3 concerns for England ahead of the 2nd Test of the 2023 Ashes against Australia
If the opening match of the 2023 Ashes is any indication of things to come, we're in for an absolute treat as fans of the game. Australia and England battled it out over five days of engrossing Test cricket, with the former holding their nerve in the final session to get off the mark in the series.
England, who have been hugely successful in executing an aggressive approach under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, are facing their first massive challenge. Australia, fresh off their maiden World Test Championship triumph, are no pushovers and might even be the favourites to retain the urn.
Stokes and Co. will need to pull their socks up and come up with complete performances henceforth, starting with the second Test in a week's time at Lord's. However, the skipper will have a few issues on his mind in the lead-up to that encounter.
Here are three concerns for England ahead of the 2nd Test of the 2023 Ashes against Australia.
#3 Moeen Ali's bowling finger has taken a beating
It was always going to be a question whether Moeen Ali's body and mind would be able to hold up in the opening Test of the 2023 Ashes. Rushed out of Test retirement following an injury to Jack Leach, the all-rounder slotted right into the playing XI as the lead spinner.
Moeen's spinning finger developed a nasty blister soon, unable to cope with the sudden increase in workload. The off-spinner bowled 33 overs in the first innings and 14 in the second, struggling to hit the right lines and lengths in both essays after his finger was compromised.
Will Moeen recover in time for the second Test? He hadn't featured for England in red-ball cricket since 2021 ahead of the ongoing series, and even if his finger heals in time, there's no certainty that the cut won't open up again.
If Moeen doesn't make the grade, who can the hosts field? They might have to pick four fast bowlers and hope that Joe Root takes on some more responsibility in the bowling department.
#2 Jonny Bairstow's wicket-keeping could cost the hosts on such wickets in the 2023 Ashes
The pitch for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston wasn't of great help to the bowlers. There was some spin on offer, but that was about it. The wicket was slow and low for the most part, and any chances offered by the batters weren't straightforward.
England turned in a rather disappointing fielding display, at least on the first four days. One of the primary culprits was Jonny Bairstow, who isn't a specialist wicket-keeper and only recently recovered from a long injury-enforced layoff.
The gloveman shelled a couple of chances and didn't attempt others, while also missing out on the odd stumping opportunity. His counterpart, Alex Carey, was assured behind the stumps in a telling difference between the two sides.
On difficult wickets, it might be in England's best interests to bring in Ben Foakes, who is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. Bairstow can certainly improve, but can Stokes and Co. afford to take that risk, having already gone down in the series?
#1 England's pace attack lacks an X-factor
Another major talking point during the opening Ashes Test was the composition of England's bowling attack. They opted to leave out the raw pace of Mark Wood and the dangerous swing bowling of Chris Woakes, instead picking three trundlers in James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson.
Anderson, Broad and Robinson are quality fast bowlers, but they offer similar skill sets. While Anderson was clearly off the pace, Broad and Robinson had to resort to being short-ball enforcers at times, which isn't something they are known to do successfully.
England needs to ideally bring in Wood, but who can they sacrifice? Broad was the pick of the bowlers in Birmingham and cannot be dropped, while Anderson will have time to get back up to speed.
Stokes and McCullum have a selection dilemma on their hands, one that won't fix itself easily. They seem intent on having flat wickets for the Ashes, but their current pace attack doesn't align with that strategy.