The first Ashes Test starts on Friday in Perth. Former England Test batsman-turned-commentator Nick Knight, speaking to The Indian Express, gives his views on how Bazball will fare in Australia, why he backs Joe Root to score big runs Down Under and why leaving the ball on length is key on Australian pitches?
Excerpts
What are the challenges for an English batsmen in Australian conditions?
Bounce is the keyword. What has to be at the back of your mind when you’re playing, particularly in Perth, but also in Australia, is you can leave the ball on length. That’s such an important thing when you start your innings, because you want to try and get in, get settled. And you can leave balls on the stumps if you’re picking the right length. Then you’re forcing the bowler to bowl fuller. And that’s when you can start scoring more freely.
This England team, with the Bazball approach, are not known for leaving the ball.
The way they’re playing now is a more refined version of Bazball. So, it’s not a smash at all costs (approach) if you are in trouble. I’d be very surprised if Australia’s fast bowlers don’t target Harry Brook with the short ball, put two men back, big boundaries, big grounds. In England, 65 metres is a boundary. In Australia, sometimes it’s 80 metres. The Australians don’t miss a trick. They know their conditions better than anybody. That’s why they’re so tough to beat at home. So, England’s challenge is to find the right time to build and the right time to accelerate.
Why do you think Joe Root hasn’t found success in Australia?
I’m surprised as anyone because he has an all-round game. In Australia, you have to be strong off the back foot. There are a lot of balls coming through waist-high and chest-high. He’s got a very strong back-foot game. The one thing that sets Joe Root apart from most others is that he has this insatiable appetite to get better. If I were a betting man I’d put a lot of money on Root having an outstanding series. And I think the one bowler who’s not playing, Josh Hazlewood, would be the type that would cause him problems because of the meticulous length around off stump, the odd fuller ball and the odd shorter ball. Hazlewood not playing in that first Test gives Root a great opportunity.
Steve Smith has always made runs in the Ashes. How do you think he will go this time?
If I were England, I would go after his pads. Because he has these very pronounced pre-delivery movements… goes a long way across the off-stump. There’s this feeling that you might be better off just following him a little bit outside off-stump. I see it differently. I think the numbers back this up as well. Go to the pads, go at the stumps, have your leg gully, have your short leg in, bowl at the stumps with the odd short ball.
Who among Smith and Root will have a better series?
That’s a million-dollar question, isn’t it? I’m going to go to Root because he’s so hungry for success. Root’s probably in slightly better form. I know Smith’s been scoring some runs in domestic cricket, but for me, there aren’t many better players around than Joe Root.
In the last few seasons, pitches in England have gone flatter, and the ones in Australia have got spicier. The Dukes are not doing as much, and Kookaburra is doing a lot more. How do you think that dynamic will play out?
England are going to go in with pace. I hope they don’t go in with five quicks, including Ben Stokes. For me, they need a balance. So, my gut feeling is, before the series started, I would have gone with Shoaib Bashir. Just purely because on balance. I’m not sure how well Bashir is bowling at the moment. So, it might be that they go with Will Jacks as a spin option and have him bat at eight. But either way, they need someone to change the pace with the ball. And we saw this in India a little bit in the T20 series at the start of the year. England went pace, pace, pace. India bashed them. Sure, pace is important. And sure, the short balls are not pleasant to face. But the lengths that the England bowlers bowl are absolutely crucial. They need to be a little fuller. They need to bowl at the stumps as much as they possibly can.
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