The importance of fielding

It is some years now since Michael Bevan surprised an Australian team meeting with the observation that fielding is a measure of a team’s unity of purpose because it is an activity that is entirely carried out for the benefit of others, an observation that would have been quite a revelation to some of my former team mates.

Bevan, though, was right. The Australian side that was so utterly dominant for so long fielded beautifully because they absolute confidence in one another and in their own abilities. Some of the team bonding exercises, such as the excruciating poetry and the singing of ‘Under the Southern Cross’ seem rather naff to an outsider, but there is no doubt that this was a succession of teams with a powerful sense of destiny whose commitment to themselves, to the team and to the occasionally rather mawkish cult of the baggy green was absolute. This was shown by the way that they hunted as a pack - even the essentially unathletic Glenn McGrath turned himself, through hard work and commitment, into a decent out fielder, as his spectacular boundary catch in 2006/07 showed.

In the same way, the fielding of the two sides currently doing battle in Adelaide can be used as a barometer not simply of the respective sides’ abilities but also of their psychological well being. Australia’s fielding hasn’t been awful, for there has still been plenty of the athleticism that we associate with modern sides, but it has suffered in comparison not only  withthe sides that have gone before but also with their opponents. England fielded pretty well at Brisbane, Collingwood’s drop of Watson on the final afternoon aside, but they performed superbly on the first morning at Adelaide, hitting the stumps when they had to and holding onto all but the most difficult chance of the day. By contrast, Australia missed the run out opportunities when they came and took their total number of drops for the series to nine, a most un-Australian quantity. The bowlers are having a rough enough time of it bowling to in-form batsmen on a flat deck without watching chances go begging and routine stops flying to the boundary. While Australia are fielding like this then England know that they are on top – it will be a significant challenge for Ricky Ponting to turn it around.

KP Goes Nuts - Day Three at Adelaide

Until today, mentioning the words ‘five hundred and fifty one’ and ‘Adelaide’ to an England supporter would probably lead to them either rocking gently in the corner or having an extended phone call to their therapist. Now, though, we can only sit and marvel at what has happened since the midway point at Brisbane and hope fervently that it isn’t all too good to last.

The Australian quick bowling certainly can’t be accused of a lack of effort – they kept running in and giving it their all in punishing heat and against batsmen who were in no mood to be merciful, but they were, for the most part, unable to exert the sort of pressure that brings wickets. Ryan Harris bowled well for scant reward but both Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle served up too many four balls, meaning that the England batsmen could simply wait for the bad ball to come along and punish it.

They weren’t helped by the presence of Xavier Doherty in the side. It is no fault of Doherty’s that he isn’t good enough for test cricket, it is the fault of the selectors for putting him there, but given that he was chosen in response to Kevin Pietersen’s perceived weakness against left arm spin and that Pietersen is currently 213 not out it cannot be said to have been a success. In conditions in which the quick bowlers desperately needed some respite he went at five an over – if he plays at Perth then the selectors are abdicating their responsibility and Nathan Hauritz might as well retire.

In the end it was left to Shane Watson, whose bowling has improved dramatically since the Ashes tour of 2009, to provide some control and he thoroughly deserved the wicket of Paul Collingwood for an intelligent spell of bowling. This, though, was but a crumb of comfort for the Australians who would have welcomed the rain that fell in the afternoon but whose body language was increasingly of people that simply didn’t want to be there.

That said, England, for the second successive day, batted beautifully. They recovered from the early loss of Cook, well caught by Brad Haddin to take his tally for the series to two dismissals and two missed chances, to move serenely to a huge total, mainly thanks to Kevin Pietersen’s return to his best. It is often forgotten that in his poor run of test form he was also the player of the tournament at the World Twenty20 and he showed that class in this innings, hitting the ball with withering power and, at times, contempt for the bowlers. He had one or two moments of good fortune but deserved them for the sheer élan of his batting.

Worse news for Australia is that the pitch was starting to show signs of wear towards the end of the day, with quite a number of deliveries going through the top. Assuming that they aren’t saved by the weather then they are going to have to bat very, very well to avoid going one down in the series.

Cooking with Gas - Day Two at Brisbane

There was plenty of fighting talk from the Australian players on the first evening, saying that two hundred and forty five wasn’t a disastorus total and that they would come back strongly on the second day. By Saturday evening they must have been wondering what had hit them, as Alastair Cook continued to three hundred and seventy one runs since his last dismissal and England moved on to a scarcely credible 834-3 since the halfway point at Brisbane.

Trev emailed me from Australia this morning, echoing Dickens in his assessment that it was the best of cricket and the worst of cricket. Everything that England had touched in the field on the first day turned to gold but Australia contrived to make a mess of the few chances that came along.

