"If you think that's the best chance of beating India then back yourselves"- Michael Clarke wants England to not get affected by Bazball criticism
Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke gave his opinion on whether England's ultra-aggressive approach, also known as Bazball, needed reconsideration after their mammoth 434-run loss at the hands of India in Rajkot in the third Test.
Several cricket pundits and the media in England have unleashed heavy scrutiny on the visitors for the way they capitulated despite being in a great position after Day 2. However, Michael Clarke feels England shouldn't be influenced by what the media had to say and had to trust their gut call.
Speaking to ESPN, here's what Michael Clarke had to say about England's approach (11:18):
"I think it's one of those things where you live by the sword and you die by it. This is the time for England to come together and Bazball or whatever you call it, if this is how you want to play then you have to back yourselves and not care what other people think. If you think that's the best chance of beating India then back yourselves."
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch was also present in the conversation. While he agreed that Bazball put India under pressure, Finch reckoned England needed to add game awareness so that they became ruthless and didn't allow the opposition to come back into the game. He opined (12:55):
"I think there needs to be game awareness. They're getting so far ahead of the game because they're scoring quickly and that's just because of their intent. Sometimes, just for a session, just swallow your pride and get the game on your terms. Their openers are giving them a great platform but they're just not capitalising on it."
From 224/2 on Day 3, England lost their last eight wickets for just 95 runs and handed India a massive lead of 126 runs. The hosts were ruthless with the bat later and gave the visitors no chance to make any impact on the remainder of the Rajkot Test.
Michael Clarke on Joe Root's woeful form
Joe Root's attempted reverse sweep off Jasprit Bumrah led to his wicket in Rajkot and the star batter has copped a lot of criticism for the timing of that shot. However, Michael Clarke believes that each player had to buy into the team's philosophy as it was a team sport. He stated (12:28):
"For someone like Joe Root, that's why it's a big talking point because people feel does Joe really need to play such shots and can't help continue playing the same way. But it's a team sport. If one is in then I think Ben Stokes would want everyone to be in."
Root has just 77 runs to his name in six innings so far in the Test series at an appalling average of 12.38. He will need to get back among the runs if the visitors are to begin a turnaround with the fourth Test in Ranchi starting on February 23.