"It's a 5-day Test match and they have declared before the end of Day 1" - Chris Rogers on England's aggressive approach backfiring in 1st Ashes Test
Chris Rogers has highlighted that England's ultra-aggressive approach probably cost them the first Ashes Test.
Ben Stokes and Co. were the aggressors throughout the Edgbaston Test, with Australia playing more conservatively. Pat Cummins and Co. eventually pipped the hosts by two wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
During an interaction on the SEN podcast 'Whateley', Rogers was asked about his thoughts on the contrasting approaches adopted by the two sides. Regarding England, he said:
"It's so hard to read with England because they did so many good things, got themselves into good positions, and then they would throw it away. If you look at the second innings of England, the highest score was 46 and that was by Root and Brook, and they got out kind of playing shots that perhaps they didn't need to do."
The former Australian opener added:
"If you look at the first innings, declaring before the end of the first day, you can understand why they did it, they felt that one of the Australian wickets was huge for them, but in the end, it's a five-day Test match and they have declared before the end of Day 1 and they have lost by two wickets when they had two wickets in the shed on Day 1."
Stokes declared England's first innings at 393/8, with Joe Root on an unbeaten 118 at the crease and a few overs left in the first day's play. The move did not yield the desired results as David Warner and Usman Khawaja played out the remaining four overs without getting separated.
"They were prepared for England to make mistakes" - Chris Rogers on Australia's approach
On the flip side, Chris Rogers pointed out that Australia were willing to play the waiting game:
"Australia - they came to terms to play the long game. They were prepared for England to make mistakes and in the end, they outlasted England. It was incredibly patient from Australia."
Rogers concluded by observing that England's mistakes eventually helped the Aussies get across the line:
"It looked like there were a couple of times, particularly on Day 4, when the game was just starting to get away from them. They must have felt that if they just hang in long enough, England will make a mistake and in the end, that's what happened."
England were primed to win the Edgbaston Test when Australia needed 54 runs with just two wickets in hand. However, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon's unbroken 55-run ninth-wicket partnership took the visitors to an improbable win.