"Joe Root has encouraged Stuart Broad and James Anderson to bowl fuller over the two years" - Nasser Hussain
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain hailed the outstanding fightback staged by Joe Root and Co. on Day Two of the Boxing Day Test. Nasser Hussain credited captain Root for Anderson's sensational spell of bowling but admitted Australia were again too good for England's feeble batting unit.
James Anderson's four-wicket haul headlined England's fightback as they limited Australia to 267, restricting their lead to 82. However, the hosts staged a comeback, reducing England to 31-4. At stumps, the visitors still trailed by 51 runs and need a miracle to avoid defeat.
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Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain lauded James Anderson for channelizing the criticism against the team into a sensational bowling performance in Melbourne. Identifying Root's role in encouraging Broad and Anderson to bowl fuller in the last two years, Hussain wrote:
"He has always had character and you could tell from his comments in the media this week that he was bristling at the questioning of the seamers and their lengths at Adelaide. If you ask me what the problem with English red-ball cricket has been over the last couple of years, I would not say Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson."
Hussain continued:
"one of the things Joe Root has done with this England team is to get the likes of Broad and Anderson to bowl fuller over the last couple of years. It is one of the big ticks of his captaincy."
Anderson, in his fifth tour Down Under, revealed it's the best he has bowled since 2010. The 39-year-old took the important wickets of David Warner, Steve Smith, Marcus Harris, and Pat Cummins to give England the upper hand.
"To see the way the crowd reacted when Starc was on a hat-trick was incredible" - Nasser Hussain
Hussain observed how Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins drove the MCG crowd through their captivating bowling spell to expose England's batting frailties. The 53-year-old felt the two bowlers were venomous and wrote:
"Then we saw why Test cricket remains the best format of the game because I'm afraid, however hard England tried and however much character they displayed with the ball, their failings and weaknesses with the bat were again brutally exposed."
He explained:
"For an hour, England were subjected to the fiercest examinations by world-class bowling from Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, in particular. To see the way that crowd reacted, especially when Starc was on a hat-trick, to the Australian performance was incredible."
Left-arm speedster Mitchell Starc took two out of four England wickets to fall within the last hour. He dismissed Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan but was denied a hat-trick.