Josh Tong retained his place in the Ashes after an impressive debut against Ireland at Lord's Credit: PA/John Walton
English cricket, whenever Australian cricketers threatened to take over the urn, always turned to their northern strongholds for a solution. The game changes a lot in the case of the style of this English team, but in this respect it remains the same.
A dodgy serve for English fingerpinners at Old Trafford in 1956 or at Headingley in 1972. or scoop up a retired northern veteran like Wilfred Rhodes of Yorkshire or Cyril Washbrook of Lancashire: and this time he has to introduce Mark Wood and Matthew Potts.
You could go all-in and at an all-out pace , bringing in Josh Tong along with Wood, after Tongue presented himself as the only threat when the Irish Tail Enders smashed England around Lord in early June.
An alternative would be Chris Wakes, who has an excellent bowling average of 11 at Lord's. His batting prowess would be a welcome addition too, but the lack of test action in the last 15 months makes him something of an unknown quantity, despite his experience.
But despite being a baseball or, rather, the ingenious captaincy of Ben Stokes – masked England's main flaw, England's attack still leans towards impotence when the ball is old, the field is flat, and they don't have fast pace or a constantly threatening lure
< p>When Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey rallied Australia in their first inning at Edgbaston, and Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon set up their winning stance in the second, it was an echo of Ireland's partnership with an eighth wicket scoring 163, in less than 28 overs, between Andy McBrien and Mark Adair, who made England dry himself thoroughly with a towel.
Pat Cummins (right) came with Australia, who still needed 72 runs to win, but along with Nathan Lyon, they brought their team home. Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster
Keep in mind that this Ashes itinerary was put together by administrators who didn't want players or spectators to relax between games. The second test at Lord's is scheduled to end on Sunday 2nd July and the third will start at Headingley on Thursday 6th July.
Given the state of British roads and railways, one day would be wasted on the road and two left to rest and prepare: Tree and Tongue might well run out of fuel to get on the road again, leaving England again with only fast-medium.
If Potts plays for Lord, he may be the least dangerous of England's four seamers, but he's the best equipped for throwing the hard yards Stokes will need to give Voodoo short periods – and Joe Root too. Four bowlers and Ruth: that's really all the bowling England can afford, considering Zach Crawley is the only one of the top three batsmen in England to make it to the streak.
Whenever Potts out in Edgbaston. becoming the 12th player, he immediately brought a twist to the game of the England team: he sprints and dives like an athlete, not like a fast bowler. The chemistry of having Stokes, Wood and Potts together as the men of Durham will do a lot to strengthen the tendons and get both the team and the audience bleeding.
The Aussies, on the other hand, have no obvious weaknesses after David Warner and his vastly improved footwork went a long way towards banishing the specter of Stuart Broad in a second innings, suggesting he could yet return to his fine if not prolific form. Ashes 2015; and after comments by Ollie Robinson about having three #11s in Australia.
In cricket, above all, you should never speak too soon. Robinson's annoyance saw Scott Boland do his job as a night watchman and score a valuable 20 points, and Lyon smashed Broad midway through the game, scoring a decisive turn in that winning stance, in addition to turning Robinson's short shots deadpan.
< p>The shortage of spinners is so great that England might have to take Rehan Ahmed on their team for Lord with the goal of playing later in the series, but that would be too soon. Ahmed was the winner of the last game of the Leicestershire Championship, but as a batsman. With a maturity far beyond his 18 years of age, combined with his own panache, he solved the problem of Gloucestershire left-hand spinner Zafar Gohar flying over the wicket and landing a serious blow outside the stump by a solid defense before lifting him straight.
As every loss in the Ashes series seems to end with a review if it happens this summer, the focus should be on how England ended up in this predicament with Jack Leach injuring his back. My recommendation is to split the Championship not into divisions but into conferences, one focusing on suture bowling like it is now, and the other focusing on the back (over 90 overs per day/more outdoor/more fields used). And maybe the districts and their members can choose what they prefer. slightly greener and grassier Lord's. In the absence of the Lich, the English strategy of holding on to one end with the spinner should be replaced by something more pragmatic.
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