"England must do the same with their red-ball game as they did for the white-ball system in 2015" - Nasser Hussain
Former England captain Nasser Hussain lashed out at the English batters for their below-par show on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test. Hussain said England's struggles extend beyond their technical shortcomings, and the ECB must revamp the entire system.
England's batting unit again collapsed for a below-par total after Australia inserted the visitors in. The tourists managed only 185, with captain Joe Root being the only one to make a half-century. In response, Australia reached 61-1 by the close of play, thanks to David Warner's quick-fire 38.
We are all out for 185.
Scorecard: ms.spr.ly/6011ZXxJc
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In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain feels the quality of batters needs to be addressed, as the English system has loopholes. Reflecting how England solved their white-ball woes in 2015, Hussain highlighted the need for a similar overhaul in red ball cricket.
"There's clearly an issue with our system, and there's no quick fix. We have to look at the quality of batting coming through. In defence of county cricket, it should be said that when England are playing well they take the credi,t and when things are bad it's the fault of the counties, but England addressed their problems with the white ball game in 2015 to spectacular effect, and now we have to do the same with the red ball game."
While England made four changes, including two in the batting unit, that hardly made a difference on the opening day of the third Test. Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow started promisingly, but couldn't convert their starts into notable scores.
"Bowlers become defensive when bowling without runs on the board" - Nasser Hussain
Hussain said that bowlers bowl defensively when they have fewer runs on the board, which was evident with England. The 53-year old believes the day couldn't have gone any worse for Joe Root and co, writing:
"They are constantly bowling without runs on the board, and when that happens, there can be a tendency for bowlers to become a bit defensive and not want to go for boundaries. Or then suddenly go searching for wickets because they are chasing the game."
"It was because England only had 185 on the field that Root immediately became defensive. If they had managed even 300, they could have attacked that much more, but I do feel for the bowlers. A Boxing Day I'm afraid to forget for England."
James Anderson was the only wicket-taker on day one for England.
Australia finish on a high despite losing David Warner late in the day.
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They will need many more on the second day to keep their stuttering Ashes hopes alive.