England's latest self-destruction confirms fall from grace

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England's lower order inevitably folded amidst a flurry of feeble shots parallel to those played by their more heralded team-mates yesterday. The biggest worry for Andy Flower, Alastair Cook and the beleaguered batting line-up is that they can't put together an acceptable innings on pitches flatter than the Dutch landscape, and against an Australian side who hadn't won a Test in nine before this series.

The shot that Cook played yesterday morning set the tone for a disappointing effort at batting for two days, but it was the way they subsided to a successive first innings collapse that will worry Englishmen the most. 

Why England can still retain the Ashes despite their deficiencies

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England took a battering from a bunch of fired up Australians over the weekend and have a mountain to climb if they are to regroup and retain the Ashes, especially after the loss of top order mainstay Jonathan Trott. Harsh words were sent in England's direction from both on and off the pitch and it could be these that spur Alastair Cook's men back into action. 

Anyone who thinks that England are going to be thrashed in this series are deluded, but it is certain that they are going to have to work hard to keep hold of the precious urn.

England rock Trott will be sorely missed

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For decades England trialled multiple top order batsmen for the vacant number three role, from county run machines (e.g Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick) to young prodigies (e.g Rob Key and John Crawley), but all failed to meet the demands of being the first man in after the new ball in Test match cricket. 

But then came the answer to the woe; the latest world-class South African-born batter Jonathan Trott. For the four years since his Ashes-winning hundred at the Oval in 2009 he has been the glue that has given the England team their greatest level of stability in many a year.

England's spinning failures cost them opening Test

Five days ago England went into the first Test match against India full of hope that they had left their problems with spin in the UAE last winter. Those hopes were crushed by a ruthless Indian side who cruised to a nine-wicket victory.

On a dry surface in Ahmedabad England's top order were skittled out as England fell to 97-7, just hours after the hosts had amassed 521-8 declared. Numbers two to seven (excluding night-watchman James Anderson) scored only 36 runs between them with Kevin Pietersen's desperate 17 the best. 

The second innings was not much better, as apart from Nick Compton's 37, the highest score between those same five players was Ian Bell's 22. 

                                                                                                   Test averages:   In UAE and India 2012    Overall

Jonathan Trott:                 22.25                      48.96

Kevin Pietersen:               10.75                      48.93

Ian Bell:                    9.13                      46.24

 Eoin Morgan:                  13.66                      30.43

         Matt Prior:                  48.17                      43.33

Alastair Cook:                 47.00                      48.71

As you can see by the table above, the majority of England's current batsmen have found life much harder on the sub-continent than they do in other places across the world. 

It is hard to pin-point why, although it could be due to a lack of quality spinners/spinning pitches in county cricket. Although this is the case in some circumstances bowlers like Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar have proven that spin-bowling is a big part of the English game. 

The Indian spinners, and the Pakistani attack last year, appear to have got themselves into the English batsmen's heads. (Just look at Ian Bell's shot in the first innings of this match for an example.) With the exceptions of Cook and Prior England's top order looked unsure of what tempo to play, especially Bell and Pietersen.

A big problem for the tourists is that they do not have any great players of spin for the others to learn from. Prior is probably the best player of the turning ball while Pietersen and Cook are both capable of scoring big runs, although that is more down to their natural batting talents rather than a specific ability against the slower bowlers. 

Cook showed great defiance, while Prior applied himself well in both innings. Pietersen played horrific shots  to get out in two uncertain spells at the crease, while Bell looked close to clueless. 

With Bell going home to attend the birth of his baby England will need to find a replacement, and that person may just be Jonny Bairstow; the young man who scored two fifties in the final Test against world number one side South Africa in the summer. 

His youthful exuberance and raw talent may be exactly what England need to bring a breath of fresh air into the batting line-up, as well as make the other batsmen feel under a bit more pressure for their places. 

England's other spinning mistake in this match was the failure to pick a second specialist spinner, which probably would have been Monty Panesar. 

The turban-wearing left-armer played very well in the Test matches last winter and also looked good in the games leading up to this series. England clearly did not need three seamers on such a slow, low surface, one on which Panesar could have thrived.

