England openers failed to get going yet again as both Rory Burns and Dom Sibley were dismissed for a duck on Day 5 of the Lord’s Test match where India went from being down and out at the end of fourth day to registering a historic win on the final day.
Former England skipper, Michael Vaughan who was not impressed with this inconsistent English opening pair, suggested a major change in the top order for the upcoming third Test against India at Headingley in Leeds.
“I want a bit more substance and experience. I want to see Dawid Malan at three. England cannot keep going with the Rory Burns-Dom Sibley opening partnership after 10 ducks this year. It is the definition of insanity. It just does not work,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“In total, 37 per cent of their partnerships this year have not gone past the second over. That is staggering. You can’t carry on with that and England know it. I would give Hameed his rightful spot to open and throw in Malan. England now need a little bit of substance. They have three games against India then straight into an Ashes series,” he added.
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The Englishman then recalled when all-rounder Ben Stokes had saved this England team during the Headingley Test of the 2019 Ashes series and believes someone of Stokes’ calibre is needed who can win games against this strong Indian team.
“It is going to be so hard to recover without Stokes. They had one of the greats to get them out of a hole in the last Ashes Test at Headingley. They were bowled out for 67 but Stokes played the greatest innings of all time. Now there are signs this series could get very messy for England,” the 46-year-old said.
“They have to find some spirit and belief. They have to hope someone turns up and does something like Stokes did two years ago. It will probably have to be Joe again. But how much has this defeat sapped his energy?” Vaughan concluded.
After the Lord’s Test match, the action moves to Leeds where India and England will be locking horns from August 25.
(With The Telegraph Inputs)
