The series from England’s perspective

The English were overwhelming in their opinion about the series in India. They will lose and some even said heavily. In the end, it did come true. England lost the series heavily. 1-4 defeat, with the sole victory on the back of an unbelievable Ollie Pope innings, that they must have lost as well. The critics and former players roasted England and blamed their newfound mantra of Bazball for the defeat. In particular, Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist, though being an Australian, he love whenever England loses. There were several reasons for England’s loss but Bazball is not among them. If at all Bazball needs to be criticised, it could only be for the execution and not the intention itself. The series from England’s perspective.

Was the series so bad from England’s perspective that critics are all-over them? In one of the Test, the display was abysmal, to say the least, and in the final Test, with the series gone, their minds were in England. It happens to every touring side that is on the losing side. You invariably tend to shift your mind onto the comfort of home, the family and everything that is connected with the homeland.

Inexperienced spinners were a major issue

England came to India armed with 3 spinners who had hardly played 5 games among them. Two of them, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley, made their debut in this series. The 3^rd one, Rehan Ahmed, has only appeared in 4 Tests, 2 of which were in this series. Perhaps, if the pitches were like the ones when they last played here, the inexperience of these spinners may not have mattered because on such pitches, even the utter mediocre spinner, becomes a wicket-taker. Credit to the Indian curators, the pitches were much more friendly towards the batsmen. It meant that these spinners were inadequate for the task on hand.

Indian batsmen, though not the current ones, are generally known as renowned players of spin. It is not the case any longer but on a good batting pitch, these Indian batsmen will come into their shelf and for such a set of batsmen, these inexperienced spinners were no match. It showed in match after match. Out of nowhere, Tom Hartley produced a spell that gave England an unexpected victory at Hyderabad but otherwise, with the pitches turning a bit less, they were all exposed.

Added to their inexperience, the English spinners did not possess the necessary skills to thwart batsmen on good batting pitches with the exception of Bashir, just a little bit. Jack Leach’s absence was another blow because he was the only experienced bowler though it is debatable whether he would have changed the fortune of England. It is hard to believe that England does not possess a single quality spinner in their land. There are about 17 Counties with some of them being spin-friendly and yet, after Graeme Swann, they are unable to produce a quality spinner.

Lack of proper preparation

Bazball has done wonders for England. Before the start of the series, they won 11 of the 17 Tests which included a 3-0 sweep of Pakistan in Pakistan. An unprecedented event. Critics are quick to point out that the same Bazball proved to be inadequate during the bigger series against Australia and India. One was drawn while the other was lost. These are infact valid points but was Bazball the reason for such defeats? It was because the English batsmen were ill-equipped to handle the turning ball.

How many practice games did they play before the first Test? India too repeat the same mistake everytime they travel outside. England are no exception. The one reasoning is that the practice pitches are nowhere near the pitches that they will find in the Tests. Be that as it may, it still is essential to get oneself accustomed to the pitches of the host nation. Let the pitches resemble the actual Test match pitches otherwise, but there is no substitute for good old practice games before every series.

England themselves were able to win in Australia in 2011 because of such an approach. When they won in India in 2012, they followed the same process. Why was it different this time around? Was it overconfidence?

Agreed that they swept Pakistan and Sri Lanka without any first-class game but India is no pushover. In India, the team will fight to their fullest capability.

The poor execution of the batsmen

Zak Crawley showed how to apply the Bazball approach selectively. He played aggressively but he wasn’t reckless. It was a pity that he never once went past 100 despite 4 scores of over 50. The fault essentially lies on 3 batsmen. Joe Root, Johnny Bairstow and Ben Stokes. None of them scored when it mattered with the latter two being utter failures. Stokes played like a cricketer who has never seen spin before. He was completely crease-bound and played off the backfoot for balls that were pitched close enough. He was never confident in his ability with the bat. Stokes did not know whether to go back or come forward for any delivery. He was always caught on two minds and as a result, he did neither.

Also, his tendency to react as though an extraordinary delivery had got him, is a bit extreme. Bumrah’s delivery was exceptional and one of Kuldeep’s but the same reaction for every time he was bowled or LBW, is ridiculous.

As for Johnny Bairstow, one wonders whether he can even bat. I am being harsh here but how can someone who averages just above 36, could have played 100 Tests? It is strange that England does not have another batsman who could replace Bairstow. He was completely clueless in the entire series. Not even a single 50 in 10 innings is outrageous. Once England goes back, against the likes of West Indies and Sri Lanka, he may make merry but England must find a replacement for Bairstow before the Ashes next year.

Joe Root

Joe Root was roundly criticised for his ill-advised ramp shot of Bumrah when England were cruising after a Duckett blitzkrieg. He did not attempt the same shot again. A return of one 100 and one 50 in 10 innings was unacceptable. The 50 was inconsequential. He is a batsman who plays spin quite well and being the senior-most batsman, who has travelled to these parts multiple times, he must have placed a premium on his wicket. Instead, he did not apply himself well.

Wrapping up the series from England’s perspective

There will be one more I guess about Vaughan and Gilchrist comments and some more.