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Champions Yorkshire were beaten by four wickets in Abu Dhabi as Ian Bell helped lay the platform for a comfortable MCC win

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-2016MCC 299 (Foakes 91, Clarke 58, Burns 51, Bresnan 4-58, Carver 4-106) and 257 for 6 (Bell 66, Westley 58) beat Yorkshire 275 (Ballance 105, Rhodes 95, Tredwell 3-53) and 279 (Lees 86, Patel 3-52, Tredwell 3-79) by four wickets
ScorecardIan Bell top-scored in MCC’s successful run chase•Getty Images

Champions Yorkshire were beaten by four wickets in Abu Dhabi as Ian Bell helped lay the platform for a comfortable MCC win. Bell, who has designs on an England Test recall after being dropped over the winter, compiled 66 from 134 balls and although he was dismissed with 57 needed, Ben Foakes guided MCC over the line.Yorkshire’s first defeat of the season – and only their fifth in first-class cricket since Jason Gillespie took charge in 2012 – came with the added discomfort of Tim Bresnan limping off with a sore Achilles, having only bowled two overs. Gillespie, however, suggested his withdrawal was a precautionary measure.Yorkshire added 40 to their overnight score, despite losing Will Rhodes in the fourth over of the day, to set MCC 256 on a pitch that was increasingly taking spin. Karl Carver, Yorkshire’s 19-year-old slow left-armer, got through 25 overs to pick up 2 for 88 but MCC built several useful partnerships on their way to victory in the final session.Bell, captaining MCC ahead of taking charge of Warwickshire’s 2016 fortunes, was at the centre of the pursuit. Adam Lyth’s part-time offspin accounted for Nick Browne and Rory Burns was run out but Essex’s Tom Westley stroked ten fours and a six during an 84-run stand with Bell that pushed Yorkshire back.Westley was stumped off Carver but Bell took the score on in partnership with Samit Patel and Foakes before becoming the fifth man out trying to hit over the top with MCC on 199. Yorkshire had been reduced to bowling Jack Leaning and although he picked up his second and third first-class wickets, Rikki Clarke’s sprightly 33 ensured MCC would not be derailed.

A stunning innings of 72 not out from Ben Stokes took Durham to a three-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge

19-Jul-2013
ScorecardA stunning innings of 72 not out from Ben Stokes took Durham to a three-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and lifted his side from the foot of the Friends Life t20 North Group.Stokes had arrived at the crease in the sixth over with the Dynamos in some difficulty at 30 for 3, in pursuit of a victory target of 160.The 22-year old left-hander had only registered one previous half-century in the shortest format of the game, that coming in the corresponding fixture at Trent Bridge last season. He faced 48 deliveries and hit one four and five sixes, each of them coming from a different Nottinghamshire bowler.Despite Stokes’ heroics, he needed the help of Michael Richardson to get Durham over the line, with the winning run being scored from the final ball of the contest.Earlier, Nottinghamshire had posted 159 for 7 after being invited to bat first, with James Taylor contributing a measured fifty of his own. Taylor eventually holed out to the final ball of the innings for 54, with his runs coming from 43 deliveries faced, with one six and four boundaries.Alex Hales and Samit Patel were the other leading contributors in the Nottinghamshire innings. Patel had looked in good touch, hitting Gareth Breese for three consecutive boundaries before putting Chris Rushworth over the ropes at extra cover but after reaching 33 from just 19 deliveries he was yorked by Graham Onions.Hales hit six fours in his 41 but once he had departed, Nottinghamshire lost their way somewhat and it was left to Taylor to ensure the home side posted a competitive total.Durham lost three wickets inside the opening six overs of their reply, with two of them falling to Harry Gurney, who ended with figures of 3 for 26.The home side appeared on course to stretch their winning sequence over Durham to seven victories in eight matches but Stokes’ well-paced innings condemned Nottinghamshire to their second defeat in this season’s competition and denied them the opportunity of returning to the top of the group.

