Former England skipper Michael Vaughan feels that preparing green tops for the five-match Test series against India following the disappointing show against New Zealand will do England more harm than good.
England has not done well in the second Test against New Zealand in Edgbaston after the first match at Lord's was drawn. The hosts were bundled out for 303 runs in their first innings and then later struggled to make a further impact with the bat in their second innings.
The Joe Root-led side crumbled on day three, taking a slender lead of 37 runs before the end of the play. The hosts ended their innings at 122 runs, setting New Zealand a target of just 38 runs.
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After New Zealand, England is set to host India for a five-match Test series. The first Test match kick starts on August 4 at Trent Bridge followed by the second Test at Lord's on August 12.
The third Test is scheduled to be held at Headingley from August 25 while the fourth Test starts on September 2 at the Oval. The fifth and final Test will be played at Old Trafford from September 10.
While talking to The Telegraph, former England skipper Michael Vaughan said that England made a tactical error against New Zealand by not including spinner in their side and urged Joe Root-led side to not repeat the same mistake against India.
“They got lucky at Lord’s because it rained. But to make the same mistake two weeks in a row is a glaring tactical error. The wicket was not gripping and offering a lot of turns, but you need a variation when it is hot and dry at Edgbaston.
You end up bowling your seamers more in a four-man seam attack each than with three seamers and the spinner so if they had picked Jack Leach, Joe Root could have also kept his seamers fresher. I hope England do not make the same mistake against India,” Michael Vaughan told the Telegraph.
Vaughan remarked that England should continue playing on batting-friendly pitches and that playing on green tops against India won’t do them much good in their build-up to Ashes.
“Even though England have struggled on these pitches, I believe they have to continue playing on good wickets, which is what Chris Silverwood said he wanted this summer.
I do not believe playing on green tops against India even if it gets them a couple of cheap Test wins will do them any good whatsoever as they build to Australia away and beyond. They need to learn how to play, and win, on good Test pitches,” he said.
Vaughan pointed out that over the past few weeks, the wickets have been perfect for the Test matches, but also said that England has not played good cricket.
“The past few weeks have been perfect wickets for Test cricket and regraded the team who has played the better cricket. England just has not been good enough. It has been a stark reminder that this Test match team has a long way to go before they can really think about beating Australia in Australia,” he said.
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Talking about the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand, Michael Vaughan backed the Black Caps to win the clash as they had two competitive matches against England.
He claimed that intra-squad matches which India is playing are not of the same intensity as international matches.
“I have New Zealand as favorites to win the World Test Championship final against India. They have had two very competitive games and will take some confidence. India have played intra-squad warm-up matches but that just is not the same intensity,” he concluded.
(PTI Inputs)
