England will let their cricket do the talking in the second Test in Adelaide after engaging in some “ugly” verbal exchanges with Australia during their opening loss in Brisbane, captain Alastair Cook said yesterday.
The tourists slumped to a 381-run defeat in front of a hostile crowd at the Gabba, where an occasionally spiteful contest re-ignited the debate about sledging and sportsmanship.
Australia captain Michael Clarke was fined 20 percent of his match fee after he was caught by a stump microphone telling James Anderson to get ready for a “broken” arm when the paceman was batting, one of a number of heated moments during the Test.
Australia have pledged to maintain the aggression at Adelaide Oval when the match starts today, but Cook struck a more statesmanlike tone.
“I think it’s important that both sides recognise that a couple of scenes in that last test weren’t great for the game of cricket,” he told reporters. “It’s important that we play in the right way. I think people want to see real tough cricket, that’s what they enjoy, especially between England and Australia, but there’s got to be a boundary that we don’t cross.”
“Maybe last week we let emotion get ahead of ourselves a little bit on some occasions and it got a little bit ugly. Obviously Michael and I have a responsibility as captains of both sides to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he added.
Far more than taking on a team, England’s campaign to win a fourth consecutive Ashes series has at times felt like a battle against an entire nation, with unsympathetic crowds and an orchestrated media campaign joining forces.
England have lost batsman Jonathan Trott, a linchpin of the victorious 2010-11 Ashes tour, but Cook was tight-lipped about his replacement at number three in the batting order — as he was for all his team’s selections.
Joe Root or Ian Bell are expected to move up from the middle order to replace the South Africa-born Trott, who left the tour to deal with a stress-related illness after failing twice with the bat in Brisbane.
Selectors will pick from either Jonny Bairstow or the uncapped duo of Ben Stokes and Gary Ballance to slot into the middle order, while Tim Bresnan is favoured to come back into the side at the expense of fellow seamer Chris Tremlett after recovering from a back injury.
Adelaide Oval’s new drop-in wicket is expected to favour batsmen and exact a big toll on fast bowlers, raising speculation Monty Panesar might be picked as a second spinner to partner Graeme Swann.
“I think it is a realistic option,” Cook said. “That’s one of the things about home advantage, is that you know the wicket better than the opposition. So we have to use all our experience to make sure we pick the right side.”
Meanwhile, Australia captain Michael Clarke has declared himself fit and is relishing the opportunity to lead out the same 11 players in back-to-back matches for the first time in a year.
Clarke skipped training on Tuesday after rolling his right ankle the day before, but batted in the nets at Adelaide Oval yesterday before declaring himself a certain starter. “The ankle feels fine,” the 32-year-old said. “I think not training yesterday obviously gave me an extra day to make sure I was 100 percent today. I feel completely fine.”
Australia have not named the same team in consecutive Tests since last year’s home series against South Africa, underlining a tumultuous period marked by indiscipline, injuries and repeated collapses by a brittle batting lineup.
Clarke amused guests at a function a week before the first Test by forecasting the makeup of England’s team and was subsequently proved correct when the tourists emerged at the Gabba.
After initially declining, the Australian skipper was goaded into speculating on Alastair Cook’s team for Adelaide.
“I don’t think they will play Monty Panesar but I wouldn’t be surprised on that wicket out there because spin’s going to play a big part,” he said. “But I think they’ll go safe. They’ll go for (seamer Tim) Bresnan and I think they’ll go for (Gary) Ballance,” Clarke added, referring to the Zimbabwe-born batsman, who is vying for a place in the middle order along with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes. “So, yeah, I do have a team for you. Joe Root three, Ballance six. Bresnan’s eight or nine in (the order) there somewhere.”