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Former England spinner Gareth Batty looks at three young contenders: Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir

Matt Roller24-Jan-20243:16

Records to watch out for in the India-England series

“If you see the ball spin in a Test match,” jokes Gareth Batty, “you get everybody in the bloomin’ team, from the physio to the bus driver, in the nets bowling spin, because everyone can do it.”That’s my concern,” he says about England on their tour of India. “They’ll be put under so much pressure, if not internally then externally, because of the expectation of success.”Batty, Surrey’s head coach, is more aware than most of the expectations on English spinners in the subcontinent. Six of the nine Tests he played during his days as an offspinner came in South Asia, the most recent in the third match of the 2016 tour, and he will represent the spinners’ union while commentating for talkSPORT on the 2024 series, which starts in Hyderabad this week.Related

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Batty’s recall in 2016, at the age of 39, aligned with the truism that spinners get better with age. England’s selection for this tour suggests that they believe otherwise: Jack Leach has been their frontline spinner for several years but is supported by three bowlers with a combined age of 63 and a single Test cap between them.”Whoever you speak to, they’ll say spinners need to have some muscle memory so that when they’re under pressure, they can deliver their stock ball and deliver their skill,” Batty says. “History has suggested that you’d be better served with a senior player – but I actually think that’s a little bit old hat, possibly.”I think England have gone, ‘We’re going to test it.’ I know Jeets [Jeetan Patel, England’s spin coach] is big on spinners bowling and getting the opportunity to get that muscle memory, but I do think you can cram as well – like people do for exams. It’s a really interesting litmus test, and it’s a brave one from England’s point of view.”Gareth Batty: “Rehan Ahmed could be that smaller or shorter version of an Anil Kumble, where he can bowl a bit straighter and get loads of bowleds and lbws”•Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty ImagesAmong England’s options is Shoaib Bashir, a 20-year-old offspinner with only ten first-class wickets to his name. Batty knows him better than most: Bashir spent his teenage years playing for Surrey’s academy, but was released at the age of 17. This summer, he played the fifth of his six first-class games, for Somerset against Batty’s side.”Because of how the system works, if they’re no longer at school, they can’t stay on the academy, and at the time, we didn’t have many places on the professional staff,” Batty recalls. “Yousef Majid, the left-arm spinner, was the guy the club went with and around that time, Bashir had a huge growth spurt, which is very difficult for young people.”It can take a while to get that movement pattern comfortable again but he’s obviously gone down to a very, very well-run club in Somerset, and he’s thrived. I’d be surprised if he finds himself playing in India, and everyone has to remember that the amount of cricket he’s played is minimal. But just bowling at England players in the nets and seeing R Ashwin up close, it’ll be a wonderful learning curve.”Bashir was unlikely to feature in the first Test even before a visa hold-up delayed his arrival, but Lancashire’s Tom Hartley is a contender to start alongside Leach. “He is direct, and bowls into the surface,” Batty says. “He’s very different to [Ravindra] Jadeja but very similar to Axar Patel. He’d be a very good opposite number to Axar.”If we’re to have any effect in India, we need Jack Leach to perform as he can do”•Getty Images”He challenges both edges if the pitch is going to spin, and he adds a bit of depth: he balances the team out quite beautifully. He’s a nice bowler and I think he’ll do well. If the pitches spin, he’ll be accurate and bowl into an area which will challenge both edges of the bat. He bowls direct into that middle-stump area.”Batty has been “surprised” to see Hartley left out by Lancashire at times – he has played 16 County Championship matches over the last three seasons – and believes that it is the result of a system that gives teams 16 points for a win and just five for a draw. “People look for a quick fix, and spin is not always that quick fix,” he says. “We’re giving too many points to an out-and-out win when the focus should be to play good cricket and for all disciplines to come into the game.”The favourite to partner Leach is Rehan Ahmed, the teenager who made his Test debut in Karachi 13 months ago. “Traditionally, fingerspin is front and centre in India, because you’re relying on the nature of sticking the ball in the same area over and over again, knowing full well that one ball will have the batter’s name on it,” Batty says.”That is harder [for] wristspinners, but Rehan has obviously got the world at his feet. He’s been given opportunities and he’s taken them, and he bats as well, which lengthens that order. His challenge will be how consistent he can be on turning surfaces in India, where control is probably front and centre, as opposed to the massive sidespin required in other parts of the world.Tom Hartley is a contender for a playing role in India, though he has been sparingly used by Lancashire in the County Championship – an outcome, Batty believes, of the current points system•Surrey CCC/Getty Images”Can he have that consistency? It’s a big ask. But the one thing that’s really positive for him is that he’s got a very good googly, so he’s bringing the tramlines in and he’s bringing the stumps and pads into play. He could be that smaller or shorter version of an Anil Kumble, where he can bowl a bit straighter and get loads of bowleds and lbws.”But it is clear that Leach will be England’s main man, tasked with leading a young spin attack on his return from a back stress fracture. “He’s a purist of the game when it comes to trying to bowl spin,” Batty says. “He’s changed his seam position from three years ago, when we saw him last in India.”He’s able to get that square spin, so he can bring the tramlines into play now as opposed to being on off stump and spinning it to slip. He can get that angle into the surface to spin it away now, which was not an easy thing for him to change: it’s a bit more palm at the batsman, as opposed to the side of the hand with the overspin.”Batty believes that England’s results in the series will correlate with Leach’s efforts. “If we’re to have any effect in India, we need him to perform as he can do,” he says. “He won’t want to be front and centre – he’s not that sort of a guy – but let’s hope his performances are, and let’s champion the fact that he’s becoming a very fine left-arm spinner.”Listen to exclusive & free coverage on talkSPORT2 or via the talkSPORT cricket YouTube channel.

