The Ashes 2017-18: Squad comparison

Australia and England faceoff in the 70th Ashes starting tomorrow at the Gabba in Brisbane. Both the teams have picked up squads they think are best to regain and defend the urn. Here is a squad comparison to find out who stands in a better position at least on paper.

Teams:

Australia– Steven Smith (c), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers

England- Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, Joe Root (c), Dawid Malan, Gary Ballance, James Vince, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Mason Crane, Ben Foakes, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jake Ball, Craig Overton, Tom Curran

Openers

Australia:

David Warner– His approach to the game irrespective of the format is very similar to 2 other contemporary batsmen of this era, Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag. He feeds on pace and bounce on the pitch and likes to take the attack to the opposition. It’s just not the runs that he makes, it’s also the fear that he instils in the minds of the bowlers with his bludgeoning tactics that impacts the psyche of opposition. With his assertive approach, he is very difficult to contain. He is always at you, be it batting, fielding or sledging. Warner has an enviable record in his home country, scoring 3257 runs at 59.21 in 33 matches.

Cameron Bancroft was initially selected for the 2015 tour of Bangladesh that got null and void due to safety concerns. Bancroft will embark upon his journey along with Warner at the Gabba. Cameron’s selection was also influenced by the fact that other seasoned openers didn’t do really well in the recently concluded Sheffield Shield cricket.

England:

Alastair Cook- Probably the best Test batsman England has ever produced. Needless to say that he is in the twilight of his career and this probably will be his last tour to Australia. Cook has an inspiring record in Australia, scoring 1288 runs in 15 matches at an average of 49.53. He is one of those who will hold the key for England as there are a lot of players in the squad who are going to play the Test cricket for the first time. Apart from scoring heavily, he will also have to play the role of an anchor and counsellor. He is in fine touch at the moment and England will bank on him.

Mark Stoneman, just like Australia, England too have an opener who is relatively new to the international amphitheatre and hasn’t done much in the limited opportunities that he’s got. He moved to Surrey from Durham and since then he’s scored heavily in the domestic circuit. He’s got runs, he’s got the class, and he’s got the technique. The only thing that he doesn’t have is time. 31 years of age and if he fails then it will be very tough for him to make a comeback.

Middle order

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh

Usman Khwaja has been in decent form off late and was unfortunate to miss out on playing Tests in India in 2017. It will be interesting to see whether the team management plays him at the top with David Warner or they solidify the middle-order. In a start-stop career filled with inconsistency and injuries, Usman Khawaja has done fairly well after his return to the Australian team.

Steve Smith has been in form of his life, having scored 3 high-class centuries in India, he proved to the world that he is equally good in alien conditions. Steve Smith is to Australia what Cook and Joe Root are to England. His unique batting style and unstable body at the crease has posed numerous questions to the bowlers to which they don’t seem to have an answer.

Peter Handscomb, so far in his short stay at international circuit has shown grit, determination and class and whatever we have seen till date, it would be safe to say that he is here to stay. He has looked solid against spin and can play a big role in negating Moeen Ali’s precise off-spinners.

Shaun Marsh has been really lucky in the selection process and this time he is selected to bat at no.6. He recently scored 400 odd runs at an average of 40 and received accolades from WA coach and former Australian opener Justin Langer that he is in form of his life. Really!Standards of Australia cricket have gone down and Shaun Marsh’s selection is a testimony of their perplexed mental state, what else could have been a reason to select a 34 years old veteran who’s scored just 1476 in 23 matches at a miserable average of 36 at Test level.

England: Gary Ballance, Joe Root, James Vince, Dawid Malan

Joe Root- Based on the current form, ability to score big, technique, composure and stability, he is the best batsman in this side. If he plays well, England will feel that they have a chance. Being the leader of the side, he will have an additional responsibility to bear the brunt, pressure and face the “issues” off the field as well.Just 5 years into his Test career, Root has already scored 5323 runs at an average of 53.76. Do we need to say more?

Gary Balance– after Jonathan Trott’s career went downhill because of his “mental trauma”, apparently caused by Mitchell Johnson, Gary balance grabbed the opportunity with both hands and soon became an important part of the England Test side. Having scored just 304 runs in 8 matches in last 2 years of test cricket, ECB is still persisting with him, and surely they do see something in him. He has to find form quickly and be amongst the runs as he cannot afford to be the weak link in this side, otherwise.

Dawid Malan, who is expected to warm the bench in first couple tests will be tried. Dawid Malan is an exciting talent who has represented England in 5 Tests and 1 T20I. He is a good blend of power and technique and has played 151 First-class matches and done well for the domestic sides he played for.

