England's batting was its big "nemesis", not the decision-making by stand-in captain Ben Stokes, former skipper Nasser Hussain said while assessing the team's four-wicket defeat to a resolute West Indies side in the first Test of the three-match series in Southampton.
Stokes' call to drop veteran pacer Stuart Broad and opt to bat after winning the toss in overcast conditions on Day 1 came under the scanner. But Hussain pointed out that wouldn't have mattered much had England actually scored more than 204 and 303 in the two innings it batted.
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"Let's not get lost with the Broad issue or the toss issue. England having batted first were bowled out for 204 - that is still their nemesis," Hussain was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
"They did well in South Africa, but in England, against the Dukes ball, they often find themselves 20-3, 30-3, and without Root in the side this week that was a nightmare. That is still the issue for England."
"They are going to a good surface at Old Trafford. (regular skipper, Joe) Root is back and they have to bat like they did in South Africa this winter and at points in New Zealand. Not by being 204 all out," he added.
"Sometimes as a captain, you have to say 'I back my side to get 300 on this' but England fluffed their lines again with the bat after winning the toss."
Hussain added he would retain Zak Crawley, who made a fine half-century in the second innings, and drop the struggling Joe Denly to make way for Root in the next Test. Root, in whose absence Stokes captained at the Ageas Bowl, had to leave the squad to attend the birth of his second child.
"I would have Crawley at three, not just because of his runs and improvement but also his tempo. I sometimes look at the top three of Dom Sibley, Rory Burns and Denly and they are a bit one-tempo."
"Crawley is a little bit busier - even when he opened in South Africa he got Sibley going a little bit and South Africa were 'hang on, the run rate is going up a little bit'. I like Crawley at three."
"Denly hasn't been a disaster - he has won games for England, been very consistent, been a stop-gap but I think it is time to move on with youth."
Coming back to Broad, it isn't that Hussain absolutely agreed with the contentious decision. The team management went for the extra pace of Mark Wood, but the ex captain-turned-commentator thinks rather than weighing into the future and how the speed of Wood and Jofra Archer playing together might influence England's next Ashes chances, the side should now look to win the next two Tests and regain the Wisden Trophy.
"All I would say about Broad is that if this had been the first Test of an Ashes series, would he have been playing. I would say, yes, 100 per cent? So why wasn't he playing against the West Indies?"
"Was it because we underestimated West Indies and took them lightly? They hold the Wisden Trophy - we have underestimated them in the past and they have beaten us, so why do it here?"
Broad was in brilliant form leading upto this series, playing a key role in ensuring England at least draws the Test series against Australia last summer after conceding the urn and helping the side retain the Basil d'Oliveira Trophy in South Africa.
"Was it because they couldn't choose between Wood and Archer and so split up Broad and [Jimmy] Anderson and said 'look to the future'? asked Hussain. "Look to the now. Win this game. It's a three-match series and you don't hold the Wisden Trophy."
"I hope they don't think 'two wrongs make a right - Broad has had a bit of moan (about the decision to drop him), maybe he should have played'. Don't go on the press, go on what you think for the next Test."
"The good thing for England is that the back-up bowling - Broad and [Chris] Woakes are in reserve at the moment - has experience and a huge amount of skill and as we get to the second and third Tests that might have bearing on this series," he concluded.
The next Test in Manchester starts this Thursday (July 16).
