Chris Tremlett: Four seamers right call for England in Lord’s Ashes Test
A Lord’s Test match is always special, even more so during the Ashes. It is the Home of Cricket and Ben Stokes and his England side will be keen to level up the series after their opening loss to Australia.
The tourists played their part in an exceptional Test match and while the early declaration from England was strange it did set the tone for the rest of the series. We’re in for a cracking further four matches and that will continue today in north London.
Many of us thought Moeen Ali would miss the second Test – for a spinner, a split finger like his just ruins the style and rhythm which players aim to bowl with.
Four seamers in the Ashes?
He played his part in the first Test and he could yet feature again later in the series, but for now it is all eyes on Josh Tongue.
The 25-year-old Worcestershire seamer will be relishing the prospect of an Ashes debut at Lord’s, the ground he got a five-for at against Ireland earlier this year.
He makes up a main attack entirely of seamers – alongside James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson – on a pitch which is expected to be a little bit green.
It is a shame Mark Wood is not quite fit enough to take part at the moment but there’s little doubt he’ll add to the England attack in the future.
But for Tongue this Test represents a chance to make a name for himself, producing a moment that’s spoken about in Ashes folklore for years to come.
He also has the psychological asset that he took the wicket of Steve Smith in the County Championship this year – it was the former captain’s first ever dismissal in domestic English cricket.
And though I do think four seamers is the right way to go at Lord’s, which has favoured pacers in the past, I worry about the pressure which could be put on Joe Root.
Root pressure
With no Moeen and existing concerns over Stokes’s fitness, there’s a lot of pressure on Root to offer spin if required by his captain – especially with the added expectation of being the current world No1 batsman.
It’s a lot to handle for the former England captain but the 32-year-old is a calming presence in the England squad and he’d be up there alongside anyone you’d bet on to guide the side home.
I think this is an exciting England side, given that Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum could only pick from the squad named for the opening two Tests.
Johnny Bairstow will need to show he can take the kind of catches he missed at Edgbaston and the likes of Harry Brook and Ben Duckett will need to pile on runs at the Home of Cricket, but the side is exciting and it’s a consolidation of Bazball.
Tongue has the chance to make an impact on this Ashes series, but above anything else England need to ensure they draw level in the series to avoid a scenario where they need to win three out of three to regain the Ashes.