Even just a few months ago England, having lost two early wickets in their second innings, might have gone into their shells. It was nothing of sort in Cardiff to ensure the exemplary work of the bowlers was not wasted
George Dobell in Cardiff10-Jul-2015As England thrashed their way to a series of records against New Zealand – their highest ODI score, their highest ODI chase and several more besides – there was growing talk that a ‘new England’ had emerged. An England that would play fearless, aggressive cricket. An England that would take Australia on at their own game.But behind the talk there was some fear. There was a fear that, under pressure, they would revert to the timidity that has characterised some of their cricket under pressure in recent years. There was a fear that, against the pace and hostility of Australia’s bowlers, the brave talk that followed victory against a weakened New Zealand would be exposed.We may only be three days into this series and the result of this match may not be confirmed – we have seen 377 chased down in the fourth innings of a Test this week with seven wickets in hand, after all – but it does seem safe to draw this conclusion: the talk was not hollow; the promises were not empty. New England is real.There were a couple of moments that summed up the new spirit on the third day in Cardiff. After losing two wickets in the first 10 overs of their second innings, there was a danger that England would freeze in the spotlight. There was a danger that they would seek to play careful, cagey cricket in an attempt to preserve their lead and stray from the method that had earned them the advantage. There was, in short, a danger that they would revert to type.If that sounds harsh, consider the pattern of several recent defeats. In Barbados, for example, England began their second innings with a lead of 68. But instead of seeking to drive home their advantage, they went into their shells and laboured for 20 overs over their first 40 runs and lost five wickets in the process. They went nowhere and they went there slowly.Nor was that the aberration. You can point to the defeat in Abu Dhabi in 2012 – when England were set 145 to win but scored 72 all out at a rate of under two-an-over – or their defeat at Headingley last year, when they scored 59 in 42 second innings overs against Rangana Herath on the way to defeat. Not always, but often, England have crumbled when the match should have been at their mercy.’No doubt I’ve been concerned’ – Bell
Ian Bell admitted he was worried about losing his place in the England team heading into the Investec Ashes series.
Bell, who had averaged 6.78 in his last four Tests and lost the vice-captaincy of the side to Joe Root, scored a fluent 60 on the third day in Cardiff to ensure England did not surrender their advantage and to recover some of the confidence he admits had begun to dim.
“When you’re not scoring runs as a batter, that’s the case isn’t it?” Bell said. “It’s your job. So it was nice to make a contribution today and start to feel some rhythm. I feel back to my best now, but it is just a start. There’s no doubt I wanted it. It’s been four or five games without a score.
“There’s no doubt I’ve been concerned. It’s been a testing period for me. It’s an incredible game. It’s testing you all the time. From that hundred in Antigua and then all of a sudden it’s been tricky.
“I knew this knock was going to be very important individually. But individual stuff is irrelevant. It’s about getting a total to win the game. I want to go out and play for the team, be aggressive, be busy. That probably took a lot of pressure off individually as well.”
Bell also suggested that, come what may over the final two days, England would take confidence from their performance over the first three days. Any lingering doubts from the whitewash in Australia has, Bell believes, been cast away.
“It’s given us a lot of belief,” Bell said. “The first three days have been brilliant. We’ve got a lot of respect for Australia. They’ve been playing fantastic cricket for a long time now, but the first three days have gone brilliantly for us. We can take a lot from it but we know that Australia is going to keep coming back at us.
“But I think the whole dressing room is excited and ready for a good challenge this summer.”
But not this time. This time England have come out punching and they have seized the key moments. This time, after they lost those first two second-innings wickets, they responded by thrashing 49 in five overs in a counter-attack that ensured they retained the upper hand.It was telling that Ian Bell led the charge. Bell is, in many ways, a symbol of ‘old’ England. Despite the huge amount of success he has enjoyed in his long career, he is still burdened by a reputation – a largely unfair reputation – for shying away in the heat of battle. And with his grim form of late – he had not reached 30 in his last nine Test innings and, in six of those, he had failed to pass one – it would be understandable if his confidence were in the cellar.But he responded in positive style. Four of his first 13 balls were sent to the boundary – three with gorgeous drives and one with a typical steer to third man – as he played the sort of bold, fluent innings that allowed his undoubted talent to flow. Given a choice to defend or attack, he embraced attack. It has not always been that way.Bell’s theory is that most of the new members of this team – the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joe Root – were brought up playing T20 cricket. As a consequence their idea of what is possible and appropriate is different from the likes of Bell who grew up steeped in old-fashioned English thinking: all high elbow and playing in the V.”The younger guys are just raised that way,” Bell said. “That’s the way they’ve come into cricket because they’ve played a lot of T20. They just see the game a little bit differently. They want to take every option on which is I suppose completely different from when I started.”It’s not thinking about if it doesn’t come off. You know there are days when it won’t, but it is a different way of seeing the game. It’s a bit of a breath of fresh air. And it’s great to be involved in.”It is great to watch, too. And if there are times when the aggression might backfire – Alastair Cook was, for the second time in the match, out as he made slightly uncharacteristic attempt to push on the scoring – the pros surely outweigh the cons. These are early days in the series, but with the style of cricket, the scoring rates and the engaged crowds, it feels uncannily like 2005.It was not just with the bat that England attacked, either. The day started with England utilising a ball 70 overs old and with Australia five wickets down. The match was in the balance.But whereas ‘old’ England might well have attempted to bowl dry and wait for the new ball, the new-look side – blessed with the extra pace of Mark Wood and the extra option of Stokes – went on the attack. Whereas ‘old’ England had nowhere to turn once Stuart Broad and James Anderson were exhausted, now they have the four-man pace attack to allow fresh legs and fresh questions for the batsmen.Stuart Broad’s early wicket of Shane Watson was an example of England’s plans coming together•Getty Images”The ten overs before the new ball, you sometimes try and cruise,” Bell said. “You try and get through it as quick as you can.”But we wanted to go out and take wickets before that new ball. The way the guys set the tone was brilliant and it made it that little bit easier when we had the new ball.”While England started with five successive maidens, it was reward for probing bowling that continually challenged the stumps – something of a rarity from England in recent times – and exploited the variable bounce in the wicket. Broad, bowling a fuller length that was perfect for this sluggish surface, struck in the first over and after Anderson exploited the new ball perfectly, Australia had lost their final six wickets for only 50 runs.Compare that to the 2013-14 Ashes. While England invariably made inroads into the Australian first innings, there was significant lower-order resistance throughout: 132 for 6 at Brisbane became 295 all out; 257 for 5 at Adelaide became 570 for 9 declared; 143 for 5 in Perth became 385 all out; 122 for 6 in Melbourne became 204 all out and 97 for 5 in Sydney became 326.Improvement has been the theme of this England performance. After a series of matches in which they missed several chances – three in eight balls at one stage in Leeds – they have taken every catch that has come their way here. Cook and Root, in particular, have held on to some outstanding catches in the slips.Hard work remains. And the forecast is not wonderful for Sunday. But Australia will deserve all the plaudits they gain if they can win from this position. On a pitch of variable bounce and in conditions where the ball has swung for the majority of the time, Australia need something approaching a miracle. Or at least some rain.Either way, this series is shaping up to be a cracker. And this England side, too. Entertaining, likeable and attractive. It is just what the game in England and Wales required. These are early days and there is, as yet, no success of which to speak. But New England could be quite something.
