England are an accident waiting to happen
Posted on 22/03/2010Alastair Cook has largely been praised for the manner in which he has captained his first England tour, yet it is the Essex opening batsman who is currently to blame for England’s second Test struggles, according to the Telegraph's Simon Hughes. The problem, writes Hughes, has proliferated from a mistake made in Bangladesh’s first innings...
England have been caught napping in this Test. On the first day they were utterly taken aback by Tamim Iqbal's audacious assault on their sensibilities. After that blow to the solar plexus, the bowlers gradually regained their breath and dragged England back to level on points by the end of round one.The young attack showed admirable staying power in unbelievably energy-sapping conditions. Imagine running in to bowl in a sauna and you get the idea. But on Sunday morning it was as if England were still groggy from the day before, and some absent minded cricket allowed Bangladesh to regain the upper hand.
It was one of those excruciating mornings for England supporters, an accident happening in slow motion that seems, to those on the sidelines, so preventable. A bit of logical thought, often beyond those caught up in the intensity of the battle in the middle, would have made a big difference. What was needed was a simple field change. When the fast bowlers were operating, extra cover should have been moved to third man.
Nine boundaries were leaked in that region in the 15 overs sent down by England's faster men on the second morning, and a total of 45 runs out of the 89 Bangladesh added. Whether or not to post a third man is a vexed issue for Test match captains. Sod's law dictates that if you employ one the ball never goes there, and as soon as you remove him the ball whistles through the slips for four.There is, however, a straightforward reason why you should always employ a third man for lower-order batsmen. By definition tail-enders do not pick the ball up as quickly as their more exalted colleagues, therefore they tend to be late bringing the bat down. This ensures their shots will end up more often behind the wicket than in front of it. The faster the bowling the more frequently it is sliced through or over the slips.
An experienced bowling coach would have quickly remedied this mistake. But, following Otis Gibson's departure, England don't have one. The show is currently run by batsmen, and they rarely understand the strange parallel universe inhabited by bowlers. A new appointment cannot happen fast enough. Interviews are to be conducted next week.
Such basic errors have a habit of escalating. Bangladesh's ensuing third highest total allowed them to post attacking fields and lie patiently in wait for mistakes. Alastair Cook soon made one, lofting a slog sweep to the lone man posted on the legside boundary.