England bowlers showed their class on a flat deck, writes NASSER HUSSAIN, as Ben Stokes' side deliver ideal dress rehearsal for the Ashes England must start their preparations for next year's Ashes down under At Trent Bridge England dismantled the West Indies to claim victory in the series But maintaining form away from home soil has proven to be a difficult task By Nasser Hussain Published: 22:30 BST, 21 July 2024 | Updated: 22:30 BST, 21 July 2024 e-mail View comments A quickfire win at Lord’s was a great send-off for Jimmy Anderson, but if England want to grow as a side the key is to win when the pitch is flat and the ball’s not doing that much. This pitch at Trent Bridge was not dissimilar to ones that you might find in parts of Australia and they will perhaps need some of the characteristics their attack displayed in this match down the line. Not that winning away is a struggle that concerns England alone.
It’s been a struggle for all touring teams in Test cricket since 2001 and we used a graphic on Sky Sports yesterday to highlight the correlation between the most successful of the top eight nations overseas in that period and the pace of their bowlers. Australia, India and South Africa make up the top three in win percentage and their seamers have also sent down the highest proportion of deliveries in excess of 85 mph in the past three years. Pace isn’t everything, of course.
Go to Australia and spray it around and you will go around the park. The ideal combination down under is pace and skill, as Gus Atkinson showed in the first match of the series and as Mark Wood, despite not taking the wickets he deserved, did here. England's attack looked impressive as they comfortably handled West Indies at Trent Bridge But Ben Stokes' side will need more than just pace when they travel down under for the Ashes next year The most intriguing member of the attack in this regard is Chris Woakes, who due to his father Roger’s passing earlier this summer is behind in his preparation.
In this match he got better with every spell. It was obvious he was undercooked at Lord’s. He showed his calibre 12 months ago when he was the player of the series against Australia and on days three and four here he bowled beautifully.
His selection appears to be about the here and now, but if you presume that Australia go into next year’s Ashes with their trio of quick bowlers, history says England’s tailenders will be blown away. During the 2021-22 Ashes, it was six out, all out thanks to the combination of bumpers and yorkers from Mitchell Starc. Similarly with Mitchell Johnson in 2013-14.
With that in mind, I’d be pondering who bats at eight. Now, Woakes has to be bowling well enough to justify being picked, but his value in that role is worth considering. Recently, he was talking about learning new skills with the ball, about how Anderson and Stuart Broad adopted such a policy at a similar stage of their careers.
If at 35 he can replicate what they did, he might get to Australia. We know there is a huge discrepancy between his bowling averages of 22 on home soil and of 52 on that of the opposition’s, so perhaps the thing to do is take him to either Pakistan or New Zealand this winter and ask the question: are you improving away? England can’t afford to get to Australia and then say ‘same old, same old’. You need to find out an answer in advance.
To work out whether he’s contributing to success in the present but filling the gap for someone else like a Josh Tongue, Dillon Pennington, Matthew Potts or Jofra Archer. Chris Woakes' involvement in that series will depend on his ability to replicate his home form abroad Shoaib Bashir's five-wicket haul demonstrates why he is so highly regarded in the England set up Having one eye on the present but also one on the future is why England have gone for Shoaib Bashir. Not since Muttiah Muralitharan in 2006 had a spinner taken a five-for in a Test in Nottingham.
And he got his rewards because he did the two things you want to see from your off-spinner — he got lovely drop on the ball to take the left-hander’s edge for the dismissal of Alick Athanaze and bowled Jason Holder with a beauty. It will have done him, and all the England bowlers, some good playing here. Share or comment on this article: England bowlers showed their class on a flat deck, writes NASSER HUSSAIN, as Ben Stokes' side deliver ideal dress rehearsal for the Ashes e-mail Add comment.
