‘Cummins may rotate himself in the latter half of Ashes’: Gillespie wary of skipper's workload, says 'they have Smith'

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie is no stranger to the Ashes or English conditions. Of his 71 Tests, 18 were against England. And after retirement, he has spent most of the last decade as the coach of Yorkshire and Sussex. The current head coach of South Australia and Adelaide Strikers in BBL discusses England’s Bazball, how sticking to that aggressive batting could cause problems for their pace attack, and how to counter it.

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Has Test cricket entered a new age with Bazball? Will other teams be forced to adopt it?

I think the other teams will (adopt it). If you look at the history of Test cricket, the game has continuously evolved. West Indies in the 1970s and 80s employed four fast bowlers. Other countries emulated that. India, Australia and Sri Lanka employed great spinners. So, the others were putting things in place to discover new and exciting spinners. Now, this is the age of strike rate. T20 cricket, IPL in particular, has certainly had an impact on the philosophy of batting. No team has gone out and been aggressive for a sustained period of time like this England team. They haven't done it for one game, they have done it for a good dozen Tests now. That’s why Bazball is slightly different, and more and more teams will follow this. Because teams follow success. Who wouldn't want to see a player like Joe Root reverse sweep the first ball of the day! It's thrilling stuff.

How do you counter that? What plans can Australia have at Lord's?

We saw glimpses of Australia’s plan at Edgbaston. They identified that Ben Stokes’ team is going to play ultra-aggressive with the bat. So, their strategy and planning would have revolved around how to take wickets. Also, how to minimise the runs. I know (skipper) Pat Cummins got criticised in some quarters, but the fields that he set... maybe they were a little bit negative -- very early they had three fielders, and sometimes four, on the fence. That was something Cummins didn’t just think on his feet. It was a clear strategy from Australia going into the game. They wanted to make sure their attacking fielders were in place, but also ensured they had their defensive strategies. They kept a deep backward point, square leg out on the fence and fine-leg also. And then sometimes the third man as well.

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Should Australia make changes to that strategy or personnel at Lord's?

For starters, they’ll bring in Mitchell Starc for Scott Boland. Boland is a great prospect, but I think Starc can get more out of the surface at Lord’s. They’ll make slight tweaks to their strategy. One of them will be not to employ a deep point so early in the game. They also need to stop those singles and encourage the English batters to hit through the offside. That will potentially create a wicket. From a bowling perspective, the seamers will look to bowl the fourth stump line, top of the stumps. The key will be to mix it up with a couple of good bouncers.

How does it affect Nathan Lyon? He will play his 100th Test on the trot…

Nathan Lyon, I know, has been preparing for Bazball in the nets. He knows England players will come hard at him and I think he’s got some really good defensive strategies to complement his attacking bowling.

Cummins is skipper and the lead fast bowler. What toll will it take on him to be at the top of his game for five Tests?

I wouldn’t discount Cummins rotating himself, particularly at the backend of the series where there are back-to-back Tests. They know they've got Steve Smith who is more than capable of leading, or Alex Carey. They have got enough depth in the bowling. The number of overs Cameron Green bowls is going to have a big impact. Because, if he bowls as few overs as he did in the first Test (eight), then it will put a bigger workload on Cummins and the other bowlers.

Your take on the verbal volley being served by England cricketers?

I wouldn't read too much into it. I found no problems in Ollie Robinson’s celebrations. Yeah, obviously you wouldn't want to curse your opponent or any other player, but if those things are kept under control, then it’s great Test cricket. Bring it on!

Can England make a comeback in the series?

I think 3-1 to Australia. If they go 2-0 up, it’s going to be very difficult for England to come back and win the series. I don't think England’s seam bowling is up the straps. Broad and Robinson were good, Anderson was down from his best. I don't think the reserves are as potent. If they are going to play on batter-friendly pitches, England bowlers are going to struggle.

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