Michael Atherton, the former England player and one of the most renowned commentators in the world, has come out and stated that he is perplexed by some of Joe Root's tactics as the England captain against Pakistan in the ongoing Test match at Lord's.
Pakistan lost the toss on the first day with a big cloud cover on a greenish surface and it was expected England would challenge the mercurial opposition into bat but they batted themselves. It was just the opportunity that a young Pakistani fast bowling contingent needed, as they ran through the Joe Root led side for just 184.
Atherton, who is doing commentary and expertise work for Sky Sports, saw Joe Root placing himself at the short leg wearing a helmet with Mark Wood the quickest bowler on show from England bowling as his bowlers continued to struggle for wickets against Pakistan. He said on the feed, "I think that’s a ridiculous place to captain from, You captain well from first slip. You captain well from mid-off or mid-on where you’ve got a nice view of the game. Under the lid at short leg is no place for a captain to be"
"England have a had a problem in that situation because Mark Stoneman, who did it in the winter, is not very good there. But I don’t care if Mark Stoneman is not very good, find someone else to do it. The captain should not be at short leg. You can’t see the game. All you’ve got a view of is the batsman’s backside."
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, is also extremely critical of the team's performance versus Pakistan so far. He said on the BBC’s Test Match Special that, "They just look like a side … (that) need oiling, They’re not well coached. This Test match team is not well coached. The cordon changes every other over. It’s a little bit like the schoolboy teams. You get in a position on the park that you fancy and you just stay in it"
"There was a time when the second new ball was taken – Ben Stokes took it from the Pavilion End – Jimmy Anderson was at third slip. Stuart Broad partners Ben Stokes with the second new ball and they’ve got four slips. Jimmy Anderson is not one of the four slips. You’ve got Joe Root who has a go at short leg, then Alastair Cook has the helmet on. Mark Stoneman, whether they think he’s useless in there or he’s got some kind of injury, we’ve not heard of an injury so they must think he can’t catch. You’ve got Dominic Bess who could go under the lid. A youngster, somebody vibrant."
