Australia’s aggressive bowling attack led by Pat Cummins made significant inroads against England on Day 2 of the Lord’s Test match. Employing a barrage of bouncers, the Australian bowlers forced three false shots from the England players, resulting in the dismissals of Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Ben Duckett. This turn of events disrupted England’s promising start on the second day.

Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers praised Cummins for his strategic approach and highlighted that no batsman remains completely comfortable while facing short-pitched deliveries.

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“When a fast bowler, who’s also the Captain, and can hold the bat himself realizes that no one is fully in control or comfortable against the short ball. Even the best in the world feel uncomfortable to quality short bowling to the right field placing,” De Villiers shared on Twitter.

When a fast bowler, who’s also the Captain, and can hold the bat himself realises that no one is fully in control or comfortable against the short ball. Even the best in the world feel uncomfortable to quality short bowling to the right field placing.

Credit to Cummins for…

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) June 29, 2023

Former England cricketers expressed their bewilderment at England’s choice of shots. Former batsman Michael Vaughan criticized the hosts for their quick succession of wickets, emphasizing the need to differentiate between entertainment and imprudence.

“I think we’ve got to be realistic though, we can’t mix entertainment with stupidity. Now, for the first 182 runs, I saw an England side that went out to bat and played with great entertainment because they played proper cricket strokes. They played the Australian bowlers, the quicks, with great balance, great scoring options on the front foot, the back foot,” Michael Vaughan commented on BBC.

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AB de Villiers, on the other hand, credited Cummins for his tactical approach on a slow and low pitch at Lord’s, describing it as astute cricket from Australia.

“Credit to Cummins for taking this route, but more importantly, persisting with it. Aus have opened it up here while Eng looked like dominating procedures. Smart Cricket. Very entertaining,” AB de Villiers shared on Twitter.

England will begin the next day’s play with a score of 278/4, with Ben Stokes and Harry Brook at the crease, aiming to regain control of the match.