It’s not all rosy when it’s raining sixes

Ian Chappell05-May-2024Over the years I’ve learnt that for every upside in an idea – no matter how good – it’s guaranteed there’ll also be a downside.Consequently there’s some disillusionment with the growing amount of six-hitting involved in the T20 game and particularly in the highly successful IPL tournament.Big hitting has dramatically increased. At the present pace IPL 2024 will comfortably set the record for the number of sixes clouted in a match. The big-hitting spree was highlighted by England seamer and Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran, who said after his team’s high scoring victory over Kolkata Knight Riders: “Cricket is turning into baseball isn’t it?”Related

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There are many reasons offered for the massive increase in six-hitting; among them improved bats, short boundaries and evening dew. Curran also highlighted the current players’ training methods, explaining “they can hit balls for a long time” as another reason for the improvement.The current training regime highlights how batting is now more of a power game as distinct from the artistry of the past. While training is an acknowledged part of professional cricket, it’s worth investigating the exponential growth in six-hitting.The IPL tournament plays a particularly important role.The popularity of the IPL is ingrained and as Curran says: “I’m sure everyone wants to keep seeing sixes.”There’s no doubt the younger generation, bred on big hitting and high scoring in T20 cricket, embrace the IPL. Then there’s the older generation, who have grown up with batting artistry and quality bowling spells and are often bewildered by segments of the modern game.Those are facts of life. As the IPL (and other administrations) consider the bottom line critical, then big hitting and thrilling chases, while they continue to draw large crowds, will remain as attractions of the game.

As a young man I enjoyed playing both cricket and baseball. If I’m not going to face many deliveries in a short version of cricket but field a lot, then the game loses a lot of its attraction

