September 2005 was a special time for English cricket. The draw in the final Test at The Oval in London clinched England’s first Ashes series win over Australia in 18 years.
It started a cycle of success, at least on their own soil, for the English as they have won the past three series at home, as well as lifting the little Ashes urn in 2009, 2013 and 2015.
The final Test in 2005 had a number of notable milestones. Yes, England’s losing streak ended. There was also the maiden Test hundred from Kevin Pietersen.
But it was also the last time that England had gone into an Ashes match without Alastair Cook in their line-up. Cook made his Test debut in 2006 and has played in the past 35 Ashes matches, the last 20 between 2013 and January 2018 as captain.
The 34-year-old will be in Birmingham tomorrow for the start of the latest series. But this time, he will be there as a pundit for the BBC, having retired from international cricket last summer after the 4-1 home victory over India.
His absence, as an opening batsman, will be keenly felt in the England camp as it has again highlighted the country’s inability to produce quality openers in the Test arena.
This England squad is an odd one. There is a headache – albeit one captains and selectors prefer – over who to leave out of their attack as they have an abundance of bowling options. They have two players who can keep wicket.
But, when it comes to openers, England are struggling and they are heading into Edgbaston with an air of trepidation as Jason Roy and Rory Burns look set to be the opening pair.
They are the latest in an embarrassingly long line of attempts to find a regular top-order partnership.
England have been unable to properly replace Andrew Strauss since he retired in 2012 and, seven years later, the problem has now doubled with no Cook either. Roy became the 18th different batsman to open an England Test innings since August 2012 when he debuted against Ireland in last week’s warm-up match.
The inconsistency also relates to the Ashes with England having had a different player partner Cook in the past four series.
They were Joe Root (2013), Michael Carberry (2013-14), Adam Lyth (2015) and Mark Stoneman (2017-18).
Roy earned his chance after his exceptional performances in limited overs cricket, highlighted by his starring role as England became world champions in the 50-over format for the first time earlier this month. The 29-year-old had a mixed time of it against the Irish.
He rode his luck early on to make 72 in the second innings after managing only five in his first knock as he – and England as whole – toiled against the nagging line and length of Tim Murtaugh as the hosts were bowled out for a humiliating 85.
His Surrey teammate Rory Burns has been in the England set-up since last November and he has rarely looked comfortable.
He struggled badly against Ireland, making six in both innings, and he was tentative throughout at Lord’s.
The Australian bowlers will have been salivating at what they saw last week, with Josh Hazlewood already starting mind games with Roy by criticising his technique and questioning whether he can adapt to red-ball cricket.
Australia will know that if they can run through England’s openers cheaply in the coming weeks, that will be a big step towards them winning an away Ashes series for the first time since 2001.
The quick scoring of Marcus Trescothick (2005), Strauss stepping up in big occasions (2009), and Cook’s efforts
over the past decade have all been examples of how important the opener position has been for England.
It has been the same for Australia. Mark Taylor, Geoff Marsh, Michael Slater, Matthew Elliott, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden all scored important runs that set the tone for the Australian dominance between 1989 and 2005.
It is unsurprising that they have instantly restored David Warner, after his ban for the ball-tampering row in South Africa, to the Test squad at the first opportunity.
Warner is a proven Test-match player – scoring 6,363 runs at an average of 48.2 – and the likely return of his partnership with Cameron Bancroft, also back from his ban, will be seen as giving Australia stability for their first wicket.
Both sides have promising, attack-minded middle orders, but it will be England who with more concerns about their opening pair.
England’s bowling attack has usually been the crucial factor in recent victories – the Ashes 2015 win and last summer’s victory over India were all led by the ability to take 20 wickets quickly, rather than the exploits with the bat.
Not for the first time, England are going into a big series hoping, rather then expecting, good things from someone making their Ashes debut. It did not work out for Carberry, Lyth or Stoneman. Will it play out any differently for Roy or Burns? Only time will tell.
