Lower order runs, or lack of them, have been absolutely vital in shaping results this series and for that reason England were grateful for the contributions of Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse on Friday.
At Headingley, India collapsed twice – seven wickets falling for 41, followed by six for 31 – and they lost the game they’d put so much work into.
They scored five individual hundreds but the lack of tail end runs, plus poor catching cost them.
Then, in the second Test at Edgbaston, it was the batting contributions of Ravindra Jadeja from No 7 that made all the difference.
As Ben Stokes said at the post-match presentation, England had India 210 for five on that first day and the decision at the toss to insert the tourists would have been justified had they dismissed them for 280.
Thanks to Jadeja supporting India captain Shubman Gill, they ended up getting 587 and that is what won them the game.
Brydon Carse (right) helped England out of a tough situation against India with his 50
Lower order runs, or lack of them, have been absolutely vital in shaping results this series
You need people to hang around in the lower order – it is no use having four No 11s in the side
Here at Lord’s, Jasprit Bumrah bowled a brilliant spell of three for nine, and bizarrely, when the ball was zipping around, Gill asked for a ball change. Why would you change a ball when it is doing something?
England capitalised because Jamie Smith gets the tempo of batting from five down absolutely right, keeping the scoreboard moving – this ability is why the England selectors moved on from Ben Foakes.
But you have to have people to stay with him too, because there’s no point in him being so good if you’ve got four no 11s below him.
The game has definitely changed in that regard. In 1999, my first summer as England captain, we went into the Oval Test with Andy Caddick, Alan Mullally, Phil Tufnell and Ed Giddins in our XI.
It was the equivalent of four No 11s coming in from six wickets down. In that match, the quartet made 27 runs between them, compared with 183 by New Zealand’s Nos 8-11. I probably don’t need to remind you of the result.
Carse is a good cricketer and his maiden Test 50, the majority of which came during a stand of 84 with Smith, was crucial. He can both keep out the good balls and smash it when required.
That combination got England out of a hole, because the complexion of the game would have been very different if they had been bowled out for 300.
The only thing I would say is that in Australia next winter, England’s lower order are going to get bumped on quicker pitches and Carse, along with Chris Woakes, can be vulnerable when taking the short ball on.
Jamie Smith gets the tempo just right with the tail but needs team-mates to stick around too
Chris Woakes has a Test match hundred and is another man in England’s lower order who is handy with the bat
Woakes didn’t get any here, but has a Test match hundred, so too does Gus Atkinson, when he comes back and Jofra Archer can bat, so that bodes well, because on previous tours Australia’s pace bowlers have blown the England tail away. It will be a key area for what lies ahead.
However, England must pick bowlers for their bowling, not their batting ability, and so someone like Woakes needs to keep taking wickets to stay in the frame.
