‘Bandh karo ye overhyped bazball’ -Fans react as England in precarious position at Lords Test ahead of Day 5 against Australia
Australia need six wickets to win the Lords Test.
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Jul 2, 2023 11:39 am
Brendon McCullum (Source: Twitter)
England and Australia locked horns against each other at Lords, with Australia having a 1-0 lead after winning the Edgbaston Test. England won the toss and opted to bowl first. Australia made their way to 416 in the first innings. Usman Khawaja could not get going as he fell to Josh Tongue after making 17 off 70 balls with two fours. David Warner made a solid 66 off 88 balls with eight fours and one six. He was Tongue’s second victim.
Then the duo of Manus Labuschagne and Steve Smith came together and made 110 off 184 balls with 15 fours and 47 off 93 balls with seven fours respectively. Travis Head continued his form from the World Test Championship (WTC) final as he struck a stroke-filled 77 off 73 balls with 14 fours. In the second innings, England got off to a great start and made their way to 278-4 before they lost their last six wickets for 47 runs. Bazball did not have any answer to Australia’s short ball play as the Kangaroos trumped Bazball yet again.
England lost their last six wickets for 47 runs in the first innings at the Lords
When the England batting collapsed, the former England cricketers did not like how it all unfolded. England Test coach Brendon McCullum looked very glum and did not like what he saw. The Three Lions capsized from 278-4 to 325 all out. Australia got a precious 91-run lead. In the second innings, the Kangaroos played with no fear as they hit 279 runs with Usman Khawaja making a resolute innings of 77 off 187 balls with 12 fours. Smith and Labuschagne hit handy 30s as well.
The Test match stands at a very open position on Day 5 with England needing 257 runs to win while Australia needs six wickets. The big positive is that Ben Duckett is batting on an unbeaten 50 off 67 balls with six fours and Ben Stokes is also unbeaten on 29 off 66 balls with one four and one six. The Three Lions were in disarray at 45-4 after the dup bailed them out. Both teams have a chance of winning the game. If Australia wins it will be 2-0 and if England wins the series will be at 1-1 heading into the third Test.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter:
Maine To Pehle Hi Kaha Tha. Bazball Inko Bhari Padega. Test Cricket Ka Ek Decorum Hai. Uske Saath Ched Chad Na Ho To Badhiya Hai.
The problem with @Bazmccullum and @benstokes38 wid ds Bazball Strategy is dat if it fails dey r nt willing to go to a defensive ploy a bit……Dats where @englandcricket on brink of lossin 2-0…😶😒
I don’t think England are fearless. They prepare pitches that are more dry than usual. They feared the Aussie seam bowling. This makes their bowling ineffective. Part of bazball is being fearless, preparing dry wickets is not being fearless.
Well, him as a coach and planning it didn't work in IPL did it before he left. Playing tests that didn't mean anything in last cycle was different. Playing ashes is something else like players from both sides rather win ashes than worldcup even..
