Flamin’ Nora, England spin their way out of trouble

They say about young up-and-coming sportsman that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough when it comes to being selected. Equally age should just be treated as just a number when the merits of a talented player at the other end of the generational spectrum are being considered. England and Pakistan’s cricket selectors are certainly advocates of this following the inclusion of Gareth Batty (pictured) and Misbah-ul-Haq in recent touring parties.

Too often we hear talk about building a team for the future rather than about getting the right result in the here and the now. Sure, succession planning is important. The failure of the Rugby Football Union to do so post-Rugby World Cup 2003 resulted in England plummeting down the rankings as there wasn’t sufficient quality coming up through the ranks to replace captain Martin Johnson and talismanic figures like Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio once they hung up their boots.

But the decision to take 38-year-old Batty over say Somerset’s Jack Leach, who enjoyed a stunning season on the spin-friendly track at Taunton and now has over 100 first-class wickets at just over 25 runs apiece, was probably the right one in hindsight. Batty became the first spinner to open the bowling for England in a test for nearly a century in Bangladesh’s first innings and claimed the key wicket of Tamim Iqbal when the Bangladesh opener was caught behind for 78.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=c89pCPFBW58

Batty then went on to take three more wickets in the second innings as Bangladesh fell just short of recording their first-ever test win over England. What had seemed like a selection born out of desperation had been justified. While Batty will be the first to admit his second coming as a test cricketer is only likely to be short-term, the comeback kid/grandad produced enough turn, albeit at a rather sedentary pace, to suggest he will remain a threat for however long he has left with three lions on his chest.

Batty typifies the sheer bloody-mindedness that his native Yorkshiremen are accustomed to, and with only 22 runs separating the sides in Chittagong that sort of quality is priceless. A glance at the latest Bangladesh v England Second Test Bet365 cricket betting suggests that the home side have had their chance, and blown it. England are odds on to wrap up a 2-0 series win.

Batty, arguably the most consistent of England’s three spinners – captain Alastair Cook says he would have liked to have had four at his disposal, is expected to survive the changes to the bowling attack that Cook alluded to in his post-match press conference. For someone so tenacious it was surprising to hear that Batty felt nervous before the Chittagong Test but with 34 overs now under his belt, and four more wickets to add to the 11 he’d managed in seven previous tests, the chances are that ‘Nora’ feels at home again at this level and might well be knocking back the champagne as England’s top bowler rather than sipping the last of the summer wine.