Let’s be honest, Joe Root and his players needed the Ben Stokes issue resurfacing this week like a hole in the head. When I wrote at the start of the tour that they should draw a line through his name completely, this was the type of scenario I envisaged.
Here are England’s squad battling hard to defend the Ashes and suddenly the agenda changes with the latest will‑he-won’t-he-play saga. Publicly they will say they are 100% focused on the day-night Test that starts on Saturday and squaring the series. But with their suspended mate pitching up in New Zealand to play some cricket – I’m not buying the “private family holiday” nonsense – questions have followed the players at every juncture and a level of distraction is inevitable.
Hopefully none of this should detract from what is about to unfold at the Adelaide Oval, however. The walk into my old ground is something I have done for nearly 25 years now and my excitement level this year is as high as at any time during my career. Everyone here – players, officials, spectators and media – should not forget that they are about to be part of Ashes history in the first day-night Test between Australia and England. What a privilege. What a prospect.
Top of the to-do list for Root and his bowlers is working out how to crack the Steve Smith code. When a guy is averaging 61 in Test cricket, clearly the answer is not so simple. My suspicion is bowlers get too caught up in his pre‑ball movements. Normally this is the information they look for to find clues and it whirs away in the computer between the ears. But Smith’s quirky backlift to gully and shuffle across are causing the system to malfunction.
Smith is a master of making bowlers go too wide, too soon. And by doing this, he has got them to eliminate two forms of dismissal early. For me, it’s about trying to nail off stump on a good length but the field is the key. Get him needing to manipulate the ball through a busy leg side and there could be a risk or two doing so. If the wicket is flat and he’s ticking along for a sustained period, by all means mix it up. But plan A should be about relentless accuracy and not abandoned too soon in the piece.
The second challenge for England in this day-night Test in particular is Mitchell Starc, the world’s No1 pink‑ball bowler. I call him the master of simplicity. His length ball is probably a bit fuller than most because he’s looking for swing, then there is the bouncer and the yorker which are both incredibly accurate. When you factor in his seamless switches between over and around the wicket, it’s essentially just six types of delivery in his armoury. But these have been grooved to perfection through his lovely smooth action and he should pose the most questions here.
Much has been made of England’s angst against the short ball at the Gabba and that of the tail in particular. The mindset of the lower order should be to just dig deeper than before. Two head-high balls per over means when it’s more into the ribs they have to ride the bounce, tuck it into the leg side to scamper down the other end. But then I appreciate that is like discussing how to get Smith out: easier said than done.
But for all this talk of another bouncer barrage, I believe the Starc yorker, more than anything, is going to be the tail’s danger delivery during this pink‑ball Test. He nails it 90% of the time but for the 10% he’s off – a half-volley or a full toss – there has to be intent to get the ball away for runs, because survival alone won’t be enough.
With Starc going more full with the pink ball, I expect Pat Cummins to be the most aggressive of the three Aussie quicks. Josh Hazlewood, who picked up six wickets here against South Africa last year, will lock in on a length and go for bowled/lbw.
There are player concerns about the quality of the pink Kookaburra ball and they are entirely valid. It goes soft and the cricket can become attritional. But when former players say the records need adjusting to reflect the new format, I have to laugh. My counter is to point out the fact that since Test cricket was born in 1877, it has seen underarm bowling, uncovered pitches, rest days, timeless Tests, laws tweaked after Bodyline … need I go on? It has been an ever-evolving sport and this is just the latest mutation.
I can guarantee you that when Starc is roaring in to bowl to Root and co with the pink ball under lights, with a sold-out crowd crackling away and a beautiful South Australian salmon sky as the backdrop, any grumblings about this – and thoughts of what Stokes is up to in New Zealand – will make way for what should be a wonderful new chapter in the Ashes rivalry.
