'Viv Richards, you are wrong, and we are right' - Nasser Hussain criticizes England batters for odd techniques against Blackcaps

England has been subjected to a lot of flak and criticism after their poor show in the ongoing second Test match against New Zealand. The first innings of the match saw England racking up a total of 303 on the scoreboard. In reply, New Zealand attained an 85-run lead as they posted 388 runs. The third innings was nothing less than a nightmare for the hosts as they crumbled like a stack of cards.

England’s top and middle order was blown away by Neil Wagner and Matt Henry as they picked three wickets each. Day three of the Test ended with England scoring 122 for 9 with a lead of just 37 runs. The batting technique opted by the England batters in the third innings left the former England skipper Nasser Hussain baffled as he reckoned that the current tactics need to be changed.

Hussain reckoned that England have no excuses this time as they are playing at home and almost all the players are available for selection. England has a busy Test schedule ahead as they will be facing India in the five-match Test series followed by Ashes later this year. Thus, the veteran wants the Three Lions to go back to playing normally without making any experiments.

Just get back to playing normally: Nasser Hussain 

“There seems to have been a reinvention of the wheel out there with batting. Techniques out there that everyone else who has played the game before – they are all wrong and we are right. We’re going to have these odd little techniques, we’re going to have the bat coming across it, we’re going to stand funny, we’re going to swing outside our off-stump because everyone else in the history of the game – Viv Richards, you are wrong, and we are right,” Hussain wrote on Sky Sports.

“‘I’m not seeing ‘we are right’ at the moment, whether it be in Sri Lanka where Joe Root carried them, whether it be in India and they don’t have the excuse of the pitches turning here. Whether it being the seaming ball or the spinning ball, they are right and everyone else is wrong. And I don’t see a young batting line-up. I see Sibley, Burns, Crawley, Root, and Pope. There’s no one missing in that top five – then come Stokes and Buttler. They’ve got all the coaches, all the backroom staff – please, just get back to playing normally and getting a first innings score,” Hussain added.