"How'll they get 20 wickets in Australia?" - Michael Vaughan sees worrying signs in England's bowling attack
Michael Vaughan has started to see some cracks in the England bowling attack ahead of this year's all-important Ashes in Australia. The former England skipper feels that when conditions don't favor swing, like they didn't against India at The Oval on Saturday, the current English pacers might not be good enough to pick up 20 wickets consistently.
Michael Vaughan's comments came in light of India's dominating performance on Day 3 of the fourth Test. The visitors lost just three wickets throughout the day and piled on 227 runs, taking a healthy 171-run lead already. Aside from Ollie Robinson, all England pacers were impatient with their lines and lengths and leaked runs throughout the day.
Michael Vaughan in an interaction with Cricbuzz:
"It was a little bit of a warning sign for me and the England team that when the swing and seam's not there, you have four bowlers bowling at around 80-83 miles an hour, it was too comfortable for the Indian batters. England didn't have that explosive pace and I thought they could have gone for the short ball sooner to Rohit Sharma sooner, given that he has been out playing that three times."
Vaughan added:
"And that attack of Anderson, Robinson, Overton and Woakes when it wasn't swinging, and it didn't today, is quite a nice attack to face. That's an issue for England going forward and particularly in Australia in a few months. With that Kookabura ball that doesn't swing around,how'll they get 20 wickets?"
Michael Vaughan added that the confirmed absence of Jofra Archer will leave only Mark Wood and Ben Stokes (who's also doubtful) as the only bowlers to stir things up which might not be enough in Australia. Vaughan reckoned:
"There's only Mark Wood, and perhaps Ben Stokes who can bowl a bit of variation. That's my worry with this England attack, when it's not swinging, will they have enough angle changes and skill levels to take 20 wickets."
Rohit Sharma top-scored for India with a memorable 256-ball 127, while both KL Rahul (46 off 101) and Cheteshwar Pujara (61 off 127) were brilliant in their supporting roles.
"Feel sorry for bowlers when they bowl to Rohit Sharma" - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan also lauded Sharma, who according to him, didn't make the day any less frustrating for England with his rock-solid defense and attacking balance.
He said the 'fantastic' knock made him feel sorry for the bowlers who had to run in all day just to see Sharma dismiss everything under his eyes. Vaughan said:
"He's earned the right to get those three figures. He's played nicely across the series. He's had a bit of fortune in the second innings because of the two drop catches. But he's such a wonderful player to watch, he's one of those players that seems to have so much time."
He added:
"I feel sorry for the bowlers they have run in and bowled around 84-85 miles an hour and Rohit just goes (immitates hKohis forward defense) - all the time in the world, just to say, 'Thank you, I don't want to play a stroke, I'll just defend that one'. And when he wants to attack, he'll say, 'You know, I'll attack this one.'"
Michael Vaughan concluded:
"He's a wonderful player and the tempo in his innings was pure. He had to work very hard, had to be watchful. When he got to 50, he thought, 'Oh this pitch is a good one' and then when Moeen Ali came on and he was around 65-70, he went, 'Oh (laughs maniacally), I'll have a bit of Moeen!' It was a fantastic innings, he's a magnificent player to watch."
India will start the day comfortably placed at 270-3 with skipper Virat Kohli looking as good as ever with 22 (33) and Ravindra Jadeja flanking him. If the duo can survive the morning burst, the game will be all but out of reach for the hosts.