The selectors have chosen so many players for the Old Trafford Test that there will be an array of options for Alastair Cook and Trevor Bayliss on Friday morning. This time England’s captain will be unable to repeat the observation of one of his predecessors, AC MacLaren, which was reported by Neville Cardus of the Guardian – so it must be true. “My God, look what they [the selectors] have sent me,” MacLaren exclaimed in horror before the Manchester Test against Australia in 1902, which England ended up losing by three runs.
One of Cook’s options for the second Test against Pakistan on Friday will be to play Ben Stokes as a batsman rather than a bowler, which would mean having to make a choice between James Vince and Gary Ballance in the middle order. The contrast between these two players could hardly be more stark.
Watch Vince for 10 minutes and these are the likeliest conclusions: he is a lovely strokemaker, whose fluid cover drive is reminiscent of Michael Vaughan in his pomp. He is easy on the eye, eager to attack and he plays shots that can take the breath away; he favours the offside like the amateurs of old; he oozes a touch of class.
Concentrate on Ballance for 10 minutes and the clock seems to tick more slowly. Just before the ball is released he rocks back on his stocky shanks, though they are twiglets compared to Mike Gatting’s “billiard table legs”, then often props forward at the last moment letting the ball hit his bat. Or he might nudge a couple of runs into a gap at midwicket or punch through the covers. It is fair to say that elegance is not his prime consideration. Spectators are seldom left breathless unless they are sprinting to the bar. For style and artistic impression Vince trumps Ballance every time. But, as Bayliss pointed out after the Lord’s Test, ultimately it is all about runs in the book.
A similar contrast was evident when watching England Under-19s play in 2003. There was Ravi Bopara in his Tendulkar pads stroking the ball effortlessly around the field against a South African side which included AB de Villiers, Vernon Philander, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy. He also oozed class and was clearly a name to remember as the ball was silkily dispatched from his presence.
At the other end there was a lean, slight crabby left-hander, hanging in there, scraping out a few runs in an unnoteworthy manner: Cook, of course. Ballance can be equally forgettable at the crease but his attributes have obviously not escaped Bayliss, who spoke well of him after the Lord’s Test: “He has a tough head on his shoulders. He might not look a million dollars but sometimes Cooky doesn’t look a million dollars and he’s got 10,000 runs.”
This is not to denigrate the mellifluous players, who can cause gasps of pleasure. There can be style and substance.
Think of David Gower, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, who share 24,139 Test runs between them. But there have also been those who could enchant and amaze in county cricket without prevailing in Test cricket. Mark Ramprakash (52 Tests with an average of 27) and Graeme Hick (65 at 31) were regular sources of exasperation.
There were others who were dashing and dominant for their counties yet somehow they flickered and faded away after selection. Think of Frank Hayes, a magnificent blond athlete for Lancashire in the 70s (nine Tests at 15 despite an unbeaten century on debut), Wayne Larkins, who habitually “nedded” county bowlers when playing for Northamptonshire (13 Tests at 20) and Glamorgan’s Matthew Maynard (four Tests at 10), who could destroy county bowlers. Visions of the ball driven by Maynard over my head and then bouncing back towards me after making contact with the distant tarpaulin sightscreen at Weston Super Mare still linger. Vince must hope to avoid being added to this list.
By the same token consider the pragmatists for whom it is often harder to catch the selector’s eye. England came to recognise the worth of Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood, who battled their way to the top without the benefit of being heralded and cosseted as great Under-19 cricketers. Some, like the great Ken Barrington and John Edrich, were appreciated. Others have not been so lucky. If prompted – not very hard – David Steele is testimony to that. He could never be described as a stylist yet standing proud under his England cap he played eight Tests against the pacemen of Australia and West Indies, averaging 42, and was rejected for the tour of India and thereafter.
He might say: “Look at the figures. It’s how many rather than how that counts.” And in the current situation they favour Ballance, who despite the recent setbacks still averages 46 in Test cricket and 49 in the first-class game. If England have to make a choice on Friday then Ballance rather than Vince is likely to remain – to the dismay of the aesthetes but perhaps not the old pros.
