"Would they bat like that against India and Australia?" - Michael Vaughan calls out England's aggression after Day 2 of ENG vs SL 2024 3rd Test
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned the national team for their aggressive batting performance and field setting on Day 2 of the third Test against Sri Lanka. The 49-year-old equated England's approach to that of school cricket.
England ended Day 1 at 221-3 but were bundled out for an underwhelming 325 as the batters played too many attacking shots. Ollie Pope, who finished Day 1 unbeaten on 103, top-scored with 154.
Speaking on the Test Match Special podcast, Vaughan asked whether England would have batted the same way and shown the same complacency against India or Australia.
"It just felt like the end of term. With the bat in hand, they were very expansive. Would they bat like that against India and Australia? They wouldn't. They came out and set the field with lots of slips and didn't have a fine leg. It was like when you played school cricket and played a school you knew you were better than. England haven't had many bad days this summer. I still expect them to get over the line," he said.
The Englishmen reduced Sri Lanka to 93-5 at one stage but the tourists ended up reaching 211-5 by the end of the day. Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva have stitched an unbroken partnership of 118.
"Don't take the mickey out of the game" - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan also warned England, saying complacency could come back to hurt them in ways they could hardly imagine. He suggested that England prepare to face India and Australia next year.
"England delight me a lot in the way they play. I like that they do things completely differently. But I sometimes watch and think, 'Be careful because this game has a way of biting you.' Don't take the mickey out of the game. Be very, very careful. There are cricketing gods up there and in a year's time, there are tougher challenges," Vaughan said on the same podcast.
"I would ask England, 'Were you on it all day like you would be against India and Australia?' If they look themselves in the mirror and say they were, I would say they are lying. They weren't on it today," he added.
England already hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.