Ian Botham says England should be judged after India tour
Legendary England all-rounder, Ian Botham, is not disturbed by England's shock loss to Bangladesh in Dhaka and feels the team will be judged on their performances in India rather than in Bangladesh.
A dramatic collapse from England on Day 3 saw them lose all their wickets for 64 runs after they were 100/0. Bangladesh completed a historic win- their first against England- to share the spoils for the series 1-1.
That the fickle English line-up struggled to play a 19-year-old newbie off-spinner raised serious concerns about how they would tackle spin king, Ravichandran Ashwin in the forthcoming series against India.
However, Ian Botham felt England will not be judged on this performance but rather on their performances in India.
“It (a collapse) can happen in that part of the world,” said Botham. “The wickets are tailored, they are designed to spin. When you see spinners opening in Tests with the new ball, you get an idea of what’s coming.
“It’s good for them (Bangladesh). But what they’ve got to do is to start winning outside of their own country. That’s the acid test and that’s what England must do now. At the end of the day, they’ll be judged not so much on what happens in Bangladesh, but they will be judged more on what happens in India.”
England’s bowlers could take the pitch out of the equation against India
England's batsmen showed serious weakness against spin. Neither Joe Root or Alastair Cook, the experienced duo in the squad, showed the right temperament against the Bangladesh tweakers , who were on top of their game.
Besides the struggles of their batsmen, it is worth noting that neither Adil Rashid or Zafar Ansari, the lead spinners in the second Test, could extract good purchase from a friendly pitch. Moeen Ali was the pick of their spinners with a five-wicket haul in the Test. But against the likes of Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, who are brilliant players of spin, England need better stuff from their spinners.
But Botham feels their pace bowlers could cover for their spinners. Broad, expected to get his 100th cap in Tests in India, is a good exponent of reverse swing. Steven Finn and Chris Woakes are also capable of extracting reverse swing. Though they will miss Anderson, a master of the art, they have the bowlers to threaten.
"England have got the bowlers who can take the pitch out of the equation with reverse swing,” he said. “If they go out there and they perform, they can win.”
Botham was not bothered by the decision to rest Broad in the final Test against Bangladesh. He felt bowlers, unlike batsmen, needed time between games and so the decision was right. However, he felt for all-rounders like him or Ben Stokes, rest could not be afforded.
He was all praise for Stokes, who produced a stunning performance in the first Test to pave the way for an English victory. He starred with bat and ball in a Botham-esque display of cricket.
“I think he’s fantastic. I think he’s box office. I love watching him play, I like his attitude, I like the aggression. He’s the kind of cricketer you’ll cross the road to watch. It is all a learning curve for him now, but he learns quickly”, Botham said.
In India, Botham said England could make room for Jos Buttler, someone who can take the spinners out of the equation with powerful strokes. He reckons if Buttler gets a go, someone like Ballance may have to make way.