"I want all those people who criticized me for how I bowled to apologize" - Merv Hughes on the 'Bodyline' tactics in 2nd Ashes Test
Merv Hughes has said light-heartedly that he deserves an apology from all people who criticized him since his age-old short-ball tactic was used as a strike weapon in the second Ashes Test.
Australia employed the short ball to great use to bowl England out for 325 in their first innings of the Lord's Test after they were comfortably placed at 188/1 at one stage. The hosts followed suit in the visitors' second innings, snaring a few wickets and restricting the run flow with the approach.
During an interaction on the SEN podcast 'Breakfast with Pat and Heals', Ian Healy asked Hughes about 'Bodyline' being back and how he would have enjoyed it, to which he responded:
"I got criticized for bowling this crap 20-30 years ago and now it's back. I am just thinking mate, just rewind the clock, I want all those people who criticized me for how I bowled to apologize. I have always said that I was far more intelligent than most batters and most wicketkeepers."
While acknowledging that the approach might not be enthralling to watch, the former Australian pacer highlighted that it yielded the desired results for both sides:
"People might not like it but ultimately it's a game plan by the players. Let's face it, the English players did it, the Australian players did it, they bowled short and they got rewarded for their effort."
Australia got rid of four England frontline batters - Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Harry Brook - with the short ball in the first innings. Ben Stokes and Co. paid them back by dismissing virtually all Australian top-order batters with the same approach.
"England didn't have to change their game plan" - Merv Hughes on Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith succumbing to the short ball
Merv Hughes pointed out that England weren't required to alter their game plan as Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith were dismissed by the short ball:
"What we needed to see is that Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith at the start of that fourth day, they played that barrage really well for about an hour and then they succumbed to it. They got out both hooking. So England didn't have to change their game plan."
He added that the Australian bowlers similarly didn't have to change their approach a day earlier:
"Rewind back a day, Australian bowlers to the English batters, they were bowling short, the English batters were hitting the ball up in the air and getting caught. Why did the bowlers have to change anything?"
Hughes concluded by observing that it's up to the batters to take responsibility and keep swaying out of the way to make the bowlers realize that they are wasting their energies. He added that when the bowlers got vindicated with what they were doing, they didn't have to change their game plan, which worked in both innings.