The preview of the second Test between West Indies and New Zealand in Jamaica

The Preview by George Binoy01-Aug-2012

Match facts

August 2-6
Start time 1000 (1500 GMT)Chris Gayle last played a Test at Sabina Park in 2009. He made 104 against England.•AFP

Big Picture

Kieran Powell was 19 when West Indies last won a Test series against opponents other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. He celebrated his birthday on the first day of the Trinidad Test against England, which ended with West Indies’ Nos. 7 and 10 clinging on for dear life to secure a scrappy 1-0 victory in a five-match series. He was 13 when West Indies won before that. Powell, now 22, is one of a generation of young cricketers who have grown up watching West Indies struggle to win series. At Sabina Park, he will have the opportunity to be part of a rare triumph if West Indies draw or win to protect their 1-0 lead.Kane Williamson was 15 when New Zealand last beat a Test side other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh – a 2-0 win against West Indies in 2006. He was 11 when New Zealand last won such a series away from home – in West Indies in 2002. New Zealand cannot win this series, but a victory in Kingston will secure a draw and build on their relatively satisfactory recent performances – a drawn series in Australia, a 0-1 defeat against South Africa.Like they did in Hobart so memorably, New Zealand will have to win without Daniel Vettori, who’s out with a groin injury. Vettori’s 2012 hasn’t been productive – he’s taken only one wicket in each of his last five Tests. What he does provide New Zealand unfailingly, however, is economy and, with it, a measure of control. Vettori conceded less than two and a half per over in four of those five Tests. His poorest return was 2.81. He reined in Chris Gayle after the batsman had raced to a half-century in the first innings in Antigua. Someone else will have to do that job in Jamaica.New Zealand’s challenge will be to control the pace of the game. Their inexperienced bowling attack needs to slow West Indies down at the start in order to allow Ross Taylor to keep wicket-taking fields. Their batsmen need to find a way not to stagnate against Narine and the rest in high-pressure scenarios like they did on the final morning of the first Test.West Indies, on the other hand, won in Antigua with no contribution from their most reliable player – Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Chris Gayle made a huge splash in his comeback Test, while Narine and Roach took turns to run through New Zealand in each innings. There were useful contributions from several others, too, and Chanderpaul hailed the “fantastic team effort.” A similar performance, beginning tomorrow, will make it extremely hard for New Zealand to force a win.

Form guide

West Indies WDLLL (Completed games, most recent first)
New Zealand LDLDW

Watch out for…

New Zealand’s mongrel. For a country that earned a reputation by felling stronger sides, New Zealand showed little fight in Antigua. They dropped catches, their fielding was sloppy, and their batsmen’s ultra-cautious approach to saving the Test did not last long enough to be successful. Neil Wagner, who is one-Test old, promised New Zealand would come out fighting on Thursday. He spoke of being ruthless and giving West Indies nothing. Without Vettori, that will be a little harder.Sunil Narine was Man of the Match in his first home Test, taking eight wickets in the match. He had to toil through 85 overs for them, though, and called his performance a “big achievement” because of the conditions he had to bowl in. Martin Guptill, who made 97 and 67, said the New Zealand batsman had begun to play Narine better now that they’d seen a bit of him. The threat posed by Narine could be significantly enhanced if the Sabina Park pitch is to his liking.

Pitch and conditions

It’s hot and humid in Kingston and the forecast is for a chance of thunderstorms over the next few days.
The pitch at Sabina Park is expected to have more pace and bounce than the one Antigua. “It’s a typical Jamaica wicket,” Darren Sammy said. “Plenty of runs in it and
hopefully something in it for the bowlers. The wicket here has some early moisture,
[but] most pitches in the Caribbean are good for batting. Sides come here, win toss
and bat first.”Ross Taylor said: “It’s a welcome change. We struggled to maintain pressure on the West Indies batsmen and I’m sure the bowlers are looking forward to having some bounce and putting pressure on the West Indies batsmen.”

