England batting coach Marcus Trescothick didn’t rule out the possibility of playing for a draw on Day 5 of the ongoing second Test against India at Edgbaston, Birmingham. England find themselves in a precarious position in the game as they finished Day 4 on 72/3 chasing a massive target of 608 runs in the fourth innings.
Ever since Brendon McCullum became the head coach of the England Test team, and formed a partnership with captain Ben Stokes, the European nation has been known to chase down totals in the fourth innings. They have not been shy of going after steep targets. They chased down a 371-run target against India in the first Test. However, because of the near-improbable target they have in front of themselves heading into Day 5 of the second Test, Marcus Trescothick suggested that playing for a draw is a plan they will not rule out.
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 assistant coach Marcus Trescothick believes that securing the draw in Edgbastan would be equivalent to victory for England.
Marcus Trescothick believes that England should try to draw the 2nd test match
England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick asserted that his team was not naive enough to rule that a draw as an option going into the final day of the Edgbaston Test. England have vocalised their intentions to go after any target in the fourth innings in this Stokes-McCullum era but may have to settle for only their second home draw in this period given the equation.
They need 536 more runs on the final day of the Test with seven wickets in hand, a steep ask despite conditions remaining favourable for batting. The average scoring rate over the first three innings has been a very healthy 4.39 but given that England will need to score close to six an over for an entire day, they will simply need to adapt.
England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick admitted that chasing down the massive target of 608 against India on the final day at Edgbaston will be a huge task, but insisted the team would stay positive and look to adapt as the situation demands.With 536 runs still needed and seven wickets in hand, Marcus Trescothick acknowledged the difficulty of the challenge but refused to rule out any possibility.
“We all probably appreciate that it’s a hell of a lot of runs to try and score,” Marcus Trescothick said after play on Day 4.
“It’s 550 [536] tomorrow and I don’t think we’ve seen scoring rates quite that quick in a day, so of course it will be challenging. But we’ve probably got about another 10 to 15 overs of the ball at the hardest point before it gets a little bit soft, and then we’ll see how we’re going from that point, really.”
Marcus Trescothick said that while England would always aim to win, securing a draw — which would be only their second in three years — would not be a bad result given the circumstances.
“When you get to the point that you can [only] draw the game, of course [it is a good result]. We’re not stupid enough to [think] that you have to just win or lose. There are three results possible in every game that you play.”
Responding to the perception that England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum never play for a draw, Marcus Trescothick said:
“This has kind of built up away from probably what the changing room messages are. You guys have a perception of what you think goes on in the changing room, and we obviously understand it a little bit more [than] the perception of what we’re trying to do.”
Marcus Trescothick added that England’s dressing room encourages players to aim for victory but also to adapt to situations.
“We’re trying to give the players the best opportunity to win games every time that we go out to play, and then if we can’t do that, then we try and adapt accordingly, and plan ahead to what we’re going to try and do.”
While the world-record chase looks unlikely, Marcus Trescothick made it clear there would be no talk of simply hanging on for a draw.
“I don’t think we use that sort of language,” he said.
“We’re not naive enough to know that it’s a very challenging total… Some players may [choose to dig in]. But you’ve got to understand our changing room is a different type of culture in terms of what we’ve done in the past.”
England have won 12 out of the 18 matches while chasing in the fourth innings under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s regime. The Ben Stokes-led side hasn’t played for a draw yet, having lost the remaining six matches. Hence, England will have the herculean task of drifting away from their usual tactics and bat the whole day to keep their 1-0 lead intact in the five-match series.
After delaying their declaration on Day 4, India have almost ruled out the possibility of them losing the Test. It remains to be seen how England would approach the game on Day 5 as they find themselves in uncharted waters.
Also Read: ENG vs IND : Shubman Gill Appointed Test Skipper For Red Ball