Former England captain Nasser Hussain slammed England for another dismal performance on the first day of the Ashes as the visitors were bowled out for 185.
England is currently trailing by 0-2 in the series and now they have to win the remaining three tests to regain the Ashes. But it’s looking unlikely as the hosts already scored 61/1 at the close of the first day’s play.
England made as many as 4 changes in the XI for this do-or-die game but it didn’t turn their fortunes at least on the day of the Melbourne Test. Barring a fifty from the captain Joe Root, there wasn’t much to show in England’s scorecard. Reviewing the first day’s play, former England captain Nasser Hussain was quite critical of Joe Root & Co.
“If it were a one-off you could blame the sub-par total of 185 on the pitch or the toss but it is happening all too often,” wrote Nasser Hussain in his column for the Daily Mail.
Hussain also pointed out how some unforced errors from England batters cost them at a crucial time.
“The biggest concern was the mixture of poor technique – Hameed was rooted to his crease and played with low hands and Crawley’s bat came across the line – and poor shots, especially from the senior players. Notably, Ben Stokes trying to ramp Cameron Green over the slip cordon and Jos Buttler coming down to Nathan Lyon in the over before tea.”
They’ve got pretty much everything wrong- Vaughan
However, Hussain showed some sympathy for England bowlers as they couldn’t do much damage on a spicy pitch.
“Yet again England were left on the first day with the bowlers needing to bail them out of trouble. They are constantly bowling without runs on the board and when that happens there can be a tendency for bowlers to become a bit defensive and not want to go for boundaries. Or then suddenly go searching for wickets because they are chasing the game,” Hussain wrote.
Another former England captain Michael Vaughan also opined similar thoughts as he blamed their tactics and selections for the dismal first day.
“So far the only thing they’ve done right on the trip is turn up on time. They’ve got pretty much everything wrong – selection, tactics have not quite been right.” Vaughan spoke to Fox Sports.
Also read Nick Compton Slams England’s Selections For Ashes 2021/22 Before Must Win 3rd Boxing Day Test