And so the balance of the bowlers begins.
A five-Test series requires thought. Even more so now that England have edged ahead after a thrilling chase at Headingley. Few bowlers can last five games in a row, and so compared to their batting counterparts who can knuckle down and cash in on finding some form – or rather find themselves in a doom loop of coming up against the same bowlers who have worked them out – the individuals with ball in hand will chop and change.
Results dictate everything. And so while the victorious England have decided to go into the second Test unchanged, it could be all change for the defeated India.
India’s selection strategy revolves around the fitness of their star Jasprit Bumrah, the best bowler in the world. Five Tests in a row over the winter against Australia proved too much for him, and in his final match he suffered a stress fracture to his back.
India have doubled down on their plan to only select the quick bowler for three of the five matches against England.
Why they have so publicly committed to the plan is anyone’s guess, as such is the pattern of the series that there are significant gaps between the first and second Tests and the third and fourth. It means that Bumrah could easily have played matches one, two and four and then India would have been able to give themselves the leeway of playing him in a potential decider without making a public U-turn. But head coach Gautam Gambhir has refused the option of flexibility.
“We won’t change it,” said Gambhir in the immediate aftermath of the defeat at Headingley. “For us to manage his workload is more important. There is a lot of cricket going forward.”
India have decided to leave it to the very last minute to announce whether he will play in the second Test at Edgbaston. In the lead-up, Bumrah has been training at full tilt. Normally, bowlers will taper their workloads in the build-up to a match, suggesting he may sit out. But in reality, it is anyone’s guess.
As the hysteria of England’s historic five-wicket win has faded, a few harsh truths have become clearer about the nature of the win. Because, as brilliant as Ben Duckett and England were on day five, India threw it away. Primarily, through several dropped chances across the match, but also via their lower order, with No 8 to No 11 contributing just nine runs across the Test match.
India’s lack of lower-order batting is exposed away from home. In familiar conditions, they have been able to rely on world-class spin-bowling all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel to offer both runs and wickets. But they lack a seam-bowling all-rounder of similar prestige.
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As a result, they selected Shardul Thakur at Headingley to bat at No 8: a lesser bowler than the likes of Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh who are also in the squad. But better with the bat. He managed just five runs across two innings and was rarely trusted with the ball, delivering only 16 overs of the 160 India bowled across the match.
So what will India do?
They seem certain to opt for one of two spinners. Kuldeep Yadav, a mercurial left-arm wrist spinner who has played just 13 Tests across his career because he has had to wait his turn behind Jadeja and Ashwin for close to a decade. Or Washington Sundar, an off-spinner who, crucially, can bat.
The neutral will hope India opt for Yadav. He performed extremely well against England across the series in India last year and averages just 22 in Test cricket. Veteran Indian cricket writer Syd Monga, who is as close to Indian cricket as anyone, describes Yadav as the best wrist spinner since Shane Warne or Anil Kumble – the second and fourth leading wicket-takers in Test cricket history, respectively.
India could also opt to select Deep or Singh in place of Prasidh Krishna, who was expensive across the opening Test. Deep has impressed since his Test debut last year, but solves none of the batting issues, while Singh is yet to debut but offers a left-arm option and comes with huge praise from his former Indian Premier League (IPL) coach Ricky Ponting.
By contrast, England have named an unchanged team. But the likelihood of that lasting the series is slim to nil. Gus Atkinson, their leading wicket-taker since he made his debut a year ago, is due back at some stage across the series. Mark Wood is hoping to be rolled out for the fifth Test as a late trump card, while Jofra Archer is back in the squad and ready to go.
“The whole Jofra plan has been a long time in the making,” England’s managing director Rob Key said last week. “Where it’s been about building up all the way throughout.”
Archer made his first County Championship appearance for Sussex in four years last week, but it would be wrong to argue he’s being dropped back into the Test squad without a back catalogue of cricket. Since the start of last year he has played 29 white-ball games for England. In the recent IPL season he played a full role for Rajasthan Royals.
“Jofra is such a talent. He was straight on the money,” said Key, referring to Archer’s outing for Sussex. “He ain’t gonna forget how to bowl. So when that call comes up, we’re not going to be concerned.”
Across a five-Test series, stories and sub-genres emerge as two teams go to their back catalogues in order to maximise their chances of winning. On Wednesday, the battle of Birmingham, and the balancing of bowlers, begins.
