20 Jul / 2013(163)…Ashes(2013)Partnerships(to flourish, rearrange Bat.order?)

Australia batting Partnerships (2013)

In 11 innings Aussies had 17 x50+ partnerships, in which only 4 were converted into 100s. For them the problem lies at the top order (2^nd, 3^rd , 4^th & 5^th wkt) which has taken a sharp fall in the ongoing Ashes. Batsmen who come in at No.3, & 4 are direct responsible for this fall, as in 11 innings they have been involved only in  2 x 50 plus partnerships – and none got converted into 100. A brief look at batsmen taking this position and their scores in last 11 inns.

Below is Avg runs partnerships for each wicket for Australia

England : There is steady drop in their batting performance, especially for their openers. However there is always someone to bail them out….before it was Matt Prior at lower order, now its Ian Bell.

England picked Joe Root an aggressive batsman to partner Cook for 1^st wicket. He replaced Nick Compton who averaged a modest 26.00 with a strike rate of 34.00 in India, and interestingly Compton showed considerable improvement in his next series (v/s NZ) where he averaged 37.57 with a strike rate of 36.94…but it was Root’s performance(role play + st.rate) at No.6 that prompted selectors to gamble and make him open the batting with Cook in this series(Ashes)…..but, as an opener so far  he has failed in 3 inns (scores of 30.5.6), and currently unbeaten on 18* in 2^nd Test /2^nd Inn. England lead by 264 in this game, an ideal situation for Root to play his natural game.

England batting partnerships (2013)

Australia batting partnerships(2013)

England batting partnerships(2013)

All that data updated till end of Day 2, 2^nd Ashes Test @ Lord’s