England ponder top-order problems

England secured the convincing victory over New Zealand they demanded in the first Test at Lords but question marks remain over the make-up of their team for the Ashes series against Australia starting in July.

England secured the convincing victory over New Zealand they demanded in the first Test at Lords but question marks remain over the make-up of their team for the Ashes series against Australia starting in July.

The fast bowling of James Anderson and Stuart Broad was largely responsible for the 170-run win over the New Zealanders who more than held their own for three days of the match against a team ranked six places above them.

England openers Alastair Cook and Nick Compton failed to score above 32 in their two innings and with the reliable but limited Jonathan Trott at number three,there is a growing feeling the top order may struggle to lay a solid platform to put opponents under pressure. One solution might be to promote Joe Root to open.

Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott believes Compton,despite his two Test centuries in the recent series in New Zealand,is struggling. Nick Compton is under pressure for his place because of the ways he got out at Lords, Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

His strength is patience,concentration,good defence and the ability to bat for long periods and give England the platform for the stroke players later on.

Compton made 16 in the first innings at Lords but,frustrated by the accuracy of the New Zealand bowling,he charged down the wicket to spinner Bruce Martin and sliced a catch into the covers. It was not smart,did not look good and cost him his wicket, Boycott said. We were all thinking what the hell did he do that for?

In the second innings Compton was comprehensively bowled by left-armer Neil Wagner. He was late on an 80 mph delivery with a gap between bat and pad you could drive a bus through, Boycott said. Nick bats with such intensity,expending so much mental energy and there is a rigidity and stiffness to his batting.

Story continues below this ad

Cook,as the captain and with more than 7,000 Test runs to his name and 24 centuries,is in no danger of being dropped but Boycott thinks he has a weakness against left-arm fast bowlers. He was dismissed by Trent Boult in both innings at Lords,caught by the wicketkeeper and third slip.

Cook has a problem with left-arm over-the-wicket seamers, Boycott said. He does not judge the line of what to play and what to leave very well.

Australia have Mitchell Starc in their squad,a quicker bowler than Boult and one of the best left-arm fast bowlers in the world. Good footwork is nearly always the key to good batting so he needs to make a bigger stride forward, Boycott said.

As captain,if the Aussies find a chink in his batting and start getting him out cheaply he will lose confidence. So he needs to sort it out.