Ben Stokes is under the scanner because of his captaincy after England’s defeat.©AFP
England captain Ben Stokes has been under scanner for his captaincy after Australia won the first Ashes Test by 2 wickets at Edgbaston earlier this week. The narrow loss left England trailing 0–1 in the five-game Ashes fixture as they bid for a first Ashes win over arch rivals Australia since 2015. Stokes’ decision to declare on the first day before England scored 400 , was heavily criticized by several current and former players even before the end of the game.
Ever since Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum joined forces at the helm, England’s aggressive playing style dubbed ‘Bazball’ has worked wonders. Notably, England have since won 11 out of 15 Tests.
McCullum had maintained he had “no regrets” about his side’s tactics following the loss at Edgbaston.
However, former England captain Nasser Hussain pointed out that his team didn’t need “Bazball” when they beat Australia in 2001.
“Remember, we’ve beaten Australia in England the old fashioned way since 2001. We didn’t need ‘Bazball’ to beat Australia. They have some serious players and some seriously tough players too. entertain),” Hussain said on Sky Sports after the game.
Hussain also recalled England’s defeat to New Zealand in Wellington earlier this year, adding that they have now lost two games they should have won.
“England also lost in New Zealand, if you remember. I know they’ve had Ireland in between, but now they’ve lost here and there’s two cricket games they could have won, should have won,” he added .
The second Ashes Test will be played at Lords from June 28.
Topics mentioned in this article