Harris and Bollinger didn’t swing the new ball anything like as much as their English counterparts had but they still created chances in the first hour. After Andrew Strauss contiuned his feast or famine form with an ill-judged leave in the first over Australia had opportunities to drag themselves back into the game. First Doherty took aim at the stumps with Trott stranded yards from safety but, unlike Trott on day one, he missed by miles. Then Trott, again, played a fairly typical early innings sliced drive towards gully where Mike Hussey, usually so reliable, shelled the chance. Brad Haddin also dropped Trott, although less damagingly, as Australia’s fielding plumbed depths not seen since the eighties.

Harris bowled pretty well, maintaining control and offering what threat there was, but the much vaunted Doug Bollinger bowled as though he had taken Mitchell Johnson and Devon Malcolm on as his personal bowling coaches, and Xavier Doherty looked horribly out of his depth. To compound the problem, Australia’s plans looked poorly conceived and even more poorly executed. Trott was allowed to get off to a flying start by virtue of the Australian quicks bowling to his strengths and Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, both of whom have struggled in recent times, barely looked troubled. Perhaps the most worrying thing was Australia is that there wasn’t the same incredulity around England’s batting performance as there was at Brisbane: it would have been more of a surprise to see wickets fall.

For all of Australia’ shortcomings, though, England batted beautifully. Alastair Cook seems a mile away from the fretting figure of the summer, Jonathan Trott continued his rich vein of form and Kevin Pietersen was back close to his best. You can, as they say, only beat what it put in front of you, and they made some fairly ordinary bowling look exactly what it is. They will look to build on this tomorrow.

Of course, if Australia get off to a decent start with the new ball then there is still plenty of cricket to be played, as we found at Brisbane. The difference is that England played some good cricket during Australia’s first innings in Queensland and were a little unlucky whereas here Australia were mostly abject. It is hard to escape the feeling that they are only a couple of poor sessions away from becoming a total shambles – tomorrow will be the biggest test of Ricky Ponting’s captaincy and the mental strength of his side. If they can recover from the first two days here then they will deserve massive praise, but if they can’t then it could be a very long series for Australia.

Jimmy Jimmy - Day One at Adelaide

It is always unwise to judge a test after the first day, as Brisbane taught us a few days ago and, indeed, as Adelaide taught us four years ago, but there is no doubt which side will be warming down with the greater enthusiasm this evening. Having lost the toss on what is traditionally a batting paradise, at least on the first few days. England will be delighted to have been the first side to bowl the opposition out on the first day at this ground for thirteen years.

The start, of course, was extraordinary. It is always horrible being run out without facing a ball, but Watson and Katich ran like two people who had never met each other before rather than an established opening pair and Jonathan Trott’s composed direct hit set the tone for the day. There have been times in the past when a chance like that would have resulted in four overthrows, but this is a side brimming with self belief.

This self-belief swiftly became ecstasy as Australia’s captain, who would have had a rather different mental image of how the day might pan out when he won the toss, pushed with hard hands at his first ball and was snaffled at second slip. This is Ponting’s 150^th test and a great player deserves better at such a milestone, but this was his fourth first baller in two years, confirming the suspicion that he is increasingly vulnerable at the start of his innings.

Regardless of the outcome of this series, it seems likely that Ponting’s tenure as captain of Australia is nearing its end, but life isn’t treating his likely successor terribly well either. Having batted poorly in India and horribly at Brisbane, Michael Clarke, whose back is surely still causing him problems, walked into a loose drive and edged to slip at the very moment that his team needed him to knuckle down. Unless he makes runs in the second innings then the knives will be out for him.

One player for whom the knives were out before Brisbane was Mike Hussey, and one can only admire the way that he has bounced back. He has the happy knack of delivering when his team needs him the most and to make ninety-three in the way that he did was enormously impressive. It was only when the Sky commentators started talking about the prospect of a third consecutive Ashes hundred that he fell, beaten both in the air and off the pitch by a beautiful delivery from Graeme Swann. He received useful support from another player whose place is in the balance, but Marcus North for once failed to capitalise on a start, falling between twenty-five and fifty for only the second time in his test career.

Brad Haddin is another player who must have been waiting slightly nervously for the selectors’ call before Brisbane, but he batted well again for his fifty. He can look back on his contribution with some pride, only falling when trying to push on with the tail. Althogh doubts about his keeping remain there is no doubting his character and ability with the bat.

