There will be a lot written between now and the Lord’s test which will be imbued with sensationalist, domesday rhetoric calling for wholesale changes to the England XI. However, this is a rather myopic view of the first test. Australia were the better side and few can argue that they did not deserve to win the first test. Although, that should not be taken as an endorsement of the view that England were terrible.

On day one Australia were 118-8, and really the difference between the two sides was Steve Smith’s remarkable performance. Scoring 285 runs in the test match on a turning wicket. One of the great individual ashes performances should not be overshadowed by England’s flimsy display on day five. Furthermore, Nathan Lyon bowled beautifully, particularly on the last day, his spell on the morning of day three was also crucial and limiting England’s lead. Australia played well here, Smith’s heroics, Lyon’s guile and big performances from the likes of Matthew Wade and Peter Siddle were crucial factors in this match which will slip under radar in the midst of media moral panic over England’s batting.

But where did it all go wrong for England? Something which has been overlooked is that Jimmy Anderson only bowled 4 overs in the test match. Bowling at Steve Smith without your most experienced, front-line bowler only makes an impossible task harder. There were also positives for England; Rory Burns’ maiden hundred being one of them, a gritty determined ton, one for the purists. Ben Stokes also played very well, for such an explosive cricketer his ability to tough it out and play the mental side of the game well is as admirable as it is unique. Stuart Broad also defied the critics in the wake of calls for Woakes to open the bowling with Anderson, he produced a superb 5-85 on day one.

Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives in this game for England. Jason Roy’s horror shot on day five, Jonny Bairstow’s sustained run of dire form in test cricket, Jos Butler’s uncharacteristic performance, Moeen Ali’s failure with bat and ball all posing serious questions for the selectors. The pressing concern is Moeen Ali, one of the crucial factors in this game was that on a turning wicket Ali bowled very poorly and his opposite number, Nathan Lyon, beautifully. Also, Ali’s batting is a serious concern with Lyon getting him out twice in this match and nine times in test cricket, more than any other bowler. Next comes Jonny Bairstow, a player who’s test match batting seems to have invariably suffered as a result of prioritising the shorter form.

Simply, Ali is a confidence player and his confidence currently seems to be on the floor, he has to be dropped and Leech should come in as the specialist spinner. Whilst, Roy’s shot was awful he showed the signs of a test match player, despite having two failures. For an hour and a half, he batted very well on day five. He will be infuriating to watch at times, but at times he will be stunning, for me he stays in the side.

Another concern is Denly, it seems unclear what he is in the side for, a good cricketer, but not good enough for test level. The harder question is, who comes in for Denly and where does he bat? England could go for Ollie Pope and bat him at five and then bring Ben Stokes up to 4. Or Ben Foakes could come in. My choice, a slightly left-field choice, would be Sam Northeast. Someone who has been very good for a number of years now, an experienced batsmen who has amassed over 800 runs in the championship this season. Anyhow, I’d like to see Stokes bat ahead of Butler at Lords as either 4/5, preferably 5, but situation might dictate otherwise. Jonny Bairstow retains his place for now, having earned the right to being an essential player and an essential character in the England dressing room. Things then start to get a little easier, Woakes and Broad keep their place and Archer comes in for Jimmy Anderson.

Wholesale change is not the way to reflect on this match. Denly is a bits and pieces player at test level and reminiscent of Ravi Bopara in the 2009 Ashes. Moeen is a quality player, but there are issues when as a supporter you feel sympathy for a player. The only other change is forced by injury. The question to be asked is who replaces Denly? And where do they bat? Lastly on England; the day five batting performance was poor. But in context it would have been a lot different had Roy batted until lunch, which seemed inevitable until he danced down the wicket at Nathan Lyon. Exposing England’s middle order to Nathan Lyon on a turning day five wicket was the turning point.

Well played Australia. I recognise this article lacks praise on Steve Smith, the issue is that words fail on this account. When he plays like this you cannot bowl to him, he was utterly superb and in the end,  he was the difference in this game.