By Ross Kettlewell (@RossKettlewell7)
Having finally caught their breath following Ben Stokes’ heroics of Headingley, England go into battle at Old Trafford in this 4th Ashes test.
Here are five things to look out for in the test.
1 – England’s Batting Order
England have confirmed that Joe Denly and Jason Roy will switch places in the batting order. Meaning that Denly will open the batting with Roy slotting in at number four. Denly started his England test career opening the batting in the West Indies, but only managed 23 runs in his two innings before being moved down the order.
Roy has struggled immensely thus far, scoring just 57 runs in his six innings. Hopefully moving down the order will allow Roy to face the older ball, meaning that his naturally aggressive game can be used to the sides advantage, as well as facing fatigued bowlers should the three batsmen above him do their jobs.
2 – The Pitch
The pitch is always a huge talking point in test cricket, will it be quick or slow? Will it seam? Will it spin? Will it wear?
Well this wicket, from the naked eye, looks very flat and very hard. Which means pace.
This of course will get England fan favourite Jofra Archer excited but it isn’t just Archer that benefits from a quick pitch. Australia also have number one ranked test bowler Pat Cummins at their disposal who can regularly bowl 90 plus. So expect to see plenty of helmets being hit again in this test.
However a flat hard pitch often means spin, especially late on in the test bringing Nathan Lyon and Jack Leach into play. Nathan Lyon is of course recognised as the better spinner of the two but Leach has performed well when called upon with the ball, and not to mention when called upon with the bat.
3 – Australian Bowling Attack
Australia have rested James Pattinson for the fourth test, therefore Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle will compete to join Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon in the bowling attack. It looks likely that it will be Mitchell Starc who will slot in, however the destructive white ball bowler has struggled to find consistency in red ball cricket throughout the last 18 months with some Aussie fans questioning his place in the squad. But with a favourable pitch for quick bowling the left armer could be devastating.
All rounder Mitchell Marsh was once again overlooked with Australia feeling their quartet of bowlers will be enough. But should England bat for prolonged periods of time the four bowlers will tire, as they did in they did in Leeds, and England can capitalise.
4 – Steve Smith
In the euphoria that was Headingley, I was completely blown away by the heroics of Ben Stokes. Until hours and plenty of drinks later I suddenly remembered that the best test batsman in the world is back. Smith is averaging just the 126 so far this series having scored 378 runs in just three innings including two centuries, so the blokes not bad at batting.
But alas! Craig Overton has been called up to the England side for the fourth test. In the last Ashes series, Overton dismissed Smith with a 79 mile an hour off cutter. So hopefull the Somerset seamer can repeat this feat.
5 – Jofra Archer
You can’t talk about England without talking about this man at the moment. Archer has taking 13 wickets in the two tests he has played in, but more prominently has created a battle with Steve Smith. After hitting Smith in the helmet at Lords, Smith failed a concussion test and had to sit out the Headingley test. This has sparked a war of words between the pair. Talking about Archer, Smith Said; “There’s been a lot of talk that he’s got the wood over me, but he hasn’t actually got me out.”
Archer responded by saying; “Well, I can’t get him out if he wasn’t there. But there’ll be more than ample time to get him out.
“I’m not saying I won’t get him out, but if we don’t get him out there are ten other people we can get out, and if he’s stranded on 40 that’s not helping his team too much. He can’t do it all himself. We want to win the game. I’m not here to get caught up in a contest with one man. I want to win the Ashes.”
With a fast pitch, potential turn, a war of words and everything to play for I can’t wait for the test to get underway.
By Ross Kettlewell (@RossKettlewell7)
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