Former England skipper Nasser Hussain feels it is only India and New Zealand who are producing high-quality red-ball batsmen while other teams have fallen behind in this quest. His comments came in the wake of England batting’s horror display against India in the recently-concluded Lord’s Test.
India were under pressure at the start of day five but Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah turned the tables in a span of an hour. It was England who were under the pressure of either scoring 272 runs or survive 60 overs against India’s four-man pace attack.
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England crumbled like a deck of cards and got out for 120 in 51.5 overs, handing India a 151-run victory and an important 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.
Nasser Hussain blasted on England batsmen’s failure to apply themselves on a rather easy batting track, where India’s tailender denied getting out. He feels Captain Joe Root, head coach Chris Silverwood and cricket director Ashley Giles need to sit together to sketch a plan for red-ball batting.
“If you started with a blank piece of paper now you wouldn’t have this schedule but the problem is that every format wants to play in this chunk of summer. Joe Root has had his hands tied behind his back for over a year. That includes Covid bubbles, rest and rotation, injuries.
“The most amazing thing is that when Rishabh Pant walked off at Lord’s on Monday morning, England were actually in a position to win the second Test. Joe, Chris Silverwood, and Ashley Giles need to sit down and come up with a plan for red-ball batting,” asserted Hussain as reported by Mail Online.
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He mentioned how only Joe Root is contributing to England and isn’t finding any support in the middle. Hussain feels only India and New Zealand are producing good red-ball batsmen.
“This batting demise has been a long time coming. It’s not just England by the way. It’s red-ball batters around the world. It only seems to be the two World Test Championship finalists in New Zealand and India who are producing high-quality red-ball batsmen,” Hussain added.
The third Test between England and India will be played at Headingley in Leeds from August 25.
