England cricket team got a brutal reality check as they lost 2nd & 3rd Test match quite badly. Ben Stokes‘ brigade lacked the intent on turning tracks as they were playing a bit too many sweep and reverse sweep shots which backfired. Ben Stokes now has lost 2 Test series in sub-continent within 2 years as earlier India thrashed them by 4-1 in February-March 2024; and recently they lost against a relatively young and inexperienced Pakistani Test side by 2-1.
Head coach Brendon McCullum would be wondering about the approach of attacking cricket given the fact that now England is almost out of ICC WTC 2023-25 final. It won’t be wrong to say that England missed the services of Jonny Bairstow who was ignored completely due to his string of low scores but his experience could have come handy in the lower middle order.
Sir Geoffrey Boycott furious on England cricket team
Sir Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his column at Telegraph and mentioned how England batters can’t sustain in spin friendly pitches. Sir Geoffrey Boycott also pointed out that England need to win overseas as well to create a legacy which we will be remembered for long time in the history of Test cricket.
“If you want to have a legacy as a great team then you have to be able to win on all surfaces. Unfortunately, they are wasting their opportunity and risk being remembered as flat-track bullies unless they make some adjustments for conditions. We have now seen that for all their great batting on flat pitches, this England team has an Achilles heel and other teams around the world will take note. Take England’s batsmen out of their comfort zone and you have a fantastic chance of beating them,” said Sir Geoffrey Boycott.
“It was annoying to hear the England players saying after the Pakistan series defeat: ‘That’s how we as a group play. It gives the impression that they think they know it all and have nothing to learn. Richie Benaud used to say you never stop learning! Our youngsters seem to think they invented the wheel, don’t want to change and that we oldies don’t know anything about Test match cricket,” he added.
Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook & Ben Stokes were very weak against spin- Sir Geoffrey Boycott
Sir Geoffrey Boycott was quite critical the way skipper Ben Stokes and rest of the batters played with hard hands and there were gaps between bat and ball. Sir Geoffrey Boycott pointed out that how Harry Brook was naive against spinners in the last 2 Test matches despite smashing his maiden triple century in 1st Test match.
“On a spinning pitch in Pakistan, I don’t know what was worse: England’s inability to get rid of the tail cheaply or the dreadful batting against the turning ball. For two Test matches our batting was pathetic against spin. In India earlier this year the batsmen were weak and easily spun out. As soon as the ball grips Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes are all at sea. They go at the ball with hard hands and there are gaps between bat and pad,” said Sir Geoffrey Boycott.
“Some of our guys have learned nothing. High-risk strokes are not smart. Trying safer shots would bring a better rate of success than trying to be clever. A perfect example is Brook. He scored a brilliant 317 in the first Test and in the next four innings he was naive with no idea against spin and totalled 56 runs,” he concluded.
Also Read: PAK vs ENG : Ben Stokes Apologizes For Frustration On The Field During 2nd Test Match