After two consecutive defeats in the Ashes, England is facing a lot of criticism from former cricketers. Criticism intensified after England lost the second Test at the Gabba, with a former England cricketer labeling ‘buzzball’ a useless tactic.
England have already lost two Ashes matches on the Australia tour. The Ben Stokes-led side has been defeated twice by Australia as the English players have failed to capitalize with both bat and ball.
Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc has taken 18 wickets in two Ashes matches and has also played an important role with the bat. Australia won both Tests by 8 wickets and Starc was named player of the match in both matches.
“I will ask for a refund from the ECB” – English legend leads abusive attack on Ben Stokes
Before the start of the Ashes, players such as Michael Vaughan and Stuart Broad had claimed that this was the weakest Australian team in Ashes history, and that England would have a good advantage over them for the first time on Australian soil.
Although the defeat at the Gabba was not considered as brutal as the one in Perth, former England captain Ian Botham’s reactions insulted the England team. He also claimed that he would like to pay to watch the game.
“I will ask for a refund from the ECB because this team is not ready for me. I don’t think the bowlers are fit or strong enough,” he said on Triple M radio.
Jonathan Agnew delivers brutal verdict on Buzzball
Despite the defeat, England batting coach Marcus Trescothick claimed that England would not abandon their aggressive pattern in the longest format of the game.
However, Jonathan Agnew claimed that the buzzball technique is ‘dead’, and glimpses of the old-fashioned game helped England briefly resist the Australians when Will Jacks and Ben Stokes both turned the tables in the second innings.
“I think baseball is not sustainable,” Agnew told the BBC’s Ashes debrief. “It did its job. The first year, it picked up some broken players. They got to enjoy cricket again, won games and people loved watching it.”
He said, “It was good entertainment, but it’s not sustainable. You can’t play one-dimensional Test cricket, and it’s in crisis now. I think baseball is dead and we’re going to see something different next time.”
Drive after drive. From shore to shore. Catch After Catch – Jonathan Agnew
In his column for the BBC, he said that England’s batsmen kept repeating the same aggressive mistakes in the two Test matches. He compared his form to Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant innings as the England players lost wickets at a single shot.
“It is England’s batting that will lead to the biggest indictment. If the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then England have collectively lost their marbles and their wickets.”
“One drive after another. One lead after another. One hold after another. Sachin Tendulkar once scored 241 runs in Sydney by deliberately resisting a cover drive. This group must think they are better than Little Master. The Buzzball empire is now in danger of capitulation,” he concluded.
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