Team news

West Indies brought Fidel Edwards into the squad because Ravi Rampaul sustained a groin strain. However, with Tino Best, who sat out in the first Test, already in the squad, Edwards might have to watch from the sidelines.West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Assad Fudadin, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best, 11 Kemar Roach.New Zealand have to fill Vettori’s spot and the only other specialist spinner in the squad is the legspinner Tarun Nethula, who could be in line for a Test debut. They must also find a new opening combination after Daniel Flynn was ruled out due to a groin injury. BJ Watling is the only back-up batsman in the squad and could slot straight in to open alongside Martin Guptill, or could slot in down the order to allow Brendon McCullum to open.”Daniel has been carrying the grade one injury [a right adductor muscle strain] since the last day of the first Test but had responded positively to treatment,” Paul Close, the New Zealand physio, said. “We felt there was a reasonable chance he would be fit to play but his progress over the past 24 hours plateaued. He was still experiencing pain during the team training session today with a subsequent fitness test ruling him out. We are confident he will be fully fit in time for the upcoming tour of India.”New Zealand: (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tarun Nethula, 11 Chris Martin

Stats and trivia

• Since 2004, Gayle averages 65.25 against the top eight teams in wins (excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), and 31.10 in losses against them.
• West Indies’ total of 522 in Antigua was their highest in a result game against one of the top sides since February 1995, when they scored 660 for 5 declared against New Zealand in Wellington.
• New Zealand haven’t won any of their last 15 series against the top sides – they’ve lost 11 and drawn four (dating back to April 2006). During this period they’ve won four Tests and lost 22.

Quotes

“We’re pumped up. We did a great job in Antigua and we celebrated our achievements. It has been a while since West Indies won a Test Series at home, so this will be a chance to do it in front our fans.”
“We’re a young unit, very inexperienced in some ways. The boys learned a hell of a lot in the previous Test. It’s not an easy place to come and play … We will always come out fighting.”

Haroon Lorgat has questioned what evidence Steve Waugh has for his assertion that 56 players reported illegal approaches from bookmakers last year

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2011Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, has said that the increase in the number of players reporting illegal approaches by bookmakers was because cricketers were now better educated against the dangers of corruption.”What I can say is that we have substantially more players coming forward and reporting approaches made to them and I think that’s a result of the education process, the awareness that we’ve created among all of the international players,” Lorgat told Radio Five Live’s programme.”Who’s to say there were not as many [approaches by bookmakers] in years gone by that were not reported? The fact is players are far more conscious today. The vast majority certainly play the game in the right spirit and they have the integrity to play the game properly, and they are coming forward and reporting such approaches; so that’s a good thing.”Earlier this week Steve Waugh had revealed that substantially more cricketers were reporting illegal approaches compared to 2009, when only five players came forward. Waugh also suggested that players willingly submit to a polygraph test to prove their innocence, a proposal that was soundly criticised by FICA.”I don’t know if the ICC is doing enough. I’d like to have some conversations with them,” Waugh told . “They are doing some good work because last year 56 players reported an approach by a bookmaker and the year before it was only five, so that suggests the players have confidence in the system and confidence that it will work.”Lorgat, however, did not know how Waugh had come by the information that 56 players had reported approaches.”I’m not sure where Steve Waugh gets that figure from because we do not publish any such information,” Lorgat said. “In fact there’s one individual in the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit that maintains such records and he does not even know the figure himself, simply because he had not compiled it. So I’m not sure where Steve Waugh gets that figure from.”

Ryan Sidebottom has been given until August to decide whether he wants to remain a Nottinghamshire player.

Cricinfo staff19-Jul-2010Ryan Sidebottom has been given until August to decide whether he wants to remain a Nottinghamshire player. His contract with the club expires at the end of the season and they have received an official approach from at least one other county interested in signing him.Sidebottom is currently a centrally contracted player, but if he loses his 12-month ECB deal – which is a strong possibility as he has faded from the Test scene – then he will come with a hefty price tag. However, at 32 he should still have some good seasons of county cricket in him even if his England days are numbered.”It may be that his England career is coming to an end and this may be his last major contract as a player, so it’s important to him and we understand that,” Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire coach, told the . “But we would like to have the issue resolved in early August because it can have a knock-on effect. We obviously need to know where we stand.”Sidebottom is part of a strong unit of pace bowlers at Trent Bridge which includes Darren Pattinson, Andre Adams, Luke Fletcher, Charlie Shreck and Andy Carter. Stuart Broad, who rarely appears for the county, is set to face Warwickshire in the County Championship this week along with Graeme Swann as they prepare for the Test series against Pakistan.Sidebottom is the latest big-name England cricketer to be considering a county switch at the end of the season. Kevin Pietersen has already said he will be leaving Hampshire, probably for either Middlesex or Surrey, while Eoin Morgan is being chased by Warwickshire.

