File image of former English captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton
| Photo Credit: Action Images through Reuters
Former England captains aimed each barrels on the group’s high-wire ‘Bazball‘ approach within the wake of their thrashing by India within the third Test on Sunday and known as for Ben Stokes’ facet to mood their aggressive technique to keep away from additional humiliation.
England misplaced by 434 runs in Rajkot to go 2-1 down within the five-match sequence, with the heavy defeat prompting questions concerning the attacking blueprint laid out for the facet by skipper Stokes and head coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum.
“This England team are hell bent on doing things their way, and ‘saving Test cricket’. They are giving Test cricket a shot in the arm because they are so exciting,” Michael Vaughan wrote in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
“But ultimately they have to be better than that now. They didn’t win in New Zealand, they didn’t win the Ashes, and if they carry on like this, they are going to lose in India. As a team, you are judged on series victories.”
Michael Atherton stated opener Ben Duckett’s “the more the better” feedback after the third day relating to a practical goal England may chase down have been fanciful.
“One can admire the positivity and playfulness of Ben Duckett and this England team — such were his comments on the third evening — while also questioning their occasional self-delusion,” Atherton wrote within the Times.
“Careful husbandry of resources is not the Bazball way. They have been profligate in the extreme in this match, wasting a golden opportunity to build on Duckett’s brilliant second-day hundred and to achieve parity or more on first innings.
“They have been pressured to take some bitter medication as a consequence on a stifling and completely demoralising fourth day in Rajkot.”
Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain said England must learn from their mistakes.
“If England do not take into account tweaks, Bazball simply turns into a cult that may’t be questioned,” he added. “I’m not asking them to change their mantra, simply to assessment the final couple of matches and ask themselves: ‘how can we enhance?'”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, English umpire Richard Kettleborough said: “R.I.P Bazball. England has been humiliated.”
