It’s Captain vs. Captain, Test No. 1 Bowler vs. Test No. 1 Hitter, as Pat Cummins and Joe Root prepare to face off, can Stuart Broad keep his grip on David Warner and can the exciting off-road Cameron Green facing Ben Stokes? ? Rob Key watches the great battles of Ashes …
The battle between the two captains could be crucial in determining who wins The Ashes this winter.
Ahead of the start of The Ashes this week, Sky Sports expert Rob Key breaks down some of the potentially decisive heads-up battles …
This is the pairing. Joe Root has had the shape of his life. From Sri Lanka, just after last Christmas onwards, he’s been in phenomenal shape. The last frontier for him as a gamer is Australia, it’s the last piece of the puzzle for him. Forget the captaincy for a moment, the last place you need to conquer as a hitter is Australia.
Bowler Pat Cummins is the person who stands in his way. The added pacing and bounce, it’s a completely different test than what Root had for the last year, where he’s been spinning pitches or stitching pitches and still doesn’t have a hundred in Australia.
So you have the captaincy side. Both teams now, with the exception of Jofra Archer, are practically in top form. This is what England have been building for and Archer is a big, big mistake, but Ben Stokes is back now, and this is what it’s been about. We can all say ‘don’t just think of The Ashes’, but this is what it’s all about for Joe Root, and the same for Pat Cummins.
In fact, I think the whole Tim Paine thing, which has been a sham, has meant that Australia has a better wicketkeeper-hitter in Alex Carey. It means that both captains almost have a complete arsenal.
I don’t think the captaincy will affect Cummins’ performance on the ball because he has such a powerful attack. With Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon as well, it’s a very good attack. Lyon can do a lot of the donkey work if need be, which is also an advantage for a captain.
This one will be interesting because Broad, for the moment, has the upper hand. Warner will think that Australia will be different from English conditions. Broad topped it last time, but this will be a different challenge, especially when England’s bowlers are so undercooked.
It is up to Warner to order his game against Broad, not on Broad to order his game against Warner. What Broad worked on and the little tactical changes he made to Warner last time worked brilliantly, so it’s not going to change a thing. He’s going to do the same, so it’s up to Warner to try and counter him.
I know there has been talk that Broad and Jimmy Anderson might not play every tryout, but I have no interest in hearing about The Ashes’ break and rotation. You pick your best team and England has enough resources with Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes and the like so let’s stop trying to guess where the people are and just pick your best team.
If Anderson and Broad are fit, then they play. If you get tired to the point that you don’t think you’re doing as well as someone else, then you don’t play. All these rest and rotation things, that’s what they have been resting and rotating for. Just choose your strongest attack for the conditions.
Ben Stokes will return directly to the fight. As a cricketer, if your last game was during the summer, it makes no difference to your body and you are not in a better place because you played at the end of the summer rather than the middle of the summer. They are all going to be undercooked and Stokes is not in a different position.
He’s probably more rested, but in terms of form, pace, match awareness, match fitness, they’re all in the same boat as far as I’m concerned. Finishing in late summer is still a long time ago.
I’ve seen a bit of Cameron Green and the good players stand out for you very quickly, he looks like he’s going to be a fantastic player.
On my trip to Australia as a player, Michael Vaughan was part of a new generation that was going to take him to that great Australian team. His entire practice was on how to get Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie out of his length rather than “how do I survive against these guys?” I think both Green and Stokes are the kind of cricketers who will come back to bowling.
The mentality in Australia has to be, ‘if they lose their line and length, then I’m scoring’. They have to seek to punish every little thing that is a little out of place and to let the bowlers know that they are under pressure.
Green and Stokes, as well as Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, are those kinds of cricketers and I think that’s absolutely vital. Australia does not give you anything, so you must be prepared to take advantage of each of the things that they offer you.
