Former England captain Michael Atherton believes the ongoing Ashes series has become “one-dimensional” due to the lack of spin bowling, as the pitches have favored fast bowlers.
England did not select a specialist spinner for any of the five matches, overlooking off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, while Will Jacks bowled occasional off-spin but was not considered a frontline option.
Australia, on the other hand, named Nathan Lyon for the first and third Tests but omitted the veteran off-spinner from the day-night fixture in Brisbane. Lyon suffered a hamstring injury during their series-clinching victory in Adelaide, and the hosts decided against replacing him with fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy in both the Melbourne and Sydney Tests.
“It means the cricket we have seen in this series has been a bit one-dimensional. Looking at the pitch (on day one in Sydney), you wouldn’t say it offered enough for five seamers, but that is not to say it is going to turn on the last day either. We will have to wait and see.
“(Not picking a spinner) may be a reflection on Murphy—if Lyon had been fit, I imagine he might have played. Murphy is not a bad bowler but he is no Lyon. Pitches have become more uniform and less varied, partly because of the drop-ins at the multi-sport grounds like Brisbane and Adelaide.
“Sydney used to be the outlier in terms of spin, and if that’s gone the way of the other grounds in terms of more grass left on there, there is a lack of variety, and that is not necessarily a good thing for the game. What you want to see in a five-Test series is the whole range of skills,” Atherton stated on Sky Sports’ Cricket Podcast.
Ex-England captain Nasser Hussain offered a different perspective. “I think you have to be careful. The forecast is to be hot, and you have to pick a side for the last day as well as the first day. However, I think both captains feel that with the heat, the cracks will open up, and that’s when you want your seamers.”