Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed Ben Stokes’ men as they find themselves wound to a corner in the Edgbaston Test against India with their ‘win-only’ mindset and Bazball principles facing its ultimate challenge on Sunday.Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that Ben Stokes and Co. can’t come to the fifth day of the Edgbaston Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ‘even thinking about winning’.
With only seven wickets in hand and a colossal 536 of the 608-run target remaining to be chased, all eyes will be focussed on the English side. Will they finally shed their ego of drawing a Test match and grind to block out the day But Michael Vaughan raises a more pertinent question. Even if they choose to go on with a blockathon after having lost batting great Joe Root among three wickets overnight, do the Englishmen have the resolve and character to see off an entire day against Shubman Gill’s India.
India’s delayed declaration rules out England’s victory out of equation at Edgbaston
Shubman Gill became the first player to register a 250-plus score and a 150-plus score in the same Test as India set England a mammoth target of 608 to win the second Test at Edgbaston.
A quick-fire 110-run partnership between Rishabh Pant and Gill was followed by a 175-run partnership for the skipper with Ravindra Jadeja as India got to 427 for 6 before declaring their second innings an hour into the third session on Day 4. England suffered early setbacks in the 16-over period before Stumps, with Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj combining to leave them at 72 for 3.
Having run England ragged on the field for the majority of this Test, India struck early in the fourth innings to leave the hosts in trouble. Zak Crawley was dismissed for a duck by Siraj, driving away from his body to hand a catch to point. India lost a review for a caught behind off Ben Duckett and the left-hander dealt in regular boundaries to get England going. But Duckett’s stay was cut short by Akash Deep as he inside-edged onto the stumps. Ollie Pope got two fours off Akash Deep, but wasn’t in control of the first one as he got a leading edge past gully.
Meanwhile, India continued to be poor with their reviews, losing another when Prasidh Krishna rapped Pope on the pad, with replays revealing it was going down. Pope had a lucky break when an edge off Prasidh did not carry to Pant but Akash Deep made a big dent in the next over, knocking Root over with one that angled in.
Pope nearly chopped on a Prasidh delivery while Harry Brook almost handed a catch to short midwicket. Both were unbeaten at Stumps with England having their work cut out on the final day, needing 536 more with seven wickets remaining. While the delayed declaration of India left England’s victory out of equation, Former English batter now commentator Michael Vaughan has criticized Ben Stokes and team for their Bazball approach and have advised them to secure a draw vs India and not go for a win which is out of equation.
Michael Vaughan criticizes England’s Bazball strategy ahead of the huge chase in 2nd Test
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that Ben Stokes and Co. can’t come to the fifth day of the Edgbaston Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ‘even thinking about winning’. He has advised them to accept that a draw is the best possible result for them and give up their front-footed mantra to try and bat the entirety of Sunday, with the aim to still lead the series 1-0 before the third Test at Lord’s. Michael Vaughan was asked on Test Match Special if England should finally consider a draw as a possibility.
“Well, they have to, they can’t win this game,” the ex-captain Michael Vaughan replied bluntly.
Speaking on the Test Match Special, Michael Vaughan slammed England’s approach, which prevented them from seeing the value of a drawn game under such circumstances. In the 34 previous Tests under Stokes, England have only once drawn a Test, in rain-affected circumstances, winning 21 and losing 12.
“Bazball’s going to get asked the ultimate question tomorrow,” former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.
“India have completely dominated the Test with brilliant skill, great discipline. It’s exactly what I want to see from England tomorrow. In a funny kind of way, this day has been coming where BazBallers can’t arrive on day five and even think about winning. Have they got the ticker, the skillset and the determination to try and get a draw?”
“Are the team and the players going to go completely against what their natural instincts are to do
“You’ve got to get what’s best on offer. And what’s best on offer at the minute is a draw.”
“If you want to win the big series against the likes of India at home in five matches and you want to go to Australia, I think it’s impossible to have a mindset that we just win, that’s all we go for. We don’t play for draws. A draw for England from this position, and I hope they get more in a way of kind of success, if they can get away from here with a draw, it’s almost better than last week’s win because it’s completely against their natural trade,” Michael Vaughan said.
Michael Vaughan also lamented England’s obsession with trying to chase down totals after winning the toss despite favourable batting conditions. After India racked up 587 in the first-innings on the back of India captain Shubman Gill’s 269, England were rolled over for 407 despite their quick scoring rates.
“They’ve won the toss and decided to bowl once again and it was eventually going to backfire in these English conditions in the UK with the ball and the pitches. And I am intrigued to see how this team talk about what they are going to do in the dressing room and come out and do it tomorrow. Because the pitch is still good and if England can have that instinct inside to play hard then they can bat the full day tomorrow. They really can.”
Under Ben Stokes’ captaincy, England have never willingly accepted a draw. Their only one came in a washed-out 2023 Ashes game against Australia at Old Trafford. As recently as Friday, vice-captain Harry Brook had declared that ‘everybody in the world’ knew that England would go for the chase, no matter the target. India have put them in a situation to reconsider those beliefs by setting 608 to win and reducing them to 72/3 at Stumps.
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