Dernbach and England: a case for the defence?

England bowler Jade Dernbach’s inclusion in the side has always raised questions.John Ashdown, theguardian.com /LondonPost-Ashes there has been one familiar theme. It pops up after almost every England ODI or T20 team announcement and it echoes on throughout almost every England ODI or T20 game: “Jade Dernbach: why?” Why does Dernbach (up until Monday’s defeat to the Netherlands at least) pick up such a regular spot in the XI? The case for the prosecution lies in the stats. A record of 31 wickets at an average of 42.19 and an economy rate of 6.35 saw him lose his place in the ODI team in the summer, but it is in T20 that Dernbach is expected to excel. Again the stats are pretty damning: 34 matches, 39 wickets, an (irrelevant?) average of 26.15 and, again, that economy rate: 8.71. Of those to send down 300 balls or more in T20 international cricket, Dernbach is the most expensive. Over the winter he completed his four overs five times in T20 internationals, going for 50, 49, 36, 38 and 42 on those occasions. With numbers like those, it’s no wonder Dernbach comes into the crosshairs of England fans. And the England selectors opted for a Dernbach-less double-spin attack against the Netherlands on Monday (which went well).  So the question remains: “Jade Dernbach: why?” In search for an answer, we invited the Surrey director of cricket and former England captain Alec Stewart to put forward the case for the defence. “Jade has been seen over a period of time now as one of the very best white-ball bowlers in Twenty20 cricket both up front and, especially, at the back end of the innings. He bowls those tough overs, up front in the powerplay and then generally the 18th and 20th overs  the toughest times. So the selectors and the captain have seen him do that [for Surrey] and that’s why he’s earned the right to play for England. “But if he’s bowling these tough overs he is going to be exposed at times, as we saw against South Africa with AB de Villiers. I don’t care who was bowling the way AB was playing, with that hand-eye coordination and improvisation, he would’ve taken anyone to the cleaners. “Jade will be the first to admit that he hasn’t executed all his plans perfectly but there are other bowlers in that team who never bowl the tough overs. Stuart Broad, is one of England’s premier bowlers in Tests, experienced in 50-over cricket and 20-over cricket, but he obviously backs Dernbach ahead of himself to bowl these tough overs. “That’s an endorsement of Jade Dernbach’s skills. We got to the final of the Twenty20 competition last year on the back of Dernbach and Azhar Mahmood bowling the first four overs of the innings and the last four overs of the innings. “The problem is that when you don’t quite execute the plans it can go horribly wrong.  And when it’s the same bloke that is bowling these overs, when it goes wrong he is highlighted. So why does Dernbach take so much of the fans’ flak? “First of all, people just look at the stats without looking at the bigger picture.  Because he is the man bowling the tough overs, when it goes wrong he is going to be highlighted. You also throw in the tattoos, the ear-ring that won’t endear him to everyone. He’s very much an in-your-face cricketer which is a strength. “So I can understand why some people look to the negative side of his game or his personality when they don’t know him. He’s always been very good for us, he’s a tremendous competitor. The jury’s out. We won’t get the verdict until Sri Lanka at The Oval in May, but if an England T20 team enjoy no more success without their inked-up death bowler at what point does the question become: “Jade Dernbach: why not?”