23 August,2021 07:12 AM IST | London | PTI
England pacers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson engage with India batsmen Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami while England skipper Joe Root ooks on during Day Five of the second Test at the Lord’s in London recently. Pic/Getty Images
Former skipper Michael Vaughan has slammed England head coach Chris Silverwood for not even trying to stop Joe Root from his bouncer barrage tactic against India in the second Test, which backfired, leading to the "worst 20 minutes" before the lunch session.
Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah scripted a sensational turnaround on the final day when they shared a record ninth-wicket partnership of 89 runs to help India set a 272-run target, which England failed to achieve after being bowled out for 120. "The nadir came in that hour and 20 minutes before lunch on the fifth day of the second Test, which must rank among the worst stuff I've seen from an England Test team in years," Vaughan wrote in a Facebook post.
Bumrah, who had bowled a lot of bouncers to England the tailenders, especially James Anderson, found himself at the receiving end when he walked out to bat, with pacer Mark Wood and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler exchanging words with the Indian seamer. However, it boomeranged as Bumrah and Shami rescued India from 209-8 to 298-8 declared. The visitors eventually thrashed England by 151 runs in the second Test.
"Plenty has been written and said about how England lost the plot in attempting to bounce out Jasprit Bumrah, and Joe Root was undeniably let down by some of his senior players, who should have intervened sooner, but I also wanted to see something from the coach," Vaughan wrote. "Why did Silverwood not send someone out onto the pitch with a drink, asking Root what the hell was going on and getting him to change tactics? I know that is what Duncan Fletcher [former coach] would have done with me had I suffered a brain-fade on the field."
Former skipper Michael Vaughan and England coach Chris Silverwood
Vaughan said England completely blew their chances in that session. "Every Test match essentially boils down to a handful of moments which dictate the outcome: the best teams rise to them and find a way to win them. This was the big moment in the second Test and England blew it, and Silverwood has to accept his share of responsibility for that." England now trail the five-match series 0-1 and Vaughan said the onus is on Silverwood to change the momentum.
"He [Silverwood] has to show that he is capable of changing England's momentum in this series because at the moment it is only going one way and that is in the direction of Virat Kohli, who has his hosts right where he wants them - hot under the collar, not thinking straight and making silly mistakes," Vaughan wrote. The third Test begins at Headingley on Wednesday.
The England and Indian teams arrived at Heandingley on Sunday for the third Test, beginning on Wednesday, August 25. "Hello and welcome to the Headingley Stadium, Leeds. Our venue for the third Test against England," read a tweet from BCCI's official Twitter handle. England coach Chris Silverwood has named a 15-member squad for this match with Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan and Lancashire pacer Saqib Mahmood brought into the mix.
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