English cricket’s default talking point ahead of a Test series is speculation around the most under-threat position in the top seven. Invariably, there is always someone under the scanner.
This remained the case heading into the first Test against India at Headingley, though this time the debate had a different dynamic to it. For once, England were spoilt for choice. Ollie Pope’s spot was nominally in danger, despite his status as vice-captain, his excellent record at three – where he averages 43 – and that he scored 171 in his previous Test knock.
Ordinarily, such a record would guarantee selection. But so alluring is Jacob Bethell’s immense potential, the debate, encouraged by England’s refusal to offer clarity on the identity of their first choice No.3, dominated the pre-series build-up.
Only time will tell if England made the correct call but it is unlikely to be the most consequential component of the England side this series. For the first time in a generation, England’s bowling attack feels like an unknown quantity in home conditions. Perhaps not since the 1993 Ashes, where England gave seven debuts and fielded 24 players, have they put out such an untested bowling attack during a marquee series on home soil.
Alongside the 36-year-old Chris Woakes and a fit-again Ben Stokes, are Shoaib Bashir, who struggles to command a spot for his county, Brydon Carse on home debut and Josh Tongue, playing just his fourth Test. It’s a far cry from even the 2023 Ashes just two summers ago, where alongside the immoveable pairing of Broad and Anderson, England had the likes of Mark Wood, Woakes, and Ollie Robinson – at the time ranked among the top five Test bowlers on the planet – all jostling for places in the XI.
To be fair to England, they have started well in the post-Broaderson era. Gus Atkinson, who missed the Leeds Test through injury, and Bashir have raced to 50 Test wickets, while Carse was electric on the two overseas tours to Pakistan and New Zealand.
The most noticeable difference between the current bowling attack and the one Stokes had at his disposal two years ago is not necessarily in their wicket-taking threat, but their propensity to endure passages of play where the opposition’s scoring rate spirals out of control.
From the 2020 home series to West Indies through to the 2023 Ashes after which Broad retired, England never once conceded their runs at more than 3.4 runs per over across a series. Since the start of 2024, England have conceded their runs at more than 3.49 runs per over in every series they have contested. In the one-off Test in Nottingham three weeks ago, Zimbabwe scored at 4.25 runs per over.
And in truth, India aside at the start of 2024, they have not encountered batting line-ups known for their aggression with the bat.
That new tendency to be expensive was most on show today in a damaging afternoon session as Jaiswal and Gill punished occasional spells of ill-disciplined bowling. India piled on 123 runs at 4.85 runs per over as England were run ragged. Woakes had a probing start to the day but was put to the sword under the afternoon sun, leaking 38 runs from his six middle-session overs. Carse, the standout England seamer before lunch, conceded 35 from six overs after the interval, while Tongue went at a comparatively frugal four runs per over. Too often, the pressure valve was released.
It is a new challenge for England. For decades, their ability to keep things quiet even if wicket-taking opportunities have been hard to come by, has almost been a given. Across a five-Test series there will always be days when bat dominates ball and wickets are hard to come by in the field. The danger for England is that the opposition makes too much ground in those periods between wicket-taking opportunities.
There were some bright sparks for England. Bashir bowled with decent control, continuing his good work from the Trent Bridge Test, while Stokes again looked sharp. If anything, the England skipper was England’s best bowler on show. Given the need to manage his return to full fitness, that is not an ideal position to be in after the first day of potentially era-defining 10-Test stretch.
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