Well, the
former skipper undoubtedly demonstrated why he has been retained as Test opener.
I don’t know when an English batsman last batted not only through a whole day’s
play but an entire innings without being dismissed, but this is precisely what
the side has been missing. Cook himself admitted his effort was several weeks
too late. Nevertheless his 244 not out was just what the doctor ordered
following the three successive defeats, not just for England but also his own
cricketing health. Since his 241 at Edgbaston in August, he scratched around
for just 261 runs in 14 innings before accumulating almost as many in just the
one outing at Melbourne. Talk about peaks and troughs!
Root declared
himself proud of his team’s response to losing the Ashes and it was certainly a
revelation to see Stuart Broad and Anderson turn a poor first day position into
a promising one by lunch on day two. Broad’s batting broadside also boosted
England’s first innings total to almost 500, sharing a century stand for the
ninth wicket and putting severe pressure on Steve Smith.
However, the
Aussie captain hasn’t amassed a world-beating Test average of 63 without
showing grit and determination on a consistent basis. Despite having 80,000
spectators watching your every twitch, and knowing he had already dropped Cook
in the slips, Smith stepped up to the plate and, by the close of the final day’s
play, had delivered yet another century, the sixth of 2017, to steer his side
to a draw. Even David Warner reined in his natural aggressive instincts, sticking
around for a five-hour 86.
Honours even?
Maybe, but it was England’s fightback which caught the eye. Like Craig Overton,
his replacement Tom Curran made Smith his first ever Test wicket, but nobody
else seems able to get him out. Anderson’s handiwork on a dirty ball may have
been proved to have been entirely legal and with the blessing of both umpires,
but it was Broad’s five wickets which pleased selectors and fans the most.
So what will
change for the Sydney climax? Moeen Ali may well be stood down to give Mason
Crane an opportunity, although that would weaken England’s batting. It may also
weaken the bowling as for much of last summer, he wasn’t even deemed good
enough to play for Hampshire.
Deputising
for Starc, Jackson Bird proved to be a turkey for the Aussies, going wicketless
for 108 runs, even worse than Moeen. Apparently, Ashton Agar has been called up
to the home team’s squad for Sydney, but he certainly won’t be scaring the
England’s batsmen. Perhaps this is a ruse to lull them into a false sense of
security before another short ball battering. We’ll see. Alastair Cook will
presumably return to single-figure scores so maybe this is the stage for Vince
and Woakes to show what they’re made of. I sincerely hope so. There may be a few spare MBEs going come the Queen's Birthday....
