At a riveting encounter on day 5, Australia emerged victorious and attained an unassailable lead of 2-0, in the second Test of the Marquee Ashes on Sunday at Lord’s. The mighty Australians won the Test by 43 runs, and although skipper Ben Stokes put in significant effort and hammered an outstanding score of 155, their inability to reach the target of a mammoth 371 remained unchanged, the hosts were all out on 327. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins made a strong impact in the game, each took 3 wickets to facilitate Australia reaching the finish line.
England continued their second innings on day 5 at 114/4. Barring Stokes and Duckett none of the other batters were able to produce results for England, Duckett at 83 got dismissed just after drinks in the first session on day 5, and subsequently to his departure Jonny Bairstow could not sustain longer as he was ousted in a quirky manner by Alex Carrey. However, this did not halt Stokes’s performance as he played phenomenal innings but was beaten by Josh Hazelwood, however, former’s performance earned him applause from both Australian and England fans.
Australia dominated the game, despite the slight movement of the swing favoring England, Australia displayed unwavering strength and did not show any signs of faltering. In Australia, every player played a part in the victory, whereas in England, several players failed to make any significant contributions, which is the key reason for their failure.
Is ‘Bazball’ A Problem For England?
No doubt, that Bazball has aided England to win numerous Test matches, 11 out of 13 they have won by this approach. However, is it the right approach now? England has lost second consecutive Test match of the series, and are in a grave situation now, should they abandon this approach and explore alternative strategies, or should they focus on enhancing the effectiveness of their current approach? These questions are worth posing, as Australia is a formidable opponent and they cannot afford to make any more mistakes in the third Test of The Marquee Ashes.
An important aspect to note is that England adopted an all-out aggressive approach, lacking the calculated aggression necessary to prevent losing wickets, which was clearly evident in the 1st innings of England, Bairstow tried to attack in the 1st session and was willing to take the risk which costed his wicket, hence, it has become crucial that they play strategically and progressively.
“Test Cricket Still Needs To Be Smart Cricket”- Andrew Strauss
Sir Andrew Strauss claims that Test Cricket should be played in a gradual and tactful way rather than aggressively. He stated while talking to Sky Sports:
“That Bazball approach is so embedded in the team now, and England would be absolutely wrong to try and change that, but any Test cricket still needs to be smart cricket.” said Andrew Strauss.
“With your intent, and overall approach, you have to still assess, ‘what does this situation require of me?’ Adaptability is always crucial. If England were honest with themselves, there have been moments in this Test match – and Edgbaston – where ego maybe came into it.” he added.
“With Australia bowling short like that, yes England want to be positive against it and not take a backwards step but sometimes the odds aren’t in your favour.” he concluded.
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