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Michael Vaughan has slammed England’s Bazball approach after the hosts were bundled out for 325 runs in response to Australia’s first innings total of 416 on Day 3 in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on Friday, June 30.
For the uninitiated, Mitchell Starc dismissed England captain Ben Stokes (17), Joe Root (10), and Harry Brook (50) off short-length deliveries.
Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow (16), Ollie Pope (42), and Ben Duckett (98) threw their wickets despite getting steady starts.
The 48-year-told the BBC Test Match Special:
“England clearly like losing. Seeing a player play a shot like that, it’s just not good enough at this level. This is stupid cricket from England. I fear they have forgotten the art of soaking up periods of the game that aren’t easy.”
The former England captain added:
“Test cricket is a test and in that test sometimes you have to soak up pressure. They have gifted wickets to Australia, who are without their off-spinner [Nathan Lyon].”
It’s worth noting that England added just 47 runs to their overnight score of 278/4, as wickets fell like a pack of cards in the first session of Day 3.
“Susceptive to the short ball” – Nasser Hussain pinpoints England’s weakness in Ashes
Nasser Hussain has identified the short ball problems for England batters during the second Ashes Test. The former England captain said that the hosts have forgotten the art of defending in the Bazball era. The 55-year-old told Channel Nine:
“There’s a time to attack and a time to defend. What you don’t want to do this early in a five-match series is show the opposition you are susceptible to the short ball.”
Kevin Pietersen further questioned Harry Brook’s dismissal as he holed out to Australian captain Pat Cummins at cover after completing his half-century. The 43-year-old told Sky Sports:
“I don’t think Harry Brook has shown anybody that he plays the short ball very well, so unfortunately for him the next three Test matches are not going to be fun. A 91-run run lead for Australia. You wouldn’t have thought that coming into this ground this morning.”
Australia ended Day 4 at 130/2 with Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith at the crease. The visitors have stretched their lead to 221 runs.
Click here to follow the second Ashes Test live score updates.
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