Can England turn the tide in the West Indies?

How long can the England set up carry on ignoring an inherent issue with England batting collapses in test matches?

After a dominant display in Sri Lanka back in November, England fans could have been forgiven for thinking England’s batting woes had subsided. However, a familiar story reared its ugly head once again with two heavy defeats in the West Indies in January and it may be more than a personnel change that is required.

On The Attack

While England’s all out attacking style is great to watch when the players are in nick and firing on all cylinders, the outfit’s ability to descend into a batting collapse at the first sign of adversity must be a major concern with the Ashes just around the corner.

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The usual talking heads/pundits could be heard calling for casualties at the top of the order after the second defeat, but the problem is deep-seated in the mentality of the squad that goes back a matter of years rather than months and won’t be fixed with a change here or there in the batting order/selection.

The England set up have questions to answer

The ECB must take their share of responsibility. While England’s approach has paid dividends in the shorter form of the game, it is no secret that test cricket is an entirely different animal. All too often we get quotes from the likes of Trevor Bayliss such as “we were outplayed by the better team” or “it’s not easy playing away from home” but the reality is that the England team are being both outthought and outfought.

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Reigning players back won’t be easy. The lack of understanding from the likes of Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali in the middle of the order is a huge concern. There’s no doubt the pair are two of England’s most talented players but the lack of ability to dig in and bat out a session in the team’s hour of need is a grave concern.

Are changes afoot?

Ahead of the third and final test in the West Indies, England bid to avoid the dreaded whitewash. Captain Joe Root will have selection decisions to make with the likes of Joe Denly and Keaton Jennings fighting for the opening batsman spot having failed to score runs of any significance in the first couple of tests.

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It’s hard to level quite as much blame at Root who has generally held his form well since he was made captain nearly two years ago following the departure of Alistair Cook. However, his biggest test now lies ahead with the Ashes on the horizon.