He will play multiple roles in the franchise’s set-up, including that of a talent scout

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Oct-2024Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel is set to join the Gujarat Titans coaching staff. ESPNcricinfo has learned Parthiv will perform multiple roles including that of assistant coach in the support staff led by Ashish Nehra as well as being one of their talent scouts.This is the first coaching role in the IPL for Parthiv, who retired in 2020. Immediately after that he was a talent scout for Mumbai Indians for three seasons until 2023, and also the batting coach for MI Emirates in 2023, the inaugural season of ILT20. Incidentally, Parthiv is the second former India wicketkeeper, after Dinesh Karthik at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, to join an IPL team’s coaching staff ahead of the 2025 season.Parthiv, 39, played for six IPL franchises between 2008 and 2019, winning the title three times: in 2010 with Chennai Super Kings and twice with Mumbai in 2015 and 2017. In 139 matches, Parthiv, scored 2848 runs primarily as an opener at a strike rate of 120-plus.At Titans, who finished seventh in 2024 after winning the title in 2022 and were runners-up in 2023, Parthiv will play a key role in the think tank which includes Nehra (head coach), Vikram Solanki (director of cricket) and Aashish Kapoor (assistant coach). Former South Africa batter Gary Kirsten, who shared the coaching duties with Nehra at Titans between 2022-24, left after IPL 2024 to take over as Pakistan’s white-ball coach.

David Warner has maintained that he feels in good touch in the Ashes, and Stuart Broad’s record over him is not a concern

AAP19-Jul-2023David Warner insists Stuart Broad has not got inside his head, despite admitting he has Barmy Army taunts over the English seamer’s record against him stuck on the mind.Warner has retained his spot at the top of Australia’s order for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, as the tourists push for their first Ashes series win in England since 2001 .The decision came after speculation over whether Warner could be squeezed out, after a double failure at Headingley last week took his series average to 23.5.Related

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Also of rising concern to a number of ex-players is Warner’s record against Broad. The left-hander has now been dismissed by Broad 17 times in his career, including twice in seven balls against him at Headingley last week.Devoid of any real sledging aimed in his direction in this series, Warner quipped on a podcast this week he had been playing Barmy Army chants over and over while facing up to bat.Included in those is the chant of “Broady is gonna get you” after the opener heard it on repeat throughout the opening Test at Edgbaston and in the matches that followed.But regardless, the 36-year-old insisted Broad’s record against him was not genuinely on his mind when facing up the quick.”I don’t really think about the match-up,” Warner said on the podcast.”You think about the ball that’s coming at you, how you are going to score. He bowls in a great area all the time.”I always love facing Broady. We have two left-handed opening batters and he is one of, if not the best bowler to left-handers in today’s game. He is so good at it.”Jimmy (Anderson) is there as well. These are guys we have watched and played against for a long time.”Stuart Broad celebrates dismissing David Warner again•Getty Images

Warner was also adamant he still feels in fine form ahead of the fourth Ashes Test, arguing Broad simply beat him with two good balls at Headingley.The left-hander began the tour with a fighting 43 against India in the World Test Championship final and made 66 in the second Ashes Test at Lords. Australia have also regularly pointed to the fact he and Usman Khawaja have made three half-century opening stands to help set up their 2-1 series lead.”I feel like I am in great touch,” Warner said. “I have felt good in the nets, leading in I had good sessions against our quicks at Beckenham (before the series).”Lord’s was probably the best I’ve batted in the last two years. Just holding my line.”We have batted in probably the toughest conditions so far. In Leeds, I got two good balls.”You can’t do too much about that … You just have to take it on the chin, can’t do anything about it.”