Swann bowled well and was the only bright spot of an England bowling attack that faltered in the Indian heat. Samit Patel proved that he is far from good enough to play as a second spinner with match figures of 1-120 in 36 overs, while Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad were distinctly innocuous in their combined 43 wicket-less overs. 

Andy Flower's men must bounce back in Mumbai where a loss would all but seal consecutive series defeats. 

In order to do so the top order must apply themselves better against the likes of Ashwin and Ojha, while Panesar and Swann have to prove that England have their own destructive twin spin attack. 

England Can Move On Without Skipper Strauss

After a hugely disappointing Test series with South Africa England captain Andrew Strauss has retired from all forms of cricket. A culmination of different problems have led to the retirement, with the main reason being the opening batsman's lack of form against quality bowling attacks. He struggled in the sub-continent over the winter after not scoring many runs in the home Tests against India, but two centuries earlier this summer against the West Indies suggested a return to his best. The pace attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander proved to be a bridge too far for Strauss as he scored just 107 runs in six innings with a measly average of 17.83. The biggest problem was his failure to convert starts into anything meaningful with four scores of 20+ and a highest effort of only 37. 

It was not just his form that forced him out of the England set-up. An apparent rift with star-batsman Kevin Pietersen involving derogatory texts sent by the 32-year-old about Strauss to the South Africa team resulted in Pietersen being dropped for the crucial third and final Test. England subsequently lost the match and the world number one ranking by a mere 51-run margin. The Surrey player was sorely missed and the fall-out may have been the last straw for captain Strauss. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said: "He said it was his form and that was also my main concern when I was thinking about whether to retire. Then there was the Kevin Pietersen situation. I don't think it had a massive impact but I think it adds to it. It was probably the tipping point for Andrew to make the decision to leave the game." 

Despite his gloomy exit from the sport, Strauss has been one of England's best servants over the last decade. He finished his career only one hundred off the all-time England Test record with 21 tons, as well an impressive tally of 7037 runs. His average of 40.91 was tainted somewhat by his recent form but he produced many match-turning innings for his side over the years. Overall his captaincy was excellent for English cricket and he formed a magnificent partnership with Zimbabwean coach Andy Flower. In his first match in permanent charge back in spring 2009 his men slumped to 51 all out in the West Indies and went on to lose the series 1-0. 

Since then he has helped transform a floundering outfit into one of the top squads in the world with highlights including consecutive Ashes wins and the 4-0 whitewash of India a year ago to take the world number one ranking. Although he might not be needed any longer his contribution to English cricket should never be underestimated. 

England have not suddenly become a bad side overnight, it was just that South Africa were on the top of their game for the whole of the series while England were off-colour. The new world number one cricketing nation boast an excellent team, however Strauss's former charges should never be written off. Fellow opening batsman and ODI skipper Alastair Cook has already been named as the new captain as the ECB look to him to lead the new generation. 22-year-old Jonny Bairstow hit 95 and 54 in the final Test while James Taylor has also found his way into the batting line-up. Both of these players look set to keep their positions now, even if Kevin Pietersen is recalled. 

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke has said that the ECB will hold 'behind closed doors' talks with the batsman over a return to the side. The South-African born player has looked in excellent shape recently with scores of 234*, 42, 149, 12 and 163 in his last five first-class outings. A return to Tests does not look far away and Clarke said: "The talks are going to take place behind closed doors because there has been too much in the public domain. These matters need to be dealt with by the captain, head coach and national selector."

Having Pietersen back in the top-order will make a massive difference to England and Cook should fit into the calm, assured role that Strauss once assumed with relative ease. It has been a difficult couple of weeks for England that was topped off as they surrendered their world number one ODI ranking to the Proteas yesterday after an 80-run defeat. They still have three matches to bounce back in that series and have a busy winter ahead of them. It is still unknown whether KP will play in England's World T20 defence while Captain Cook's first assessment is as tough as it can come; four Tests in India. 

Flower's men do have plenty of potential to add to their already strong squad and proudly boast one of the best bowling attacks in the world. The top order of Cook, Trott and Pietersen is one that will be feared by many while the young talent of Taylor and Bairstow should compliment the experience of Ian Bell in the middle order. There are still more great times to come for England after a recent sticky patch, but the job that Andrew Strauss did will never be forgotten. 

