"They were psychologically affected by the Bazball juggernaut" - Michael Vaughan on Australia's performance in the 4th Ashes Test
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that Ben Stokes and Co. were able to inflict some serious damage to the visitors' ability with their aggressive approach in the fourth Ashes Test in Manchester.
The hosts were only five wickets away from leveling the five-match series at 2-2, but the weather gods prevented any chance of play on Day 5.
England were the far better team during the fourth Test after amassing a 275-run lead at the end of the first innings. Australia had no reply against England's aggressive batting method that yielded 592 runs in just 107.4 overs.
Vaughan felt that England's batting dislodged Australia's thinking in such a manner that they even forgot the basics.
He wrote in his column for The Telegraph:
"England completely dismantled Australia to a point where they were unable to deliver the basics. They were psychologically affected by the Bazball juggernaut. Australia forgot that in Test cricket if your best ball gets hit, don’t go away from bowling your best ball."
The highlight from the Test, solely from a performance point of view, has to come in the form of Zak Crawley's incredible innings. The opening batter smashed 189 runs off 182 deliveries and was adjudged Player of the Match for his heroics.
Terming Crawley as a 'gift', Vaughan wrote:
"Zak Crawley delivered this week when Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key wanted: that one innings that massively affects a series. He is a gift. I don’t think I have ever seen him bat and think he is out of form. He just gets out."
Vaughan elaborated:
"I don’t think his technique or movements are wrong, he just plays iffy shots sometimes. His mindset of being destructive against quality attacks is so impressive. It was him who knocked Australia off their length and took them away from the basics."
Australia now head into the final Test of the series with a 2-1 lead and have retained the urn being the current holders. But England can still play spoilsport by not allowing Pat Cummins and Co. to become the first Australian team to win a Test series on English soil since 2001.
"England’s attacking instincts led to Australia suffering from amnesia" - Michael Vaughan
Australia went with an all-seam bowling attack, which included two all-rounders in the form of Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green. The bowling attack also featured the return of Josh Hazlewood in place of Scott Boland. While Hazlewood picked up a five-wicket haul, it was far from a good bowling performance by the seamers.
Noting that Australia did not persist with their best delivery to limit England's chances, Vaughan wrote:
"England’s attacking instincts led to Australia suffering from amnesia. They stopped bowling the top of off heavy length delivery they have delivered at 85-90mph year after year."
The fifth Ashes Test is scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 27, at The Oval in London.
Have England inflicted enough damage on the Australian side to walk out with a 2-2 result? Let us know what you think.