"When you focus on the other team, you know that you're beaten" - Brad Hogg slams England players for bold statements
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg wasn't amused when he got to know about some of the rather bold remarks made by England players in the media during their recently concluded Test series against India.
Veteran pacer James Anderson had claimed that India were nervous about the target they wanted to set for England during the Visakhapatnam Test. Opener Ben Duckett had stated that England deserved a bit of credit for Yashasvi Jaiswal's ultra-attacking brand of cricket
Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, here's what Brad Hogg had to say to England about the statements they made (37:28):
"Concentrate on your own backyard and don't worry about other people's backyards. Jaiswal has gone out and absolutely annihilated your bowling attack. He plays the way he plays.
"You can turn that around and say 'Oh, England have learned their style of play from Sehwag.' or 'England openers are playing like Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.' When you focus on the other team, you know that you're beaten."
Brad Hogg claimed that England batters like Jonny Bairstow and vice-captain Ollie Pope were getting affected by the negative comments made about their batting in the media. Apart from an incredible 196 in Hyderabad, Pope had a series to forget. Bairstow too couldn't make much impact, scoring just 238 runs in 10 innings.
Bazball is different brand but same story for England: Brad Hogg
Brad Hogg pointed out that while the brand of cricket England played was entertaining, it didn't end up making a significant difference to the end result as they lost the series comprehensively 4-1.
On this, he stated (5:32):
"There's a lot of talk about whether Bazball is working. It's a great brand of cricket and has rejuvenated the game. But it has made no difference in the percentage of wins to losses. It's a different brand of cricket but it's the same story."
Hogg also claimed that it would be India and Australia who would make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2025. However, he is hopeful that several other teams will challenge the two giants in the future to keep the thrill of Test cricket intact.