"Many England supporters stopped me as they were going home" - Geoffrey Boycott on hosts' meltdown in first innings at Lord's
Former England opening batter Sir Geoffrey Boycott expressed his disappointment with Ben Stokes and Co. for throwing the Lord's Test away. Boycott said that people stopped him to ask about England's insipid batting performance.
After bowling Australia out for 416, England were 188-2 at before slipping to 278-4 and eventually finishing with 325. Chasing 371 in the fourth innings, they slumped to 45-4, and despite Ben Stokes' whirlwind 155, they fell short by 43 runs.
Throwing every away. #Bazball. #ECB. #England #Ashes #cricket. pic.twitter.com/t4ZXbxGzq3
In his column for The Telegraph, the former player talked about how Australia's short-ball ploy triggered England's collapse and gave their team a 91-run lead.
"The second Test at Lord's was evens with England batting beautifully in their first innings chasing Australia's 416. But with England at 188 for two, Australia, in trouble, set a trap and went to their bouncer defence with a packed leg-side field and waited for England's batsmen to commit hara-kiri. England gave away a 91-run lead which turned out to be match-winning."
He added:
"Many England supporters stopped me as they were going home and asked what England wered doing? How could they be so daft? They were puzzled and disappointed. They could've been 2-0 up, but at worst, they should have been one-all."
The 108-Test veteran also highlighted how teams must have everything go their way if they're 2-0 and hinted that England miscalculated the weather at Old Trafford.
"How many times do I say you don't want to be playing catch-up cricket because it is too difficult? At 2-0 down, it is an impossible situation. The Ashes are nearly gone so you have to take stock, reassess your game, and you need everything to go for you from then on, the weather included."
Despite inclement weather forecast for Days 4 and 5, England continued to bat after lunch on Day 3 despite leading by 189. They eventually stretched it to 275, but that might have impacted their chances of winning the game.
"England gave Test match cricket a shot in the arm, but they let it get to their heads" - Geoffrey Boycott
Boycott condemned England's lack of willingness to win and focussing on entertaining the fans after having unparalleled success:
"They gave us all fabulous moments, excited us, had us on the edge of our seats and won 10 out of 12 Tests.
"England even gave Test match cricket a shot in the arm, but then they let it go to their heads and started to say they wanted to entertain and that it did not matter if they lost because they were still going to play Bazball and change Test cricket. When you start to believe your own self-importance, then sport will bite you on the backside."
England's 506 runs came off a mere 75 overs at a stunning run rate of 6.75 in the day 😮
Check out the records broken 👇
#WTC23 | #PAKvENG
icc-cricket.com/news/2937286
Despite weather halting their victory charge in the fourth Test, England captain Ben Stokes has declared his intention to level the series in the final Test at the Kennington Oval, which starts on Thursday (July 27).