2015 Ashes

I think we're about par at best myself, but we've done well to score quickly - a welcome continuation of mindset. No idea why we play Test matches on these kind of pitches though.

Oh, and in fairness Mrs D, I think Root was opening for Yorks at the time - it seemed like the obvious thing to do with him.

England had a really good day at Cardiff yesterday, but there is always one...

www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2015/content/story/895647.html

To spend almost the entirety of a 950 word report on the day's play moaning about Cook's dismissal and arguing that the way the England capain played Lyon was "not positive cricket" but "a reaction to expectation", is sheer perversity.

I must be psychic, BM. I knew who'd written that article without even looking! 

Much more balanced review today by David Hopps www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2015/content/story/896029.html, though pages spoilt as cricinfo do nowadays, by the irrelevant, annoying and usually asinine video insert that plays without being requested, necessitating a rush to silence the interruption in order to concentrate on reading the content.  Today's gem is the appalling Melinda Farrell, who seemed to team up with Dobell last winter and now we can't get rid of her.

England very much in front with that clatter of wickets, two of them while I was on the allotment, one when I was appreciatively gulping a restorative beer, and two while I was in the shower getting rid of the accumulated dust!

I shall now settle in and await events.....England's game to win or lose, at this stage.

Time for Root, do you think?

As all good managers know the secret of inspiring high performance is that there is no secret: there are a number of techniques for reviewing and eliminating error that can be applied, and you can institute rewards systems but generally the right mix of skills accompanied by self-belief in individuals, and a good understanding of the team's objectives is what gets results. So if we track the progress of this England side from the miserable and under-achieving lot that slogged out a nothing tour of the Caribbean to the team that has just won in convincing fashion, outplaying Australia in every department of the game, it is instructive to see how those simple building-blocks have been put in place and to test how solidly they are intersticed.

Firstly, getting the right mix of skills. This is heavily influenced by selection but isn't solely the responsibility of someone appointed as a national selector. There is a strategic balance to be maintained in building teams, as well as the tactical aspects of current form, specific pitches and so on. The most notorious clanger of the Caribbbean catastrophe was selecting Trott as opener in the face of all reason and delaying the introduction of Lyth.  Then there was the uncertainty about the role of spin, an uncertainty that brought in Tredwell who was half-successful, whilst not being able to contribute much else beyond close fielding, then the hastened return of Moeen, who might have been better left to get his fitness back in English cricket while the coaching team experimented with Rashid. That opportunity was lost, and so was the chance to see what Wood could offer. Instead CJ was kept in for his big heart and combativeness and his remarkable slip-fielding, and ironically England have dispensed with all of those virtues for the time being. I think he may come again, and not just in one-day cricket, but it will have to be in place of Anderson or Broad should one of them falter, and it would take another remodelling of the spearhead.

Self-belief was apparent at Cardiff in every player. Very few catches were dropped - yesterday's drop by Root was probably the biggest exception - fielding was slick and the feeling of positivity extended to Moeen taking on the short ball and generally winning. To some extent the fielding improvement may also have been a skills uprating, and it does look as if the venture to Spain, which I criticised as a jolly at the time, was successful in that the emphasis on working together, developing simple skills and excelling at them was critical here. It certainly helped Cook as a captain to feel confident in when to keep bowlers on who were being given the charge, and when to bring back the old virtues of bowling tight. It probably also helped that the squad felt comfortable enough with their own achievements that all distractions from the media circus had left town. Kevin who?

Finally, getting the runs quickly, playing the strokes that feel right for the circumstances and by so doing denying the opposition the chance to dictate the terms of engagement were the objectives that came into place during the New Zealand games and here, aided by the bowlers finally getting a chance to make their own impact, they were deployed mostly successfully. There are still some caveats about how long Bell can keep on doing his 1 good innings in 3 , or 4 or 5, and how long it is before Ballance is found out as the solution to yesterday's problem and not today's, and perhaps also some lingering doubts about whether Buttler should be a No 4 or 5 batsman, with a genuine keeper picked at 7 or 8, but overall the team holds true to a sense of purpose. I'm sure Farbrace and Bayliss use some data analysis as you would expect any coach to do - in the old days it used to be as simple as "Old Fred is always a nervous starter so bowl tight and bring one away from him and he'll probably nick to slip before he gets his eye in" - but it doesn't look as if data dictates the strategy any more than the selection.

Without doubt Farbrace has contributed greatly to the new positivity and self-belief, and it looks as if the remarkable development of Cook's skills as a captain in the field owe a lot to Bayliss as well. I also think that Strauss's role as Director of Cricket is looking daily to be one of the better appointments that have been made. He has calmed down the loose talk of Graves, dealt with the elephant in the room by opening the door and letting it trundle off, put in place what appears to be a very effective coaching team, and resisted the temptation to make further mass sackings. Perhaps Whitaker and co will disappear into deserved obscurity some time this autumn or winter: the acid test will be who selects the winter squads for Pakistan in Arabia and for South Africa.

Now on to Lord's and let us see how we deal with the fightback.