The tail offered little resistance. Ryan Harris can count himself unlucky, although the way that he played the ball from Swann didn’t inspire confidence. Doherty was the victim of another stuttering piece of running and composed fielding from England, and Siddle didn’t tarry for long. There is no doubt that the strength of the tail is one of England’s advantages – Haddin was batting with a degree of desperation once seven wickets were down, which doesn’t suggest an abundance of confidence in the batting ability of those at the other end.

It’s easy to be critical of Australia, but England bowled and fielded exceptionally well on a warm day. James Anderson showed why he is ranked at number four in the world with swing, seam and intelligence, Stuart Broad bowled better than his reward of one wicket suggested and Graeme Swann also bowled well on a first day pitch. Only Steven Finn will be disappointed with his day, leaking runs and not looking terribly threatening. The fielding, also, was outstanding – the catches were held and the two run outs exceptionally well executed. England, at the moment, look confident not just in themselves but also in each other.

There are still four days to go, however. If Australia can make inroads with the ball tomorrow morning then the game will still be in the balance, but the feeling persists that if England can get on top then Australian heads will go down. England can’t afford to be complacent by any means, but they will be very happy with their day’s work.

Adelaide

Adelaide is, by common consent, the most attractive Australia test ground, having more in common with a traditionally English ground like New Road than with the colossus that is the MCG. Looks can be deceptive however, for this was the scene of the most explosive test in Anglo-Australian history, the third of the 1932/3 Bodyline series, when Bill Woodfull famously observed that ‘there are two teams out there and only one of them is playing cricket’.

The ghosts of Harold Larwood, Bill Voce and Bertie Oldfield were truly laid to rest in 2006, however, when England, having started the test superbly, contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of, well, at least a draw, a result which sent them into freefall. Mention Adelaide to an England supporter now and they will probably flinch involuntarily before making their excuses and leaving.

That, however, was then and this is now. Shane Warne, England’s tormentor in chief four years ago, is now happily settled in the old boys’ club of the commentary box and there is a spring in the step of this England side that was sorely missing in 2006/7. Professional sportsmen, of course, are much better at compartmentalising their feelings about their sport than fans and so Adelaide almost certainly doesn’t have the same resonance for them as it does for those of us who sat helplessly through the capitulation, swearing from our sofas, but even so they will be relieved to be arriving at 0-0 with all of the talk about the shortcomings of their opponents.

This has been the key outcome of the last two days at Brisbane. It was important to save the test and avoid going one down, but to do so in such emphatic style has heaped the pressure back on Australia, an outcome that would have been unthinkable as the players endured their ice baths at the end of the third day. At that point, Alastair Cook was still under pressure, Jonathan Trott had yet to make a test century outside London and Mitchell Johnson was still a credible test cricketer. How quickly times can change – it is only a week since Mike Hussey’s career, also, was on the point of ending, but now he seems to be back in his role as the rock of the middle order.

So, what will Adelaide bring? The pitch is generally pretty flat and unforgiving for bowlers, although there has been talk of turn there this season which should please Graeme Swann, assuming that he can get his length right. It should be hard work for the pacemen, however, which has prompted calls in some quarters for England to add either Shahzad or Bresnan to their side in preference to Paul Collingwood. While I can see the merit in this suggestion, I would be very surprised to see anything other than the same side taking the field in South Australia.

Australia’s selection will be altogether more interesting. There have been reports of the dropping of Mitchell Johnson, although these remain unconfirmed and he has had support from his coach and from former selector Mrev Hughes. There is also talk of the omission of Ben Hilfenhaus in favour of Ryan Harris. What seems certain, though, is that both North and Doherty will keep their places, although for how long remains to be seen. A pace attack of Harris, Bollinger and Siddle would certainly seem to carry more wicket taking threat than at Brisbane, although Harris has dodgy knees and it might leave them with rather a long tail.

Much, ultimately, will depend on which side can take the opportunities that are presented to them and hold their nerve. England created half chances on each of the first two days at Brisbane, only to be swept away first by Peter Siddle and then by the Hussey / Haddin partnership, but they then showed immense nerve to save the game in the style that they did, no matter how flat the pitch was. Australia, on the other hand, did exceptionally well to snuff out England on the first three days, but then fell to pieces. If they can sustain their undoubted talent over the whole five days then they will be formidable, but England will also feel that if they can create pressure then the match is theirs for the taking. It’s going to be fascinating.

If I had to put money on it then I would go for a draw (although that would blow my pre-series prediction out of the water) but my heart, and a small part of my head, is saying England. Bring it on.

Mojo Mitch

In a generally hilarious article in this morning’s Guardian, Stuart Clark has written a staunch defence of Mitchell Johnson, saying that all he needs is wickets to build his confidence back up. Merv Hughes has also joined in the chorus, suggesting that Ben Hilfenhaus bowled worse at Brisbane than Mojo Mitch and that Johnson shouldn’t be judged too harshly on the basis of one performance.

