Nasser Hussain questioned the batting technique showed by England, who were reduced to 122/9 in their second innings and are heading towards a series defeat against New Zealand.
Former captain Nasser Hussain has lambasted the England cricket team for their pathetic show with the bat in the second innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Edgbaston.
In response to New Zealand’s first-innings lead of 85, England’s top-order was dismissed cheaply by pacers Matt Henry and Neil Wagner as Joe Root’s side collapsed to 76/7 before Mark Wood and Olly Stone added a semblance of respect to the total.
Nasser Hussain Questioned England’s Batting Technique
England ended the day on 122/9 with a lead of just 37 runs and is heading towards a series defeat. Nasser Hussain questioned England’s batting technique, believing they should have shown orthodoxy in their approach.
“There seems to have been a reinvention of the wheel out there with batting. Techniques out there that everyone else who has played the game before – they are all wrong and we are right.
“We’re going to have these odd little techniques, we’re going to have the bat coming across it, we’re going to stand funny, we’re going to swing outside our off stump because everyone else in the history of the game – Viv Richards, you are wrong, and we are right,” Nasser Hussain wrote on Sky Sports.
Photograph: Sri Lanka Cricket
In the first Test in Lord’s as well, England received flak for opting not to chase down 273 runs in the final two sessions of the match. Joe Root, England captain defended his side’s approach by saying the “series is very much alive” after they laboured to a draw in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday. England, who has not lost a home red-ball series since 2014, was 170-3 in 70 overs when a draw was agreed in the 1st Test.
Nasser Hussain Urges England Batsmen Have To Get Back To Playing Normally
“I’m not seeing we are right at the moment, whether it be in Sri Lanka where Joe Root carried them, whether it be in India and they don’t have the excuse of the pitches turning here. Whether it is the seaming ball or the spinning ball, they are right and everyone else is wrong. And I don’t see a young batting line-up.
“I see Sibley, Burns, Crawley, Root, and Pope. There’s no one missing in that top five – then come Stokes and Buttler. They’ve got all the coaches, all the backroom staff – please, just get back to playing normally and getting a first innings score,” Hussain added.
“The other thing is, these are the lads that are getting the runs in county cricket. If you picked the five who are getting runs, these are them. So please, have a look at your game and more importantly have a look at the opposition – they are batting how you’re supposed to. It’s just chalk and cheese.“Technically gifted, sound batsmen playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played – let the ball come to you, leave it well and play with a straight bat. Six changes they’ve made and they still look such a sharp outfit.”