After losing the first two games against Australia in Perth and Brisbane, Nasser Hussain thinks it’s time for England captain Ben Stokes to start having hard talks with his teammates. Since he became captain of the Test team and teamed up with head coach Brendon McCullum, Stokes has consistently expressed a positive attitude towards his teammates.
But the ultra-aggressive Bazball strategy, which won the Three Lions a lot of accolades for making Test cricket enjoyable for T20 cricket fans, is drawing criticism from all quarters.
In his most recent essay for The Athletic, Nasser Hussain stated that the players “are not thinking straight under pressure” and that they “are not thinking smart.”
“England cannot afford another game of just showing up and playing the same way, so he needs to look those players in the eye and determine who is mentally strong enough.” He maintained that Stokes needs to ascertain “who is thinking ‘here we go again’ as opposed to ‘I’m going to put an end to this'” because certain players seem to be burdened by past failures.
In the first Test, England was bowled out for 172 and 164, respectively, but in the second, they were able to put up a stronger batting performance. Despite scoring 334 and 241 runs in the first and second innings, respectively, the Three Lions were defeated by eight wickets.
England’s batting has been dreadful, with the exception of Root’s century in the first innings of the second Test. England has been guilty of using the short-ball strategy too quickly or attempting other strategies too soon when they have the ball in hand, even if the conditions have generally benefited the bowlers.
In the first two games, Australia’s top run scorer is Travis Head. In the meanwhile, Root leads the England batting rankings. However, Mitchell Starc, who has taken 18 wickets in two games, has been in scorching form with the ball. The third Test of the series, which is now tied at two, will take place in Adelaide starting on December 17.
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