Adil Rashid's Ashes hopes won't be over if he sits out final Test
Wednesday 29 April 2015 15:49, UK
England have taken control of their series with West Indies but Bob Willis wants a rejigged bowling line-up and more responsibility for Jos Buttler in Barbados…
England will be cock-a-hoop after winning the second Test against West Indies – but I still think changes to the bowling attack are needed for the third game.
James Anderson was superb in Grenada and even though Stuart Broad’s form has been in and out he is clearly the best partner for England’s premier strike bowler, but the other two seamers leave a lot to be desired.
Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes are not currently good enough to be in the side at the same time, particularly with the sterner tests of New Zealand and Australia coming up this summer.
They don’t get enough wickets at the top level and, much like Chris Woakes, fit into the fourth-seamer category, when England are crying out for a third seamer, one with a bit of added pace.
England are a little too preoccupied with packing the batting down the order, rather than promoting Buttler into a proper batting position.
England are a little too preoccupied with packing the batting down the order, rather than promoting Jos Buttler into a proper batting position and not having him have to whack the ball every time he gets in because the guys above him have gone along at a pedestrian rate.
I would like Peter Moores and co to do that and then replace one of Stokes and Jordan - probably Jordan, leaving Stokes to bat below Buttler – with a better, quicker seam bowler and at this point I’d be inclined to go with Liam Plunkett, who is a more than capable batsmen, don’t forget.
Plunkett’s extra zip and hit-the-deck length, not to mention his experience, will be handy at the Kensington Oval against West Indies – and in The Ashes.
Retired
Nick Knight said on the latest Sky Cricket Podcast that he would consider resting James Anderson for the third Test, but that’s certainly not the way I would go with James getting his rhythm back and then some.
Anderson, like Broad, should play in every Test for England and remain fresh by being retired from one-day and Twenty20 cricket, yet still get paid as handsomely as players that figure in all forms.
Those two should not be penalised financially for going down that route in order to prolong their Test careers and, besides, they hardly warrant selection in the one-day arena if their World Cup displays are anything to go by!
Broad’s output at the moment is quite extraordinary – sometimes he is bowling at 78mph and other times he rockets up to 90mph, which is quite difficult to fathom really.
That said, we can’t forget what a major piece of surgery he has had to come through after being struck on the face by a Varun Aaron bouncer last summer, so we do need to give him some time to get back to his best.
I think he is getting there and when he bowls in an intimidating manner he remains highly effective.
Talented
If Broad and Anderson are joined by Plunkett in Barbados that would probably mean Adil Rashid is left kicking his heels on the sidelines once again, though if that were the case I wouldn’t go as far as to say his Ashes hopes were over.
England clearly see something in him having gone back to him after five and bit years in the wilderness, and I view him as a seriously talented cricketer who should not be dismissed.
Wrist spinners like him or more likely to get wickets on flat pitches than off-spinners and England may need a better bowler than Moeen Ali later this summer if the weather is hot and pitches start to turn.
Moeen got a lot of wickets against India last year but he started badly against Sri Lanka and hasn’t been altogether convincing in the West Indies, so he is not quite a No1 spinner for me just yet.
That certainly offers Rashid a glimmer of hope – though at the moment I would like the five man-attack for the first Ashes Test to be Anderson, Broad and Moeen, supplemented by Stokes and either Plunkett or Steven Finn.
Watch the third Test between West Indies and England from 2.30pm, Friday, Sky Sports 2.