The South Africa allrounder talks about his major takeaways from his IPL stint with CSK

Firdose Moonda06-Jun-20223:37

Pretorius: Playing in IPL was one of my bucket list items

Dwaine Pretorius has started to believe he can do anything on a cricket field, thanks to MS Dhoni. After a season with the Chennai Super Kings, and four stints with Dhoni at the crease, Pretorius has had first-hand experience of how to combine calm and confidence to pull off a successful chase.”The biggest thing I learnt from him is how calm he is at the crease and how much he tries to take pressure off himself and put it onto the bowler,” Pretorius said, from India, where South Africa will play India in five T20Is starting on Thursday. “He made me realise that at the death, the batter isn’t under more pressure, it’s actually the bowler that is under more pressure.”As a bowler, you can still lose the match if you have to defend 18 off the last three balls and as a batter you can win it. It was a fresh mindset. He doesn’t get too excited. He doesn’t get too down on himself. Anything is always possible and I love that about him. He is very optimistic. He believes he can do anything.”Pretorius and Dhoni’s most memorable partnership came on April 21, against Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium. Chasing 156, CSK needed 50 runs off 26 balls when Pretorius walked out to bat. He was greeted with a searing yorker from Jasprit Bumrah and went on to hit two fours off the next two times Bumrah tried the delivery. By the time Pretorius was dismissed, CSK needed 17 runs off five balls and Dhoni got them home, with a four off the final delivery.Related

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That match stood out for Pretorius as an example of how Dhoni can take matches deep, and even though Pretorius is not South Africa’s usual batting finisher, he’d be willing to do the job if needed. “I am going to try and bring that into my game: the calmness but also that self-belief that from any position, any game can be won.”But it wasn’t all celebratory at CSK this season. The franchise strung together their worst set of results in their IPL history and finished second from bottom on the points table, having gone into the tournament as defending champions. Despite the disappointing outcome, Pretorius said the mood in the camp did not dampen and they’ve chosen to take the long view as they rebuild following a mega-auction.Dwaine Pretorius fronted up to bowl at the death for Chennai Super Kings in his first IPL season•BCCI

“What was nice about the CSK franchise is that it is very experienced. We all understand that cricket doesn’t always go your way,” Pretorius said. “It’s very important to just take the positives out of a bad season and try and build for a stronger future. It’s all about building for the next year or three years and trying to make sure a bad season is not a complete loss.”He called the CSK environment, “performance based,” where players were “given a lot of responsibility to prepare like you want to, come up with the plans that you believe will work and making sure you execute your plans.”While Pretorius didn’t pick up anything particularly new that he could use in the international T20 game, he made a case for one of the innovations of the IPL – the strategic time-out – to become a more prominent part of fixtures.”I enjoy it quite a bit. I know it makes the game a bit longer but it just splits the game into three parts – the one before, the one in the middle and the one after. It gives each team a moment to assess their strategy and what’s the best way to go forward,” he said. “And it’s about getting the coach – that will always have an objective view from the outside’s opinion as well. It makes the game a bit more liquid and it breaks up momentum.”Primarily, Pretorius is batting for the time-out for the same reason he enjoyed watching Dhoni bat: because it gives anyone an opportunity to make a big play. “Even if you might be out of it for the first few overs, you can always come back into the game after the strategic time out. It just breaks the momentum of either the bowling or the batting team,” he said. “It makes it quite interesting.”

He’s known for his high speeds and effective bouncers, but in the second Test, he also showed good discipline

