Mark Butcher was unimpressed by the national team’s batting display on day two of the fourth Test against India. Mark Butcher criticized the Three Lions for allowing India a sniff despite favorable batting conditions on day two at the Oval.
Although England did well to recover from 62-5 to take a 99-run lead but the fact is that most batsmen failed to convert their starts. The likes of Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, and Dawid Malan made impressive 30s and perished at crucial junctures. Only Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes made half-centuries, with the former top-scoring with 81.
Mark Butcher: India Had Ran Out Of Ideas And They Couldn’t Stop Runs From Moeen Ali And Ollie Pope
Responding to Nasser Hussain’s comments on the lack of England’s toughness in the middle order on Sky Sports, Mark Butcher remembered when Indian bowlers looked clueless. Mark Butcher said India could not make the ball talk, failing to control Moeen Ali and Ollie Pope.
“It’s easy to forget they were five down for 60 but I think there was an occasion there towards the back end towards the lunch and tea break and onwards where India had ran out of ideas. They weren’t able to make the ball move so much, it was getting soft which they were complaining about and they couldn’t stem the flow of runs from Moeen Ali and Ollie Pope.”
Nasser Hussain claimed that “if there was just a bit more toughness in that middle order then they could almost still be batting”, while Mark Butcher believes England “let India back in” and they should be “150 in front”.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain said: “You can always have a better day but when they were 60-odd for five, to get up to 290 just shows the value of that middle order and Chris Woakes in particular, batting with the tail, got them a healthy lead. Both sides actually ended up getting more than expected but you always feel, on a flatter Oval pitch that if there was just a bit more toughness in that middle order then they could almost still be batting.”
Ollie Pope scored an excellent 81 on his return to the Test team, sharing an 89-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow and a 71-run partnership with Moeen Ali. Chris Woakes also scored an excellent fifty, further underlining his impressive all-around credentials.
However, with Ollie Pope unable to reach the three-figure mark and both Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali getting out for 37 and 35 respectively, Nasser Hussain and Mark Butcher believe England should have ended up getting a much bigger lead.
Mark Butcher Criticizes Moeen Ali’s Shot Selection
Mark Butcher further claimed that England let India back into the game. The cricketer-turned-commentator was particularly unhappy about Moeen Ali’s shot selection against Ravindra Jadeja. Mark Butcher stated that Moeen Ali has repeated the pattern often throughout his career.
“England let them back in again and I’m not criticising Moeen for trying to have a go at the left-arm spinner, he has the best strike-rate against spin of anybody in the world in white-ball cricket so he can take down the left-arm spinner. It’s the option that has blown people’s minds about Moeen Ali throughout his career. How can a guy who’s so good and with so many options often pick the wrong one?”
Butcher added: “Mid-off and mid-on were up, there were two men back on the leg side for that slog sweep and he went for the slog sweep when he could bash it over long-on and long-off and there was nobody back.”
Both Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain opined that England should have extended the lead well beyond 100. At the close of day two, India reached 43-0, still trailing by 56 runs. On the 3rd day, India is on 108/1 having lost KL Rahul (46). Rohit Sharma is batting on 47 and Cheteshwar Pujara is batting on 14 when Lunch was taken.