Nevertheless a cricket dilemma could occur if the T20 spectacle became wearisome. If an administration decided to further shorten the game this would severely test player loyalty. If players aren’t experiencing much cricket other than being in the field a lot, then a large contract can only conceal so much dissatisfaction. Apart from throwing the ball back, there’s not much fielding involved when it’s raining sixes.The increased growth in shorter forms of the game is allied to the exorbitant cost of running first-class competitions. Strong first-class competitions are crucial to developing Test cricketers and hence the current five-day game favours India, Australia and England but is under immense strain.Then there’s the financial return from the media for a cricket board. The shorter forms of the game bring far greater financial rewards than a first-class competition, so guess which route a board, strapped for cash, is going to take.India, with its huge spending power rules cricket, therefore other countries tend to follow their example. Hence the growth in T20 leagues in other countries mirrors the IPL success.In many ways one of cricket’s perceived blunders is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for administrators. They could never have envisioned the vast power they were conceding but IPL auctions have provided massive financial rewards for players.However, the administrators are now almost assured of player loyalty, as they are not going to revolt against the short length of a game when they are being well rewarded.As a young man I enjoyed playing both cricket and baseball. If I’m not going to face many deliveries in a short version of cricket but field a lot, then the game loses a lot of its attraction. If that were the case I’d prefer to play baseball, where fielding is integral and at least I’d bat a few times. In the short version of cricket I would often feel I hadn’t earned my beer at the end of the game.That is the opinion of someone from the older generation. However that thinking ignores the enormous preference a modern administration places on market trends and financial returns rather than a player’s wishes.

The allrounder has had a storied career, which he has now put into a book, but hopes there’s at least one chapter still to complete

Alex Malcolm25-Oct-2024The tone in Glenn Maxwell’s voice changes when he talks about Test cricket.It’s not what you would expect from the author of some the greatest innings ever played in coloured clothing for Australia. The 201 not out in Mumbai, which he relives in great detail in his soon-to-be-released autobiography , written with Adam Collins. The 40-ball century against Netherlands. The 51-ball 2015 World Cup century against Sri Lanka. The impossible chases of Old Trafford, Bengaluru, Guwahati and Hobart. Maxwell could quite rightly dine out on those stories for the rest of his days.There is a myriad of off-field stories, too, some deeply personal. The broken leg. The golf-cart concussion. Severe mental health challenges. A miscarriage. Maxwell speaks with honesty and vulnerability about all of it and how it has shaped him through his 36 years.Related

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But long after the words have been printed, and the book hits the shelves, Maxwell is hopeful another chapter will be written. He has not given up on his dream of adding to his seven Test matches.That sentence in itself is striking. He hasn’t played Test cricket for seven years. He has not played a first-class game since July 2023 and has played only two in the last five years.He is nowhere near the conversation to play in the upcoming series against India, despite a top-six spot being available. But the carrot of the Sri Lanka tour in January has been dangled in front of him and he is all-in on chasing it after coming within touching distance of a place in the XI on the 2022 tour.”I think if I gave up on that Test dream now, I don’t think I’d be doing justice to that younger Glenn Maxwell who was dying to put on the baggy green when he was a kid,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “And I think while there’s still a glimmer of hope, I’ll keep going for it.”Maxwell’s Test career is currently a story of what might have been. There is a sense when you speak to him, and when you read his book, that his brief tastes, and the many near-misses on Test selection that he details, have built up just as much scar tissue as the hardware holding his broken ankle together.

“If I gave up on that Test dream now, I don’t think I’d be doing justice to that younger Glenn Maxwell who was dying to put on the baggy green when he was a kid”

