Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has criticised England for declaring on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test at Birmingham’s Edgbaston. On Day 1 of the first Test, England’s captain, Ben Stokes, declared when they were 393-8 and Joe Root, who had scored 118* off 152 balls, was still at the wicket. The choice of the hosts backfired when Usman Khawaja (141 out of 321) hit a spectacular century to help Australia score 386 in their first inning.
In England’s second inning, the Australian bowlers made it hard for the players to hit the ball, and they were bowled out for 273. But on Day 5, which was cut short by rain, Australia beat the 281-run mark by two wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the five-game series.
Butt said on his YouTube account that the team led by Stokes did a lot of wrong things during the first Test. The 38-year-old also said that the first day’s statement showed that they were wrong about Pat Cummins and Co.
He also said that England’s strategy of going for it quickly didn’t work against Australia’s experienced team. He went on to say that Australia knew England could keep playing this way because this is how they usually play.
“England also did a lot of things wrong. The statement showed that they didn’t think much of Australia. Australia is not a young team, so their strategy of doing things quickly won’t work against them.
“They have a lot of experience, are aggressive, and don’t do anything else but Test cricket. Butt said, “Who knows, England might still do this since they are so set on it.”
The former player also questioned why England didn’t use a real fast bowler for the short ball strategy during the match. He said that no matter how short England bowls, the Australian hitters won’t be worried. He also said that Ollie Robinson won’t become Mark Wood, and neither will James Anderson or Stuart Broad.
“Why didn’t they play a real fast if they had to use the short ball plot so much? Why are they all mid-pacers? At that speed, it doesn’t matter how short you bowl, the hitters won’t have any trouble. Ollie Robinson won’t turn into Mark Wood all of a sudden, and neither will Anderson or Broad,” he said.
If you had known that the wicket would be this calm and flat, you should have played Mark Wood: Salman Butt.
Salman Butt also said that England’s fast bowling attack did not seem dangerous in the first Test. The 38-year-old said that if England had known that the wicket was so flat and calm, they should have played Wood, who could have bent his back and made things happen. He thought that because Moeen Ali was hurt, the hosts couldn’t spin the ball as much as they wanted to.
“England’s pace attack didn’t pose any danger. If you knew the pitch was this flat and calm, you should have played Mark Wood, who could have bent his back and made things happen. The fact that Moeen Ali hurt his finger made England’s problems even worse,” the former cricket player said.
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