Firdose Moonda05-Feb-2021The trick to being a successful fast bowler in the subcontinent is not just express pace and good intent, but also to work with straighter angles. That’s what Anrich Nortje, who made his debut in India and took his first five-for away from home in Rawalpindi in his 10th Test match, has learned.”At home, if you run in hard, bowl fast and get the ball in the right areas, you’ve already sort of taken a wicket a lot of the time. But, particularly in the last while, I try to keep my angles – even where I start running from – as straight as possible. That’s helped me a lot, particularly in the subcontinent,” Nortje said after the second day’s play of the second Test against Pakistan. “Sometimes, when I go a bit wider, because there’s not a lot of bounce here, it’s an easy cut shot most of the time. In South Africa you’re trying to get into that channel. Here you’re trying to hit the stumps most of the time, and you also don’t want to be bowling on leg stump. It’s one thing I’ve focused on a lot.”Nortje has become known for consistently bowling in the upper 140s and for using the bouncer to good effect, but in this innings he also showed his ability not to veer wide outside off or down leg. It helped that he could operate in short spells – he bowled six in total of which only two consisted of five overs each – and could give each delivery his all.”We had a chat about the energy of the fast bowlers and trying to create something in our spells – to not bowl too long and when we do come on try and create something,” Nortje said. “That’s what happened in this game. We didn’t bowl long spells and we tried to dig it in as much as possible and hit the wicket as much as possible. That was the plan, to bowl short spells and try to have as much energy as you can.”That may make it sound like all was nothing but hard work, but Nortje confirmed there is some assistance for the seamers in Rawalpindi, and definitely more than there was in the first Test in Karachi. “With the hard ball there is some bounce,” he said. “I don’t think the fast bowlers will be completely out of it, I think there might be different opportunities and different ways of taking wickets like we saw the ball keeping low, so that might come into it.”Still, to prosper on the subcontinent for a South African quick is something special. For previous bowlers, like Dale Steyn, who took two of his first three five-fors in Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively, it signalled a coming-of-age and an ability to adjust to unfamiliar terrain and still have a decisive say. “Getting a performance in the subcontinent definitely means a lot,” Nortje said. Hopefully I can just grow as a fast bowler.”At 27, Nortje is older than the then-24-year-old Steyn was when he took 5 for 56 to bowl South Africa to victory in Lahore in 2007, and he also occupies a more senior role in the transitioning Test side. After Kagiso Rabada, Nortje is the second-most capped Test bowler in the squad and he has become a go-to for Quinton de Kock when matters are meandering and he needs to make something happen.In Karachi, it didn’t work and Pakistan’s last four-wickets put on 202. In Rawalpindi, it did, and Nortje plucked the last two wickets in three balls to keep Pakistan to under 275, although the last five wickets added 123 between them. Does he think the South African attack lets tails, and the Pakistan one in particular, get too far ahead? “I don’t think it’s become a problem,” he said.”In the previous game they had a lot of partnerships. It’s not something we can really control. Our energy, line and lengths are the controllables and are doing our best when we do get a sniff to try and make an impact. We bowled well and even if we didn’t get the wickets, to control the rate was really good. We’ve restricted them to a good total. It’s manageable for us to exceed their score. By no means do I think they got too much.”

The most depressing aspect of England’s defeat is that so little of it came as a shock

George Dobell05-Aug-2019You’re not surprised, are you?You’re not surprised that an attack that couldn’t dismiss Steve Smith in the last Ashes can’t dismiss him now. And you’re not surprised that a side that has now failed to make 250 seven times in 11 innings cannot bat through an entire day. You’re not surprised that a man chosen to open in Test cricket on the basis of his aggressive batting in one-day cricket was dismissed trying to hit his way out of trouble. And you’re not surprised that a man who averages 64.65 with the ball against this opposition could not bowl them out.The most depressing aspect of this performance, from an England perspective, is that so little of it was surprising. From their batsmen struggling against spin to their bowlers struggling against Smith, the fact is an Australia side with a flawed top-order defeated them at their ‘fortress’ by a crushing margin. Apart from the noise of Australian supporters crowing at Edgbaston at the end of the match – and why wouldn’t they; they’d been goaded for several days – the other noise, figuratively at least, was the sound of chickens coming home to roost.For England were punished here for their prioritisation of limited-overs cricket, their over-emphasis on aggression as the preferred method with the bat and a long-standing weakness in both bowling and playing spin. And if you don’t produce such bowling at domestic level, you hardly give your developing batsmen a chance to learn to play it. But you know this already. Everyone knows it.England were, to some extent, unfortunate at Edgbaston. Losing James Anderson within the first half-hour of the game was a significant blow. Had he been available it would, at least, have been more difficult for Australia to recover from 122 for 8 on the first day.But Anderson’s injury doesn’t excuse their batsmen. And the fact is England now have a long and grim record of struggling with the bat. This is a team that, this year, has been bowled out for 77 by West Indies, for 85 by Ireland and for 132, 187 and now 146 at other times. There should be nothing surprising in another failure with the bat.ALSO READ: Dobell: Four problems England must fixJason Roy charges Nathan Lyon and is bowled•Getty Images

