On one of the flattest pitches seen, England lasted only 157 overs across both innings: Michael Atherton

Former England cricketers and commentators Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain ripped apart the England team, led by Ben Stokes, for not aiming for a draw in the Birmingham Test, which India won by 336 runs quite convincingly to level the series 1-1.

Atherton, in his ‘The Times’ column, wrote that on one of the flattest wickets the country has witnessed in the recent years, England batters managed to last only 157 overs across both innings, adding seven ducks, four of them coming from the top-order.

“In the end, the philosophical dilemma and chin-stroking mattered not a jot. It was not so much a question of whether this England team, so disdainful of the concept of the draw, would contemplate playing for it but whether they were good enough to do so,” Michael Atherton wrote in his column to “The Times”.

“On a still true pitch, it was so disappointing that England did not make a better fist of surviving what was essentially a day’s worth of cricket. Indeed, on one of the flattest pitches seen in this country in recent years, they lasted only 157 overs across both innings, collecting seven ducks in all, four of them for the top six,” he added.

On the other hand, Nasser Hussain, in his ‘Daily Mail’ column, wrote that Indian bowlers used the conditions perfectly well when compared to the English seamers, adding that the surface suited Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj perfectly well with their skiddier trajectories.

“Even though it was still pretty dead on day five, the Indian seamers were getting the ball to move about off the cracks and dryness in the surface. Some of that was down to the toss. A pitch naturally dries out over the course of a game and is therefore at its driest at the end of the match. India’s bowlers were brought up having to cope with those conditions,” Nasser Hussain wrote in his column to “Daily Mail”.

“I don’t think it was the pitch England wanted. It was much more akin to what Indian players are used to. England’s bowlers were hitting the deck hard but a lot of pace was being taken off the ball, whereas India thrived with their skiddier trajectories. They needed the kind of mode of attack that Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj provided, where kissing the surface got more out of it,” he added.

“There will be some people nodding contentedly in the away dressing room, saying ‘we got it right’ by leaving out their attacking spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in Birmingham. He will now head to London fresh after a fortnight’s rest,” he concluded.

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