Explained: The second Test of the 2023 Ashes has been dominated by bouncers. England were blown away in their first innings by a short-pitched plan before they employed it themselves against Australia. Here is why both teams have used the tactic so much.
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England used an almost entirely exclusive short-ball tactic to finish off Australia’s second innings yesterday. In the first session of the day, the average length of the pitch of a delivery was 9.71m. Such was the discipline of the bowler’s, it was the shortest-pitched session recorded out of the 2,596 on CricViz’s database.
Despite no luck from the first hour of the day, three quick wickets fell before lunch: Usman Khawaja caught at fine leg, Steve Smith at backwards square and Travis Head at short leg. That gave more backing for England to continue with the strategy in the afternoon, with even more of a vengeance. In that session, their average length was 11.05m. Leader of the barrage was Ollie Robinson, who bowled an extraordinary nine-over spell of exclusively bumpers, which claimed two wickets and went for seven runs.
Part of the reason the tactic was so successful for England, was their accuracy. They bowled few balls that sat up to be hit, and kept their height well above the waist to entice false shots. It illustrated the wider success of bouncers in this match, where balls above 10m have taken have been the most successful. In addition, the make-up of England’s attack, despite not boasting any express pace, has, in a way, helped the plan be more successful.
Having made history in the morning session, by bowling the shortest average length of any session of Test cricket on record (9.71m), England decimated their own record in the afternoon session, bowling an average length of 11.05m.#Ashes #ENGvAUS
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 1, 2023
Josh Tongue, the quickest bowler in the attack, has bowled at above 90mph in this Test, but does not have the consistent speed to blast Australia like Mark Wood does. Robinson’s speeds have been well down throughout the Test match, and the lack of a spinner negates any opportunity for variety.
However, the accuracy of the lengths, combined with the slower speed the bowlers have been bowling at, make it harder for batters to muscle them over the rope. Lord’s has a big playing surface and, without the extra speed to carry the ball over the boundary, attempting to do so was more dangerous.
Further, England completely committed to the strategy in their field settings. There were points in Australia’s innings on day four when six men were stationed in catching positions. That meant that when the ball did inevitably pop into the air, there was invariably someone waiting to pouch it.
While Australia also employed the short-ball strategy, which caused England’s first-innings collapse that defined this Test match, England’s accuracy meant their use was more effective. The collapse on the second evening and third morning came down more to shot selection than anything else. Where England had relied on accuracy, Australia relied on England’s egos, which was evident on day five when England modified their plan against the short ball and looked comfortable against it.
Duckett and Ben Stokes were content to play the ball along the ground, with Duckett’s dismissal to Josh Hazlewood a genuine error. Australia were not as accurate as England in their lengths, sending balls down well above head height fairly regularly. Consequences for this was somewhat mitigated by the leniency of the umpires in giving wides and calling balls as above shoulder height. This has been the case from the umpires throughout the match, which encouraged the use of the tactic given the limited repercussions for erring in length.
Similarly, both sides (minus Australia in the fourth innings) found limited success with the new ball. Australia were 73-0 before the first wicket fell on day one; England 91-0 in their first innings; and Australia 63-0 in their second. Despite there being some movement, both off the surface and through the air, more success has been had with an older ball. Part of this has also been down to the nature of the pitch, on which the bounce has been fairly inconsistent.
While some balls have bounced up well for batters to attempt to hit for boundaries – which as mentioned early has been difficult – others have bounced more and drawn false shots.
Whether short-pitched bowling is good for the game or not will surely continue to be debated throughout the series. But, in this game at least, it has played a more than significant part in the eventual result.
