Despite being 2-0 down against an Indian side full of positivity, things haven’t looked too gloomy for England. There have been quite a few reasons behind that as very few individuals backed England to be aggressive against India, after losing the second Test to Bangladesh. The results in the first three Tests might have not gone the way as Alastair Cook intended, but he can surely look upon this series with a couple of positive signs.
At a press meet, England coach Trevor Bayliss too reiterated the same point and mentioned that aggression had been a vital aspect for the visitors. Bayliss, advised his side to not hinder back against India and should always look to be positive.
“When we have been a little bit more defensive, we look like wickets waiting to happen,” Bayliss said. “As soon as we’re a little bit more positive, rotating the strike and hitting a boundary when the opportunity comes, it puts pressure on the opposition.”Yes, it might get you out once or twice. But with the batting order we’ve got, there’s going to be a number of guys that do score runs, and that puts some pressure on the opposition.”
When asked about England’s lack of application against spin, Bayliss was pretty straightforward in his approach. He stated the visitors gifted wickets to the Indians in the third Test. “I thought we gifted them a number of our wickets,” Bayliss said. “We’ve got to make them work a little harder.”
Slamming reports that things got ugly when English all-rounder Ben Stokes had an altercation with Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Bayliss stated the ICC was simply looking out on small issues to build upon.
“I think at times the ICC are almost looking for things,” Bayliss said. “I agree that things have been out of hand in the past, and we don’t want it to go overboard.”But sometimes a little bit of by-play between a couple of guys on either side – who are passionate about their cricket and their team – I think it’s good for the game.”