The last time England played at Edgbaston, they had the then skipper Joe Root as the front-line spinner against New Zealand back in June 2021. While Root bowled as many 15 overs, Dan Lawrence too rolled his arm over with part-time off-spin and also managed to pick a wicket.
The home side certainly missed the trick at a venue that has witnessed substantial contributions from spinners. England’s Wilfred Rhodes, a left-arm spinner, has grabbed a seven-fer here and the likes of Shane Warne, Nathan Lyon, Graeme Swann and Muthiah Muralitharan have bagged six-wicket hauls here.
The Joe Root-led side struck 303 in the first innings but failed to put a halt at New Zealand’s scoring-rate as they posted 388 in reply. The visitors followed their impressive batting show with fine outing with the ball. The England batting unit was rattled by the Kiwi pacers in the second innings but it was left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel who scalped the big fish Root. The spinner had two wickets to his name at the cost of just 25 runs. New Zealand later chased down the target of 38 runs by 8 wickets.
England return to the venue which hasn’t been a happy hunting ground in the longer format for them in the recent past. The hosts will be up against two world class spinners in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. While it’s not certain that both would play but England could be in for a tough time if they do.
What makes the Jadeja-Ashwin combo lethal?
Ravindra Jadeja’s control and Ashwin’s ability to outthink the batsman makes them a very lethal combination. While Jadeja continues to test patience with his consistent lines, Ashwin has the ability to execute his plans, made after hours and hours of studying the opposition, on a consistent basis. Remember how he outsmarted Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne during the famous tour Down Under?
Ashwin has 18 wickets from 7 matches in England so far and seven of these came in just one game. Any guesses?
This was the first Test between India and England back in 2018 in Birmingham. His dismissals included former England skipper Alastair Cook, present captain Ben Stokes, wicket-keeper batter Jos Buttler and Joe Root.
The Indian spinner’s wickets tally includes some of the finest batters in the world, the ones who have the ability to change the course of the match. Stokes is one of them.
That dangerous and ruthless Stokes has been dismissed by Ashwin 10 times. From the off spinners to those carom balls to flippers, Ashwin almost has every trick in the book. He can deceive the batter in the air and certainly knows a thing or two about using the surface to his advantage.
Spin test for Baz era
England got their Baz era off to a brilliant start as under new coach Brendon McCullum they showed signs of things to come. Jonny Bairstow hammered New Zealand in the series which also saw Joe Root playing that famous reverse-scoop off Neil Wagner. The former New Zealand skipper’s stint with the English side has just started but the impact is already visible.
The hosts certainly fired on all cylinders vs New Zealand but the “intent” faces the biggest test yet against the Indian attack featuring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spin twins Ashwin and Jadeja. Both Bairstow and Stokes will be tested by spin and if it spin doesn’t work, Shami and Bumrah have what it takes to make inroads.
England vs Spin
Going by stats from their last two Test series, England haven’t been able to negate the spin attacks well. They were playing away from home on both the occasions but the vulnerability against spin was visible. During the Ashes series, the Australian spinners scalped 17 England wickets out of which Nathan Lyon had 16 wickets to his name. Root’s side lost seven wickets to spinners on their trip to West Indies.
Taking nothing away from the NZ spin attack in the recent series, it wasn’t up quite up there with the likes of Ashwin, Jadeja and Lyon.
Pacers at Edgbaston
The spinners have made an impact at this venue but the pacers aren’t really far away. In fact, the first two positions for most wickets at this venue in Test cricket are occupied by James Anderson and Stuart Broad respectively.
The weather is likely to play an equally important role as what happens above can have a major say on how the surface behaves in English conditions. Overall, its a venue with something for everyone.
As far as this question of playing Jadeja and Ashwin together is concerned, the team management should go with both of them in the XI on the basis of what they bring to the table. The two have the ability to dictate terms in the middle and can run through any opposition on their day.
This is the final Test between the two sides with series on the line. If India clinch a win or even manage a draw, they take away the series as they are already in a 2-1 lead and if England win this one, it would be all square.
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