Image courtesy of: The Sunday Times
Gooch believes it is important for all batsmen to have a balance of defensive and attacking strokes in their arsenal
England batting coach Graham Gooch has announced that Twenty20 cricket is the culprit behind the fact that there are a dwindling number of Test specialists who actually have the patience to build an innings instead of the “15-20 minutes” it takes most players nowadays.
Gooch noted that he works with the England players as much as possible as he does not want their batting to deteriorate to the level of the Australians.
During the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, it was clear that Gooch’s advice had rubbed off on the England batsmen, especially Ian Bell, who scored a magnificent century in the first innings, and Joe Root, who smacked a breathtaking 180 in the second innings.
“There’s three formats of the game now … the basis of Test cricket is that it’s a hell of a long game, five times 90 overs is a long, long game,” Gooch said. “So it’s about skills in batting, about run-making, about the whole package of not only having the technical skills but having the attitude, the mental toughness, the discipline, and the concentration. Anyone can concentrate for 15-20 minutes, but to score Test hundreds you have to concentrate for a long period of time. Those skills I think worldwide are being chipped away at the edges by the amount of one-day cricket and T20 cricket.
“If you’re a traditionalist and like Test cricket and think that’s the pinnacle and the benchmark, you know you can see with the number of competitions that are popping up and the rewards that are available in terms of finance … the possibility of it chipping away at the edges of the traditional game, and that’s the same for every country. You’ve got to work hard to try to keep your players on track and obviously try to educate them as well as you can on the skills and the mental skills that are necessary to bat long. It’s a different type of skill.”
While it is clear that some of the England batsmen are still getting adjusted to batting for hours on end, Gooch added that it was vital for all batsmen to have a balance of defensive and attacking strokes in their arsenal.
He also noted that it was crucial players learnt how to get themselves accustomed to the different conditions in England, Australia and the subcontinent.
“Way after I finish this issue will still be alive and kicking,” Gooch said. “I’d hate to think that traditional skills get eroded and diluted because the specialist spinner, the specialist fast bowler, the skills of the batsmen are, for me, what make the game so great. Playing on a surface like here [Lord’s], or the SCG or Brisbane or Perth where it bounces. A batsman to score runs needs different skills for different wickets, and as a batsman and run-maker you have different tools in the bag, but you don’t take all the tools out every time you play.”
With England currently holding on to a 2-0 lead over Australia in the ongoing Ashes series, Gooch stated that it always felt good to see Australia on the back foot and under immense pressure.
“I think we suffered quite a lot [in the past], I did manage to win the Ashes three times actually but I did suffer quite a lot,” Gooch said. “I don’t know how some of them would know the historical significance, some probably wouldn’t. I think mainly they’re interested in winning each match they come up against. Australia are giving it their best, it’s not for me to comment on their performance, that’s down to their management and their system. We try to get our players in the best possible condition to win.”