The muddle in the England dressing room is not about picking Steve Harmison at Edgbaston or of missing Matthew Hoggard at Headingley. England cannot seem the find the rope ever since they lost their way at Lord’s. History is dangling the carrot in front of South Africa yet again at Edgbaston and the visitors are most definitely in with yet another great opportunity in the third Test. Can they do it this time and win a series in England? Tension’s in the air!
It is amazing how Darren Pattinson alone caused England’s downfall at Headingley or so some knowledgeable people would have us believe. But if cricket is a team game, what happened to the many strong hands that kept this team on a streak when they fielded an unchanged side for six Tests in a row before Pattinson was brought in?
The choice of bowler may have well been debatable. But what is not is that England jumped ship at the first signs of South African resistance at Lord’s and never quite made it to shore after that. But England find themselves in serious trouble and no amount of excuses will see England get out with a draw, even less a win. The thinking within their dressing room is far from clear. They decided Paul Collingwood was excess luggage and left him out in the cold at Headingley. While he lay pondering about his Test future, England found Pattinson’s selection as the perfect foil on which to base the cause of their failure.
Instead England could have taken a leaf out of the South Africans’ diary. Their bowling strayed and sprayed at Lord’s. But there was a marked improvement in Headingley. What was heartening was the fact that rather than resting heavily on Makhaya Ntini, the bowling attack was led well by Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. South Africa had also an in form Ashwell Prince partnering AB de Villiers, each making big centuries in a partnership that would set any team back.
Ironically South Africa showed at Lord’s that it could be done, saving the match after following on. All the draw talk were shoved into the drawer. (It happened at Headingley as well and then again in India’s first Test in Sri Lanka.) England though were done in by their first innings’ measly total and it was only some gumption from the gritty lower order (including Pattinson who stuck around nonchalantly while Stuart Broad knocked some around) that annoyed the South African openers into putting on their pads and bat for the single digit chase.
England do not know whether to put their foot forward or back. And it shows in their selection. Collingwood comes back before he has had enough time to contemplate his future. Steve Harmison felt vindicated being included in the squad for this Test. But England seem to want to go for the familiar in the bowling department as well which means Ryan Sidebottom will most likely come back from injury. Andrew Flintoff did not meet expectations at Headingley expectedly. But his inclusion will mean someone must move aside and in all likelihood, it may well be Broad. That is unfortunate given that Broad has bowled impressively in spells and his batting has been invaluable for England given the fragility of Michael Vaughan up the order and Collingwood’s struggle in the middle.
South Africa stand yet again on a glorious opportunity to put it past England in their own backyard. Be it 1993-‘94 or 2003, South Africa have lost opportunity to beat England at home and had to settle for less. But they need to overcome one, perhaps two, potential blows. Graeme Smith needs a race-against-time after the back injury he sustained in between Tests playing against a Bangladesh A side. This is where Smith made his colossal 277 in a series that saw Nasser Hussain all at sea and hand over the reins hurriedly to Michael Vaughan. But Vaughan may have a better chance to fight now that he can breathe in Steyn’s absence. Steyn has been ruled out with an injured thumb and how well a hungry, seething Andre Nel will compensate for him will not only be interesting but also, could make the difference between England clawing their way back and South Africa knocking the final nails in the coffin.
Who said Twenty20 was more interesting than Tests? These are nerve racking, and not just for the teams and players!