It is a long time since a batsman – a specialist batsman, anyway – has come into the England Test side and shone. Gary Ballance promised to do so for a while but then fell away. Meaning that Joe Root, who made his debut in 2012, is the last to do so. While such a judgement may seem harsh on Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes, the reality is they average 34.56, 35.70 and 33.76 respectively. By the high standards of Test cricket, that is modest. And it doesn’t reflect at all well on the coaching systems or pathways.The mentality and vocabulary of English cricket has been lacking for several years. So while Smith has shown the value of grafting and determination, England continue to talk of “putting the pressure” back on the bowler by hitting them off their lengths or out of the attack. So Jason Roy deserves little criticism for his dismissal, as ugly as it looked, as he was batting in the style for which he was selected. Asking him to fulfil such a specialist position as opening batsman is recklessly optimistic.Consider Joe Denly’s innings here. He was beaten by his first two balls from Nathan Lyon; the first resulting in an appeal for a caught behind down the leg-side and the second seeing the ball squeeze between bat and pad and just miss the stumps.And how did Denly respond? He swept the next two balls for four. They were fine shots, too, and Edgbaston applauded them. But Australia knew they had their man. They knew he was sweeping because he couldn’t defend and, within a few minutes, he was gone. For the grim truth is that England have produced a generation of batsmen that don’t appear to trust their defensive techniques. Think of Ben Duckett struggling against spin or Keaton Jennings reverse-sweeping because he reasoned it was safer than defending. None of this is new; none of it is a surprise.But it’s not just technical. Smith is probably not – at least in terms of hand-eye coordination – any more talented than Buttler or Root. But he seems to value his wicket more dearly. He seems to understand that pressure can be put on the opposition simply by keeping them in the field for session after session. And he seems to find a little more determination as a result. It looked here, as it did in Brisbane, as if Smith wanted it more than anyone else on either side. That, combined with his talent, is a strong combination.England had hoped that the usage of a specific Dukes ball – the 2018 version utilised with such success in last summer’s Test series against India – would act as a leveller. In particular, they hoped it would assist their fast-medium bowlers on easy-paced pitches.The evidence to date suggests it will not do so. While there was seam movement for both attacks, there was little swing. And if England cannot get the ball to swing, their attack – at least the attack that played here – is out-gunned by their Australian counterparts. For the uncomfortable reality of the situation is that on quick, on flat, or on turning surfaces, Australia appear to have the stronger game. Hoping to utilise a specific ball tailored to their strengths was a reasonable ploy from England, but it was only ever going to mask the inherent weaknesses within their game.Joe Denly is caught by Cameron Bancroft off the bowling of Nathan Lyon•Getty Images

If they really want to improve, they have to mend the domestic structure that has hindered the development of fast and spin bowlers and, as a consequence, hindered the development of batsmen. It is telling that the two leading wicket-takers in Division One of the County Championship are overseas (or Kolpak) spinners. In all, six of the top 10 leading wicket-takers in that division are overseas (or Kolpak) players; it does not reflect well on a domestic system that has been allowed to suffer for short-term commercial interests.Two changes seem likely ahead of Lord’s. Jofra Archer will, fitness permitting, come into the side for the injured James Anderson and Jack Leach will, almost certainly, come into the side in place of Moeen Ali. If Archer is unfit, Olly Stone may be the replacement instead.But it would be a surprise if England made more than two changes. Not because they shouldn’t, but because they will be concerned it would hint at panic. And panic won’t help anything.But some sense of urgency might. And the selectors need to reflect on Denly’s performance here and ask whether he is really likely to score the weight of runs required to shape a series at No. 4. Equally, they may reflect on Roy’s performance as an opener and ask themselves whether that is the best place for him to bat. And they may ask themselves how they can find a place for Sam Curran in this side.There may also be some concern about Bairstow, who has now scored 30 runs in his last six Test innings, and Buttler, who has one century from 32 Tests. But Bairstow has earned some leeway with previous performances and Buttler scored two half-centuries in the previous Test. Nobody will admit it, either – there is no mileage in looking for excuses – but a few of this team are still coming to terms with the emotional hangover from their World Cup exertions. It may well pay to be patient with them.And there is hope. Archer will add an edge to England’s attack and, in Buttler and Stokes and Root et al., there is enough talent to damage most attacks. But cracks are appearing up and down this England side and it feels, for perhaps the first time, as if instead of building toward something, they are starting to crumble and fall apart. Nothing that happened at Edgbaston was a surprise. And that should worry England.