England Better Than Ever But The Proteas Will Provide A Tough Test

England came within one day of good Birmingham weather from possibly being the first ever nation to be world number one in the Test match, One Day International and Twenty-twenty international rankings simultaneously. However their performances in the recent ODI series against Australia were excellent as they brushed aside their great rivals 4-0.

The series had a strange feel to it as England and Australia met outside of an Ashes summer and it wasn't in an international tournament. Despite this there was a typical competitive edge to the series as England went into the first match knowing that they had to white-wash their opponents to take their world number one spot. They had the perfect start as they cruised through the opening two games in impressive fashion winning by 15 runs and 6 wickets respectively. The home side's top order was in great shape with 80s for Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan while Ian Bell, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott were also in the runs. The four quick bowlers were in full flow with plenty of pace, precision and patience. With one of the world's best spinners in Graeme Swann also in the side everything seemed to be falling into place. 

With optimism of a 5-0 win rising those hopes were sent sinking when the rains came at Edgbaston. Nevertheless England did not let this disappointment slow them down in the last two matches and they produced two more ruthless displays to take a great 4-0 series victory. The last two wins were even more convincing as they won by eight and then seven wickets with more runs for the top order and wickets galore for the quick men, including 4-37 in the fourth ODI for Steven Finn. Journeyman Kent spinner James Tredwell filled in admirably for an injured Graeme Swann in the last match. 

The one thing that did let Captain Cook's men down was their catching as they put down six chances in the last two games. However this is a new, more ruthless England than we have seen for a long time and they will be sure to come back to their Test series against South Africa with their fielding right up to scratch. There will be one big difference to the one-day series England have just played, and that is the opposition. Three Test matches against the world number two South Africa is a completely different proposition to five ODIs against an Australia side in transition. 

England's Test team are also in great shape however, and will be looking forward to welcoming captain Andrew Strauss and inspiring batsman Kevin Pietersen back into the international scene. There will be a selection dilemma over who plays in the number six batting slot with Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan all holding realistic hopes of claiming the place. Bopara appears favourite after an impressive one-day series and is also a useful option with the ball. England also have a battalion of fast bowlers and the fact that players of the calibre of Steven Finn and Graham Onions are unlikely to feature shows how strong their attack is. 

South Africa may not have the strength in depth that Andy Flower's side do but there are so many world-class players that feature in their line-up. The likes of captain Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers and of course the legendary Jacques Kallis form a formidable top order. Alviro Peterson is also a decent player and will fight it out for a batting spot with JP Duminy and Jacques Rudolph. Add the world's best bowler in Dayle Steyn and tall fast man Morne Morkel and they have a fearsome line-up which is enhanced even further by the arrival of leg-spinner Imran Tahir. 

England have a massive task if they are to hold on to their title as the best Test team in the world and this will be a titanic battle. The Proteas will put up an excellent fight and are more than suited for English conditions. Vernon Philander has been a surprisingly successful addition to the side and his style of tight swing bowling should thrive on grounds like Lord's and Headingly. For all the positives there is a wicket-keeper sized hole in their side after Mark Boucher's alarming retirement. The 35-year-old was struck in the eye by a bail in a tour game against Somerset and suffered a career-ending injury. 

A freak accident but a frightening one that reminds everyone associated with the game how dangerous it can be, especially when playing without a helmet. Boucher finished with over 5,000 Test match runs and the record amount of dismissals in 147 matches. The only South African with more caps is the country's highest ever run-scorer, Jacques Kallis. The wicket-keeper said that he was 'as prepared for this series as any other' and that 'he had not anticipated retiring now'. A cruel blow for Gary Kirsten's side and 31-year-old Thami Tsolekile, a player with 144 less Test appearances than Boucher, will have big boots to fill. 

Despite the lack of the feisty South African legend this is sure to be a thrilling series as the world's best two sides go head-to-head. Maybe the worst aspect of this upcoming match-up is the fact that there will only be three Tests. The last time these two met was in South Africa in 2009 when England took a 1-1 draw thanks to the match-saving heroics of Onions, a man who will be waiting in the wings this time around. England will be quietly confident of an eighth successive home series win; their last defeat on home soil was to South Africa back in 2008. Two sides with plenty of history, but now on the top of their game, are hoping to give cricket fans all around the world a gripping end to the cricketing summer.