The recently concluded five-match Test series between India and England has exposed England men’s cricket. India has done a great favour to England by winning the series comprehensively. I say this because England men’s cricket is gripped by several shortcomings that are not even recognised by the stakeholders. A look at the World Test Championship table gives us a good idea. England are at the bottom of the table with only three wins in ten matches. Only Sri Lanka are below them. For a country that claims to be the custodian of the game of Test cricket, it should be a matter of worry to be at the bottom of the Test championship table.
England’s think tank primarily comprises Captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. The first question that needs to be asked is about the role of Stokes himself. When it was clear that he would not be taking part in the series as an all-rounder, it became even more important for him to perform as a batter. But in 10 innings, Stokes could manage only 199 runs at a dismal average of 19.90. His body language as a batter was appalling. It was clear that he failed to even pick the Indian leggie Kuldeep Yadav.
Those who followed the series closely would know that Stokes indulged in theatrics to hide his ability as a batter against quality spin bowling. On one occasion, he was bowled by a delivery that went between his legs and trickled on to the stumps. Stokes reacted as if it was a case of bad luck. The truth was that he had failed to read the leg spin and was deceived in the air. His captaincy throughout the series was overrated. He erred by not bowling James Anderson during critical situations. In the final analysis, it would not be entirely wrong to say that he was a burden on the team because of his absence as a bowler. Yet, there is little talk of questioning his approach while batting and his failure in ten consecutive innings. Perhaps it would not be wrong to say that a negative superstar culture grips England men’s cricket where there is little scope for criticism. Stokes has failed as a player not just in this Test series but also during the ICC Mens ODI World Cup held in India last year. England performed miserably in that tournament as well but escaped any criticism.
The English cricket team’s approach in India suggests that its players don’t care much about their performance in India. Consider this: England had four humiliating collapses in the series. They lost 9 wickets for 139 runs in Vizag; 8 wickets for 95 runs in Rajkot; 7 wickets for 35 runs in Ranchi; and 7 wickets for 43 runs in Dharamshala. It was a shocking display of careless, irresponsible batting right through the series. It was as if they were in a hurry to end the matches. England’s performance becomes more pathetic when one takes into account the fact that India was a depleted side in the absence of four world-class players. India even rested Jasprit Bumrah for a Test but England failed to capitalise on it. Another example of England’s poor attitude on the tour was when the team opted to leave India for Abu Dhabi instead of setting up a practice camp at Rajkot ahead of the third Test. It is surprising that there has been very little criticism of England’s failures during the series.
Also read: England cricket must ditch Bazball arrogance. It has no place on Indian pitches
India’s huge favour
India has done a great favour to England by puncturing Bazball. The English batters have been hiding their failures under the pretext of Bazball. It’s a classic case of escapism. It is laughable to assume that the English batters could play long innings at a high strike rate against great Indian spinners on Indian pitches. The very idea was amusing because even Indian batters could not take on the mediocre English spinners and play long innings at high strike rates. Test cricket is not as easy as that. The Indian batters played the English spinners with respect and care that international bowlers deserve. By the time the series ended, it was clear that even the innings of Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett were one-off performances that could not be repeated. Both Pope and Duckett were mediocre for the major part of the series. The case of Joe Root cements the argument that it’s impossible to play long innings with extraordinary strike rates in India. Root’s success in the series came only when he started playing the bowling on its merit. Perhaps it was a deliberate strategy of the England team to use Bazball to hide their failures. Except Root, none of the English batter did any course correction.
England’s attitude towards spin bowling also deserves criticism. England brought Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, and Shoaib Bashir to India. Except in the first Test, the English spinners could not make any impact on the Indian batting. Bashir picked wickets but without causing great damage to the Indian batting line-up. Hartley gained from a timid batting approach by the Indians in the first Test but bowled poorly in the remaining matches. He regularly bowled short and was punished. Ahmed made no major impact whatsoever. The reason behind the mediocrity of the English spin bowling attack lies in the way spinners are treated in England’s domestic cricket. Spinners rarely get any importance in county cricket. If the England men’s cricket has to win consistently overseas, then they will need to focus on spin at home. It is spin that will give them Test victories in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect is the undue importance given to individual performances in English cricket, fed by a superstar culture where the focus is on individuals rather than the team. There is no doubt we should hail Anderson’s 700th Test wicket. But this cannot hide England’s dismal failure in India. Jonny Bairstow was a failure on tour. For someone who has played a hundred Tests, he does not have an extraordinary performance to justify the selectors long-term faith in him. He has an ordinary batting average of 36 with only 12 centuries. Stokes’ record in India, both in Test and ODI cricket, is appalling. Root’s reckless batting approach in the first half of the series deserves criticism.
England used Bazball as an excuse for their failure to play quality spin. They did not take the Indian tour as seriously and showed tour fatigue by the time they played the 5th Test match. English cricket currently lacks accountability and is delusional. The miserable performance of England in the 2023 ODI World Cup was ignored. Now they have added a miserable Test tour to their list of failures.
Kush Singh @singhkb is founder, The Cricket Curry Tour Company. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)