Former English skipper Andrew Strauss opined that Joe Root and his men, who are now ‘bruised and battered’ will find it very difficult to make a comeback against a ‘spirited’ Indian outfit in the remaining Test matches. From a seemingly comfortable position, England succumbed to a defeat by 151 runs on Day 5  of the Lord’s Test.

During the game on Sky Sports, Andrew Strauss said, “They were favorites but let things slip before lunch (on the final day) and then had another top-order collapse. Those early wickets put huge pressure on the middle order and India just had enough overs to bowl them out. It was feisty. Every series with India, and particularly (Virat) Kohli, is feisty and as the match was on the line you expected nothing else. It has been five brilliant days of Test cricket.”

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He further added, “India was exceptional and there were times when England looked like they were going to get out of jail but, in the end, you have to say that India deserved it, they did enough to win. England is going to be absolutely battered and bruised as a result of that.”

Andrew Strauss has also called for a change in England’s top-order after another disappointing performance by the batsmen. For the first time in Test history, both England openers were dismissed for ducks in the same innings of a home Test.

Talking about the same, Andrew Strauss said, “At some stage, if you keep being two or three down for nothing, it’s going to come back to haunt you. Yes, they were two good balls to get rid of Burns and Sibley but, of course, then Joe Root is under pressure, (Haseeb) Hameed is under pressure, and then Jonny Bairstow and the middle order as well. You just can’t keep doing that time after time.”

Andrew Strauss is certain that the woefully out-of-form opener Dom Sibley could be dropped ahead of the third Test at Headingley.

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Strauss explained, “I think it might be time to bring Sibley out of the firing line. He has looked out of touch. I think Ollie Pope is probably going to come back in, who has been in and around the squad, but is it right for him to be batting in the top three? It is not an easy solution.”