"Australia kept playing on England’s ego"- Geoffrey Boycott slams Ben Duckett & others for falling to short-ball ploy

Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott believes the hosts have potentially blown away a chance to get into the driver's seat in the Lord's Test with some questionable batting late on Day 2 against Australia.

The visitors seemed to be in a bit of trouble when Nathan Lyon walked off the field with a calf injury. England were in an incredibly strong position at 188/1 when Australia decided to use the short-ball ploy and it worked wonders.

Ben Duckett could only lob a short delivery from Josh Hazlewood into the hands of David Warner at fine leg and Geoffrey Boycott called him "silly boy" for trying that shot on 98. Here's what the former cricketer had to write in a column for The Telegraph about the hosts' mini-collapse from 188/1 to 222/4:

"They want to attack everything and never be tied down. So when you’re like that, ego takes over and it got Pope and Duckett out. Australia kept playing on England’s ego and Joe Root obliged. The hook shots let Australia back in the match when they had them by the throat. At one stage, England were cruising and very much on top ... but surrendered to this bumper barrage."

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Ben Duckett defends England's approach

While Ben Duckett missed out on an Ashes hundred, he wasn't too fussed about the mode of dismissal as he shed light on the positive brand of cricket that the hosts have decided to continue playing. He also defended his teammates who fell to the short-ball ploy and told BBC:

"If I’d have gone away from my natural game, I’d have been more frustrated. I’m not sure how to answer that. We’ve played positive cricket for the past 12 months and we’re certainly not going to change."

Harry Brook and skipper Ben Stokes have added 56 runs for the fifth wicket with the score being 278/4 at stumps on Day 2. The hosts will be hopeful that the duo can resume Day 3 by continuing to score freely and try and get past Australia's first-innings score.

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