As the final Ashes Test between Australia and England gets under way in Sydney, readers got the chance to ask Daily Mail Sport columnist Sir Jimmy Anderson what he made of a series that began with hope but ends amid scrutiny over the future of those who oversaw a fourth straight defeat down under. Here is what he said:
Now England have finally won a Test, how hard is it to get up for a dead rubber when you know the series is done? – Graeme T, Stevenage
Obviously the series is gone, which is disappointing, but you have to find different ways to get up for a game like this as there’s still plenty to play for. From a pride point of view, a 3-2 scoreline would be much better than 4-1. There’s plenty of English fans out there too, so you want to give them something to cheer about. Also, there’s personal pride for players as well, wanting to put in a performance to ensure that you’re worthy of your place in the team, or that you can perform well in a Test match in Australia. It’s just finding different things to motivate you,
How many of those who started the series would you expect to be playing in the first Test next summer? – Sam F, Nuneaton
It’s an interesting one because there’s always a massive inquest after an Ashes defeat away from home. Firstly, it’ll depend on the management and captaincy side of things. If everyone stays in their positions, then I think the majority of the team that we see in this Test will be around in the summer. Looking at the positions that have been in question, I expect the openers will stay the same, because they’ve done a reasonable job throughout the series and although he’s had a disappointing series, Ben Duckett’s had a good career so far. Zak Crawley has shown enough and done well out of a bad series for England. The big talking point will be Jacob Bethell. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a little run now at three. Does Will Jacks keep his place? Possibly not. They might go back to Shoaib Bashir. Then, the bowlers will completely depend on fitness. There might be the odd new face in the bowling group next summer if guys aren’t available – a Sonny Baker, or someone like that, might play a Test.
Daily Mail Sport columnist Sir Jimmy Anderson answers readers questions following England’s Ashes series defeat by Australia
Jacob Bethell could be given a run at three as England rebuild following their Ashes defeat
England could also go back to Shoaib Bashir as a spinner following the series Down Under
What’s the biggest on-field mistake that England have made in this series? – Daniel S, Grimsby
With the bat, it was not adapting to the conditions in the first two Tests. Some poor shot selection against certain bowlers on tricky batting surfaces. We saw in the fourth innings of the third and fourth Tests, players playing the way we expected them to play.
From a bowling point of view, it was just execution of skill that was lacking. The reason Australia won the first few Tests was because their bowling attack bowled better than ours, hitting their areas more consistently and putting pressure on the English batting line-up. There have been periods when England’s attack bowled well, but I think generally the execution was off.
Matt Prior said Jamie Smith needs to be louder… did you like bowling to a wicketkeeper who constantly chirped? – Callum R, Cambridge
I don’t think Matt was necessarily saying Smith needed to be louder. He just wanted to see a little bit more energy because the wicketkeeper is someone everyone on the field and people on TV can see, and his body language at times has been pretty poor. It looks quite low energy behind the stumps. You want to see a little bit of buzz, because your wicketkeeper leads that energy from a fielding point of view. I’d like to see more visual signs from Smith, but I don’t think chirping or being loud is vital.
Being loud is not vital for a wicketkeeper but I would like to see more visual signs from Jamie Smith
With speculation over McCullum, do you think having a coach combining the red-ball and white-ball roles is a good or bad thing? – Ben A, Winnersh
It can be difficult, especially when you’re coach of England, as being the only Northern Hemisphere team we are the only nation that plays 12 months of the year. Other teams have bigger gaps. So, I think it could potentially be easier for other nations to have a coach that covers all formats. We saw Marcus Trescothick take over for the Ireland one-day series last September and that is a sign that doing everything take its toll. But, having worked with him, if anyone can do it, it’s Brendon. He is fairly level and consistent in terms of his manner, he’s got good energy levels, and because there is a lot of overlap in terms of personnel, I also think you want a consistent message throughout all teams. It’s still quite early days in his England white-ball coaching career, but we’ve got a Twenty20 World Cup coming up very soon and after a poor Ashes and a poor Champions Trophy in the past 12 months, it’s shaping as quite a big tournament for him and the management team.
Have you noticed any differences in Ben Stokes’ captaincy in this series compared to when you were playing under him? – Martina, Swindon
He’s done a couple of things from a tactical point of view that maybe he didn’t get quite right in the first few Tests. The pitch in Perth, for example, leant itself to bowling in good areas, and England went to bowling short too soon. Generally, though, it’s a really difficult job captaining England, especially in Australia when you’re on the end of a couple of bad defeats, and I think he will learn from it. It’s his first time doing it in an away Ashes and personally I want him to keep doing the job because he’s done some amazing things for the Test team and he’s the right man to get this team back to winning like they were at the start of his reign.
