England must change their ways if they're to regain consistency - and it's down to Joe Root to lead the way

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith is writing exclusively for The Independent this summer. Here he reviews what the second Test result means for England and the visitors

England were beaten by 340 runs at Trent Bridge (Getty)

The first two Tests of this series have seen one of the two sides have a poor game. South Africa were timid at Lords, yet England had substantial weaknesses exposed at Trent Bridge. Much of my focus in the build-up to this test was on the challenge faced by Faf Du Plessis. He could have been forgiven for being distracted from the task at hand, having just witnessed the birth of his child at home in South Africa ahead of this game.

However, he’s seemingly taken it all in his stride – a real asset of his – and the South Africans appeared more focussed and switched on than they have been on this entire tour. That is a simply monumental turnaround from where the team will have been mentally following the Lords defeat. As a player, you scrabble around in those post-match press conferences for positives, and it was impossible to take any real positives from the South African performance at the home of cricket.

Fast forward a week, and the story is completely different. Suddenly the pressure and scrutiny lies almost solely with the England camp, with some in the press calling their ‘respect of Test Cricket’ in to question following two poor batting displays.

That may be strong, but as Test performances go, you won’t win too many games of cricket playing the way England did at Trent Bridge. It was South Africa who had the ‘under par’ and ‘unbalanced’ team after Lords, yet now it is England with the more immediate calls for change ringing around their ears.

This kind of pressure is what Joe Root is going to have to learn to soak up quickly, whilst also finding an effective method for focussing on his own batting game, as his runs are so pivotal to England’s chances of success in this series. Joe is someone who hasn’t looked fazed by many things since entering the international arena, yet this will undoubtedly be a stern and early test of his credentials as a leader at this level.

He’s fortunate that he seems to have some influence over team selection. Both Gary Ballance and Keaton Jennings appear to have technical issues that will, until they rectify them, likely prevent them from enjoying consistent success in England colours.


 Root must prove he can bounce back from this setback 
 (Getty)

Ballance was a player who I felt was at risk before the series had even begun. He can’t be a scapegoat for what has been a poor team performance, but he simply doesn’t look to have ironed out the issues which will always make him vulnerable to top quality fast bowling. That’s why I felt it a strange decision to bring him back in, despite the weight of runs behind him. Unless you feel as a selector that a player has improved and worked on previous issues, why would you pick that player again?

It'll be very interesting to see whether England stick or twist ahead of The Oval with these issues in mind. From my perspective, it’s clear that they need to give others an opportunity to sure up what is an uncertain-looking top-four currently, but these players don’t miraculously appear from nowhere. I’d expect some batting shifts from England, and a key question is whether Liam Dawson warrants his spot in the side.

In his absence, England could pick an additional batsmen, meaning the likes of Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow have the option to bat a position lower. As it stands, perhaps Ali aside, they look to be a position too high in that line up. Much was made of the reasons behind playing Liam Dawson as a frontline spinner, with Ali supposedly more comfortable playing second fiddle. It doesn’t look to be playing out that way, and I would question that kind of mindset at this level.


 Gary Ballance's inclusion was a risk before the series even began 
 (Getty)

Personnel changes are one thing, but it’s the application that England need to improve on. If you take Dean Elgar as an example, he probably wasn’t at his best either mentally or technically in this game, yet he found a way to fashion a performance for his team. He got the job done.

From a South African perspective, it was encouraging to see Hashim Amla produce an ominous return to his hungry self. That, coupled with Du Plessis contributing runs as well as the direction and intensity that he brings, gives South Africa’s batting a more assured appearance.

Generally, I feel the decision to go with four seamers, with Vernon Philander and Chris Morris playing as all-rounders, was entirely vindicated. Kagiso Rabada will undoubtedly come in for Duanne Olivier, to complete a now balanced looking side.

Faf Du Plessis has brought real direction and intensity to South Africa (Getty)

The next nine days will undoubtedly see much in the way of speculation, and it is the default for people to react with anger after watching their side lose in such a manner as England have here, and as South Africa did at Lords. Issues can be blown out of proportion, but it really is apparent with England that a change in their approach has to happen if they are to regain consistency in this format.

Root is capable of driving that change, but it’s a big ask for Trevor Bayliss, who’s record in the longer formats leaves something to be desired. Just as South Africa did, England have to rebuild and regroup quickly ahead of The Oval Test, with South Africa keen to land a knockout blow in the series.