England’s batting woes leave Michael Vaughan frustrated

England faced a batting debacle in the first session on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India in Southampton after they won the toss and elected to bat first. The hosts were 40 for 4 inside 19 overs, finding it immensely difficult to negotiate the opponents’ fast bowlers. The poor batting display by the top order made former England players and the supporters disappointed.

Former captain Michael Vaughan was upset with England’s batting performance and said irrespective of the changes in the team, the hosts have still managed to come up with a poor score. England made two changes to their side in this game bringing Moeen Ali for Ollie Pope and Sam Curran for Chris Woakes, the hero of the Lord’s Test. However, their performance with the bat has failed to improve.

England’s top order continues to struggle

England were bowled out in a session in the third Test at Trent Bridge which put India in a commanding position in the match and they eventually won it. In fact, barring the first innings of the first Test in Birmingham, England’s top order has failed to fire and it has remained a concern for the hosts when facing a charged up Indian bowling attack.

The English batting was particularly criticised because of the bizarre dismissal of opener Keaton Jennings who was completely fooled by Jasprit Bumrah’s sharp incoming delivery which trapped him before the wickets without the batsman offering a shot. English skipper Joe Root survived an lbw scar, thanks to a no-ball from Bumrah, but he was eventually caught plumb by Ishant Sharma for just four.

The out-of-form opener Alastair Cook also fell cheaply as was Jonny Bairstow. Ben Stokes and Trent Bridge centurion Jos Buttler – the duo which put up some resistance in the second innings of the third Test, were trying to resurrect the innings. England were 57/4 at lunch with the latter being dropped once as well and yet another test session might be on its way for them.

Here’s the tweet:

Different Team … Doesn’t matter … Whatever the situation … Bat 1st … Bat 2nd … Doesn’t matter … England find a way to be 30 for 3 !!!!!!! #ENGvIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 30, 2018

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