England v New Zealand: a few talking points
Are England good in Tests now, or too early to tell?
England have just swept the World Test Champions, New Zealand, 3-0 in a 3 match test series. This series had many expectations and criticisms - from “Bazball” to Lord’s ticket prices. But the new Stokes-McCullum era managed to glue the audience onto the cricket. Chasing down 250 in the 4th innings in England has never been easy. A few talking points from the series:
Daryl Mitchell turns makeshift T20 opener to Test hero
An astonishing 538 runs in 3 games, at an average of __. 6 months ago, he turned into a T20 opener for NZ with reasonable success - now he averages 60 in test cricket. The sheer amount of stats broken by Mitchell is incredible - he is the first NZ batsman to score hundreds in 3 or more consecutive tests in England. He became the first batsman to score hundreds in each match of an away series of three or more Tests. Not only that, every time NZ’s top order fell apart (very frequently), he built a game-saving partnership with Tom Blundell - they scored 921 runs, just by themselves, with 4 hundred and 5 fifty partnerships. Put into perspective - the rest of NZ made 893 runs with just 3 scores over 50. So we also have to talk about New Zealand’s batting (the bit not involving Mitchell and Blundell).
They have the highest test batting average against swing in the last 3 years, yet were taken apart by debutant Matty Potts, the leading wicket taker of the series. This can be attributed to them throwing their wickets away, especially after the ball stopped swinging (15/20 overs or so), with run-outs, silly shot selection and generally just bad luck. Young needs to revisit his technique, Williamson needs a new elbow or as he put it, “cut it off”. The Law of Averages is finally catching up with Devon Conway, as his Test average falls to 55, which I still feel is too high for him. New Zealand’s next test is after the November T20 World Cup - plenty of time for rehab.
Mindset switch under McCullum - the aptly named “Bazball”
When Root resigned, Silverwood thrown out in a full spate of English Test Cricket controversy, it seemed that English test cricket was doomed. Unimpressive, faltering batting and a lack of fire made them very boring (albeit funny) to watch. McCullum’s mindset has changed this entire team. England are the first side to chase 250+ three times in a test series - a sharp contrast to their negative mindset when they shut up shop chasing 273 in roughly 70 overs - a run rate of 3.9. Rob Key, the new MD, highlighted this and now: they chased down 296 in 54.2 overs, at a RR of 5.46 , 299 in 50 overs, at a RR of 5.98 , and 277 in 78.5 overs at a RR of 3.52. In fact, NZ took 222.5 overs to score 657 in the 3rd Test - a run rate of 3 - perfectly respectable for a Test match, but England chased it in 121.2 - a RR of 5.4.
The new, aggressive mindset under Baz is sure to be exciting - as Key said, strap yourselves in!
Root is (still) class
396 runs at an average of 99 surely deserves a bullet of its own. The man is so good at Tests that he’s begun to try out for the England T20 team, with audacious scoops over the keeper off Neil Wagner and Tim Southee. Enjoying a purple patch, he is oozing class every time he walks onto the field. His aura is unmatched - it’s as loud as the voices screaming “Rooooooooooooot” every time he strokes a 4.
Crawley, Pope, Bairstow, Stokes - England’s batting
Crawley is atrocious. Simply put, he should not get into this England team. His average is pumped up solely by his 267, but still averages 22.6, with an average of 15 in these 3 games. He wouldn’t get into a full strength Kent team, yet is continually backed here. Surely if someone is good at First-Class cricket, they have a higher % of doing well internationally than someone who does not. His continued selections baffles me.
Pope’s first times batting at 3 have not been a disaster. He has looked remarkably natural, playing with a false shot percentage of 15% - the average. He has attacked 44% of deliveries, as shown below. Over time, there will be more highs and lows, but with the right backing, as shown by Stokes, he should be a reasonably good Test player.
Nobody in Test history has made as many runs as Bairstow has made in this series, at a higher SR. Incredible numbers. He had the highest SR in a Test series ever, of 120.12, bettering Stokes, Sehwag, Dhawan and Warner. He hit the second fastest Test 50, 100 and 150 for England (30 balls, 77 balls and 144 balls). However, Bairstow, for all his exploits this series, still fails to convince me - especially because of the nature of these pitches (flat). He will be more exposed in tougher conditions, considering his front foot defence leaves a massive gap between bat and pad.
Stokes is an interesting case. Kept running down to bowlers, attempted to counterattack with success against Bracewell and Southee, but also got out in silly ways. Trying to put pressure back on the bowlers isn’t a bad idea, but if you are 55-5, I think you can afford to wait a few overs, or you will end up at 55-6 (which they did).
Problems at the top still remain - if India and South Africa can get them quickly and work their way into the middle order, there is a chance. The new ball will be crucial.
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Players that were good, and players that weren’t (SERIES)
Top tier - Mitchell, Boult, Root, Bairstow, Potts, Foakes
Middle - Blundell, Jamieson, Overton, Pope, Leach, Lees, Stokes, Anderson, Broad, Nicholls, Conway
Bad - Williamson, Crawley, Southee,
Excluded Wagner, Bracewell, Ajaz
It’s too early to tell if England will keep this up, but the thrills will remain. Welcome Stokes. Welcome Baz. Welcome Bazball.