The Ashes 2013: What's plaguing English batting?

Jonathan Trott of England is bowled by Peter Siddle of Australia during day one of the 1st Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Trent Bridge

The moment we had all been waiting for had finally arrived: the first day of an Ashes series.

Captain Cook won the toss and chose to bat which seemed like a fair decision.

The openers Cook and Root started ok but after not too long Cook was out and the rest as they say is history as England were bowled out for an abysmal 215.

So what is wrong with England’s batting? Here I am going to try to see what is going wrong, using all of my batting knowledge (which is pretty much nothing). I will go through the line up and talk about each player.

Cook- Cooky is a fantastic captain in my eyes and he has proven himself as a class batsman but it seems to me that lately he hasn’t quite provided too many good starts. This could be because he has had too much pressure on him as captain or perhaps because he is aware of the edgy middle order and he feels he has to change his natural game?

Root- He is a young lad and still new to the England side. In his short international career, he has responded well to each task that he has been set but is his drastic move up the order a tad too far? I have no doubt that he is very talented but I’m not sure he is quite ready for this and to throw him into the deep end just before the Ashes, well, seemed risky.

Trott- Mr consistent as I like to call him. Trott seems a slighter, quieter character but nine times out of ten he gets the job done and is a bit of an unsung hero I believe. I think he is a great number three and a wonderful batsman for England.

Pietersen- KP, where to even begin. Pietersen certainly has talent. There is no denying that but it seems to come with a price of controversialness. He can sometimes be hit and miss and his fast approach to play can at times cause him to rush and make silly mistakes. Furthermore, he has been struck with injuries lately and this can only be a bad thing for him as it means his time playing cricket is shortened.

Bell- I’m not too sure about Bell. For me he also seems quite hit and miss and you never quite know what you will get from him. He has been around the England set up for a long time now but I personally feel that he hasn’t really pushed on and become a top player.

Bairstow- He is still new to the side and still young. From what I’ve seen he definitely has potential but perhaps he is still a little inexperienced for the Ashes. Maybe having him and Root in the side is too much?

Prior- Sussex’s own Matt Prior. Prior is in my eyes a great keeper, however at times he is an up and down batsman. Sometimes he will hit a fine and valuable 70 or sometimes he will get himself out for next to nothing. Lately, it seems to be more of the latter unfortunately. He isn’t in the one day side and I wonder if perhaps if his batting carries on weak could his Test place be in jeopardy? – Maybe I’m being too harsh there?

Broad- Broad is a great bowler but I don’t think he’s really a batter. He has had a few brilliant innings but overall he seems like a guy who likes a bit of a swipe at the ball and could slog a valuable 30 but could get out very quickly and cheaply.

Swann- Please copy and paste the above text for Broad here. I think he’s exactly the same really!

Finn- Well Finn is a tailender and it is unfair to rely on him to provide runs. It’s not his fault if the middle order collaspe.

Anderson- Again, a fine bowler but he shouldn’t have the pressure of scoring lot’s of runs and he should be able to focus mainly on his bowling which he does so well!