Exposed: Weak Links in The England Test Team Playing India

The weaknesses in the England Test team that is going to play India in a five Test series starting 1 August.

England were one of the two teams who competed in the first-ever Test match – in Melbourne in 1877 – and now are set to become the first team to play in a 1000 Tests when they take on India in the series opener on 1 August at Edgbaston.

In the 999 Test matches they’ve played so far, England have:

• Won 357 Tests (35.7%) & Lost 297 Tests (29.7%)
• Handed Test caps to 686 players
• Had 80 different captains
• Played at 72 different venues

(For the latest scores, news and updates during India’s Test series against England, click here)

Moving onto the series that’s going to see five Test matches played out over the next six week and generally, it is the host nation that begins favourites at the start of a series.

But that principle won’t necessarily apply to this one between England and India. Here’s why Joe Root’s side shouldn’t be counted as favourites in this series:

1. England Ranked Lower Than India

Hosts England are ranked 5th in the ICC Test rankings, while visitors India are the top-ranked team in the 10-team table

2. England Aren’t Invincible At Home

Unlike many of the top teams who are invincible at home, England aren’t unbeatable on home soil. There used to be a time, a few years ago, when England would generally roll over opponents when playing at home, particularly against the sub-continent teams. Not any more though.

If England’s results in home Test matches are analysed in four-year periods, England have lost several Test matches in these last four years. Starting 2015, they have lost 8 of their 23 home Test matches – nearly as many as they lost in their last two four-year periods put together.

In their last 15 home Test matches, England have been at the receiving end at the hands of Pakistan (thrice), West Indies and South Africa.

Here’s exposing a few of the weak links in the England line-up

1. Search For Cook’s Opening Partner Continues

There has been only one constant in the context of England’s opening pair in recent times. In Test matches starting November 2012 – which was when England began their search for a replacement for Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook has been the one constant presence at the top of the innings. Since then, England have tried 14 different opening pairs.

England have had a drought – in terms of century partnerships at the top – in the 16 Tests they’ve played since 2017. In this period, England’s opening partnership average reads an unimpressive 21.45 – their openers only managing 4 half-century partnerships in 29 outings.

While Cook has received the benefit of a long rope, and has delivered with a big knock every now and then, England have struggled to find a performing second opener. In Tests since 217, England have tried Mark Stoneman and Keaton Jennings at the top, but both players have failed to deliver the goods. Therein lies an opportunity for England to tap.

There is a visible deterioration in quality in the openers England have chosen recently. When Andrew Strauss was chosen to play for England, he averaged 42.38 in first-class cricket, while Cook averaged 42.88 in first-class cricket before his Test debut. But in recent times, the likes of Stoneman and Jennings got called up to the most demanding format of the game despite averaging a modest 35.73 and 35.89 respectively.

2. Who’s Going to Score The Hundreds?

Test matches are generally won on the basis of batsmen scoring hundreds and powering their team to a big total, and bowlers dismissing the opponents twice.

Unfortunately for England, their batsmen haven’t scored too many hundreds in recent Test matches. In the 16 Test matches since the start of 2017, England has realised only 9 hundreds from its batsmen. In contrast, India have played 15 Tests – one fewer than England – but has realised a total of 22 hundreds from the batsmen.

Yes, the opponents were different, the conditions were different, and the challenges in front of two teams were different. But while England could only convert 15% of the 59 50-plus scores to three-figure scores, Indian batsmen converted 37% of their 50-plus scores to tons.

3. Who Will Take The Wickets

If the Indian team review the debacle on the previous tour of England, they will realise that they conceded 44 wickets to James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The new ball pair were England’s only strike bowlers and were rewarded for their consistency and for being at the batsmen all the time.

Had the Indian batsmen handled Moeen Ali better and not given away the 19 wickets they did, they could have milked the rest of the bowling attack which was largely inexperienced at the Test level.

The experience factor with the England bowling attack will be pretty much the same it was on the previous tour. Anderson and Broad will continue to spearhead the England attack, but there is very little else in terms of quality in the support cast. Ben Stokes, who is returning from injury, has experience at the Test level and is rated among the top all-rounders in international cricket; but he is definitely not in the same class as Anderson and Broad. And then, there are Sam Curran and Jamie Porter, who are new to the Test cricket arena.

England don’t have too much sting in their spin bowling attack too. Yes, Moeen Ali did plenty of damage with the ball when India toured England in 2014, but in the 43 Tests since that series, the England off-spinner – who wouldn’t be a specialist spinner in an Indian state side – has picked up 111 wickets at an average of 43.18 at a strike-rate of 71.01.

The selection of Adil Rashid has evoked plenty of debate in the English media; the leg-spinner, who last played a Test match in December 2016 and last played a first-class match in September 2017, has been picked on the basis of the selector’s instinct. Adapting to the demands of the 5-day game will be a huge challenge, and it will be interesting to see if England are actually brave enough to field him in the XI.

They say a team is only as good as the weakest of its weak link. This current England team remains exposed with glaring deficiencies in both its batting and bowling departments. Therein lines the opportunity for Virat Kohli and his teammates to capitalise and take advantage of the weak links which exist in the England line-up.