“I think the hard thing with Test cricket is, when I grew up, that’s all I wanted to do,” Maxwell says. “I definitely got my chance at Test level a bit prematurely. It all happened really fast when I got my chance to debut. It was just a whirlwind. I had no idea what I was doing. I probably hadn’t had the experience at first-class level that I would have liked.”And then when I came back in 2017, I felt like I was a ready-made first-class cricketer and was really at peace with my game and where I was at. A lot of these things in Test cricket are timing. Adam Voges is probably the perfect example. He came in and he averaged 60-odd [61.87] in his Test career. He got his opportunity when he was at the top of this game.”I suppose the thing I’m proud about in my Test career – I was able to sort of fight back at different times, get back in squads and be really resilient that way.”Voges’ story is a source of inspiration for Maxwell. Voges made his Test debut at 35 and played 20 Test matches, scoring five centuries, including two doubles. However, he got his opportunity in 2015 after scoring 1358 runs at 104.46 in the 2014-15 Sheffield Shield season. Only three batters have ever had a better Shield year and scored more than his six centuries in a single season.Maxwell has only made seven first-class centuries in his 69-game career, including his lone Test century in Ranchi. The lack of hundreds has been used against him from a Test selection standpoint. It is a notion that irks him. He detailed a frustrating exchange with selector Trevor Hohns in 2017-18, when he backed up his March Test century in India with scores of 60, 64, 45 not out, 278 against an international-standard New South Wales attack, and 96 across four consecutive Shield games while batting at No.3 for Victoria.Maxwell brings up his Test century in Ranchi in 2017•Associated PressMaxwell queried Hohns on why he wasn’t considered to play in the Ashes.”The answer was blunt: not enough tons,” Maxwell writes. “It’s the only time I’ve come close to losing it in a situation like that.”Maxwell no longer has to worry about such sentiments among the current Australian selection panel. They have said publicly that Shield cricket bears no relevance to Test conditions in Sri Lanka. They have also said that Australia’s ODI and T20I specialists, who miss a lot of first-class cricket due to white-ball duties, should not have their lack of Shield cricket held against them.It is the type of bespoke management that Maxwell appreciates and has led him to making a quiet return to red-ball cricket via Victoria’s second XI, where he scored 14 and 10, before hopefully making his Shield return after the two white-ball series against Pakistan. The leg injury remains a big part of his careful management.Maxwell enjoyed the red-ball return without the pressure of needing to perform and believes he can get up to speed quickly to the rhythm of red-ball batting if he’s selected on the tour of Sri Lanka.

“I might sort of have this persona on-field where it all looks confident, everything looks all sweet, but it’s not always like that behind the scenes”

“The interesting thing about last week, even just playing the second XI game, was having a few technical changes and working through them, having a few different sets of eyes looking at your batting, and just trying to work your way through that has been really enjoyable,” he says.”I remember in 2022 [in Sri Lanka] the first couple of net sessions that I had working through all those cracks, and working through your different techniques of facing spin that’s exploding, was so enjoyable. And it doesn’t take long when you’re really experienced in those conditions to work out a way to play over there.”It’s probably what makes Cameron Green’s success over there so extraordinary, the fact that it’s the first time he’s played Test cricket over there in those conditions, and he was so successful and strong-minded in the way he was going to go about it. It takes a strong mind to have success over there. I’d just love to be over there.”Maxwell’s mental-health journey is fascinatingly recounted in the book. He is very open about the challenges he has faced throughout his career.”I hope people can get a better idea of the different anxiety I’ve probably had,” he says. “I might sort of have this persona on-field where it all looks confident, everything looks all sweet, but it’s not always like that behind the scenes. There’s so much that sort of goes into it, and there’s a lot of conversations, a lot of thoughts that are going on. And it’s not always as smooth as it seems.”1:43

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One of his darkest periods was between 2018 and 2020, which coincided with Justin Langer’s tenure as coach. Maxwell is not shy in outlining his turbulent relationship with Langer back then, detailing his personal perspective of a series of incidents, including his omission from the 2018 Test tour of the UAE, the 2019 World Cup, where he was subjected to a bouncer barrage in the nets that he felt was coach-directed, and a fiery exchange in early 2020 when Maxwell said the coach accused him of faking an elbow injury to miss a tour.But Maxwell sees a clear delineation between their relationship as player and coach and their friendship away from the game, which included a lot of golf and some great conversations about life.”We’re still on great terms,” Maxwell says. “We had a really good friendship, and I suppose his coaching tenure at the back end, I probably didn’t get out of him exactly what I probably needed at that time.”The other roundabout relationship he writes about is with Steven Smith. He reveals that the pair did not see eye to eye when Smith was the national captain. But Maxwell also notes he was partly to blame.”I’ve learned the amount that you invest in relationships is the amount you get back,” he says. “And I think potentially, looking back on early relationships, they might have been a lot of one way. I reckon I expected a lot of things to go my way, without actually investing back in.

