Michael Vaughan offers ‘no excuses’ for England’s ‘terrible’ batting as they are dismissed for just 205 on day one of the fourth Test in India… with Sir Andrew Strauss insisting that Joe Root’s side are ‘not good enough’
- England were bowled out for just 205 despite winning toss and opting to bat
- Struggling tourists had failed to pass 200 in each of their last four innings
- Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Andrew Strauss offered no excuses for the batting display
- They were both critical of the pitch during the third Test defeat
Former England captain Michael Vaughan offered ‘no excuses’ as their batting woes continued in India, with Joe Root’s side bowled out for just 205 in day one of the fourth Test despite winning the toss in Ahmedabad.
Needing a win to draw the series, England were boosted by the chance to bat first on a pitch which held up far better than the minefield that produced the shortest Test in post-War history last week, but the tourists got off to a terrible start.
They found themselves 15-2 and 30-3 before Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes put together a mini-revival, however when Stokes departed England were in the mire at 121-5. Contributions from Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope ensured that England passed 200 for the first time in five innings, but they were all out when Jack Leach fell for 7.
Mohammed Siraj celebrates taking the key wicket of England captain Joe Root
England opener Zak Crawley reacts as he is dismissed for just nine by Axar Patel
Vaughan, who led the criticism of the third-Test pitch, had no such gripes this time. He tweeted: ‘This has been a terrible Batting display .. No excuses .. #INDvsENG.’
Speaking on Channel 4 Sir Andrew Strauss, another former England captain, was equally unimpressed by the batting: ‘The Indian bowling was good, we’ve come to expect good quality Indian bowling… but let’s not hide away from the truth: England’s batting in these conditions is not good enough, quite frankly.
‘You can think of all sorts of excuses around pitches and balls and inexperience, but if you want to win in India you have got to find a way of getting first-innings runs and England haven’t been able to do that.’
Michael Vaughan tweeted as England’s batting collapsed on day one in Ahmedabad
Siraj celebrates the wicket of Jonny Bairstow as England are bowled out for just 205
Strauss’ Channel 4 colleague Ebony Rainford-Brent added: ‘I think what is becoming clear and quite obvious is that England do not have the batting game for spinning conditions.’
Kevin Pietersen, another former England captain, chose instead to praise the bowling of Virat Kohli’s side, tweeting: ‘The Indian spinners are bloody good!’
Eight wickets fell to spin bowlers Ravi Ashwin, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar on day one, with two falling to the seam bowling of Mohammad Siraj. While still aiding the spinners, however, it was widely accepted that the pitch is far better than the one produced for the third Test at the same ground.
Former Enngland batsman Mark Butcher jokingly tweeted: ‘So if the ball doesn’t go through the top on day one, it’s a poor track, right..?’