Why Bethell can\u2019t be England\u2019s answer at No.3 yet… and 20-year circus that proves it<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nThe SCG pitch is looking very green days out from the Ashes TestSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think recently that it\u2019s been massive spin out here, but it\u2019s still been a big part.<\/p>\n
\u201cShield cricket over the last couple of years \u2013 which is what I\u2019ve had the main experience in \u2013 has evolved a bit to be more seam-friendly as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that comes from the importance of results in four-day cricket, and I don\u2019t think spin breaks up enough in four days so they\u2019ve probably gone down the path of trying to make it speed up at the start of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think that if you look across all games, spin still plays a massive part in games so there\u2019s always a role for you to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might not be on day four where you\u2019re bowling 30 overs of spin to bowl your team to victory, but it still feels like you\u2019ve always got a part to play in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spin has played a minor role in an Ashes series that has been played at breakneck speed where the quicks have taken advantage of poor techniques and wild shot selections.<\/p>\n
Only nine wickets have been taken by the spinners, with Australian great Nathan Lyon not selected in Brisbane and going down with a hamstring injury in Adelaide where he played a more significant role.<\/p>\n
The green decks and the bouncy conditions have led to fears that there may not be a need for spinners in Australia going forward, but Murphy \u2013 who could be the team\u2019s main option for the next decade \u2013 isn\u2019t worried.<\/p>\n
Both captains critical of MCG pitch | 01:12<\/p>\n
He says the days of ripping through teams in the fourth innings by bowling into the rough may be numbered and that he\u2019s had to adapt with new tactics to play a role in the side. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think going into the series that there was ever a plan or an idea that spin wouldn\u2019t play a role,\u201d he replied when asked about the role of spinners this series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just been how it\u2019s eventuated. I still think there\u2019s definitely a role to play for spin, and I think it will evolve from year to year, and next year it could be different.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think it (spin) is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
PONTING\u2019S CHALLENGE FOR \u2018NERVOUS\u2019 GREEN<\/b><\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting has revealed the biggest flaws in Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne\u2019s games ahead of what shapes as a crucial fifth Ashes Test for the pair.<\/p>\n
Green in particular is under pressure after another underwhelming showing with the bat in Melbourne, where he was run out for 17 in the first innings and then caught for 19 in the second. <\/p>\n
While Green\u2019s scintillating Shield form has always suggested he is capable of taking the next step, he has an average of just 32.25 at the Test level and even if he still has enormous potential at just 26 years old, patience is starting to wear thin. <\/p>\n
The constant moving around in the batting order hasn\u2019t helped either according to Ponting, who said on SEN Radio that Green looks a \u201cvery nervous starter\u201d at the moment.<\/p>\n
Will Webster replace Cameron Green? | 01:56<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything I\u2019ve ever heard around the Australian camp about Cameron Green is just how good they all think he is and could potentially be, but he\u2019s got to start working it out,\u201d Ponting said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got to find a method and a tempo, especially with his batting, in Test cricket that\u2019s going to work for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve moved him from three to five to seven, he\u2019s been all over the place… he\u2019s a very nervous starter, he\u2019s very stiff and very rigid, and being a big, tall man like he is, it probably doesn\u2019t make it any easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some challenges there for him. He\u2019s got to work it out pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ponting also singled out Labuschagne as another Australian batter under pressure ahead of the SCG Test, with the 31-year-old mixing two half-centuries against England with six scores under 20 in this year\u2019s Ashes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still believe there\u2019s a lot of technical flaws he\u2019s got going on at the moment,\u201d Ponting said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Marnus is at his best, he makes batting look relatively easy, but when he\u2019s at his worst, he makes batting look really, really difficult. The last few weeks, he\u2019s made batting look difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a question mark over him… July 2023 was his last Test hundred, that average has dropped dramatically during that period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
BROAD\u2019S \u2018DOMINO EFFECT\u2019 FEAR FOR ENGLAND<\/b><\/p>\n
In other news, Stuart Broad has warned that dismissing ECB managing director Rob Key would spark a \u201cdomino effect\u201d that could see major changes to England\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
While England restored some pride with a victory in the fourth Test, a review into the team\u2019s performance is already underway given the manner in which the series ended prior.<\/p>\n
It means senior England figures, headlined by Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, will come under the spotlight.<\/p>\n
Broad backed Stokes in as skipper on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, declaring he is \u201c100 per cent\u201d the leader England needs.<\/p>\n
But he expressed his concern that if Key was to be removed as part of the review into this year\u2019s series defeat, McCullum and Stokes could soon follow him out the door.<\/p>\n
Broad fears England unrest post Ashes | 01:12<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m concerned of a domino effect if Rob Key loses his position, then Baz would say, \u2018Well, I don\u2019t need the job, he gave me the job, I\u2019m going\u2019. And then Stokes would go, \u2018Well, if Baz is my man, I\u2019m then going\u2019. I\u2019ve been nervous of that,\u201d Broad said.<\/p>\n
Broad went on to concede that there has to be \u201cconversations\u201d given the way England crumbled in the first three Tests, but added that he believes all three should keep their job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will have to be conversations of the preparation and the planning and the selection because, ultimately, we\u2019ve lost the Ashes 3-0 after three games against a team that you feel like were pretty beatable,\u201d Broad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for me, I feel they should continue. They\u2019ve given Baz the white-ball contract as well to the end of the 2027 World Cup, so they should honour that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would remain patient with everyone in their positions at this moment in time, regardless of the result in Sydney.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Usman Khawaja appears set to front the media on Friday amid conjecture the Test veteran could make a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":484835,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50,62],"class_list":{"0":"post-484834","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115820152991524619","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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