English cricket had one of its most turbulent weeks in recent memory with the national team on the wane both for Test and white-ball cricket. England has been left floundering since the Test captain Ben Stokes has been removed following the bad home Test series against New Zealand national cricket team. England was unable to shine in white-ball format as rain took the game out of reach against India national cricket team despite a good Indian victory.
With England’s performance in all formats of the game being questioned for the past few years, the next weeks will determine the future of English cricket.
England New Coach?
Ben Stokes, who has already been the captain of the England team and has been a member of the England team since 2014, has quit his captaincy after four years in England’s Test cricket as England has fallen into a state of crisis and has been forced to carry out the title defence of the team in Test cricket. England lost to New Zealand on a record 160-run deficit on the first day of the Test in Trent Bridge, losing 160 runs in the first day of the match against New Zealand to the hosts on a record 160-run defeat and the tourists won 2-1 series.
The defeat only underlined England’s alarming decline in red-ball cricket. The team only won two wins in its last ten Test matches, which also included a painful 4-1 Ashes defeat earlier this year.
The poor results have put enormous pressure on head coach Brendon McCullum and Managing Director Rob Key.
Michael Vaughan wrote a scathing review in the Stick to Cricket podcast about coaching and England’s recent wins.
Vaughan claimed England's only recent Test victories were on unusually difficult pitches, one a “cesspit” at Lord’s and another a freak two-day contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And he argued those victories masked deeper problems in the side and did not represent genuine progress.
The former skipper also questioned whether McCullum is still the right man to lead England’s Test revival, saying that the coach has not developed the “Bazball” philosophy since its explosive start. Vaughan also said how Rob Key’s role as Managing Director must also come under scrutiny as England’s slide will no doubt continue.
Who will be the next England Test captain, now that Ben Stokes has been removed from the position and Harry Brook is the favourite, with experience in leadership and great batting ability? But whatever happens now, whoever takes over will inherit a team looking for consistency after bad form in the past months.
Though England’s Test team had uncertainty in the field of play, the white-ball team was frustrated when rain came down and washed out the eagerly awaited match against India before England was able to start their chase.
India had a competitive 189/7 after being asked to bat first, thanks to an explosive start from Abhishek Sharma.
The left-handed opener attacked from the start and took advantage of the powerplay to put England’s bowlers under immediate pressure with a series of aggressive strokes.
But India’s momentum was interrupted when both Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan departed cheaply, giving England a way back into the game.
The task of rebuilding the innings then fell on Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube, who were in good shape to stabilize the innings. They managed to mix sensible rotations with powerful boundary-hitting and India recovered well after the middle-order wobble.
Iyer anchored the innings with composure, Dube provided the late acceleration, helping India finish with a challenging total of 189 for seven.
It was yet another poor performance from Tilak Varma, whose bad run with the bat continued as he failed to make a significant contribution once again.
Saqib Mahmood was the best bowler of England's bowlers. The fast bowler took 3/33 and consistently troubled India’s batters with pace and movement, preventing the hosts from crossing the 200-run mark.
Unfortunately for England, their batting line-up never got the chance to respond. Heavy rain came on before the chase could start, and officials had to abandon the match without a single ball bowled in the second innings due to the torrent of rain.
The no-result denied fans the chance to see what was in store for a crazy chase and left both teams sharing the points. India will take confidence from another strong batting display, while England were left frustrated because their bowlers had done enough to keep the match alive before the weather intervened.
Now England is going through one of its toughest periods in recent years so it is about revamping its Test and limited-overs side. The coaching system, who will be the manager, and what will happen to Bazball will define English cricket for years to come.
