Former England cricket team Captain Michael Vaughan made a bold comment, claiming that Ben Stokes & Co. exposed the Australian National Cricket Team’s vulnerabilities despite losing the second match of the ongoing 2023 Ashes series.
Australia won the second Test at Lord’s Cricket Ground by 43 runs to take a 2–0 series lead. The Aussies gave England 371 runs to chase in the final innings. Ben Stokes played a sensational 155-run strike, but a lack of support from the other side meant the Three Lions pooled for 327.
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In his column for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan claimed that England’s short-pitch bowling tactics exposed Australia. However, the winning Ashes captain was disappointed that England batted for 76.2 overs and scored 325 runs. He felt the Ben Stokes-managed side had a chance to bat for a longer spell. He elaborated:
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“At Lord’s, England exposed some cracks in the Australians. His short pitch bowling tactics exposed some real vulnerabilities. But ultimately batting just 76.2 overs in the first innings is what created the problems for England. With England 188-1 at Lord’s in the first innings, a sunny day and good batting conditions and Nathan Lyon injured, England had a real chance to hit big.
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“They should have been thinking: let’s hit 120, 130 overs here, put a lot of overs into their seamers. In fact, it also cost them in the second inning. If England had batted longer in the first innings, Australia’s closers would not have been as fresh in the second innings and it would have been much more difficult for them.”
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You can’t afford to be so generous against a team as good as Australia – Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan further criticized the England players for their poor fielding in the second Test. He said England cannot afford to be generous against a dangerous team like Australia. Vaughan also felt that England lost the first two games of the series due to their own mistakes.
“It’s not just the carelessness with the bat. There have also been too many missed sacks and sloppiness on the field. Australia scored an extra 74 in this Test match, that’s too many. You can’t afford to be so generous against a team as good as Australia.
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“When you lose by such small margins, two wickets at Edgbaston, 43 runs at Lords, the team isn’t doing its job if it doesn’t stand out and address those little mistakes it’s making. That is what should really frustrate England – they have almost been beaten by themselves rather than by the Australians.
England will look to bounce back in the series in the Third Test, to be played from 6-10 July 2023, at Headingley in Leeds. Both teams have already named their squad for the third Test.
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