PUNT INTENDED by Vinay Kanchan: No Ashes without Wood

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN such a triumphant Ashes for the English cricket team. 

Now, irrespective of the result of the ongoing last Test, the Ashes will remain with Australia. That will hurt Stokes and McCullum, whatever they choose to say at the post match press conferences. 

It was a series which began with a lot of promise. England, with its ‘Bazzball’ philosophy, finally had discovered the language to hurt Australia, or so the general thinking went. To be fair, England were unlucky that rain intervened in the last Test, where they were well on top to win. But had they played their cards right, the series could have gone their way much earlier. 

The buzz around Bazzball was that it was an ultra-aggressive approach, bordering on sheer bravado at times. It was all about knocking the opposition off their stride and intimidating them, primarily with attacking batting. And in all honesty, this approach had been refreshing. Especially considering how dour the English approach to cricket had been for the larger part of the last four decades. There was a kind of stiff, upper lip, take it on the chin and/ or shoulder (especially if it hurts) to the English. 

Bazzball had the same effect on their demeanour, as the playing of a bhangra track has on the audience at the Royal Ball. 
However, scoring runs at a frenetic pace, is only one part of the equation. 

This is especially true in Test cricket, where there is also the tedious imperative of dismissing the opposition twice, much against their wishes. This is where the legend of great teams are built. 

Think of the West Indian teams of the seventies and eighties. Followed by the Aussies from the mid-nineties for a period of ten odd years. 

These legendary teams were spearheaded by some of the greatest bowling talents of all time. Roberts, Holding, Garner and Marshall, perfectly complemented the attacking batting brilliance of Richards, Greenidge, Haynes and Lloyd. Just as Warne, McGrath, Gillespie and Lee made the aggressive approach of Ponting, Hayden and Gilchrist possible. 

Crucially in the all-important first Test, England had the game. 

The Aussies were far from the shore, with only their tail to contend with. But England’s ageing attack of Anderson and Broad (undeniably still great performers, but with creakier joints), did not look like they could get the job done. The spin option was down to Root trying to find the fruits of an enticing approach. This he did, only to be kept on for one more over, where a bunch of runs were scored. In a close game, that made for a decisive shift in momentum. 

If England’s fortunes turned in this series, it was after the inclusion of Mark Wood. 
Fast bowlers are the most precious resource in Test cricket. They should be treasured like diamonds. Because genuine pace asks questions few other bowling options do. 

In his very first innings of the Ashes as a bowler, the difference was stark (no pun intended involving Australia’s premier quick). The Australian batters knew they had to be far more circumspect. They realized walking down the pitch, now presented existential threats. There is a fear factor which a genuine pace bowler brings, and playing him with extra caution, always makes the rest of the attack look far more potent. 

Sure enough, all the English bowlers seemed more likely to take a wicket, with the threat of Wood around. Add to that, the crucial little hand he played with the bat in the third Test to win it for England, and bring them on the scoreboard as far as the series went. Wood surely was inducted at least a Test too late. 

Eventually, England might have done well to remember; the last time they really shook the Australians with an idea, it was because of a strategy around bowling. It was called ‘Bodyline’. And, for all the glory batsman corner in the modern game, it is instructive to be cognizant of the fact: in test cricket, it is bowlers who help teams make a Mark. 

(Vinay Kanchan is the author of ‘Sportivity’, ‘Lessons from the Playground’ & ‘The Madness Starts at 9’. He is the patron saint of Juhu Beach United, a footballing movement which celebrates the ‘unfit, out-of-breath working person of today’.)

Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.