“Maxwell queried [selector Trevor] Hohns on why he wasn’t considered to play in the Ashes. “The answer was blunt: not enough tons,” Maxwell writes. “It’s the only time I’ve come close to losing it in a situation like that”

“Steve is probably the one who we’ve come… probably not full circle, it’s never like we weren’t friends, it was we weren’t as close as we are now. Now we’re messaging most days, we play golf together, we enjoy each other’s company, and we spend a lot of time talking about not just cricket stuff, but off-field, real things as well.”Maxwell is as comfortable as he has ever been with his place in the world as a husband, a father and a cricketer. He is adamant his story is not completely told, and has no plans to retire anytime soon. He feels he is in the perfect head space to handle a Test match recall. But he knows there are no guarantees, and he says it won’t define his career.”I’m at peace with pretty much everything,” he says. “So it sort of makes it a little bit easier to go out there and not get too wrapped up in the moment, not to put too much pressure on myself to do certain things, and hopefully that just is able to bring out the best in me.”Whatever happens at the back end of this summer, whether I get picked or not, I won’t judge that as a tick or cross on my career. It’s just going to be another thing. As I said, I’d love to be over there, and if I do get the opportunity, I won’t be putting too much pressure on myself.”

They are India’s most vital players and if they’re on form, it’s a big battle won

Ian Chappell22-Sep-2024India have the ideal build up to their tour of Australia with two Tests against Bangladesh, then a more demanding three-game series with New Zealand.Apart from winning both series, India’s priority will be to get as many players as possible into form without suffering major injuries. However, the most pressing matters are to achieve those aims with Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.Pant’s ability to bounce back onto the Test scene is quite remarkable given his horrific car accident. He is a crucial wicketkeeper-batter in the Indian line-up and he’d give the team a major boost if he’s at the peak of his powers for the Australian tour.Related

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As an in-form batter, Pant is vital, which he displayed on the 2020-21 Australian tour with crucial innings in both the SCG and Gabba Tests. His ability to score quickly utilising his innovative aggression is an important part of India’s strategy.His wicketkeeping is also vital – if Pant can perform at his best, he’s the ideal keeper for Australian conditions. If he’s able to continue with his agile performance standing back, that is what is required in Australia. You need a keeper who capably covers a lot of territory to both sides of the wicket. Any keeper who fulfils those requirements not only improves the team’s fielding but also allows the slip fielders to spread wider to cover extra territory.Pant’s keeping standing up to the stumps drastically improved before his serious injury, following an ultimatum from coach Ravi Shastri. The fact that Pant progressed from being a dubious keeper against spinners to a very good gloveman standing up to the stumps, admirably displayed his willingness to work hard.Pant’s improvement sums up the thoughts of that excellent Australian gloveman Rod Marsh: “If you’re the incumbent,” he said, “and you don’t improve, then you’re not thinking correctly.” Marsh rightly concluded that if you were keeping and practising most days of the week, then you should become a better keeper.

At the start of the 1972 Ashes tour I suggested we might keep Dennis Lillee in cotton wool. He told me: “Like a batsman, I need to be in form. When I take a five-wicket haul, you can talk about putting me in cotton wool”

While the batting needs to be at its best, the other crucial factor will be the Indian pace bowling. The presence of a keeper-batter in the middle order and allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin give India the luxury of selecting five bowlers for each Test.That makes the choice of fast bowlers paramount. The good form and fitness of both Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj – the two most successful pace bowlers on the last Australian tour – is essential. Of those two, Bumrah is the attack leader.A critical part of India’s build-up to the Australian tour will be ensuring Bumrah is in form but remains fit to play the bulk of the five Tests. The difficulty of balancing this task was summed up perfectly by Australian pace hero Dennis Lillee on the 1972 tour of the UK. At the start of the long tour I suggested we might keep Lillee in cotton wool. He told me in very strong terms: “Like a batsman, I need to be in form. When I take a five-wicket haul, you can talk about putting me in cotton wool.”It was a lesson I learned from the big-hearted fast bowler and never forgot.It would be ideal if the mercurial Mohammed Shami is fit for Australia but the presence of a good left-arm paceman would also improve India’s variety in attack.The spin bowling is in good hands with Jadeja and Ashwin. Nevertheless I wouldn’t discount the importance of Kuldeep Yadav on some Australian surfaces.Of the young batters Yashasvi Jaiswal looks very talented but he needs to show good form in Australia. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should act as guiding lights for the younger batters on tour.The batting needs to be good in Australia as India showed with their series wins on the last two visits. Batting aside, it will help India’s chances enormously if both Pant and Bumrah are performing at their best in Australia.

