If the opening game of the 2023 Ashes is any indication of what’s to come, cricket fans are in for a real treat. Australia and England played five days of gripping Test cricket, and in the final session, the former maintained composure to win the match and the series.
England has been very successful at putting an aggressive strategy into practice under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. They are currently confronted with their first significant challenge, though.
Australia is no pushover and may even be the favorite to keep the urn after recently winning the World Test Championship for the first time.
Stokes and Co., a company. Will need to step up and give complete performances going forward, starting with the second Test at Lord’s in a week.
But the skipper will be considering a few things in the days before that encounter.
Before the second Ashes Test against Australia in 2023, England needs to be concerned about the following three things.
1. An X-factor is missing from England’s pace attack
During the opening Ashes Test, there was considerable debate regarding the make-up of England’s bowling attack. They chose James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ollie Robinson as their three trundlers, forgoing Mark Wood’s raw pace and Chris Woakes’ potentially hazardous swing bowling.
Anderson, Broad, and Robinson all have similar skill sets despite being superb fast bowlers.
Even though Anderson was obviously off the pace, Broad and Robinson occasionally had to serve as short-ball enforcers, which is not something they are known for doing well.
Anderson will have time to get back up to speed, but Broad—who was the best bowler in Birmingham—cannot be benched.
Stokes and McCullum are confronted by a challenging selection conundrum. Currently, their pace attack doesn’t support their apparent intention of flat wickets for the Ashes.
2. Jonny Bairstow’s wicketkeeping can cost the home team the 2023 Ashes on such wickets
The Edgbaston pitch for the first Ashes Test presented some challenges for the bowlers. There was only a tiny bit of spin available. The majority of the time, the pitch was slow and low, making it challenging for batters to take advantage of any opportunities that were presented to them.
England did not play particularly well in the field, at least not during the first four days.
One of the main offenders was non-specialist wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who had just made his comeback from a protracted injury-induced layoff. The gloveman missed a few chances to stump, passed up others, and wasted a few chances.
In contrast to Alex Carey, who was a glaring difference between the two sides, he was assured behind the stumps. On difficult wickets, England may benefit most from Ben Foakes, who unquestionably is among the best in the world.
Undoubtedly, Bairstow can improve, but so can Stokes and Company. Could they afford to take that chance after their series’ first defeat?
3. Moeen Ali’s bowling finger is bruised
There was never going to be any guarantee that Moeen Ali’s body and mind would hold up during the opening Ashes Test in 2023.
The all-rounder was forced out of Test retirement due to Jack Leach’s injury, and he took over as the starting XI’s leading spinner right away.
The sudden increase in workload soon caused a painful blister to form on Moeen’s spinning finger, which was unable to handle it.
The off-spinner, who bowled 33 over in the first innings and 14 in the second, had trouble hitting the right lines and lengths in both essays after injuring his finger.
Moeen had not participated for England in red-ball cricket prior to the current series. Even if his finger heals in time, there is no guarantee that the cut won’t reopen, so the question is, will he be able to recover in time for the second Test?
If Moeen doesn’t live up to expectations, the hosts may have to choose four fast bowlers and hope that Joe Root takes on more responsibility in the bowling department.
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