Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim suggested England choose one between James Anderson and Stuart Broad and bring Mark Wood back if they want to turn things around at Melbourne. The visitors are currently trailing by 0-2 and the possibility of another whitewash looks likely with the way Australia have dominated the series.
England team management has been criticized severely for not reading conditions well in the first two tests. In the first, they went without Anderson and Broad and chose to bowl first on a gloomy morning. And as they faced a 9-wicket thrashing, they tried to overcompensate by playing both of them in the Adelaide Test. However, it made much difference with the end result.
As both the teams gear up for the Boxing Day challenge, Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim suggested England to bring an express pace bowler like Mark Wood.
“Whatever conditions there were in Brisbane and Adelaide maybe they didn’t select the right XI. They need to get more wicket-taking options up their sleeves. I think the biggest difference between Australia and England fast bowlers is speed. The average speed of Australian speedsters is 140-145 but the average speed of England pacers is in the mid or early 130s. On bouncy hard pitches you need bowlers with pace to unsettle the batters,” Karim told NDTV in an interview.
With 635 Tests in his name, James Anderson hasn’t had much success down under. This is 5th Australian tour for the veteran pacer as he picked 63 wickets in 19 Tests with lone fifer. The story for Stuart Broad is pretty much the same as the 35-year old picked only 35 wickets in 13 Tests down under with lone fifer.
“On bouncy hard pitches, you need bowlers with pace to unsettle the batters”
“James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s performance in Australia for the past several years has not been up to the mark. If you have to play, then pick only one of them and bring someone like Mark Wood. I think the problem England faces is that they don’t really have many options who bowl over 140. Jofra Archer is injured. But you need at least two three seamers who can bowl at 140-plus regularly on these Australian conditions. Whom do they have in the squad? Again, it’s Craig Overton. He’s a good bowler but in these conditions, I do have my doubts,” he stated.
However, Saba Karim is still optimistic about England’s chances. The former BCCI selector believes that England can make a comeback if they pick the right XI.
“I do expect them to make a comeback but it’s going to be a tall order for England. Believe if they can make some changes in the XI and be more aggressive while batting as well as bowling, they can come back. I think it’s important they focus on the Boxing Day Test match for now because if they look too far ahead, that may be a big problem,” Karim said.
The third Ashes test will begin on December 26 in Melbourne.