3 English batters most susceptible to short ball in Ashes 2023

The second Ashes Test between Australia and England looks to be heading toward a thrilling finish, with the visitors in the ascendency at the end of a dramatic Day 3 at Lord's. Australia are well-placed at 130/2, with a healthy lead of 221 after bowling England out for 325 in their first innings.

The hosts squandered a fantastic opportunity to post a massive first-innings score after being 188/1, thanks to their inability to overcome their short-ball frailties.

Since the inception of the Bazball theory, the English batters have been hell-bent on attacking short-pitched bowling rather than ducking or swaying out of the way. However, despite scoring runs off them, several England batters have also been found wanting against bouncer-barrage by quality pacers.

It is difficult to argue with the results before the ongoing Ashes series (11 wins out of 13 Tests) since the undertaking of the Bazball approach. However, the Aussie pacers have found cracks in a few English batters' ability to tackle short-pitched bowling and have used it to good effect in the opening two matches.

The short-ball ploy gets Australia one more wicket 👌

Mitchell Starc gets rid of Harry Brook for 5️⃣0️⃣, his 3rd wicket of the match 🤩

#SonySportsNetwork #ENGvAUS #Ashes2023 #RivalsForever #MitchellStarc https://t.co/hSuffhSUUk

Many former players and experts have been vociferously critical of England's one-dimensional batting and a lack of game awareness despite being on top at different stages in the first two Tests.

The short-pitched bowling was England's undoing in their second Test defeat against New Zealand earlier this year, and it has had a similar adverse effect in their first innings of the ongoing Test.

With the second innings followed by another three Tests to go against a quality Australian seam attack, it will be incumbent upon the English batters to devise a more tenable strategy to deal with the perfume delivery.

Keeping that in mind, let us look at three English batters most susceptible to the short ball in Ashes 2023.

#1 Harry Brook

Talented middle-order batter Harry Brook is unquestionably the first candidate to be peppered by short-pitched bowling among the English batters. Brook has had an incredible start to his Test career, averaging 72.76 in nine Tests, with four centuries and as many half-centuries.

Despite the outstanding numbers, the 24-year-old has been dismissed several times by the short-ball ploy. In the current Test, the young sensation succumbed to a Mitchell Starc bouncer. It angled away from him to provide a simple catch to Pat Cummins at deep extra cover immediately after his half-century.

Brook has also been dismissed by the short-ball innumerable times in the past by the likes of Neil Wagner, Naseem Shah, and Marco Jansen.

Brook's issues with the short ball have led to former players voicing their opinion on the youngster potentially being bombarded with bouncers henceforth.

"I don't think Harry Brook has shown anybody that he play the short ball very well, so unfortunately for him the next three Test matches are not going to be fun," Pietersen recently said.

Former Australian legend Glenn Mcgrath said:

"I don't think Mitchell Starc likes bowling short, sometimes it finishes your action. Getting that wicket and then seeing how Harry Brook played, they would have seen he wouldn't like it. He's going to cop a fair bit more, if you look unsettled and don't like the short ball, you'll get it more."

It is worth mentioning that Harry Brook has also scored plenty of runs against short deliveries, evidenced by his sensational Test record. However, the tendency to get out as often will only add to the frequency of bouncers by opposition bowlers, particularly early in his innings.

#2 Ollie Pope

Ollie Pope is another English batter who has perpetually struggled against short-pitched bowling. While Pope hasn't been as prolific as his teammate Harry Brook, he has had a terrific run of form since the start of the year, averaging 50.87 in five Tests.

However, converting starts has been an issue for Pope, evidenced by his overall Test average of 34.96 in 38 Tests, with 11 half-centuries and four centuries.

One of the primary reasons for the Surrey batter's struggles to score big runs has been the inability to combat the short deliveries. Pope was dismissed in the first innings of the present Test by a short-ball from Cameron Green after getting well-set on 42 to open the floodgates for Australia.

He was also dismissed twice by short balls off Neil Wagner on the New Zealand tour earlier this year after getting his eye in both times. Pope was also undone by a Mohammad Ali bouncer on a slow Rawalpindi wicket and off Trent Boult in the second Test of the last English summer.

Despite being strong off the back foot like his predecessor Ian Bell, Ollie Pope has been cramped against the short delivery, leading to numerous top-edged pulls.

#3 Ben Stokes

England skipper Ben Stokes is a surprise entry in this category, considering his vast experience and authoritative pull shots over the years. However, since the inception of the Bazball approach, the 32-year-old has come unstuck against the short-ball ploy a few times at inopportune times.

While a skiddy short-of-length delivery dismissed him in the ongoing Test, the star all-rounder has also shown a propensity to fall prey against quick bouncers at the body.

Stokes was bounced out by Neil Wagner at a crucial juncture in the second Test of the New Zeries series earlier this year. His dismissal played a vital role in England going down to the Black Caps by a run at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. The Kiwi-born all-rounder was also dismissed by a short ball off Scott Kuggeleijn in the first Test of the series.

The talismanic all-rounder has also shown a tendency to move away from the line of the delivery and mistime the pull shot toward the mid-off region.