The talk heading into Day 4 of the second Test at Edgbaston revolved around whether England’s ultra-aggressive ‘Bazball’ philosophy would give way to pragmatism, with some wondering if Ben Stokes’ team would aim for a draw against a rampant India.
But as former captain Mike Atherton observed after England’s crushing 336-run defeat, that debate proved irrelevant in the end.
“In the end, the philosophical dilemma and chin-stroking mattered not a jot,” Atherton wrote in The Times. “It was not so much a question of whether this England team, so disdainful of the concept of the draw, would contemplate playing for it but whether they were good enough to do so.”
Atherton highlighted how England squandered opportunities handed to them by Shubman Gill’s slightly delayed declaration and the rain that shaved 10 overs off the final day. Despite those lifelines, England crumbled on one of the flattest pitches seen in England in years.
“On a still true pitch, it was so dispiriting that England did not make a better fist of surviving what was essentially a day’s worth of cricket. Indeed, on one of the flattest pitches seen in this country in recent years, they lasted only 157 overs across both innings, collecting seven ducks in all, four of them for the top six.”
Nasser Hussain, writing for The Daily Mail, shifted the focus to the contrasting performances of the two bowling attacks. He argued that the Edgbaston surface ultimately suited India more. “Even though it was still pretty dead on day five, the Indian seamers were getting the ball to move about off the cracks and dryness in the surface,” Hussain noted.
“Some of that was down to the toss. A pitch naturally dries out over the course of a game and is therefore at its driest at the end of the match. India’s bowlers were brought up having to cope with those conditions.”
Hussain further explained how India’s pacers made the most of conditions England found alien. “I don’t think it was the pitch England wanted. It was much more akin to what Indian players are used to.
England’s bowlers were hitting the deck hard but a lot of pace was being taken off the ball, whereas India thrived with their skiddier trajectories. They needed the kind of mode of attack that Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj provided, where kissing the surface got more out of it.”
Hussain also touched on India’s selection gamble that paid off. “There will be some people nodding contentedly in the away dressing room, saying ‘we got it right’ by leaving out their attacking spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in Birmingham. He will now head to London fresh after a fortnight’s rest.”
