England have been facing significant criticism from numerous former cricket legends due to their new style of play in red-ball cricket in the ongoing second Ashes Test, with Allan Wilkins being the latest addition to the list of detractors. Wilkins has heavily criticized and raised concerns about the approach of English batters, particularly highlighting how four of their top-order batters fell into the short ball trap set by Australian bowlers.
On the second day of the match, three English batters, namely Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root, succumbed to the short-ball tactic. Despite the presence of three deep fielders for the pull and hook shots, English batters persisted with those pulls and hooks and ultimately paid the price by losing their wickets in quick succession.
Alan Wilkins vehemently criticized England’s Bazball approach and questioned how four batters could all fall into the same trap of short-pitch bowling set by the opposition. Interestingly, Wilkins also remarked that Geoffrey Boycott, another esteemed former England player, would never have carelessly thrown away his wicket in such a manner.
Not even the best investors in the financial world put all their eggs in the same basket! What are @englandcricket doing? Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook?@GeoffreyBoycott would never have given his wicket away so cheaply! #Ashes #ENGvAUS
— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) June 30, 2023
“Not even the best investors in the financial world put all their eggs in the same basket! What are @englandcricket doing? Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook? @GeoffreyBoycott would never have given his wicket away so cheaply! #Ashes #ENGvAUS,” Wilkins wrote on Twitter.
England fell prey to bouncer barrage tactic to hand Australia control on Day 3
Ben Stokes and Harry Brook, England’s overnight pair, could not continue for very long when the third day of the Ashes began since Stokes was unable to add any runs to his overnight score. Mitchell Starc’s skiddy short delivery took a thick leading edge, sending the ball to the right of Green at gully, who promptly caught it and dismissed Stokes. Subsequently, Harry Brook became the fourth player to fall into the trap set by the Australian bowlers with their short ball ploy.
Brook attempted to pull a short-pitched delivery from Starc while on the back foot but lost control of the shot, offering a straightforward catch to Pat Cummins’ throat who was placed at deep cover. As a result of losing wickets in tandem on Day 3, England have allowed Australia to dominate the second Ashes Test as they finish their innings on 325, thereby, handing the visitors a significant lead of 91 runs. It will be inters