Ian Bell seeks solution to short ball as England and India wash and go

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/26/ian-bell-england-india-test-cricket

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With barely time to get the laundry done between matches England and India lock horns again at Southampton on Sunday. The forecast is good (in contrast to the last Test here) and the pitch is true, so another sapping five days can be expected, with emotions and tempers running high. This series may become cricket’s equivalent of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, in which a dance marathon during the Great Depression gradually shreds the minds and bodies of exhausted participants (although, unlike the characters in the film, the English and Indian players are getting well remunerated for their efforts).

England have been doing their best to regroup after that dreadful capitulation on the fifth afternoon at Lord’s, against Ishant Sharma and his bouncers. Ian Bell has pointed out that England have had their chances to win all four Tests this summer; in each they have gained a first-innings lead, but not been ruthless or skilful enough to capitalise on it.

That middle-order collapse at Lord’s is bound to have left scars. Bell knows the form. “We have to get that clarity. It will happen again this week and we have to find a method of either getting out of the way of the short balls or keeping the ball down. We have tried short balls ourselves and Sri Lanka and India have all got out of the way of them.

“They will throw that challenge at us again this week no doubt. We have spoken about it now and it should never be a shock in Test cricket if someone goes round the wicket to you and tries the short ball. I suppose the key is to get out of the way for one or two overs and they might give up on it.”

That sounds so obvious and simple, yet at Lord’s such a strategy was beyond England. Their bowling will have to improve at Southampton as well. They were poor in helpful conditions at the start of the match and often lacklustre when the pitch had changed colour. There has been much talk of “rotation”. Perhaps the theory will be put into practice this time, though in the past we have witnessed a tendency to cling on to the senior men like comfort blankets.

For today’s Test it makes sense not to rotate Jimmy Anderson. Who knows? He may not be available later in the series, after his hearing, so it is imperative to use him while he is available. Moreover he has looked more effective than Stuart Broad this summer.

Broad is a streaky bowler who can suddenly transform a game – always a good reason to have him in the side. But at Lord’s he was down on pace and the least potent of the pace quartet. He often has to strain to bowl fast, which is why he is prone to injury. By the end of the last Test he did not look 100% fit. There is a strong case to “rotate” him at Southampton, which would mean Chris Jordan returning to the team.

Ben Stokes is currently a source of exasperation; he bowled well at Lord’s but he literally cannot score a run. Stokes is a cricketer who will rarely occupy the anonymous middle ground throughout his career. They will consider replacing him with Chris Woakes.

India, though thrilled to find themselves 1-0 in the series, also have concerns. Shikhar Dhawan has only flickered while Virat Kohli has barely been sighted at all – but expect them to keep the faith with two of their most exalted batsmen.

Meanwhile, to the possible relief of inexperienced English batsmen, Ravi Ashwin – the unconventional off-spinner, with a Test batting average of 39 – remains on the sidelines. There is a possibility that a specialist batsman, Rohit Sharma, will replace the all-rounder Stuart Binny. This would be the equivalent of the wily old manager in the dug-out bringing on a defensive midfielder to shore things up, having just taken the lead.

England (possible): Cook (capt), Robson, Ballance, Bell, Root, Moeen Ali, Buttler (wkt), Jordan, Broad, Plunkett, Anderson

India (possible): Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, R Sharma, Dhoni (captain, wkt), Jadeja, Kumar, Shami, I Sharma

Umpires: R Tucker (Aus) and M Erasmus (SA).

Match referee: D Boon (Aus)