On Sunday, because the rain refused to relent at Old Trafford in Manchester, England got here away feeling a way of superiority not for the primary time on this sequence. After the loss within the first Test at Edgbaston, England coach Brendon McCullum was bullish about persevering with their attacking model, selecting responsible the rub of the inexperienced not going their approach for the outcome and suggesting that the “loss felt like a win”.
England’s Stuart Broad, left and Ben Stokes look out from the gamers balcony after play was deserted(AP)
After the loss within the second Test at Lord’s, they demonstrated a holier-than-thou perspective, invoking that archaic ‘spirit of cricket’ argument to really feel aggrieved over Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow.
They might need justification for feeling wronged at Old Trafford after dominating from begin to end, however the backside line is that they have gained solely one of many 4 Tests with Australia main 2-1 within the sequence. Irrespective of the end result within the ultimate Test at The Oval in London this week, Australia will head again dwelling with the urn of their grasp.
England can moan how a lot ever they need in regards to the rain ruining their hopes of levelling the sequence heading into the ultimate recreation, nevertheless it’s not the primary time that inclement climate has interfered with a Test. England ought to know that greater than every other group.
While there’s no denying the leisure worth they’ve introduced, they’ll maybe profit by reflecting on a few of their missteps in the course of the sequence. Especially within the first Test at Edgbaston, the place a first-innings declaration on 393/8 with Joe Root unbeaten on 118 reeked of overconfidence.
Australia ended up responding with 386 earlier than England’s second-innings complete of 273 set the guests a goal of 281. Thanks to Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon’s unbroken partnership of 55 runs, Australia gained with two wickets in hand.
If you had been to look again, a beneficial end result for England in Birmingham might have modified the complexion of the sequence. But ultimately, it’s outcomes and chilly numbers that can outline a group’s standing, even when Ben Stokes and this England group suppose in any other case.
At the post-match presentation on Sunday, former England captain Mike Atherton requested Stokes whether or not he had any lingering regrets in regards to the recreation at Edgbaston. “No,” got here Stokes’s blunt response.
Stokes was probed additional with that line of questioning within the press convention that adopted. “When you look back at the cricket that was played, we did everything we possibly could,” Stokes elaborated. “Regardless of what we did, we would have ended up in the same situation. I think anyone who is going to question the declaration in this game probably doesn’t understand the game as well as we do.”
That final line is illustrative of the skinny line between confidence and hubris. Stokes might level to their report of 12 wins in 17 Tests with 4 losses and a draw within the Bazball period, but when the England captain continues happening this highway of considering that their strategies are past query, he runs the chance of ending up in a dangerous vacation spot. Though their want to entertain is considerable, they have to be versatile sufficient to recognise when to retreat.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting mentioned England spurned advantageous positions within the first two Tests. “I said right from the start, if they want to play that way, that brand of cricket and they’ve talked about it so much, they sort of back themselves into a corner where they’ve got to play that way,” Ponting mentioned on Sky Sports on Sunday.
“With this approach there’s a time and a place against the very best Test teams to be able to play that way. I don’t think they’re going to be able to do it all the time, and I think the fact that they went as hard as they did in the second innings at Edgbaston and then probably losing those wickets to the short ball at Lord’s were the reason that they found themselves 2-0 down after the first two games.”
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Source: www.hindustantimes.com
