"Clickbait batting" - Michael Vaughan says Jonny Bairstow epitomised England's approach in Test series loss to India
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has referred to the national team's batting performance in the Test series against India as 'clickbait batting'. Placing Jonny Bairstow at its forefront, the 48-year-old reflected that the keeper-batter epitomized it during his both innings in Dharamsala.
Bairstow, in his 100th Test, played some exquisite shots, but could not play an innings long enough to give England the upper hand. The 34-year-old scored 29 off 18 deliveries in the first innings, followed by 39 off 31 in the second as Kuldeep Yadav got the better of him twice.
In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan identified that England's batting is short bursts of keeping fans interested for a while before fading away.
"England’s batting was a real worry on this tour," Vaughan wrote. "I watched Jonny Bairstow in Dharamsala, on his 100th Test, and I thought his two innings almost epitomise what this team is becoming. I would call it Clickbait Batting. They are playing shots to get clicks, likes and follows.
"I’ve been there on social media! In a batting context you play a few great-looking shots and everyone swoons on social media and then you get out."
The 2005 Ashes-winning skipper also lamented the England batters' failure to weather the storm when required.
"I watch them bat and worry that defence has become a dirty word in the setup because it’s negative. Is it a cover because they don’t trust their defence? Ollie Pope starts like a cat on a hot tin roof, and many of them lack the ability to calm the situation with a few overs of defence," he continued.
The tourists suffered multiple batting collapses in the series, squandering the chance to put their side on top. Their only win came in Hyderabad as they staged a comeback from a 190-run deficit to win by 28 runs.
"I have high hopes for Shoaib Bashir" - Michael Vaughan
With off-spinner Shoaib Bashir claiming two fifers in a series of 11 wickets, Michael Vaughan suggests the youngster could be the next-best England spinner after Graeme Swann.
"They have tried to be different with their style and messaging, but ultimately if you don’t have world-class spinners – which they haven’t since Graeme Swann, although I have high hopes for Shoaib Bashir – and batsmen who can bat all day, you don’t stand a chance."
Vaughan concluded by stating that the winter has been a debacle for England, headlined by the group-stage exit at the 2023 World Cup and the junior team not accomplishing anything notable either.
"The Dharamsala Test completed an absolutely awful winter for English cricket. The World Cup was a shocker, and the white-ball team didn’t improve in the Caribbean. The U19s and the women’s team haven’t been much cop either. Not even England’s positivity PR machine can convince us otherwise," he signed off.
England will also start as the defending champions in the 2024 T20 World Cup.