The England team has been heavily criticized by former players like Michael Vaughan and Geoffrey Boycott for casually losing their advantage on day 2 of the ongoing Ashes 2023 second Test at the Lord’s against Australia.
Australia had posted a formidable 416 runs on the board with Steve Smith hammering his 32nd Test ton and Travis Head making 77 and David Warner making 66 runs. Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue picked three wickets each for England.
In reply, England were 188/1 at one stage and with Nathan Lyon unavailable, and they ended the day at 278/4, still 138 behind, with the last three wickets falling to short balls. Ben Duckett made 98 runs, while Zak Crawley (48) and Ollie Pope (45) also contributed to the score.
However, Michael Vaughan said what England did was not entertaining but it was plain stupid cricket.
“For the first 182 runs, I saw an England side that went out to bat and play with great entertainment because they played proper cricket strokes. What came after that for the next hour or so was absolute stupidity.
That is not entertaining, I’m sorry, that is stupid Test match cricket and Australia will be delighted with that method because when the ball is not swinging over the next few weeks, guess what they are going to do,” he told BBC’s Test Match Special.
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Vaughan highlighted Crawley’s dismissal as one of the holes that are still to be filled in the current England team.
“Zak Crawley has just done what Zak Crawley does. Plays nicely, plays beautifully, and you think come on, it’s your day. He gets to 48 and then just gifts an easy wicket. That’s the problem with this England side …. they don’t realize when they’re on top.
They just carry on with this method. There was no need for that dismissal. You get beauty on a pitch like this, you say well bowled, but there are not many beauties going to be bowled on this surface at the minute. Play sensibly,” Vaughan added.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey Boycott also had tough words for the England side and called Duckett a “silly boy” for giving away his wicket on 98.
“They want to attack everything and never be tied down. So when you’re like that, ego takes over and it got Pope and Duckett out. Australia kept playing on England’s ego and Joe Root obliged. The hook shots let Australia back in the match when they had them by the throat. At one stage, England was cruising and very much on top … but surrendered to this bumper barrage,” Boycott wrote in The Telegraph.
England will hope that Harry Brooks (45), Ben Stokes (17), and Jonny Bairstow, who is yet to bat, will dig them out of the hole they have created for themselves.