Australia’s ruthless performances across formats expose gulf between teams, despite England’s pre-series optimism

Valkerie Baynes01-Feb-2025England’s post-Ashes review has begun, even before any formal announcements, with captain Heather Knight and Jon Lewis, the head coach, forced to consider their positions in light of an unprecedented 16-0 defeat.While Lewis has been forthright, insisting he is the right person to take the team forward in the immediate aftermath of England’s innings defeat in the Test to conclude a terrible tour, Knight was not about to make an “emotional” call on her future just yet.Any decisions may be taken out of their hands with Clare Connor, the ECB’s deputy chief executive, due to address a media conference over the weekend.It is hard to see what more Knight could have done, other than scream – as she often looked like she wanted to do – every time an England fielder shelled a regulation catch during the series.And there’s no guarantee that would have helped any more than the high-level training she and Lewis say England have displayed outside of matches.Poor shot selection was another weak point for England throughout and, while she was culpable herself, Knight was her side’s leading run-scorer with 229 runs across all three formats, behind only Australian Beth Mooney’s 409 overall.”I’m probably going to sit on the fence again and say it’s a time to probably not think about it,” Knight said after being asked, not for the first time on the tour, whether she was thinking about her position.”Things are pretty raw and have obviously happened pretty quickly. I think the coming weeks is a time for everyone to reflect on what we could have done better, how we’re going to improve as a side. That’s not an emotional decision that’s going to be made now, it’s in the coming weeks.”Related

