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Joe Root urges selectors to consider more than runs after Tests ball switch
Joe Root has warned England’s selectors they must look beyond the runs column when choosing their Ashes top order this summer following the switch in ball that could make Test batting a very different beast to the county game.
While the home World Cup that starts on 30 May will draw much of the focus over the next two months, Ed Smith and his scouting network must divert to the fortunes of domestic players as they look to address an ever-troublesome Test top three.
There was an avalanche of runs scored during the opening rounds of the County Championship, which was attributed to the 2019 Dukes ball having a less prominent seam (as well as the return of the heavy roller). It is a trend that may well continue when the competition resumes next week.
But with England confirming they have ordered a batch of the bowler-friendly 2017-18 Dukes balls for this summer’s Test cricket against Ireland and Australia, Root, the captain, is wary that high domestic returns alone could prove misleading.
“I’m all in favour of the switch,” said Root, speaking at the launch of this year’s NatWest #NoBoundaries campaign. “The batter in me is disappointed but the captain in me is very happy. It gives us a great opportunity to take 20 wickets.
“But [the selectors] have got to be really quite astute in the way they look at things – they have a big responsibility to look out for, not just weight of runs, but how batsmen are scoring them, who they are scoring them against and the surfaces.”
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Needless to say, the return to the Dukes with which Jimmy Anderson took 67 Test wickets at 16 runs apiece over the past two summers has been welcomed by his strike-partner, Stuart Broad, who felt compelled to contact Ashley Giles, the director of England cricket, with his concerns over the 2019 edition.
Broad, who actually picked up a five-wicket haul against Somerset during the early exchanges in April, said: “It was brilliant leadership and decision making to change the ball. I told Gilo I didn’t think the 2019 ball was international quality. It went out of shape early and the period between 35 and 80 overs was dull.
“It’s not pro-England – Australia have brilliant bowlers – it’s just a sensible, logical decision that makes the cricket more exciting. The 2019 ball could, if the sun shines, have been 600 plays 600 and we just shake hands at the end.”
Broad expects the newly qualified Jofra Acher to make his Test debut this year and purred with admiration for the 24-year-old’s languid action and pace. Indeed, last year saw the veteran of 126 Tests reach out to Archer via mutual friend Luke Wright to get his views on shortening his run-up, despite the pair having never previously met.
“We’ll need a battery of fast bowlers and I can’t see a way that Jofra doesn’t play a part in this Ashes series,” said Broad. “He has got rhythm, generates pace with ease, a good character and bowls well to left-handers – everything you need to succeed.”
Beyond the boundary, Broad also spoke about the recent decision by England to remove Alex Hales from the World Cup squad after a second failed test for recreational drugs. It was one he endorsed too, despite personally consoling his county teammate in the aftermath.
Broad said: “I had him round my house the day after, just to chill and watch some football. He was naturally devastated. But he was very aware he’d made a couple of dreadful decisions and in my opinion, the correct decision was made. He seems OK but it will be hard for him once the World Cup kicks off.”
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