Just as I was about to write my final pre-Ashes blog the news of Jack Leach’s season ending injury broke. A cruel blow for a very good man who has been integral to this side over the last 12 months.
In truth, my blog was going to suggest that alongside Zak Crawley I see Jack as the only real concern ahead of the first test. Many of the subsequent articles have spoken of the need to have a spinner who provides control (especially in the first innings), a view that is heightened by the question marks over how much the captain will bowl.
The stark truth is that we do not have that player. Leach would have struggled to provide control especially given that 4 of the Australian top 7 will be left handers and 2 of the right handers are the exceptional ‘fidget twins’.
The story had broken that Moeen Ali has been asked to consider coming out of test retirement. I’ve struggled a bit with the idea of Moeen. The romantic in me says that his fizzing dipping off breaks will be dangerous for the aforementioned lefthanders and the Baz/Ben environment could free him to be devastating from no8 with the bat. The realist says that he has an appalling record against Australia (bat and ball) and has played no first class cricket for over two years. There is a reason why he was dropped in the last Ashes and it remains valid.
What adds to the intrigue is that Moeen has (allegedly) told various media outlets that he has been asked to consider playing, this creates an interesting dynamic because if he says no, the next man selected knows they were not even second choice. I wonder if the act of making this public is actually a reason why they won’t call him up? The other worry is that should he change his mind and play, he could equally decide after one or two tough games that it’s not for him after all and that creates a bigger problem and a psychological advantage for Australia.
I cant see Moeen being any more consistent (or inconsistent) than Rehan Ahmed. One criticism of the latter is that he has not bowled many overs this season – Moeen has bowled none since 2021. Both offer wicket taking deliveries, especially against lefthanders and both could score runs from no8. I note that some fear Rehan’s confidence could be dented by a tough Ashes series but I don’t think that is his character. He is not an insecure man, he may well actually rise to the occasion and I firmly believe that is a risk worth taking.
Reflecting on the Ireland game I can only commend Pope and Duckett for taking the opportunity that they had. They combined scoring quickly with also showing a hunger to get a genuine big score. I thought Tongue looked a useful find and it was good to see Potts back in the team. Broad was as you’d expect good in the first innings but a little less effective in the second.
Bairstow made a solid return behind the stumps which is a real plus given the nature of his injury. There is no doubt that Jonny at no7 is a scary prospect for opposition teams. Foakes is very unlucky, but let’s not forget so was Jonny on a number of occasions in his career. He was a very effective keeper batsman at no7 (occasionally no6) but was messed around a lot. Like many before him (such as Matt Prior) he was not a good enough keeper when he was first picked, but he worked very hard and is a competent keeper who is behind Foakes but ahead of Billings or Buttler. He also (unlike Buttler and Foakes) is a presence behind the stumps. It’s not all about ‘chirping’ but there is a role for keeping your team going and getting under the skin of the opposition and Jonny excels at both.
It was not a surprise to me to not see Stokes bowl, I suspect he will be able to get through up to 10 overs per day is he needs to. It’s not ideal but provided that he can, it is workable. I find the inclusion of Woakes in the squad interesting because I don’t think he’s there as a bowler but more as a plan b. If the pitch is flat and Stokes can’t bowl then I actually think Crawley could become vulnerable and in the ‘one off’ scenario Stokes opens the batting with Bairstow going to six and Woakes slotting in at no7.