That sentiment would have more worth if Johnson’s performance at Brisbane was a one off, but he has been more of a liability than a bonus for Australia for some time. His statistics for 2010 make quite startling reading: in nine tests since the start of the year he has taken twenty-nine wickets at an average of 39.68 and scored 155 runs at an average of 10.33.

An apologist for Mojo recently explained these statistics by pointing out that he had played two tests in India, but that doesn’t work either. In the two tests in India his average, buoyed by an impressive five for in the first test, was a respectable 32.62. In New Zealand, where he took twelve wickets in two tests, he averaged 23.08, but in Australia, in three tests, he has averaged 66 and in England, in helpful conditions against a basket case of a Pakistan batting line-up, he managed three wickets at 72.33.

His batting, so powerful against South Africa, has also gone to pot. Of those 155 runs, 117 were scored in three innings. This means that he averages 3.17 in his other twelve knocks, which would barely be acceptable to Chris Martin, let alone a test number eight. Unless pitches are minefields when he is batting and then mysteriously flattening out when he has a ball in his hand it is clear that he is not cutting the mustard.

These stats would be less damning if he was, at least, keeping it tight, but he has gone at over four an over in seven of his last seventeen tests. You’ve got to take a lot of wickets to compensate for that, and, at the risk of being blunt, he isn’t.

For all the talk of targeting Andrew Strauss, England don’t fear him. His record in Ashes tests is twenty wickets at 41.05 and 105 runs at fifteen, although sixty-three of those came in one innings when the game was already lost. Take that out and he averages seven with the bat against England. To put that wicket tally in context, of Australians with twenty or more wickets in Anglo-Australian tests only Steve Waugh and Stan McCabe have worse averages, and they were both predominantly batsmen.

Two statistics do support his inclusion at Adelaide, however. The first is that he averages 23.78 with the ball there, although only 14.33 with the bat. The second is that he has been more successful in second tests of series this year than any others – he averages just 24.10 with the ball in those circumstances, helped by ten wickets in a match against New Zealand. However, both of these facts should be qualified: firstly, he averaged 16.17 with the ball at the Gabba before this week, and secondly his average in third tests this year is 135, so even if he survives to Adelaide it may not be prudent to keep him for Perth.

I’m indebted to Trev for some of these stats. The main reason for dropping Mitch is that I fear for my friend’s health if he is retained.

Brisbane Revisited

Now that the dust has settled a little and England supporters have stopped wandering around with glazed expressions, constantly repeating the words ‘517-1’ in disbelieving wonder, we can look back at the Brisbane test with some objectivity, for it wasn’t necessarily the Australian disaster, nor the English triumph, that some have reported.

The positives for Australia were the way that Siddle bowled in the first innings and the way that Hussey and Haddin turned the game around on days two and three in the face of some pretty good bowling. Hussey in particular deserves a lot of credit for responding so positively to his place being on the line. Sure, he had some luck, not least with the LBW decision on the third morning, but his judgment of length was impeccable and he took full advantage of any poor deliveries that came his way. Haddin too showed strength of character. There were those, including me, who questioned his inclusion ahead of Tim Paine, but he batted superbly, although his keeping remains suspect. The real concern for Australia will not be so much the performances of individuals, although Mitchell Johnson must surely lose his place, but that, once again, they got themselves into a winning position and weren’t able to take advantage. This was down to a combination of factors – it’s certainly true that the pitch got flatter, that England batted exceptionally well and that they didn’t have a lot of luck, but they also ran out of ideas pretty quickly and heads dropped early on. Ricky Ponting’s captaincy didn’t come out of days four and five with any great credit, particularly in the 7-2 fields that he set for Hilfenhaus and his failure to attack more on the final morning, and his body language when things are going against his side, as they have tended to of late, is not helpful.

That said, though, it was only Australia who had any chance of winning the game. Taking a lead of over two hundred in any test is an impressive feat and if they can keep doing that then they will win at some point, but the concern for them will be that in a series that is likely to fluctuate it is crucial to take full advantage of such opportunities. The other concern will be that this wasn’t like Cardiff, where they remained dominant only to fall at the final hurdle. Days four and five weren’t simply a plucky rearguard action by England, they were a humiliation.

A lot was written before the series about the respective mental strength of the two sides. England showed plenty of it in Brisbane, both in the way that they kept going with the ball and in the way that they set about saving the game. The first day at Adelaide will be a test of how Australia’s minds are working. I can’t wait.