The Ashes 2013: Team preview: England

The Ashes is upon us, and with little over a week to go for the first Test at Trent Bridge, all eyes will be on UK as England take on their ‘old enemy’- Australia- in what promises to be a fascinating contest. England has already won the last two Ashes and are going in to this edition as favourites, and rightly so. England fans who have watched their team struggle through ’90s must be pleasantly surprised at the transformation their beloved team has undergone in the last seven years which saw them reach the No.1 ranking in Test Cricket , when they white-washed India 4-0 in the summer of 2011.

England can boast of the best-equipped coaching staff in the world. The trio of Andy Flower (Team director), Graham Gooch (Batting consultant), and David Saker (Bowling coach) has brought in the right mixture of skill and discipline which has resulted in many feats, such as winning a Test series in India after 28 years, and winning the Ashes in Australia after 24 years! In the last three years, England has played 36 Test matches, winning 18 of those, while losing 9 and the other nine were drawn. During this period, they maintained an impressive win/loss ratio of 2.00

The English press has already declared England as the winners of the 2013 Ashes, with Ian Botham going to the extent of predicting a white-wash for English. So it should be easy for England, right? Maybe. But Cook and co would be wise to not pay heed to what their former players are writing and remember the history of the Ashes: always expect the unexpected.

Now, with Darren Lehman at the helm, even England’s usually witty former captain, Micheal Vaughan, has stopped his sarcastic digs at the Aussies. Darren Lehman has already taken huge decisions, like preferring Chris Rogers over IPL star David Warner for opening with Watson, and that shows the intent as Rogers, with his experience, is expected to lead the Australian batting line-up.

So just how good is this English team? Let’s look at the team in depth.

Openers

Beginning with the opening pair, Alastair Cook has a new companion who must remind him of his own youth. It is all but certain that Root has beaten Nick Compton to the opener’s slot. Like Cook, Joe Root, with his boyish look, enjoyed a quick promotion from the Lions squad to the Test team, when he made his debut in Nagpur last year on a sluggish pitch and impressed his coach so much that he is now among the certainties in the team.

He should be comfortable in his new role as he opens for Yorkshire and is considered as a ‘natural opener’. But that does not guarantee success as he is yet to be tested against better bowling attacks than those of India and New Zealand- the two nations against whom Root has played Test cricket. But the one thing that goes for Root is he has none other than Alastair Cook as his partner.

The England captain is widely regarded as the best batsman in the world at the moment. With 7524 runs in 92 Test matches, he has roughly the same number of runs as Sachin Tendulkar had after playing 92 Test – 7752 runs. Recently, Kevin Pietersen publicly commented that Cook could break Sachin’s record of most career runs in Test cricket.

Middle Order

People say cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, but one thing English fans can be rest assured is of runs flowing from the bat of Jonathan Trott. Currently the most consistent no.3 going around, Trott is the only English player in history to average more than 50 in both Test and ODI cricket.

As for the batting at no.4, England have a gem in the form of Kevin Pietersen, but he has missed a lot of cricket in the last 3 months as his last Test was in the March against New Zealand. Kevin has the X-factor in him as he has played few innings that have turned the series on its head, be it the 227 against Australia or the 186 on a minefield at Mumbai when England were trailing 1-0. That innings prompted Sourav Ganguly to state that it was the best innings played by a visiting batsman in India.

With Ian Bell at no.5, the middle-order looks as formidable as any England has ever had. The no.6 slot, though, will be interesting. England as of now has gambled with Jonny Bairstow, a rookie but it clearly shows that England have set their eyes for future. The inexperienced Australian bowlers will have a mighty fight on their hands with this batting line-up.

Wicket-keeper

Matt Prior, with 3680 runs at an average 44.33, is a veteran of many battles. Flower has given him a specific role, play aggressively and put the opposition on the defensive. What makes him deadly is the fact that he has the ability to counter-attack the new ball, the way Gilchrist used to do in his prime and won many matches for Australia during the first decade of the 21^st century.

In many ways Prior is England’s answer to Adam Gilchrist and so far he has lived up to the expectations aptly. He has been around a long time, he knows his limitations and reputation and at no.7, might be as effective the batsmen above him. Prior, 31, is at the peak of his powers and this series might just elevate him from good to great.

Spinners

The one area where England are miles ahead of Australia is spin, subject to Graeme Swann’s fitness. England’s canny off-spinner is a showman who relishes the big stage and makes the left-handers dance to his tunes and the Australians are playing into his hands, as they have as many as 9 left-handers in the 17 man-squad. But if Swann is not available for all five Tests, then England can always turn to Monty Panesar or James Tredwell who are more than capable of deputising for Swann.

Fast bowlers

England have a formidable pace attack in the form of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn/ Tim Bresnan. Finn is not at his best but is a sure starter and Cook will rely on his aggression to put the Australian batsmen on the defensive. If swing bowling is a university, then James Anderson is its Vice Chancellor. Be it conventional swing, reverse swing or contrast swing, you name it and he will deliver it. Anderson will be the go-to man for Cook in pressure situations and one can expect him to deliver more often than not.

Prediction

Conventional wisdom suggests Alastair Cook’s side holds all the aces and riding on their experience and skill, should beat Australia 3-1. But hey, I wouldn’t mind looking like a fool on 25^th August if Australia under Lehman can turn things around and beat the Poms.