James Vince was the biggest surprise in the side considering that he had a horrid start to his career averaging a paltry 19.27 from 7 Tests. The only optimism he has on this tour is having the experience of playing in Perth’s rating cricket as a young boy.

Wicketkeeper

Australia: Tim Paine

Clearly, the one area where England have won even without stepping the foot on the ground. Tim’s selection raised a lot of eyebrows and certainly was enough to question Australia’s inventory of glovesmen. They overlooked the incumbent Matthew Wade, who’s been given enough chances in the past to prove his worth but he failed. Did that really mean that Australian selectors had to go for someone who doesn’t even keep for this stateside? If this doesn’t pay-off, CA selectors better be ready to face the chin music from all corners of the world.

England: Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes

On the contrary, here we have someone who has the potential to be one of the best Wicket-Keepers for England and he’s certainly progressing in that manner only. Having made his debut in 2012 and played 45 Tests till date, he’s come a long way and has done consistently well to keep his place in the side intact. He has played 2 matches in Australia and just didn’t do well enough. He is a gutsy player and his numbers in Australia won’t bother England a bit.

Ben Foakes, somewhat a backup for Jonny Bairstow is an exceptional young talent with the gloves as well as bat. He plays for Surrey and it is heard through the grapevine that he has the pedigree to become one of the best. He has played 77 first-class matches and scored 3892 runs at an average of 41.84.

All-rounders

Australia: Australia doesn’t have any genuine all-rounder in their team.

England: Moeen Ali

It will be interesting to see Moeen Ali’s tactics against the Kangaroos, especially against Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb, who like to use their feet against the spinners. With Ben Strokes missing the flight to Australia, Moeen Ali has to deliver, both with the bat and the ball and will play a vital role in bringing back the urn to country. This is the first time he will be playing in Australia and it will be interesting to see how he exploits the bounce off the surface.

Bowlers

Australia: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers

Probably the most important and attention-grabbing part of this piece. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will form a pace bowling attack you would put your money on. They will be playing for the first time together in a Test match and the excitement and thrill are second to none. Australian pitches are bit different in nature than England pitches. As the Test match will go on, the pitches will become drier and will offer lesser assistance to the fast bowlers. On those sort of wickets, you need raw pace to provide your side with breakthroughs. Australia is notch ahead in this sector. They have Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, who recently showed good form when he played in India.

Josh Hazlewood is the modern Glenn McGrath, may be an extrapolation too imaginary and unfair to the Legend himself. His accuracy is second to none and Australia will bank on his swing and precision for early breakthroughs. The only area of concern for him is when the ball gets old. Will he be that effective with the old ball as well?

Old ball, and Nathan Lyon. He is the most successful off-spinner this country has ever manufactured and his ability to put more revolutions on the ball makes it even more effective and dangerous even in not-so spin-friendly conditions. His fast off-spinners will certainly be a big threat to England given that they have 5-6 left-handed batsmen in the side. Australia is likely to go in with 4 bowlers.

Jackson Bird has been good in the 8 matches that he’s played so far, taking 34 wickets. He is not express pace but he bowls good line and length constantly and his accuracy combined with just enough swing and seam movement has made him a decent choice.

Chadd Sayers, another newbie, has the ability to bowl late outswingers and can be a worthy option if any of the first tier bowlers suffer injury or loss of form, which Australia would not want at any cost.

England: Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jake Ball, Craig Overton, Tom Curran

James Anderson and

Stuart Broad have undoubtedly formed one of the best fast bowling attacks of this generation and between them, they have taken 894 Test wickets. Make no mistake, it is a huge huge number but should England really cry over the spilt milk? May be yes.

Their record in Australia is far from extraordinary. Between them they have taken 66 wickets in 20 matches at an average of 35.28 but they are all class and maybe this is Anderson’s last trip to Australia and thus last chance for him to leave an impression on Australian grounds. The problem with James Anderson is that he relies too much on swing rather than pace and in Australia, you get most of your wickets with the amount of pace and bounce that you are able to generate off the pitch.

Jake Ball, Craig Overton, Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Mason Crane have not played a Test in Australia and to expect too much out of them would be unfair. Chris Woakes’s bowling style will be complemented by Australian pitches. He is a “hit the deck hard” bowler and in a situation where it has stopped seaming and swinging, he can be Joe Root’s best bet.

The conclusion:

This is what it looks like on paper but matches are played on grounds and this Ashes might just mould few careers. Both teams are almost equivalent in the batting department, opening and middle-order combined but England bat deep. Australia seems to look a better bowling side and that holds the key to this tour. The team who bowls well will eventually walk away with the “Ashes” and make an entry into the history books.

Written by Deepak Verma