Richard Mann considers one of the key battles in the upcoming Ashes series, as England's aggressive openers stare down Australia's fearsome pace attack.
Go hard or go home is the message England’s batsmen have been given ever since Brendon McCullum took over as head coach, and that has even been extended to the two men tasked with opening the batting in the Ashes.
Zak Crawley has been an ever-present in McCullum’s tenure, but a brilliant hundred in Pakistan and the occasional spurts of promise apart, the returns have been modest. McCullum says he isn't concerned and that he doesn’t expect consistency from Crawley, just the odd match-winning hand. But every weakness is nullified in an Ashes series and England cannot afford to carry passengers.
What they also can’t afford is to be 10-2 in every Test, and that’s where England will be hoping Ben Duckett comes into the equation. Only an opening batsman since McCullum and captain Ben Stokes shoehorned him into that role on last winter’s tour of Pakistan, Duckett has responded by making 690 runs in five matches at an average of 69.00, with two hundreds and four fifties.
Having made the position his own, Duckett has gone back to Nottinghamshire and done the same for his county, chalking up 401 runs in five matches at 44.55 this season, before confirming he will head into his maiden Ashes series full of confidence following a fine 182 against Ireland.
But taking on Australia’s best will be a far cry from the flat pitches he was able to feast on in Pakistan, or the impotent Ireland attack he took down at Lord’s. This will be the acid test.
It seems Crawley is resolved to go down swinging, and with Duckett emboldened by the strong start to his second coming as a Test cricketer, England’s opening pair are expected to meet Pat Cummins, Scott Boland, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all guns blazing.
That will be no easy task, particularly if this year’s batch of Dukes balls are better than the soft, easily misshaped 2022 edition, and this particular battle could not only make for absorbing viewing, it could well define the series.
Starc can blow hot and cold, but he swings the new ball at pace and is a genuine wicket-taker. The drawback with the left-arm paceman is that he tends to be expensive and is sure to present England’s aggressive opening pair with plenty of scoring opportunities.
But he will be a threat, and Australia will need to balance Starc’s search for early wickets with the possibility of England’s openers taking advantage of his waywardness and getting their innings off to a rapid start.
Starc is currently vying for place in Australia's starting line-up with Boland and Hazlewood, the three quicks fighting it out for two spots. While Starc can be erratic, Boland and Hazlewood are anything but – relying on unwavering accuracy and subtle seam movement.
Boland spent much of his career waiting in the wings while Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood carried the baton brilliantly in Australia’s recent near domination of Test cricket, but the Melbourne native has made up for lost time in stunning fashion, picking up 33 wickets in only eight matches at 14.57.
It all began in the 2021/2022 Ashes in Australia when Boland claimed 18 wickets at 9.55 in three appearances, displaying a bowling style that appeared likely to prove even more effective with the Dukes ball in English conditions.
Sure enough, with Hazlewood injured, Boland took five wickets in the World Test Championship final to confirm he will be a huge threat to England in the coming weeks, leaving Australia's selectors with a big decision to make.
A fully fit Hazlewood, who has 36 wickets in England at 23.58, would ordinarily be a must-pick in these conditions, and his relentless accuracy and 6ft4in frame are just the tools likely to expose weaknesses in the techniques of Crawley and Duckett. The former could prove especially vulnerable, while the latter’s innings against Ireland illustrated just how reluctant he is to leave the ball even well outside his off stump. Hazlewood and Boland are sure to have taken note.
Whichever way Australia go, and rest and rotation is sure to play a part later in the series, Australia have the potential to inflict some serious damage on an England opening pair that still have questions to answer. When you throw Cummins, leading wicket-taker in the last two Ashes series, into the mix, it is clear what a colossal task awaits England’s openers.
But I remain convinced that Crawley is a batsman of international calibre, though I do believe the middle order will be a better fit in time, and he was one of the few to stick his chest out and take on the Australian attack on the last tour Down Under when England generally offered very little resistance.
As for Duckett, he continues to confound, making a so far seamless transition to opening having previously spent most of his career batting at three and four in county cricket.
One thing we do know is that this pair will go hard at Australia, whose fearsome pace attack is likely to be spitting fire from ball one.
Of all the interesting match-ups that await, the one between England’s openers and the new ball might prove to be the best contest of them all. And make no mistake, it is highly likely to set the tone for the rest of the series.
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