Michael Vaughan urged England to be a ‘little bit smarter’ in the remainder of the series.© AFP
England captain Ben Stokes‘ decision to declare their first inning backfired as Australia won the first Ashes Test by 2 wickets to go 1-0 in the series. Stokes defied convention by declaring on the opening day with England 393-8 in their first innings with Joe Root batting on 118. His decision faced a lot flak from several current and former players, including ex-England captain Michael Vaughan. With the second Test set to start in a week’s time at The Lord’s, Vaughan said he will surprised if England don’t play cautiously.
“I think both teams will change slightly at Lord’s. I think the Aussies won’t go as expansive in the first innings and spread the field. They’ll squeeze a bit more. I’ll be amazed if England don’t play just that little bit (cautiously),” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
An ardent admirer of England’s aggressive style of play, ‘Bazball’, Vaughan urged Stokes and co. to be a ‘little bit smarter’ in the remainder of the series.
“Bazball, I love. I love the energy and what it’s brought. It’s now about winning and being that little bit smarter. When you’ve got an Australian team on the back foot, you’ve got to drive it down and nail them down even more. England just didn’t do that,” he added.
Stokes said he felt “devastated” by England’s dramatic two-wicket defeat at Edgbaston. However, he insisted his aggressive approach could yet secure a series win over Australia.
“I am devastated we’ve lost that game but in terms of what it’s done for the series, it’s hard to not be too disappointed because it has set up a great series. Losing sucks but the way we applied ourselves literally from ball one proves we’re able to stand up to Australia… We’ve got four games left and that’s what we’re going to be concentrating on,” Stokes said after the match.
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