The Brisbane Ashes Test lasted fewer than four whole days, with Australia romping to a nine-wicket win to go 1-0 up in the series.
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For England, the manner of their collapses in both innings was another reminder of how severe their batting struggles have been across 2021.
When England ended day three on 220-2, trailing by 58 runs in the second innings, there came a glimmer of hope for the visitors in an otherwise lopsided Test. It wasn’t to be, however. The match had begun with a first-ball setback in the form of a duck for Rory Burns and it ended in torrid fashion for the visitors too, as they lost eight wickets for 74 runs to relinquish the game.
After the game, skipper Joe Root said: “This tour is not about me getting runs in Australia, it’s about us winning.” Understandably, much of the focus (and responsibility) this year has been on Root, the batter who is, in no doubt, enjoying a spectacular run of form. He is currently 244 runs short of equalling Mohammad Yousuf’s record for the most Test runs in a calendar year (1,788) and averages 64.33 in 2021 with six centuries (including two double hundreds). There’s been very little support from the other end though, with many calling it one of England’s weakest batting line-ups in recent history.
Root has scored over 1,000 runs more this year than his next best teammate Rory Burns (492 runs). Burns has played four matches fewer than Root and averages 28.94. Aside from him and Root, no England batter has hit a century this year.
Among players operating in the top six this year, only Root, Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler have averaged over 30, with six players (barring nightwatchmen) averaging less than 25. The opening partnership has been one of their biggest concerns – on six occasions this year (including Brisbane), England have lost their first wicket with no runs on the board. Out of 25 innings, there have only been four opening stands worth more than 50.
In 2020, six of the top seven run-getters in Test cricket worldwide were from England, helped significantly by them playing more matches than other countries. But the averages were high too: of those six, five averaged more than 40 with the bat. That is in stark contrast to this calendar year, with only Root averaging more than 40 and Malan the only other above 30.
Twenty-five innings this year have seen England bowled out for less than 200 on 10 occasions – since the start of the English summer this year, they have reached 400 on only one occasion.
Can other batters step up and support Root? Interestingly, the man who has put on the most century partnerships with Root in 2021 (3 in 10 innings, with an overall partnership average of 55.20) is Jonny Bairstow, who currently finds himself out of the XI. One key positive for England at Brisbane was Root’s 162-run stand with Malan, and there is something to work with there: that was their second century stand together since Malan’s recall in the summer and they’ve averaged 115.66 as a partnership in the period.
With two more Tests to go this year, there’s still a chance to improve on those averages, but the overall numbers paint a clear picture of what has been an abysmal year with the bat (barring Root) for the fourth-ranked team in the ICC Test charts.