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If England are to move on from Knight after nine years at the helm, they must consider who they have to replace her and whether they are a better option.Nat Sciver-Brunt said last week she would “love to lead the girls… whenever that time is” when asked if she’d like to be England captain one day.It was the sort of response Sciver-Brunt was obliged to give, to avoid headlines screaming that she was out to take Knight’s job or that she didn’t have any desire to lead her country, rather than an outright expression of her willingness to take the role now.Sciver-Brunt is part of England’s four-pronged leadership group, which also includes Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone, and she has stood in as skipper before, including partway through England’s T20 World Cup exit in October after Knight injured herself while batting against West Indies.A chaotic fielding performance ensued and Lewis came onto the field during a drinks break, his efforts to help lift the team going in vain as West Indies won by six wickets and ended England’s campaign in the group stages.Sciver-Brunt cannot be blamed for England’s fielding woes in that instance, any more than Knight can be held responsible for the lack of improvement in that area since.When Amy Jones stood in as captain during India’s 2022 tour of England, she said the on-field leadership role was “definitely not something that comes naturally to me”. That was two and a half years ago and being part of a wider leadership group may have built Jones’s confidence in that area.Ecclestone’s penchant for wearing her heart on her sleeve – which is very unlike Knight, Sciver-Brunt and Jones – while shouldering the responsibility of leading England’s spin attack might count against her. That is unless England opt for a real shake-up of the role.Even then, Ecclestone’s apparent refusal to do a post-match interview with former team-mate turned broadcaster Alex Hartley, who had earlier questioned the fitness of some members of the England team, became the flashpoint of the tour and is the sort of controversy the ECB would want to avoid.The absence of a clear-cut successor combined with Knight’s relatively strong individual performances and limited responsibility for England’s failings make a case for her staying on as captain. Whoever leads the side going forward, they need a thick skin. Just ask her.”There’s always highs and lows, and that’s the joy of the job,” she said. “Sometimes it tests you, tests your character, tests the good times and the bad times, and you have to take them on the chin, the bad times, to enjoy the good times.Heather Knight has much to consider after England’s 16-0 drubbing in Australia•Getty Images”It’s always a tough place to come and tour as a cricketer and particularly as a leader. We haven’t played well enough, and you’re going to feel that as a leader and feel that on your shoulders. I’m certainly frustrated with how the team has gone. We haven’t shown our best cricket and we’re all obviously very frustrated with that and pretty gutted.”Lewis, too, is under scrutiny. Since taking over in late 2022, he has overseen the highs of England’s home Ashes series, where Australia narrowly retained the trophy, and the lows of the T20 World Cup and this series.After England lost the third T20I of this Ashes by a massive 72 runs – they also lost the first by 57 runs – Lewis denied that the eight-points-all draw in 2023 had given his side too much confidence.Instead, he said, it was a case of England being unable to execute in the crucial moments of this series and adapt in the face of a relentless Australian side at home.No one in a position to effect change has offered a solution to that in all the early picking over England’s defeat, and there were worrying signs even before that.Lewis expressed concern ahead of the series about the hectic schedule – which was the same for both sides.He also suggested that a Bondi Beach packed on a Sunday morning with swimmers and touch rugby players gave Australia an inherent advantage in terms of athleticism and talent pool (there was no pun intended, despite how bizarre the notion was).Young, inexperienced players learning their craft on the international stage has been mentioned more than once as another explanation for England’s struggles.It was all sounding like excuses.Meanwhile, Australia were the team with real problems in terms of injuries to key players and yet they took it all in their stride to grind their opposition into the dirt.The hosts were without injured captain Alyssa Healy and key allrounder Ash Gardner for the T20 leg of the series, with Mooney standing in as wicketkeeper and vice-captain Tahlia McGrath stepping up to the senior role.Healy’s availability for the Test was uncertain right up until match eve, causing uncertainty over the batting order for a time.Australia’s dominance of the Women’s Ashes was absolute•AFP/Getty ImagesAustralia wiped the T20Is 3-0 and scored 440 in the Test, including centuries for Mooney and Annabel Sutherland for a 270-run lead on first innings. They did so with Ellyse Perry coming in at No.10 after injuring her hip in the field on the first day.After the Test, Healy announced that she faced a period on the sidelines to resolve her foot stress injury and said she was “going to have a look at a couple of things and how I can be better, maybe a bit more disciplined in some areas”.Healy’s assertion that she could do more, even when injured, epitomised Australia’s constant desire to be better even when they are on top.England’s somewhat improved performance in the field on the third afternoon of the Test and the resilience of tailenders Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell in delaying the inevitable amid a nine-wicket innings from Australia spinners Alana King and Gardner can’t paper over the chasm between these sides.Connor herself, may come in for some tough questioning.She announced a sweeping restructure of domestic women’s cricket in the wake of England’s 12-4 home Ashes defeat in 2019, a process that is ongoing with the alignment of women’s teams to county sides starting this spring. Yet the gulf between England and Australia that was supposed to be closed by those changes is now as stark as ever.The ECB has repeatedly talked up their investment in and professionalisation of women’s cricket, which stands to benefit further from the sale of the Hundred franchises. But if the structural changes already underway need more time to come to fruition, then the ECB must manage expectations.The MCG hosting an aggregate crowd of 35,365 over the three days of a dead-rubber, surpassing the record attendance for a women’s Test set at Trent Bridge in 2023 by the end of the second day, further rammed home the strength of the game in Australia.After their weakest performance in the multi-format era of the Women’s Ashes, it is now incumbent upon England to stage a remarkable recovery.