The upcoming Twenty20 World Cup is shaping up to be quite a big tournament for Brendon McCullum and the management team
I want Ben Stokes to remain as captain and believe he is the right man to get England winning again
This Aussie side is nowhere near full strength and their batting line-up looks a bit thin. How much of a missed opportunity is this series? – Raj, Stourbridge
Quite a big one, because if you’d have given the Australia team sheets to England for the first four Tests a month before the series, you’d have been thinking: ‘Wow, this is very doable.’ There has been an element of doubt around Australia’s team throughout and big players have been missing. No Josh Hazlewood, someone you’d have expected to play a big part. No Pat Cummins for the first couple of Tests, Steve Smith missed the third Test. There was doubt around their openers, Travis Head had to move up the order. Marnus Labuschagne’s form’s been poor. Certain things have made you think: ‘God, that could play into England’s hands.’ There’s only been a couple of their players that have actually stood up – Head and Alex Carey with the bat, Mitchell Starc with the ball. Pre-series, you’d have taken Michael Neser and Scott Boland being Australia’s danger bowlers, but they’ve done a fantastic job. So England will will be kicking themselves.
Which up and coming players in the county game would you like to see given a chance by England? – Richard, Ripon
Rehan Ahmed. He would be a spinning option, but also strengthen the batting. They obviously went down the Will Jacks route. Looking at Rehan’s form throughout last summer for Leicestershire with the bat, though, hitting five hundreds from No 3, I thought he deserved a chance. Obviously, his bowling’s getting better and better. He’s played Test matches before. It might have been too big a step in an Ashes series to throw him in, but I definitely think if he continues his form, he can do a job in this team. I’ve also been impressed with Ben McKinney for Durham. Someone with potential, who’s a bit different, being very tall. I spent a month with him in the Hundred and I was impressed with his mindset and his approach to cricket – very positive, very calm, doesn’t get flustered around pressure. So, I think he could be someone to offer an opportunity to further down the line.
The coaching setup hasn’t been very settled on this tour, especially on the bowling side – how much does that affect a team? – Kishan, Doncaster
It can affect the team. Getting a bowling coach in so late, even someone who’s worked with England before, makes things difficult. You need to know the bowlers and how to communicate with them and I’d expect a bowling coach, especially an Australian, to have a big impact on the tactics side of it. As I said about Ben’s captaincy, something that could have been better in those first few Tests was the tactical approach. Then, there’s executing plans, and I don’t think the bowlers have executed the plans well enough either. It can be tricky getting someone in last minute and everyone getting to know each other. From the players’ point of view, you’ve got to get to know the bowling coach, the way he thinks about the game, and from a bowling coach point of view, you must know how the players respond to the information that you give them.
Rehan Ahmed deserves another chance with England following his county form last year
I have been impressed with Ben McKinney, who could be give an opportunity to further down the line
Congrats on being named Lancashire red-ball captain for next summer. What kind of captain will you be and what elements will you take from captains and coaches you played under? – Ryan, Salford
As captain, I feel like it’s my job to try to get the best out of everyone and make sure they’re enjoying it, first and foremost, because the county season can be quite a long slog. Keeping the energy levels up and being positive throughout are essential. We showed some good signs at the back end of last year that we’ve got a team strong enough to get promoted: all our stats from the second half of the season were first and second place form.
It’s just about trying to get that form early on in the season, especially when you start off with six or seven County Championship games in a block. You’ve got to hit the ground running and make the most of it. Last year, it was probably too late for us and we were always fighting an uphill battle. I do look at the England team and will learn from various aspects of different captains I’ve played under, but essentially, it’s about doing the best you can with the players that you’ve got, and getting the best out of them. Last season, I really enjoyed that aspect. It’s different to international cricket, because you’ve got different things to take into account like guys being in the last year of their contracts and it’s trying to find a way of getting them to forget about that and make sure they’re performing as best they can on the field.
I quite enjoyed the leadership role allowing me to be a bit more vocal, more hands-on, and I tried to be quite analytical about performances, good or bad.
How do you feel about the experiment with the Kookaburra ball in county cricket being over? Were you a fan of using it over here? Did it help bowlers going to Australia in your experience? Help our young bowlers in any way? Keith, Winchester
I’m delighted that it’s over. I don’t think it helped anyone. Especially the time of year when the balls were used, when teams needed results – we were playing on some pitches that were sort of manufactured to redress the balance between bat and ball. Some were roughed up at the ends, so the spinners could play a part and a large amount of grass was left on the middle of the wicket, so the seamers could get something out of it. It shouldn’t be like that. But it was necessary, because of the large number of draws in the Kookaburra rounds. If you’re looking ahead to four years’ time, and you’ve seen the bounce that was a feature of that first Test in Perth, why not try to get some pitches over here that have a bit of pace and bounce in them? That would help bowlers and batters a lot more than using a different ball, I think.