By Richard Edwards
With the notable exception of 2010/11, England have traditionally found it tough to score runs at the Gabba. So when they arrive in Queensland early next week, it might be time well spent to seek out former Durham star, Martin Love.
Now the physio of the Queensland Bulls, Love is the leading run-scorer in the state’s history and knows better than most the key to scoring runs there. Love passed 10,000 for the Bulls during the 2006/07 season and famously signed off his career at the Gabba with a valedictory 219 not out.
That’s plenty more than England mustered in either innings of their last Test outing there, when they were skittled for 136 and 179 in a 381-run mauling that set the tone for a thoroughly miserable series.
So, what do they need to change to ensure there isn’t a repeat performance?
“I was quite a patient player so I let a lot of balls go, which is something you have to do at the Gabba,” he tells The Cricket Paper.
“The Gabba is a very good batting wicket when the ball is 20 to 30 overs old and onwards – unfortunately for England a lot of their top-order haven’t got to that point in recent series.
“The wicket will probably be a very good one, the ball will bounce and carry through okay, but it shouldn’t seam too much. Some of the batters won’t have played there before, but there’s certainly some experience in that line-up that can pass on information from previous years.”
Alastair Cook is the only member of this England line-up to have hit a century at the Gabba, making an unforgettable 235 not out – to go with his 67 in the first innings – as the tourists avoided defeat in Brisbane for only the second time since 1986.
That, of course, was the last time England won a Test at a ground that has been an impregnable fortress for the Aussies for almost 30 years. The odds on history repeating itself remain long, with Love conceding that Australia have an in-built advantage for the traditional first Test of the country’s cricket summer.
“Part of the reason will be that it’s the first Test and the Sheffield Shield season has already been running for a month by the time it starts,” he says.
“Most of the Test players will have played some long-format cricket and most of them will already have played at the Gabba plenty of times.
“Our bowlers are also pretty good at adapting their lengths to the demands of the Gabba. You have to bowl a slightly fuller length and we’ve seen in the past that a lot of touring teams have seen some bounce and carry in the wicket and have bowled that little bit shorter.
“That’s probably part of the reason why our record there is so strong. I’m looking forward to the first Test, I think it’s going to be a great series. Both teams have things to prove but I think, in Brisbane at least, Australia will just be too strong.”