The ODI side is entering a period of change ahead of the next World Cup

Andrew McGlashan07-Mar-20251:22

Agar: Australia building more depth a big positive despite loss

Australia’s transition into their title defence at the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, is now well underway after Steven Smith became the third of the victorious 2023 squad to retire from the format following David Warner and Marcus Stoinis. There could well be more to follow in the coming months as players take stock of their careers.A core group should remain for the selectors to build around as they make their plans over the next two years – Pat Cummins told ESPNcricinfo recently that the next World Cup was still firmly in his sights as captain – but how often Australia will field what could be termed their strongest team in bilateral ODIs remains to be seen given the game’s cluttered schedule, which includes a T20 World Cup next year and the ongoing priority of Test cricket.Related

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In situations like this, it’s fun to look into the crystal ball and have an (educated) guess at those that could come into the frame. For the purpose of this exercise, here’s six names who were not part of the Champions Trophy squad – so therefore doesn’t include the likes of Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tanveer Sangha and Spencer Johnson – that could be in the mix for the next generation of Australia’s ODI side.Cameron GreenIt’s certainly not pulling a rabbit out of a hat to include Green’s name here. He would have been part of the Champions Trophy squad had it not been for the back injury that required surgery in October. But he shapes as a pivotal figure heading into 2027 because, like with the Test side, of the balance he can bring. He may be the ideal replacement for Smith at No. 3 given he is a frontline batter who has different gears. Last season he twice batted No. 3 against West Indies and was then at No. 4 in England before his injury. With Stoinis retired and Mitchell Marsh’s future uncertain, Green’s pace bowling will also be important although there may be a need to manage his workload.Mitchell Owen could come into the selectors’ planning•Getty ImagesSam KonstasMatt Short, whose Champions Trophy was ended by injury, would appear in pole position to be Travis Head’s long-term opening partner but things can change. At 19, Konstas has plenty of World Cup cycles ahead of him and there is a decent argument to say that he should be given time to settle his red-ball game before thoughts are given to another international format. Finding the right tempo has been a challenge since his dramatic arrival into Test cricket against India, but his best innings of the last few weeks came in the One-Day Cup for New South Wales where he battled through cramp to make an 82-ball century when the next-highest score was 34.Mitchell OwenIt was, perhaps, no surprise to see people asking the question around the Champions Trophy: “Why haven’t they called up Mitch Owen?” This season he has gone from a fringe state and BBL player into a name attracting global interest after two T20 hundreds – including the spectacular 108 off 42 balls in the BBL final – followed by 149 off 69 balls in the One-Day Cup. A T20 call-up in the near future feels quite likely and the selectors may well consider having a look at him in the ODI format to see whether that formidable striking power he possesses can be consistently translated into the longer game. His seam bowling adds another handy dimension.Xavier Bartlett made a fine start to his ODI career•AFP/Getty ImagesWill SutherlandAnother allrounder of significant promise, Sutherland’s combination of splice-jarring fast-medium and his evolving middle-order batting will keep him in the selectors’ conversations. Despite Victoria falling short, he was impressive in the recent One-Day Cup final with 3 for 67 and 50. Although in a different format, his 70 off 45 balls for Melbourne Renegades against Perth Scorchers was one of the innings of the BBL season after his team had been 10 for 4 chasing 148 at Optus Stadium. However, consecutive winters hit by stress fractures in his back mean that he will continue to be carefully monitored.Xavier BartlettGiven the number of absentees from the pace attack, Bartlett was unlucky not to be a replacement for the Champions Trophy. In two ODIs against West Indies last year he took eight wickets but has not played since with injury ruling him out of the England series in September then a carefully managed return through the T20Is against Pakistan. It is uncertain whether both Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will reach the next World Cup, but conditions in southern Africa could be ideal for someone who can gain sharp movement with the new ball.Lance MorrisGiven how much Morris has been talked about over the last few years, it will be an incredible frustration to him that his international career has so far been limited to three ODIs as he nurses his way through various back problems and other injuries. When on song, no one is quicker in Australian cricket. Someone with his skillset could be a real X-factor on some of the faster South Africa pitches that may be offered up in 2027 but, with Test cricket also an ambition, it could come down to what his body will allow.