guys have been straining to bowl magic balls and giving away too many easy hittable deliveries. Make the Aussies work hard for every run. Show concentration and patience and wait for the mistakes to come. If you study Usman Khawaja, he sits on his back foot waiting for gifts too full to drive or too wide to cut. Bowl a tight full line at off stump and make his time at the crease uncomfortable.
Marnus Labuschagne is ill at ease when the ball is full and just outside off stump so keep giving him what he doesn’t like. Bowling is about giving the batsman what he doesn’t want and doing it repeatedly until he makes a mistake.
Travis Head is in great form and has played some destructive innings, but early on he sits back waiting for width. He needs to free his arms early on, so don’t let him. The England seamers have tried bowling different lines and length with some bouncers thrown in and it has not worked.
Once he thrashes a boundary or two, the bowlers’ minds have been scrambled and no captain can set a field for him or the wild bowling. Early on the key is to not give him room and tuck him up by bowling straight from over the wicket.
With better application, smarter thinking in the key moments, England have enough talent to win or at least give a better performance we could be proud of.
Category: General Sports
