London, December 13, 2013 : .Former England captain Nasser Hassain has asked Joe Root and Co.
for a “we will show them” mentality ahead of the Ashes Second Test in Adelaide.Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes were also urged by Hussain to get rid of negativity in the dressing room.England is 1-0 down.They must win the Day-night Test at Adelaide in order to be able to come back in the five match series.
England’s mentality is the most important.Any suggestion of Joe Root’s ‘here’ again in the dressing-room will be quelled by Chris Silverwood or Ben Stokes.They must adopt a stance of “we’ll prove them”.”They have to be convinced that they can turn the Ashes series around,” Hussain wrote Monday in his Daily Mail column.
Hussain reminded that England needed to win in the first innings.This was not what happened in Brisbane.
The talk is now about whether Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad should play at Adelaide.But the real issue is England’s batsmanship.
Joe Root is the only batsman to average over 40 runs this year.Most other players aren’t at 30.Rory Burns is the other batter who will reach three figures by 2021.Their first innings must be big.
England will win the second test if they can achieve that feat.While it’s great to see Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner charging Jack Leach, and pounding him into the ground, Australia is 100 against one in pursuit of 147.But it would be a lot more difficult if they were chasing 500.
Hussain felt that either of James Anderson or Stuart Broad could come in for Adelaide Test after being absent from The Gabba Test.
“They should turn up in Adelaide and play the best side for the conditions that greet them there.But there must be a chat with the sports science people and Anderson and Broad themselves because the bowlers who are best suited for this game are probably the ones who have just played.They have overs in their legs now.Having said that I would bring in one of those two big guns depending on who is in the best shape physically after such a long break without playing.”
The 53-year-old said England may retain left-arm spinner Jack Leach instead of making knee-jerk decisions based on what happened at The Gabba.
“Everybody talks about the pink ball, lights and swing in Adelaide but it can spin there too.It can be hot and flat and large parts of the game will not be played under lights and with a new swinging ball.So if England think they need a spinner they should pick Leach or Dom Bess rather than panic and react to what happened at the Gabba.”
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